Photo, hike, chat: Three unique experiences inside three national parks over 10 days

I had never visited three in 10 days before, but the sore bum after driving 2,182 miles told me I just did.

There had been no plan to visiting three in 10 days either, only Yellowstone, but apparently the universe had other plans as well.

On the 4th of July, four days prior to leaving Colorado for Yellowstone, I was invited by an old friend to come hike with her in Rocky Mountain National Park on July 16. She said she also had a timed entry pass for the Bear Lake Corridor.

On July 14, the day after I returned from Yellowstone, I inadvertently scheduled an interview with thru-hiker Donovan Rice, a young man I’ve been following and writing about out as he hikes the Great Colorado Route, at Great Sand Dunes National Park.

The interview and subsequent visit to the sand dunes would be the third park visited in 10 days from July 9-19.

I quickly realized that having three experiences among three national parks in 10 days was going to be special.

Traveling to Yellowstone to photograph the scenery, the animals and the stars, and camp with good friends was first.

Then a local trip to Rocky Mountain National Park to hike Nymph, Dream and Emerald lakes with an old friend.

Finally a visit to the Great Sand Dunes to interview a new friend, a thru-hiker on a mission.

Yellowstone National Park

Booking a campsite six weeks before out arrival felt like a long shot, almost desperate, but I was surprised two were still available.

The text thread between myself, and Idaho-brethren photographers Drew Nash and Pat Sutphin lit up with joy as we saw two camping sports were available for both Friday and Saturday nights the weekend after the July 4th weekend.

“That Canyon one had two spots, otherwise we just keep searching,” Drew said about camping sites at Canyon Village campground.

“If your able to book the two spots at the Canyon one, I say go for it,” Pat added.

“Canyon Campground booked. We can all hang at your guys’ site,” Drew concluded.

Drew and Pat knew each other prior to me knowing both of them.

I met them in December 2018 in Twin Falls, Idaho after landing a job as a Page Design Liaison at the town newspaper. Since all three of us had photography backgrounds, we became fast friends.

For a few years, the three of us would go on short photography quests in the southern Idaho desert, making photos at Balanced Rock or Shoshone Falls.

But by the start of 2023, I had moved back to Colorado. Pat moved to Idaho Falls while Drew stayed in Twin Falls.

Yet we stayed in touch over the years, and in July, we finally were able to meet up again for our much desired photography adventure in Yellowstone.

Day 1 of the Astrophotography Adventure

On Friday afternoon, July 9, Pat and I drove Yellowstone’s south loop before Drew arrived, scoping possible spots to photograph the landscape and skyscape after sunset.

Once Drew arrived at camp, we ate some food, loaded out camera gear in the truck and made our way to Artist Point for Night 1 of photography, starting at Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

Right before sunset, we quickly pulled over at Gentian Pool to watch the steam mix with the sunlight as our star set behind Madison Plateau.

Out come the stars

Parking at Grand Prismatic shortly after sunset, the three of us hiked up to the largest hot spring in Yellowstone for “blue hour” to capture photos ahead of the Milky Way rising in the southeast around 10:30 p.m.

Then it got dark and then the Milky Way Galaxy appeared overhead as the three of use took in its grandeur for over an hour.

The next stop on our first night’s tour was to Black Sand Basin. Drew and I conned Pat into walking along the boardwalk with hie headlamp on in order to illuminate the foreground while the Milky Way graced our view in the background.

A second stop at Artist Point on the return drive to our campsite concluded the night’s tour. We enjoyed this experience better than earlier in the afternoon around sunset.

It was close to 3 a.m. when we returned to camp, but all three of us were super stoked of the experience as we “chimped” our photos with a celebratory beer.

Day 2 of the Astrophotography Adventure

Waiting for night fall was the hardest part of our second day in Yellowstone. I woke up the earliest, as usual, then Drew, followed by a rather groggy but alive Pat.

With breakfast in our bellies, water, snacks and gas in the truck, we made our way north from Canyon Village into the Lamar Valley to a. photograph bison and watch out for ‘tourons’ and b. scout more spots on the north loop.

Saturday was also a hot day in the Park, between 86-88 degrees.

After capturing some bison in the late morning in Lamar Valley, we didn’t see any larger animals walking until closer to sunset. But we made time in the heat of the day to photograph a couple of waterfalls.

By mid afternoon we had scouted three more spots as possible astrophotography spots after dark: Mammoth Hot Springs’ Lower and Upper Terraces Areas, Sheepeater Cliff and the overlook to Nymph Lake.

We decided to photograph Mammoth Hot Springs’ Lower Terrace first, then Nymph Lake, once the sun set.

The last location of our two night astrophotography adventure was at Nymph Lake, which ended up being my favorite spot.

Leaving Yellowstone and my photog boys behind, I kept thinking about just how much more the Yellowstone ecosystem still is compared to other wild places around the country.

“Fields and fields of endless bison,” my good friend Jessica Flammang told me recently. “This area is a fully intact temper ecosystem. We see a lot of wildlife every single day.”

I was happy I saw the wildlife, but maybe just a touch more happy to see the stars and galaxy above it all.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Four days after exiting Yellowstone, I found myself with my old friend Paula Randazzo driving up US Highway 36 from Lyons, Colorado to Estes Park for an afternoon hike to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The two of us met through a mutual ski friend in the early 2010s and found a passion for skiing and adventuring together shortly after.

Our July 16 visit to Rocky Mountain National Park was our annual summer hike for 2026, a tradition we’ve been doing for many years.

The hike from the Bear Lake parking lot to Emerald Lake is not strenuous and is 3.3-miles out-and-back. Nymph Lake can be experienced first, then Dream Lake before concluding at Emerald Lake.

It is ideal for a short hike while chatting to catch up with friends or family while taking in the serenity of the water, the forest and the mountains surrounding you.

On our day in RMNP, the clouds and late afternoon sun mixed together for the perfect temperatures and light to create an amazing hike from the Bear Lake Trailhead to Emerald Lake, our turn around spot for the day’s adventure.

After spending time at Nymph Lake, we ascended to Dream Lake to catch the last few rays of sunshine above Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain.

Waterfalls cascade over small rock cliffs flowing down Tyndall Creek as wildflowers grow next to the water’s edge.

After the sun disappeared behind the peaks above Emerald Lake, we quickened our pace back to Nymph Lake to capture one more moment as the light faded from Longs Peak’s towering summit.

The way the clouds and setting sun aligned for the sunset didn’t play out perfectly, but we didn’t care. The photos we took were just a bonus that coincided with enjoying our hike in this special Park.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

It was 6 a.m. and I found myself driving south on US Highway 285 three days after enjoying an evening hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.

It was Sunday, July 19.

I was on my way to an interview at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve; the third NP visit in 10 days. But I wasn’t being interviewed. Donovan Rice was.

Rice is a man attempting to hike 1,700 miles along a self-built thru-hike titled the Great Colorado Route.

Rice started the GCR thru-hike on May 14 at the North Rim Trail in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and has been hiking every day since.

“I am about half way done with the Great Colorado Route,” Rice started by saying. “I’m about 880 miles in so far, (and) 67 days in.”

Rice and I have become new friends over the last two and half months, corresponding two to three times a week about his thru-hike around Colorado’s scenic western half.

Getting to experience Great Sand Dunes for a work trip is still experiencing a national park.

Rice and I spent the late morning with the camera.

He caught me up about his experiences hiking through the Adobe Badlands north of Delta, wandering the canyons in Colorado National Monument and Dominguez Canyon, and his month in the San Juan Mountains.

“My body has been holding up pretty good overall,” Rice said. “Luckily this is my fourth, major thru-hike and so I know where my limits are physically.”

After our formal interview, it was time to chill at the Visitor’s Center as the afternoon heat baked the sand in the mid July sun.

We eventually parted ways and Rice made his way onto the sand, continuing his thru-hike.

It was important to incorporate work time in nature, whether it was at a far away place in the wilderness or at a local backyard trail. Simply listening to my subject’s thoughts for awhile made the experience unique. I was listening to his experience of the national park too, not just taking it all in for me.

This work visit to the Great Sand Dunes capped off an amazing 10-day adventure at three unique national parks.