After months of being athome, it was time for a break from the routine…travel called. It took some time to decided where to go. Of course, in the fall, New England calls. But with all of the other planned trips later this year, we decided to stay closer to home.
We hadn’t been to Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons in years. We had honeymooned there 46 years ago and Hugh had one medical conference near Yellowstone during his career but that also had been years ago.
We started on Sunday and drove as far as Provo Utah, spent the night and then drove the remainder on Monday arriving late morning. We had driven through Jackson Hole several years ago returning from Missoula, and had been shocked by the growth. This time we were expecting it, but the extent of the sprawl was still shocking. The quaint little town we had visited in 1977 had grown up.
We stayed between Jackson Hole and the entrance to the Grand Tetons, close to the Jackson Hole Airport. Nice location. Elf Refuge Inn
On Tuesday we were ready to start our journey through the Grand Teton’s to the entrance to Yellowstone.
This day was all about remembering my camera and how to take a photo. Where is the focusing button, how to I change the ISO, oh, I forgot to test the circular polarizer on that shot. The ultimate learning was when we were on the Upper Basin Trail and I ran out of flash card and neither Hugh nor I was carrying an extra. Well I had forgot to format the card I was using before I started shooting. So I”m on the trail busy deleting old photos.
When I started reviewing the photos, I saw that I had overlooked leveling many of them. Thank goodness for Lightroom!
Our early morning shots were of the first light touching the tops of the Tetons.
We saw our first Bison of the trip. Seeing them became a daily event as they seems to live near the road leading into the Grand Tetons.
Our next stop was at Oxbow Bend Overlook inside the Grand Teton National Park, and then driving down to the site of the Cattleman’s Bridge.
After our morning photographing in the Grand Tetons, we made our way to the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone. The starting point was Old Faithful. We found a grill open for lunch and most importantly flushing toilets. Most of the park is closed for the season, which is lovely as we are not fighting crowds of visitors. But it does have a downside as most places for food, gifts and facilities are closed.
Morning Glory Geyser is spectacular. I reached it with limited to no space on my card and without my wide angle lens. It was a day to reacquaint myself with the musts of photography…carry space flashcards and a variety of lens!
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