TRAVEL JOURNALS


Travel Journal Weekly Introduction
  Hi All!

Thanks for coming to take a peek at my travel journals! These journals and photos are from my personal travels experiences and I am happy to share them with you. I'll also share some of my journaling techniques with you as we go along.  It is my hope that you will enjoy the travel experience through these pages and it might encourage you to start your own travel journal.
Enjoy the journey!
Suzy    


April 18, 2013

Hi everyone!

We saved the last day in the Tetons to hike at Jenny Lake.  The smell of pine trees lingers in the crisp air surrounding Jenny Lake, it is quiet, lovely and very peaceful. Hidden Falls  and Inspiration Point  Cascade Canyon are both popular hiking destinations.   If you are a hardy hiker, take the long way around the lake but if you prefer, there is a boat ride across the lake that will take you to a point below the falls and you can hike the trail from there. 


  I recommend the boat ride across the lake, it is so much fun and very scenic.  You can read the personal account on my journal pages.


Once you get to the other side of the lake, the hiking trail will take you up to Cascade Falls/Hidden Falls and if you have the energy, the next point higher up is Inspiration Point.


We made it to the falls and that was good enough for us flatlanders. 


  We were forewarned about bears as we left the dock so we were on guard most of the way upward, going down we heard strange noises just as we entered the wooded area! You can check out this journal page entry to see what THAT was all about. 


 Here’s a few tips for hikers: 


After our hike we were pretty hungry so we went back to Jackson Hole for lunch at Dolce, a café specializing in gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum Yum, after a delightful lunch of Roasted Red Pepper Tomato soup and grilled cheese (try the Granny as in Granny Smith apples, bacon...) sandwiches we hit the Knit on Pearl Knitting shop.  I was pretty excited to find an old 70’s Surprise Sweater pattern and some really cool yarn made from corn silk.  It is awesome to knit with!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our trip to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.  Please check back soon for another Travel Journal adventure.

Happy Travels and Journaling!
Suzy

April 11,2013
Hi Everyone!
Come with us today as we take the right fork in the road at Grant Village and drive along Yellowstone Lake through wooded areas of pine.
It was a chilly, sunny day with temperatures in the low to mid 40’s. We could see snow covered peaks in the distance across the vast blue of Yellowstone Lake. 


We made it as far as Canyon Village where we stopped for lunch in cafeteria style dining room.  We overheard someone saying that the day before it had snowed up there, and sure enough, the parking lot had been plowed.  After a nice hearty bowl of soup and a quick sandwich we took the Lower Falls Canyon loop which includes the breathtaking Artist Point they call this area the “ Grand Canyon” of the Yellowstone.  It was a breathtaking view! 



After the “right fork tour” we drove back to our log cabin at Signal Mountain.  We sat on the porch watching the sun set over the Tetons.  I did a watercolor sketch of the view. 


Signal Mountain Lodge is located in the Grand Tetons. The backdrop to this lodge is the GRAND TETONS! The views are lovely. This is one of my favorite photos I took the first time I visited this location. 

 We loved our rustic cabin and could just imagine a summer spent here on Lake Jackson.

One of the many pleasures we had on our journey was seeing the Mama Moose and her baby! I recorded the event in my journal. *Journal note: the background to pages was prepared with spray inks beforehand and stamped. I later added the moose stamp and collage photo of the moose head in the studio. 
I hope you enjoyed today's adventure into the park and I look forward to hearing your comments. 

Happy Travels and Journaling!
Suzy
   
April 4, 2013
Last week we traveled to Yellowstone National Park famous Old Faithful and visited the geysers closest to Old Faithful Inn. 


 This week we are traveling north of OF to the Norris Basin and surrounding areas.  Come prepared with a picnic lunch and snacks for the drive up to Norris is about 3 hours. Make frequent stops along the way to your destination points.  There are many stopping sites and wildlife stops too!  Don't be too surprised to see buffalo, elk and bears along the drive.  We saw so much that I kept a tally going in my journal.
  The landscape is dotted with smokin' mud pots, boiling hot geysers
all of which beg to be explored.  As I said, be prepared to jump in and out of your car and keep your camera ready at all times.  






We made it to Norris Basin and the beautiful boardwalk loop perfect for an afternoon hike. 


The loop begins at a small Visitor's Center, taking you down into the heart of the smoldering mud pots, into a nice cool wooded area and back on the boardwalk again.  Then the climb upward begins! At the top is a wonderful view of the area and the mountains beyond. Norris Basin was a "must-do" on our adventure list. After the hike, we had a picnic luncheon in our car.


Hope you enjoyed today's entries and will stop by again soon! 
Happy Travels and Journaling!
Suzy


March 28, 2013

Welcome to the adventure of traveling into Yellowstone National Park via my Travel Journal Pages, photos and personal journal entries you are invited to read.
Traveling into Yellowstone National Park you'll cross the Continental Divide three times, and plan on extensive driving time after the "entrance" gates. You'll be hopping in and out of your car to view sights along the drive, lots of beautiful sights to see before you even reach the "major" attraction. Don't forget to have your camera ready for a quick Kodak moment when wildlife appears unexpectedly around the bend!

Every visitor want to see the world famous Old Faithful Geyser, that is the first stop on the tour for most folks. Expect large crowds when Old Faithful "goes off " at frequent intervals. The Visitor's Center keeps records and times on the active geyser areas and with a little luck you might get to see one erupt! To avoid a longer than expected wait, check with the Visitor Center first and don't forget to get your Park Passport stamped! Grab a  map and get ready to explore the area of geothermic geysers, with white smoke billowing in the distant landscape you will think you took a step back to prehistoric times! 
Old Faithful

Check out the geysers by hiking along the wooden boardwalk! 


 We hiked to Morning Glory and it was absolutely breathtaking beautiful! 
Morning Glory Pond
After a long hike back from Morning Glory we were able to check into our room at the Old Faithful Inn.  On my journal pages I recorded what we saw behind the inn, a buffalo! (Yes, he was REAL.) 
 *Journal Note:  I superimposed a photo and text over the page and used one of the stamps of a buffalo I found in the gift shop to remind me of one of the more interesting moments of the day.



We reserved a room at the historic OF Inn a year in advance!  We were excited when we opened the door to our room to discover Old Faithful Geyser right outside of our window! The only drawback was a tall pine tree that blocked some of our view.  It was great watching OF go off at regular intervals during the night. 
*Journal note: Each National Park has a sticker you may purchase in the Visitor's Center. I like to use the entire sticker piece including the background area most people discard. Here I've used it to jot a note and a little watercolor.  

I'll leave you with a final photo of a view from the upper deck at OF Inn where you can watch the geysers going off in a distance and have a fabulous view of Old Faithful too!
Happy Travels and Journaling!
Suzy

March 21, 2013

Last week I wrote a bit about starting a journal and how I prepare for a trip in regards to take along supplies for journaling and page prepping in advance.  Come join me today on our first day in Jackson Hole, WY and as we explore the area of Jenny Lake, Colter Bay and Signal Mountain in Teton National Park.

I'm a bit of a map geek, so let's start with a hand sketched/watercolor map of the area. 
Jackson Hole was our base for exploring the surrounding areas.  It's a tourist town with lots of fun things to do. As we walked along the boardwalks my DH commented that all the men look like Wilford Brimley with their mustaches and cowboy hats. I like the cowboy look <wink> and especially the cowboy boots! Here's a photo of the stage coach.


We also stood under the famous antler arches in the town square and strolled along the boardwalks doing some window shopping. Our favorite stop was the Mexican restaurant Merry Piglets where the food was excellent!
You can read my written account by clicking on the journal page  below. 

 Our second day of adventure we traveled into Teton National Park and did the Jenny Lake Loop, hiked part of the shore area and decided we would come back to hike over to Hidden Falls later in the week. The area around Jenny Lake is beautiful with the Grand Tetons as the backdrop. (check out the You Tube video).

We also drove up Signal Mountain to get a look at the valley below. It is well worth the winding drive to see the valley below and spectacular views of the land.



We stopped at Signal Mountain Lodge for lunch in the grill, excellent by the way! The view from the dining room looks over Lake Jackson and it is wonderful. Later in the week our base camp would be at Signal Mtn. Lodge.  While we were in the area, we drove up to Colter Bay.  There's a Visitor's Center there so I was able to get my Park Passport stamped. 



I hope you have enjoyed today's adventure and will come back next week as we travel into Yellowstone National Park.  Be sure to check out the links provided to learn more about the places we went.  Enjoy! 
Happy Travels and Journaling!
Suzy



March 14, 2013
Travel with me on a journey into The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park during the next several weeks I will be posting pages from my journal.

I begin each journey with a purchase of a wired bound sketchbook and alter the cover by using stickers or gluing on materials that represent "travel".  On this journal I used a page of stickers and a bit of washi tape. After altering the cover I usually will spray ink and stamp on some of the pages to get me started. When traveling, I keep a small pencil pouch with limited supplies to work with, getting color on the pages ahead saves time and the need to carry extra supplies. I can always add more to the pages when I return.


I begin each journal (not seen here) with a page of personal information which includes my name, street and email address and phone number in case my journal gets misplaced or lost, in hope someone will return it to me. On the inside flap of the journal I will paint a sample of color from my watercolor palette, labeling the colors and sometimes doing a sample of my favorite color combinations (mixtures) as a guide to use while in the field. I find it helpful to have this sampler specific to the palette I am carrying. IF I change palettes, I'll make a quick sampler on another page for reference.  Above you will see the opening pages of the Yellowstone/Teton journal page I wrote before leaving for vacation. My husband had never been to this area before and I was quite excited for him to see this beautiful place. 






Traveling in Yellowstone or any of the National Parks is an adventure! If you see a car(s) pulled over on the side of the road, you know to stop because there is wildlife.  Our first day into the park we saw a female Moose and her baby! This is a rare sighting as Moose are fairly elusive creatures. We saw Mama Moose and baby everyday in the same spot and the Park Rangers said the baby was only a few days old. I kept track of each sighting of wildlife in my journal.



One of my favorite travel experiences is stopping at the Visitor's Center to have my National Park Passport stamped and to purchase a Park Stamp. You can see this was for Grand Teton National Park.  Stopping at the Visitor's Center is a good thing because there are Rangers there that can give you current weather conditions and information regarding road closures, etc. You will receive a park map that has vital information too.  I personally love the topographical maps, where you get a grand overview of the park.  I'm a bit of a map geek which you will see as we travel through my journals.  Come back again soon!

Happy Travels and Journaling!

Suzy


1 comment:

Kari said...

Nice! I love the map with the ruler on the side! Cute! What a great way to journal your trip. :)