For the 4th of July, Jason and I took a road trip to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Despite both having spent considerable amounts of time living in the West, neither of us had ever been, and the mid-week holiday seemed like a good excuse to take a couple more days off.

Approaching the Teton range (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The Tetons, looking fake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A classic barn-and-Tetons shot (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We arrived mid-afternoon on Wednesday, and after securing a camping spot so that I could stop having so much anxiety about where we were sleeping, we set off on a hike to Taggart and Bradley lakes.

Taggart Creek (Photo/Jason Rafal)

I have spent a considerable amount of time around dramatic mountains - I’ve been in Colorado nearly my whole life, and have marveled at all of our lovely ranges. The Tetons, though, still amazed me. They are granite, and they have snow and glaciers year round, which gives them an arresting black and white look. They are also very steep, with angles jutting into the sky. They do not blend into the landscape at all, and they are very beautiful.

The trail to the lakes (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The view at Bradley Lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

We were not prepared for the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes love Jason, but we hadn’t had to deal with them in large numbers on any of our recent vacations, so we spaced bug spray on that first hike and had to take a slightly more hasty pace back to the car so that Jason could escape the swarms. The lakes were very photogenic, despite the bugs.

A thickly forested trail (Photo/Jason Rafal)

After our hike, we headed to Jackson to see what it was like. It was kind of like a Colorado ski town, just more western. It was simultaneously familiar and odd, just like any mountain town, but it’s a beautiful place.

Jackson has four giant arches built of antlers, because why not (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Sunset at our campsite (Photo/Jason Rafal)

On Thursday we got up early so that Jason could take sunrise pictures at the Snake River Overlook, which is where one of Ansel Adams’ famous photographs was taken. It was absurdly early, and rather cold, and incredibly beautiful. When the sun was up we drove to Schwabacher’s Landing, where there were a number of photographers already taking lovely reflection photos in the morning light.

The Tetons photograph especially well in black and white (Photo/Jason Rafal)

A stunning mountain sunrise (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Another very similar photo because we couldn’t pick one (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The reflections at Schwabacher’s Landing were incredible (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Cloud reflections (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Dedicated sunrise photographers (Photo/Jason Rafal)

With our sunrise pictures out of the way, we headed next to Jenny Lake, where we took the first ferry over to Hidden Falls and Cascade Canyon, which were nearly unoccupied at 7:15 am. This side of the lake features the beautiful waterfall, overlooks of the lake, and the typical outstanding views of the Tetons. We hiked around for a couple of hours before taking the ferry back and packing up our campsite.

The first boat across the lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Early morning light on the mountains (Photo/Jason Rafal)

More beautiful mountains and water (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The dock on the other side of the lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Hidden Falls (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The ferry on Jenny Lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

For the rest of the afternoon, we drove by Jackson Lake all the way up to Moose Falls in Yellowstone, where we hung out for a while before driving back to our cabin for the night in Colter Bay, where we cooked dinner next to the surprisingly clear lake and tried to obtain minimal additional mosquito bites.

Boats on Jackson Lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

Sunset, Tetons, and Jackson Lake (Photo/Jason Rafal)

The lovely Moose Falls, where we were unfortunately not allowed to swim (Photo/Jason Rafal)