Recently, I attended a week long photography workshop in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (see images from the workshop here). It was hosted by Craig Tanner and Marti Jeffers (website The Mindful Eye). The whole group had an amazing time.

Pritchard Pond

I plan to put out a review of the workshop itself but, as a warm-up, I wanted to jot down some notes about the road trip that got me there. My plans had me flying to Salt Lake City, then driving to Jackson, just outside of the park (and driving back to Salt Lake City afterwards). In the days leading up to it, I wondered if committing to the drive might have been a mistake. Would it take a lot longer than I expected? Would it tire me out before the workshop even began? Would I have mechanical trouble (or worse) on the day long drive, costing money and (more importantly) time?

The verdict – none of the above. The drive was definitely worth it. It took 5 1/2 hours plus rest and photo stops. The road conditions were good. The scenery was gorgeous. This was the second week of fall, and the colours were at their peak.

Beside Bear Lake #2

My route took me from Salt Lake City to Brigham City via the I15. At that point, I exited to the 89, travelling through Logan Canyon, past Bear Lake, up to Hoback and on to Jackson. The scenery was classic American West, at least as imagined by an easterner. The harvest was taking place. The leaves had changed colour and were beginning to fall. I lost track of the times I saw riders on horseback in the surrounding hills.

There were also signs of changing times. Most towns along the 89 were small and they weren’t bustling. I saw lots of abandoned buildings. There were exceptions, like Garden City, which benefits from the recreational draw of Bear Lake. I had a great lunch there at Cafe Sabor.

Abandoned, Ovid

The only stressful part of the trip was the segment from Salt Lake to Brigham City. This was a bit of a white knuckle ride (for a country boy from Nova Scotia), especially the return trip on Sunday night, when the masses were returning from their weekend getaways. This was just one out of five and a half hours, so it was a small price to pay. Oh, yes, there was also the rental car thing. I was an hour late returning to Hertz and got charged for an extra day. 🙁

Despite these glitches, the road trip was well worth the time. I’d love to do it again. On the return, there were spectacular views through Logan Canyon and during the descent into Brigham City; but I ran out of time for photography. Not being able to pull over and shoot almost made me cry.

Soon, I hope to have a review of the photo workshop itself. Until then, check out the slideshow.