The Tetons With Rachel Murphy (Patreon)

This is just the beginning. The first digitals, the first thoughts. There is so much to tell.

A huge downfall to traveling alone is not being able to document anything and everything. Your eyes have to stay plastered to the road, attentive and safe. Most of my fifteen hour drive to Wyoming was captured in brief moments when there was no one else on the roads but me, which seemed to happen a lot. Now, fifteen hour drive was simply the amount of time in motion. The total drive time was close to around eighteen hours with stops for the bathroom, food and coffee. If you have not taken a vacation in four years, go big or go home; right? Most of my co-workers thought I was crazy for driving for fifteen hours straight, just shy of one thousand miles. I can tell you, the second I left California and hit the true definition of 'the open road' I felt free. All of my responsibilities left behind in California and nothing to worry about besides the hundreds of miles in front of me with beautiful views. California to Nevada, up through Utah, in and out of Wyoming and Idaho.

My drive started at 3:30 A.M. with a quick top off of the tank. After the gas pump drained my pockets and my car was full I drove in the dark until I was moments outside of Nevada. The skies began to greet me with deep rich blues and a hint of cream and orange. Crossing the state line into Nevada and chasing the beautiful sunrise told me that was the true start of an epic trip. Now, the open road does not mean it is always actually moving. It was smooth sailing until I shook hands with the morning rush hour traffic of Las Vegas and a few car accidents sprinkled in. Music blasting, Kylea snoring in the back seat and not but a care in the world, nothing was going to bother me.

The entrance into Utah was fantastically epic. I was greeted with towering rocks on either side of the highway directly after the 'Welcome to Utah' sign plastered on the side of the road. Coupled with the beautiful views was a piercing heat. My friend Rachel and I were originally planned to end up in Utah, but the weather was not in our favor. It was projected to be in the hundreds for the entire time. Because of this, we switched out plans to Wyoming where the weather was a lot more favorable of a temperature, a cool seventy-five degrees as a high. Every time I stepped out of the car for a break, I was immediately reminded that it was a great decision to make the switch in destination.

With every hour that passed I continued to tell myself "____ hours down, ____ to go." Eventually, it all became a blur of motion. As much as I enjoyed the drive, it inevitably becomes muddled and blends together, the other downside of making such a long drive straight, alone. As I entered Wyoming, I weaved in and out of the borders of Idaho and I continue to become confused about if my GPS was taking me the correct route. Towering mountains turned into vast and endless fields complete with horses, cows and country life. There were so many picturesque views that I could have stopped and captured, but the time of arrival kept rising every time I stopped.

There was a moment when I hit a marker in time, two hours left to drive. Which meant I had been on the road for thirteen hours of straight drive time, but it also meant I was almost there. On not my second, but close to sixth wind, I became elated that I was so close. The sun was quickly fading behind the mountains and I entered the Jackson, Wyoming area. I was hoping to get into camp before the sun had completely disappeared, but with all of the stops and the large amount of road work I kept running into, it was not a reality. Looking at the bright side, I had the pleasure of catching the sunset across so many different landscapes at every change of the light. 

The sun waved goodbye and I had a mere forty-five minutes left in the drive. Rachel sent me her exact coordinates to the camp site we would be staying at. Ending the enormous drive with a bumpy primitive road, I made it. I pulled into the camp site, jumped out of the car and gave my new friend a massive hug. I was relieved that I made it just shy of one thousand miles without a scratch, worry or hiccup in the drive. Now, it was not time to relax yet. It was time to set up and get ready for a first nights sleep in Grand Teton National Park. Set up the tent, unpack the car and get things as organized as my clouded mind could. I ended the day with a glass of whiskey, a cigarette and a sigh of relief that I was officially on vacation.

Waking up the next morning was legendary and almost did not feel real. There was a dusting of clouds kissing the top of the Tetons, a massive field of tall grass in between our camp and the mountain range and a stunning cast of light against it all. It was such a contrast to arriving at night where all of this beauty was hiding behind the darkness. As I stood there in awe, I could not believe where I was. I could not fathom that the only thing I had to worry about was just the things in front of my eyes.

Now, these are not the first images that Rachel and I shot on our trip. However, I felt that these were a grand beginning to sharing the trip with you all. These were shot on our second day in Grand Teton when we spent the day driving through the park. Even though these were not the first images, in my mind they hold the most importance. We entered the park and stopped not but a couple miles in to catch the epic view of the Tetons directly behind the basin at it's feet. The feeling of needing to be and shoot in nature was immediately fulfilled as we shot these images. Enjoy!

- AW Media

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/edkz52a548kwcn3idk2g1/h?dl=0&rlkey=nyd96deaws43rwq5fqw2dbvsg