The Great Outdoors

For the 4th of July, we visited Andrea's brother Matt, who moved to Wyoming earlier this year. We had never been to this part of the country so we jumped at the chance to breath fresh air and see wide open spaces and stars in the sky.

Our domestic travels rarely take us past the east coast, so this was a good opportunity to visit the wild, wild, west and even hit up a few national parks. Since Andrea's dad was going, it was a mini family reunion as well (minus mom).

We're a hiking family and quickly embraced the beautiful trails and scenery of Grand Teton National Park.


We went to Yellowstone too. The hiking wasn't as good as in the Grand Tetons, but we saw buffalo, geysers, and waterfalls.

Standing above a canyon at Yellowstone.

We stayed at a lodge on Jackson Lake, just outside of Jackson. The view of the Tetons was stunning from here and the sun hit the mountain peaks beautifully each morning.


For two New Yorkers, Wyoming might as well be Pluto. It's vast, unpopulated, and has all kinds of dangerous animals, like grizzly bears, buffalo, and other large mammals that a city kid couldn't be expected to identify. Luckily, we had Matt to guide us, who in six short months has practically become a John Wayne.

The guys on a raft on Snake River.

Our hiking endeavors used up a lot of calories. Since dad was there, we were fueled by a steady stream of red meat, cheez-its, and various desserts.


Thanks Matt and Dad for a great trip!