Here are a few (well, a lot) of photos from our trip out west this summer. I had to break this post down into two parts because there are so many great images and since my hubby doesn't have a Facebook page, he'd like to use my blogsite to show our friends and family! I was so proud of myself to have only taken film cameras to Wyoming, although I occasionally used my fancy new iphone for any digital images I wanted to take. I took my Canon 1V, Lomo and my Holga.  
 
For the first part of the trip, Steph and I camped out in Yellowstone National Park. We got up really early on the first day and secured a beautiful campsite overlooking Slough Creek. We can set up our campsite in 10 minutes...we have it down to a science! We spent a few days hiking, touring the park and relaxing. It was SO great to get off the grid for a bit.

Here I am testing out my new Osprey water bladder - works like a dream and I'm kind of in love with it!

Slough Creek was our home for several nights...where all of the buffalo roam...I'm actually not kidding. The guy who had our campsite the nights before us said a bison walked right by his tent in the middle of the night...holy wow!

Here's our tent on the creek, it was so soothing to fall asleep to the sound of a creek every night.

A delicious dinner and don't you love my Jet Boil coffee press that I used as a vase?

I was so happy Steph was able to relax and get away from it all. As a financial advisor, it's really hard to not constantly have anxiety since the market is ALWAYS open! We weren't able to get cell service for most of the trip, which really forced us to focus on what was right in front of us: nature.

Here's Steph chilling-out, maxing, relaxing all cool, shooting some b-ball outside of the school (sorry, couldn't help myself).

I LOVE BISON!!! These guys were everywhere. It became our nightly ritual to go watch the sunset and look for wildlife every night. By the end of the trip, we were used to getting caught in a Bison jam.

Love these guys and I could so see this enlarged on our wall!

My trainer Catherine would be proud that I actually did workout. It's a little hard to breathe because of the elevation though!

We ran into this couple who were biking across the country! Aren't they cute? I loved observing the people who visit the park - I took pictures of a cute old couple and a few children who were dressed as little rangers.

Here's the guy's bike - he had a tiny bag of clothes and that's it!!! How awesome!

Here's Steph waiting for the wolves to emerge - we saw two of them in the park near our campsite, it was crazy!

We took a dip in the Boiling River, where a hot spring mixes with the freezing cold river and it's like a little hot tub along the rivers edge. It was so refreshing and relaxing.

Steph and his binocs again.

One last bison image....I love them so.

It was the summer after my senior year of high school when I went to work at Two Bar Spear Ranch in Pinedale, WY. When I arrived at the ranch, I didn't even know how to saddle a horse. For the first part of the summer, I worked as a camp counselor to a small group of girls. We rode horses, made art and crafts, went to rodeos, irrigated the pastures and put on plays. For the second half of the summer, I helped lead families on pack trips through the Wind River Range. By the end of the trip, I was catching trout with my bare hands and wrangling horses (not kidding)! It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I'm so happy to be sharing this part of the world with Stephan for our summer vacation. Here are a few images from my time on the ranch circa 1997. It was fun to pull these images out and cull through them. Can't wait to share more with you we return from our trip.  
 
Below is my amazing boss, Grant Beck, who passed away last year. He was truly one of the last american cowboys and I feel so lucky to have worked as one of his staffers.  

Here's the main house at Two Bar Spear. Horses are free to roam in the yard and I would occasionally open the front door to my cabin to see a horse standing right in front of me.

My summer equipment: my Madison hat, fly fishing vest and my rod...I mean, what more does a girl really need?

From left, my friend and fellow staffer Emi, Grant's wife and my boss Abie, fellow staffer Jess and myself .

Here's the truck ready to go up into the mountains for a pack trip.

I just love this image of Abie. It takes a strong woman to do this kind of work. She's really incredible and I was totally captivated by her the whole summer. I'm so excited that I'll be able to visit with her while I'm out here! Steph and I are taking a pack trip with another guide and Abie will be joining us.

Lassoing mini cowboys was just one of the things I liked to do to pass the time.

Or fly fish in the lakes.

Here's Grant by the fire.

This image is the best. This is Grant sleeping with his blue heeler, Peppy.

I'm so excited to see my friend Emi again! She owns Rivera Lodge in Pinedale.

Here's me and Emi working on our photo that we wanted to send to Patagonia. LOL!

Here's to you, Mr. Beck!