Sure, I’ll Take a Free Trip to Jackson Hole

I love free trips. And I love Wyoming. So when I was offered a free trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming I said, “Why the hell not?” Friends of mine were working a conference in Jackson Hole and offered to fly me out to play photographer, so not only did I get free trip out to one of the most beautiful places in America, I got some quality friend time as well.

We stayed in Teton Village, which is about half way between the town of Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. We were lucky enough to get upgraded to a one-bedroom suite at Hotel Terra that was nearly the size of my 900 square foot apartment. It was beautiful with two bathrooms, a kitchen area, and a fireplace. You might think, who needs a fireplace in the summer, but I managed to make use of it quite a bit.

Teton Village sits at the base of Mt. Rendezvous and offers a variety of activities for people of all ages, including a tram and gondola to the top of the mountain. On my previous trip in 2011, we took the $32 tram to the very top (10,450 feet) and hiked all the way down.

This time, we took the free gondola, which tops out at 9,095 feet. There are two restaurants at the top, the fancier Couloir Restaurant and the low-key Deck, where you can order drinks and appetizers.

Of course, I managed to get some pictures of the Tetons during the conference.

Perhaps, there is something magical about the beauty of the Tetons because this may be the best picture ever taken of me.

The always amazing and talented Rachel:

I even managed to squeeze in a little bike riding through Grand Teton National Park. There is a paved bike path from Jackson Hole to Jenny Lake. We didn’t have a ton of time so we drove to the town of Moose and rented bikes there for a quick ride to the beautiful Jenny Lake.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: REFLECTIONS

This week’s challenge is reflections. I love taking reflection photos, so the challenge for me this week is picking which one to post. Here are three of my favorites. Which one do you like best?

An old amphitheater reflected in rain water at Pompeii, Italy

Grand Teton National Park way too early in the morning…

A stroll through Plitvice National Park in Croatia

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Green

Finally, an easy photo challenge from the folks at The Daily Post. Here’s a rural and an urban version. The first photo is from Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park where the bison roam free. The second photo is from New Year’s Eve last year in London. The Boyfriend and I joined a packed crowd at Trafalgar Square and I lifted my camera above my head and just snapped away. Not bad for blind shooting. (Frequent readers of this blog will realize that I’m cheating a bit because I’ve used a similar photo for a “red” challenge, but fireworks are practically an invitation to cheat, so it’s not really my fault.)

 

FEAST YOUR EYES! WYOMING GALLERY UPDATED

There’s not much I want to do when I’m sick and whiny and sitting on the couch catching up on So You Think You Can Dance. Good thing I have this blog. I’ve updated the travel gallery with photos from my trip to Wyoming (and Montana) last summer. Gallery is here. Some of my favorite photos below.