Wandering In The West

Ally & I took to the road for a quick-and-dirty summer road trip through The West (well, we headed East…). We wish we could have extended the trip and seen more but we were relegated to 10 days between weddings in Duluth and Oahu. Ally wanted to visit her old home and friends in Jackson Hole, and had also never been to Yellowstone, so we put those spots into the GPS and found our way to friends in Sun Valley on the way home. We spent three days in Yellowstone, driving circles around the park finding big game, waterfalls & thermal obscurities. We mostly slept in the back of the truck (something new for Ally) but capped the few days off at the historic Old Faithful Inn.

On the way to Jackson, Ally showed me the sights of Teton National Park and we were lucky enough to see two monster moose. Though Teton doesn’t quite have the wildlife viewing of it’s better known neighbor the vistas far surpass anything in Yellowstone, with the Tetons rising thousands of feet straight out of the alpine lakes & Snake River. In Jackson we ate great food and visited with great friends. Tim & Tracy got us out on The Snake for a float and some shots at the small cutties below the magnificent backdrop. Ally showed me some of MTBing roots, and Aaron & Noni took us on a ripping 20+ mile ride crisscrossing Teton Pass.

Sun Valley was more of the same with some great MTB’s in the shadows of the Sawtooths as well as great hospitality by Ally’s CC friend Cassie & her man Mike.

A truly wonderful road adventure that we would have surly lamented the end of, except the reason we had to hurry home was to board a plane that was Hawaii bound...

Look mom no hands! We're on the road

CA and the setting sun far behind us

AM views where we slept just yards away from a Bull Moose

Ally getting comfortable in the cozy chateau

Made it to our first destination

Starting to see the sights

We found one

Picture of a man taking a picture

Close encounters

You've been warned

We step off the trail to give way to this big guy on the Slough Creek Trail

Ally never so close to Indian Head

Searching for the trail near the crick 

Couldn't find the trail but did find this rack that we wish we could have dragged home

Trail-less Slough Creek with Indian Head in the background

Herds of Bison

Yep, out there

Some cool looking old world beasts

Lone big Bison

Big & little

At the North Entrance of the Park

Roosevelt was a good man

Tower Falls

The free flowing Yellowstone River

Ally & me in the mist of Lower Falls

The massive Lower Falls

Looking over the top of Lower Falls

Hiking down the South Rim Trail

A gorgeous sight

Looking up the Grand Canyon of The Yellowsone from Artists Point

Breaking away from the crowds

Blue steel

Can you see the big Grizz chowing on the Bison carcass?

Growing group of tourists spotting a pack of wolves

Ally joins in

Elk separated from the wolf pack by a ribbon or two of water

More close encounters

A picture of a woman taking a picture

A picture of the guys she was taking a picture of

They were just massive Bulls

In to the evening

Couldn't get enough

Yellowstone lake, the headwaters of the great Yellowstone River

Thermal activity along the lake at West Thumb

Hot water meets cold water

Again, you've been warned

Splashing around in Middle Basin

Hot water meets cold water on the Maddison

Vibrant spectrum of colors

Mirror ponds

The Grand Prismatic does not disappoint

Beautiful colors

Ally & I at the Grand Prismatic

The historic Old Faithful Inn

Some classic remnants from older days in The Park

Evening viewing of Old Faithful – just lost the light 

Other nearby geysers going along with the show

Interior of the massive Inn's lobby

One final Yellowstone show before we hit the road

Headed South into the next park

Stunning views of the Tetons

A photo of a man taking a photo

The photo which that man was taking

Ally and I enjoying the stops

Cooling the feet off in String Lake

Leigh Lake under the peaks

Building courage to take the plunge

One of a few moose – this one eating off the bottom of the pond

A hawk on a post near Jackson

Dudes doing dude things

Ally learning to cast

Ally with Tracy as dueling bow princesses

One big moose on The Snake River

Another great day on the road

The gorgeous Snake River Overlook

Teton Pano in The Park

One bad bee sting

Ally & Tracy ready to head up Cache Creek

Enjoying Putt Putt before a massive thunderstorm arrived

Aaron at work in the home office

Packed in at a dream garage

Big boy toys loaded up and ready for The Pass

Gorgeous light and gorgeous surroundings rolling down Black Canyon

Noni & Ally pause to enjoy the shoulder high wildflowers above Jackson Valley

Ally with our wonderful hosts

Ally & Amy at the Stagecoach during a twangy Sunday Church

Skinny waters way up high

Old structures as we head up Fisher Creek

You've been warned

Opening 'er up amongst the burn

Ally on the final push out 

Almost at the car, Sawtooth's in the background

Headed back to Sun Valley had to make a stop for the views

A fine trip indeed – until next year!