It Was All a Blur

How about a barrage of photos for your Friday, the 13th? The last two (and a half) months have gone by in a flash, thanks to a wild mix of work, an internship, friends, family, traveling, and disc golf. In an effort to sum it all up quickly, and pay a little much needed attention to my blog, I made some mosaics of my favorite Instagram pics.

The photos above are all from May. I hung new work (Doubles!) at Two Creek Coffee House in Bountiful, Utah; I took a walk around Red Butte Garden with the Montanans, our friends Kelly and Tim; spent some time gawking at the beehive in my dad's pine tree; received beautiful pillow covers made by my cousin-in-law; had inaugural s'mores with local friends; road-tripped to Capitol Reef with my husband's family over Memorial weekend; and finally, headed up to the Heber Valley Railroad with my dad, niece, nephew for A Day Out with Thomas (my nephew LOVES Thomas).

June was insane. It was all a blur. All the remaining photos are from last month. One set from home, or things I did while not in the field for work, and two sets for things I saw when I was away for work. I'm finishing up my fourth and final season photographing campgrounds, cabins, and guard stations for the Forest Service. It's been a really long haul, all four summers, and it's a bittersweet feeling to be nearing the end (just two more weeks!). I'm definitely over being gone all the time. In June alone, I spent 12 days and 6 nights out in random towns throughout Utah and Idaho. I've visited the Fishlake, Dixie, Bridger-Teton, Caribou-Targhee, and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests. Pretty cool. But I'm ready to be done.

The photos above include my husband's filthy adventure at the Dirty Dash in Midway, Utah. He loved it. I loved watching him. I'm not into mud. We played a lot of disc golf with friends, cooked a lot while I was home (I have to make up for pb sandwiches in the field!), wandered around Silver Lake east of Salt Lake City, went bowling, and Ogden Raptors baseball began.

Above are photos from 5 different field trips, all in Utah. I saw a lot of beautiful country, and enjoyed re-visiting a lot of places. I take Southern Utah for granted, sadly. Much of it is just 3-5 hours away and although we hit a few favorite spots each year, we definitely could stand to spend a good week at a new place or two, especially Pine Lake (2nd photo, 2nd row down). I fell in love and like many other places I've been, I wished I had my kayak. I also fell in love with the little town of Panguitch, Utah. Lots of great things to photograph, and good ice cream to boot.

These last photos are all from my trip to the Bridger-Teton and Caribou-Targhee National Forests near Jackson, Wyoming and Victor, Idaho. I dragged my pal, Heather, out with me and we had so much fun. She's an amazing photographer who shoots only film, and Instagram stuff occasionally. Check her out! We spent three days on the road with a whole lot of film and licorice. We camped in Victor, Idaho and at the famed Jenny Lake Campground in Grand Teton National Park, where the 40 or so sites usually fill by 10 am. We nabbed one of the last sites available and were so proud of ourselves.

The trip itinerary included Palisades Reservoir, Targhee Pass, Teton Canyon, a brief stop for photos at the Spud Drive-In in Driggs, Idaho, Grand Teton National Park, Jenny Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful Inn, Old Faithful Geyser, Wilcoxson's Peanut Butter Chip ice cream (my absolute favorite!) from the Upper Ham Store (the store is called something else now but it'll always be the Upper Ham Store to me), sunset on the Jenny Lake Boat Dock, Jackson for dinner, and the Greys River Road, Tri-Basin Divide, LaBarge Meadow, Commissary Ridge, and the Smiths Fork Road. It was a full three days! Thank you, Heather T. for joining me!

Stay tuned for another Instagram dump in July, and find me on Instagram @stephparke.