beartooth pass

Earlier this month, I flew out to Montana to visit my sister for a long weekend.  We took the day on Friday to drive the Beartooth Pass - a popular highway that winds through southern Montana and northern Wyoming on the way to Yellowstone National Park.

I had never been to Montana before and wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of the pass.  The mountains were stunning and the topography was unlike any mountains I had seen before.  We weaved our way up to the top of the mountain range and the landscape evolved as we drove along.  We saw everything from beautiful firs, to bare mountaintops, to glacier remnants, to hidden mountaintop lakes, to grizzly bear country!

It was about a six hour round trip - one that I would highly recommend for anyone visiting Montana.  Hope you enjoy these pictures from our journey!

sweet south dakota: day 3 and 4 (the badlands)

{We spent a wonderful weekend in South Dakota for my family reunion.  You can read more about our trip here and here.}

On Sunday, we woke up early and drove down the canyon where we were staying to check out the Spearfish Canyon Waterfall.  Our flight was set for early afternoon, so we wanted to make the most of the rest of our time in SD.

sweet south dakota: day 2

{We spent a long weekend in South Dakota at my family reunion - you can read about all we did on our first day (including Mt. Rushmore) here!}

On our second day, the family split into several different groups depending on what we wanted to do for the day.  Our group decided to hike Harney Peak, the tallest mountain in South Dakota.  It was a hot, sunny day - perfect for a hike!

sweet south dakota: day 1 (mount rushmore)

Two weekends ago, Steve and I joined my family in beautiful South Dakota for my family reunion.  It was my first trip to South Dakota and I am pleased to say that all of my expectations of the state were blown out of the water.  The lodge where we stayed was nestled in beautiful Spearfish Canyon, where the topography is stunning and the cell phone service, non-existent.  It was perfect.

{This is a very picture-heavy post - I wanted to make sure I savored and memorialized every moment of our trip!  Thanks for bearing with me and all of the pictures :) }

fort harrison hike

Last weekend, spring made its grand entrance in Indiana.  I couldn't wait to just get outside.  It had been far too long since my pale skin had seen the sun.  After my 6 mi run Saturday morning, Steve and I packed a lunch and headed over to Fort Harrison State Park for an afternoon of hiking. 

We hiked along the Fall Creek Trail and ate our lunch next to a small lake in the park.  I can't even begin to tell you how refreshing it was to see nature springing to life all around us that afternoon.  After we hiked ourselves out, we drove around the old military base in the park.  Fort Harrison is located in the heart of our city and I feel like we discovered a hidden gem, especially since the park is only about twenty minutes from our house!