Your Film Produced No Images

Last month, I decided to bring my film camera with us on our trip to Montana. I was really looking forward to seeing what I could capture using the film camera.

I was kind of surprised that I did not take near as many photos as I thought I would with the film camera though. I believe it is because you do not have an instant image show up on an LCD screen of a DSLR or one on my iPhone. Instead of shooting off a bunch of images of the same thing with digital, a little more thought goes into shooting an image with film.

Since I did not take a full roll of 36 images in Montana, I made a day trip to Yosemite last week to finish up the roll of film.

I sent the roll of to be processed and have been waiting for the email to tell me that the images were ready to be viewed. The message came through this morning, but it was not what I was expecting…

I believe I loaded the film incorrectly. When I was rewinding the film, it seemed to rewind a little too quickly. But I didn’t really think too much about it at the time, and just sent to roll off the be processed.

Well, at least I had my DSLR and my iPhone with me to capture photos in Montana as well! This morning, my husband suggested that we could always go back. Now that is a very tempting offer!

But I did capture some memorable shots with the other cameras I had with me…

This is one I captured with my DSLR from the top of Logan Pass looking down at Going to the Sun Road.

And here is one I capture with my iPhone out the car window on the drive up Going to the Sun Road…

Right now, I have four rolls of black & white film sitting on the shelf. I am determined to shoot a roll of film with one of those rolls and get back a successful set of prints.

Stay tuned!

Our Very Belated 30th Anniversary Trip

Back at the beginning of 2020, I had started planning our 30th anniversary trip. I thought a trip up north to Canada would be a good trip since I had not been to Canada before. And I really wanted another stamp in my passport. So I started a Pinterest board, exploring coffee shops to visit and things to do on the trip.

As the year 2020 dragged on, we began to realize that a trip out of the country was not going to happen. After traveling just about every month with Compassion to volunteer at events, it was a very hard year for me to not travel at all.

2021 ended up being a crazy year for us with many topsy turvy things happening in our life. It was going to be impossible for us to try to get away with all that was going on.

As we entered 2022, I knew we really needed to plan a trip away, and I really wanted to go to Montana to Glacier National Park. The reservation system was back in place which made it a bit of a challenge to do a lot of planning until the reservation was secure. But I started a Pinterest board, read a lot of posts, watched a lot of videos, and started figuring out some of the details.

Here was our basic itinerary:

• Day 1 - fly to Bozeman, drive to Helena, stay in Helena for the night

• Day 2 - drive to Polebridge, check into AirBNB in West Glacier

• Day 3 - Drive Going to the Sun Road over to Many Glacier, hike a trail in Many Glacier

• Day 4 - Drive Going to the Sun Road, hike a trail

• Day 5 - Alpine Slides in Whitefish, drive to Helena

• Day 6 - Gates of the Mountains boat tour, Montana State Capitol Building

• Day 7 - drive to Bozeman, explore Bozeman

• Day 8 - fly home

We did have to alter our itinerary a little bit and be a bit flexible when we were in Glacier National Park. Many of the trailhead parking lots fill up very quickly and early! We were hoping to go to an alpaca ranch (too far away) and a bear encounter park (closed on the day we would have been able to visit), but overall, I am very happy with all that we were able to do and see on this trip!

We stayed in two of the cutest AirBNB spots, saw a bear, mountain goats, and a couple of bald eagles. We ate elk burgers and bison burgers at two different really great restaurants. Found a couple of wonderful coffee shops, and drove over 1200 miles in a state that has a population that is 25% of Los Angeles.

Do I love Glacier National Park more than Yosemite?

I kept hearing that many people do love Glacier National Park more than Yosemite. But I don’t know if I do. I believe being able to visit Glacier gives me a better appreciation for what I have access to right in my own home state. It still amazes me that people travel from all over our country and around the world to visit an incredible place that I can drive to in less than three hours.

Have you been able to visit both parks? If so, which one do you love more?

If you haven’t been to Glacier, I will share a few photos below. But the photos just can’t capture how beautiful this place is:

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I have many more photos I could share here, it was hard to narrow it down to just a few. It still amazes me how incredibly lucky we are to live in such a beautiful country!

You went to Yosemite how many times?!?

Between June of 2020 and June of 2021, I went to Yosemite National Park twenty times.

Yes, you read that correctly, twenty times.

Of course, gas was a whole lot cheaper then. But that is a whole other topic…I have been meaning to write and post something about all my trips to Yosemite, but I am finally making time to do so…

Once the national park system decided to open the parks back up after being closed for almost four months in the spring of 2020, I was dying to make a day trip to one of my favorite places. They had implemented a reservation system, and I did my best to take full advantage of using it as often as possible.

After months of being told by the government to stay home (not that I stayed inside my home that whole time), I was beyond ready for a full day outside in the sunshine, getting lots of fresh air and exercise, spending time in God’s beautiful creation.

From June of 2020 until June of 2021, I explored parts of Yosemite I had never explored before. I hiked more miles in one year than I had probably ever done before. I kept track of my steps on each visit and figure I hiked about 90 miles in the park that year. I took 12 people to Yosemite for the very first time.

There were two hikes that have to be my absolute favorites from that year. The first one is Lembert Dome. My daughter-in-law and I did this hike in August of 2020. The whole time on the trail we probably saw no more than 25 people. The view from the top of the dome looking out toward the eastern sierra mountains was incredible!

And believe me, no photo is ever going to do this view justice. There is nothing like hiking up a trail at over 8000 feet above sea level and seeing an almost 360 degree view of Tuolumne Meadows and the surrounding area. This is one hike that I would definitely do again!

My other favorite hike from that year has to be Columbia Rock. This trail is the first part of the Upper Yosemite Falls trail. As I was making my way up this trail, I almost didn’t think I was going to make it! It is a brutal 1000 foot elevation gain in just one mile! But the view is so worth it!

I loved this hike so much that I brought my daughter-in-law with me to hike this same trail the following month.

It amazes me that so many people live within driving distance of this incredible place and have never been. I spend $80 for the National Park Pass and it is so worth the price. It you live in the state of California, you are within driving distance of at least one national park, given that we have nine national parks in our state, the most in all of the United States. I have been to five of the nine national parks in California, so I need to make time to get to the other four.

Do you have a favorite national park in our country?

California Day Trips!

Anyone who knows me really well, knows how much I love a good adventure!

Over the past three months, I have spent a lot of time outside, exploring the beautiful state where I live.

Living in the Central Valley of California, I have access to the coast and the mountains, all within a couple of hours drive in each direction.

One of my dream jobs would be to take people on day trips and take candid and portrait photos while we explore some amazing parts of California.

Since this is not really the best time to be starting some sort of travel-related business, I decided to start a new Instagram account highlighting some of my favorite places close to where I live.

One of my most favorite day trip destinations is Yosemite National Park. Even with all the times I have been here, I still have not explored and discovered all that this park has to offer.

As I mentioned in my Instagram post, the current reservation system prevents us from making a spontaneous trip to Yosemite, but now is the time to head up to the mountains and explore this park, especially if you have never been here.

Normally, Yosemite Valley is very crowded during the summer months with thousands of international visitors. As much as I miss chatting with international visitors, I am enjoying the less crowded park.

Have you been to Yosemite? What is your favorite part of the park?

What is your favorite California day trip location?

My 3 Favorite Travel Apps

Over the past five years, I have had the opportunity to travel to quite a few locations. Most of my travels have been here in the United States. But I have also traveled internationally, adding Italy, Colombia, and El Salvador to my list of countries I have visited for the first time.

I am obviously not an expert on travel, but I thought I would share with you a couple of my favorite travel apps.

Mobile Passport

On my way home from Colombia, I knew I was going to have to go through immigration at the San Francisco Airport. While on the plane, I quickly answered the few questions, scanned my passport, and took a photo. Once our plane landed, I submitted my form and made my way off the plane.

After I got off the plane and headed over to immigration, you should have seen the line! There were probably over 200 people waiting to go through immigration.

I found the line for the Mobile Passport, stood for a few minutes behind three other people, and was quickly in front of an agent.

I almost hesitate to share this with you, because it is a great little secret that I don’t believe most people are taking advantage of! The app is free and is advertised at most of the larger entry points for foreign travel back into the United States.

Google Translate

The thing I love about this app is the ability to have a language downloaded and available offline. This is especially helpful if you are not using your data while traveling.

The app lets you type in text in English, and then it will translate it into the language of your choice. You can also use your camera to translate typed or handwritten text, and record conversations to translate.

I have used this app in Mexico, El Salvador, Italy, and Colombia.

Since I am not proficient in Italian or Spanish, this app has helped me to have conversations with people who are not proficient in English. The translation is not always completely accurate, but it sure has come in handy!

My Currency Converter

Can’t figure out how to convert US dollars to Colombian Pesos? Or any other form of currency?

This app makes it super simple to figure out how far your US dollars with go while purchasing items in a foreign country.

Just type in the price of an item in the foreign currency and the app immediately lets you know what the price is in US dollars. You can also do a reverse of the currency also.

What are your favorite travel apps?