Never Stop Exploring.

Says it right on the box of my North Face Hedgehog GTX’s. Never Stop Exploring. And since July, that is exactly what has happened.

Let’s start with Mt. Diablo. It was hard for me to swallow the idea I had never been up to the top. So I went. Twice. The first with Paco and Mike. The second time alone. The weather was pretty brutal each time, but the views make you forget the heat. The ability to see essentially the entire Bay Area is humbling (although during the summer it isn’t as clear, thank you smog). I could see my hometown, and my current home. The windmills propped up on the Altamont, the water stretching across the land, the traffic, the East Bay. Humbling. If you have a chance, head up there. Gives you a few moments to clear your head, a moment to develop pride of your immediate surroundings.

The exploration continued. While our trip to Half Dome has been pushed back to September I was privileged enough to visit my parents in Southeast Idaho. During my stay I saw parts of the country I never imagined. Anyone who knows “Big Sky” country knows how it earned that title. The clouds continue for an eternity. The mountains, endless. You’ll feel a slight singe on your skin when the sun decides to stick around for a minute, which could be followed by lightning thunderstorms the next, only to bring sunshine back in the rotation moments later. I flew from Oakland to Salk Lake City, Utah and proceeded to Rigby, Idaho via the Salt Lake Express. After a day of rest the 48-hour family voyage began with Yellowstone National Park. As the first national park in U.S. history it paved the way for regions across the world to remained preserved by the countries who love and appreciate them. I won’t go into too much explanation with these posts. I have plenty to photos to do that for me. I only ask you one favor, please visit this piece of heaven on Earth before your number is called.

Bear World and Jackson Hole, Wyoming were destinations on our second day. Bear World, which is about ten minutes from my parent’s home, features an elevated and armored vehicle tour through the park’s 100-acre natural landscape loaded with turkeys, goats, deer, pigs, a moose, elk, wolves, bison, bears, and bear cubs. To be honest, when we entered the park’s gates it struck an eerie resemblance to Jurassic Park. Warnings signs that preceded the animal area indicated the dangers you may encounter, including the possibility of bears jumping on or destroying your vehicle. Fun. However you quickly learn that the bears and other animals are comfortable with humans in automobiles creeping through their turf. Oh yeah, you get to feed them. That’s right. The bears flock to the facility provided, tour guided truck like kids chasing down an ice cream man. While we didn’t exactly toss ice cream out to them we were given trays of white bread, donuts, cinnamon bread, and potatoes. Some put on a show. Some of the breeding males punked the younglets. Some propped themselves up and gaped their mouths open like puppies. One even managed to use the truck’s tire as a scratching post. Comedy. Plenty of pictures for this too.

Immediately following Bear World we headed into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I didn’t have much faith after the sights and views in Yellowstone that anything in Jackson Hole or along the way would stimulate my eyes. Damn was I wrong. Driving up to and through the Idaho/Wyoming border struck an intuitive feeling the Native American must have felt. Ok, I know it’s a stretch. But seriously, the coordination of the sky, mountains, water, and land undoubtedly created several reasons why the natives worshipped the Earth. Absolutely incredible. After following the Snake River (which is hundreds of miles long) we eventually ended up in Jackson Hole, WY. With plenty of gift shops, restaurants, bars, and other tourist traps the town strongly resembled South Lake Tahoe. The backdrop  consisted of beautiful mountains sides striped with patches of green between the trees, which I assume make excellent ski/snowboard runs. Again, plenty more pictures.

The entire trip was nothing short of amazing. The pictures follow in chronological order. There were several others I could have thrown in there, but it would have gotten out of hand. Hope you enjoy.