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Photos from the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, Wyoming
As you may know, I spent the summer of 2015 exploring the Rocky Mountains and most of that time in Wyoming. I got so far behind in my posts that I never did finish telling you about those summer travels. As I’m writing this the east coast of the U.S. is being hammered by a strong winter storm so I’m hoping that you might enjoy seeing some photos of summer wildflowers in a truly beautiful mountain setting! Hopefully it will bring some slight relief from a world of cold and blowing snow!
In my last summer travel post I told you how to get to it and where to camp so I won’t repeat any of that here, check out that post for that information (find it here: http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/camping-in-the-snowy-river-range-scenic-byway-wyoming/. Covering that information didn’t leave much room for the many photos I took of the Snowy Range and I was so impressed with its beauty that I really want to share them with you, so this post is mainly to display some of the photos I took there.
I judge my travels by how often I’m forced to stop and take photos and, wow, I was forced to stop many, many times! In fact beautiful subjects were so common that I ended up just parking the van and walking down the road and around the lakes for miles at a time. I’d walk 50-100 feet and suddenly there would be a totally new vista to work as a photo subject.
One of the things I’m constantly looking for in a composition is a beautiful foreground, middle-ground and background. The stronger they each are, the better the photograph. If you can add some great lighting and color then your photo is elevated from a snapshot to work of art. As you look at these photos, notice how often there is a distinct and attractive foreground, middle-ground and background.
What makes the Snowy Range so spectacular is that the three elements are everywhere. The mountain ridge runs east-west nearly the whole length of the road and provides a constant, fabulous background for your shots all day. The best comparison for it is the Grand Tetons which are the single best background in the country and are very visible and usable as a background for about 20 miles. While they are much prettier than the Snowy Range they run north-south which means they are only in good light for half the day.
But the mountains as a background are only part of what makes a great photograph, the foreground and middle ground are nearly as important. In that regards the Snowy Range is superior to the Grand Tetons. The base of the Grand Tetons is predominately high plains sagebrush with a few beautiful spots scattered around. While they make spectacular photos, they have become so commonplace that very often our reaction is “Oh well, another pretty picture of the Tetons in the same old place.”
On the other hand, the Snowy Range is not well known and there are surprisingly few photographs of it in general circulation. That’s very odd because it has such great foregrounds from end to end that you can’t hardly throw a rock without finding a great composition. It’s full of little lakes, streams, forests and trails that give you an endless variety of combinations to put in your foreground and middle-ground. The wildflowers were a little past peak when I was there but they were still wonderful and I’d have to say they were just as good as the Tetons or even a little better.
While I would never suggest skipping the Grand Tetons (I’d be happy to visit it every year for the rest of my life) I would also highly recommend making it a point to see the Snowy Range, even if it meant skipping the Grand Tetons one time. You won’t regret it!
I’m making Videos on my good friends James and Kyndal’s YouTube Channel. See them here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_W_E5SFCxwpSOaqMjOOBTg
One problem I had all summer was being able to stay in these remote areas long enough before I had to go into town and buy ice for an ice chest. To solve that this summer I’ll have a 12 volt compressor fridge. Here is a video reviewing five different models:
https://youtu.be/gZzBdj67gb0
If you don’t see the video above, either click or cut and paste this link into your browser:
//youtu.be/gZzBdj67gb0
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OH MY… gorgeous pictures all the them !!
Love the intensity / concentration Cody exhibits looking a ‘ something ‘ a rabbit perhaps ? Such a cute little guy !
My regards, Lucy.
Thanks Lucy! Cody is a hunting dog and so whenever we are at a high point or ridge-line he stares and stares looking for anything that moves. My last dog was exactly the same way. I love that intense look they they both get!
Bob
For a look at the flip side of workkamping, check out Sunday’s Los Angeles Times.
http://graphics.latimes.com/retirement-nomads/
Love the stories, those people are so brave & courageous fighting for life & not giving up, remarkable people specially the 79 year young little lady.
Hopefully many well to do people read about their struggles specially the residents in the Venice area that have raised so much hell because van dwellers & motorhome dwellers park their vehicles there. People that don’t possess a house have to live somewhere !! If they camp by the river in tents, there goes the police, cut their tents & evicts them, if they park in the costal areas, there goes the police & kicks them out !! where do the authorities expect them to live, on the moon ??
Thank you Bob, for the link. Lucy.
You know this is a very odd story, she makes $1400 a month and if you don’t have a house payment that’s a LOT of money. There must be more to the story than meets the eye.
Bob
That was an interesting story…One of the guys has a $2,700 a month retirement coming in. I suspect they all have bills/debt to pay making finances tight. It also made me think that keeping things (ie vehicles, housing) as simple and uncomplicated as possible is the way to go. But then again unexpected stuff does happen…
Bethers, I suspect it’s mainly debt but some people just never learn to handle money and no matter how much comes in it’s all quickly gone.
Bob
Bob, what I gather is the following: 1) she has 2 insurances to pay, for her MH + her toad.
2) Due to medical condition she can’t eat regular food she buys organic, & this is expensive.
3) She has maxed out her credit cards, she owes $ 50.000 ( holly poopy !!! ).
4) she had emergency dental work + car expenses % 8.000 all at once.
5) MH keeps on breaking parts, pipes, & the roof leaks !
I believe those 50.000 alone in credit cars debt is what’s causing her to be in such a bad shape.
Oh, I forgot, she also has a monthly payment of $268 for her house on wheels.
Lucy, her biggest problem is she never learned how to live on very little money and she didn’t save for her old age. Had she done one or the other she would be okay now.
Bob
Lucy, I’m sure the interest payment alone on the credit cards is killing here. If it were me I’d be thinking about a bankruptcy and then keep making the payment into a savings account to build up an emergency fund.
It can be a tough and unforgiving world out there.
Bob
YAEP, the average interest rate on credit cards is something like 18 %, imagine 18 % on 50.000 dollars, It surely builds up month after month because we’re talking about compound interest, interest on the principal + interest on the interest…& so on, I wouldn’t like to be in her shoes !!!
That was a great video on the 12v fridges.
Thanks Rob, it helps to know lots of people so we can run into them all.
Bob
Hi Bob,
I was surprised that you don’t have a fridge.
Was the fridge you had in place of the passenger seat from a previous vehicle, or someone elses?
Curious.
Stephen, that post was about a friends van, not mine. I live in both a trailer and a van. In the winter I live in the trailer and in the summer I put it in storage and travel in the van. I have a fridge in the trailer but it’s too big for the van. I also have a smaller fridge that goes in the van in the summer, but last year just before i left it broke and I didn’t have time to get another one. So last summer I used ice. I won’t do it again, before I travel this summer I’ll buy a new small fridge.
Bob
Bob, I watched the fridge video, t’s really good !! Cody of course checked to see ‘ what daddy was doing ‘… I love that little long-legged doggie, he’s adorable !!
Bob, if U keep making videos U may wind up in hollywood, thus eventually living in a stick &bricks mansion next to the rich & famous and… bye bye van life !! LOL ( just kidding ).
My regards, Lucy.
NO chance of that every happening Lucy!! No a nice new Sportsmobile 4×4 van is a possibility, but NEVER a stick-n-brick!
Bob
Very informative video on refrigeration. How long have you had the Whynter?
Bethers, I got it a 3 1/2 years ago and it’s still going strong.
Bob
Fantastic photos! What a gift to have been able to spend time in such a beautiful place!
Terry, it really was a wonderful gift! Last summer in Wyoming was one of my best ever!
Bob
Breathtaking views! Speaking of evictions, I called a KOA campground by Clearwater beach Fl. and asked them if they had an opening for a tent site with no hookups and they said no they dont because the sites were saturated with water due to the heavy rains. I said I sleep in a van and I dont actually need grass and they said we dont allow you to sleep in a van. First KOA I came across with that rule! Im calling corporate. Right now Im at Everglades National park. Beautiful here.
Jeff, I almost never stay at RV Parks but I do carry a tent and one reason is if I have to set it up to satisfy silly rules like that one.
How are the bugs there this time of the year?
Bob
Breathtaking photos Bob.Very good example of fore ground, middle ground and background technique.You nailed it on every shot.Keep doing what you’re doing.l love your blog!
Thanks Bob, it really is pretty easy when you have such an amazing subject! What you don’t see is the 10,000 bad pictures I’ve taken to be able to consistently take good ones!
Bob
Bob,
Love the photos. Have you thought about selling some of them to jigsaw puzzle companies? Having been a nature puzzle enthusiast for years I can tell you, your’s are as good as any and better than most. It might be a revenue stream worth investigating.
Thank you very much David, that’s very kind of you!The problem is that the nature photography market is very saturated by guys who are better than I am. I’m an advanced amateur and pretty good, but it’s still another step up to professional.
Bob
there you go, making me want to hit the road again! Beautiful photos, Bob. And now I am torn between mountains and desert, you have made both look so appealing in your various posts!
🙂
For me the choice is easy Ming, I choose BOTH!! The choice is a little tougher for you Canadians though.
Bob
actually, there is some desert in BC. I’ve done some exploring of southern and central BC, haven’t even touched northern BC yet, let alone the Yukon or Alberta except for the Rockies highway. You’re welcome to come up here to explore again!
Love the fridge videos, it was good to see the relative sizes and to see who used what. James and Kyndall’s looks to be a good fit for us, but it will take some saving up for the fridge and its power infrastructure.
Ming, did you know there were Sand Dunes in Alaska, weird but true. I’ll have to check it out in BC! Glad you liked the video!
Bob
It’s nice to see you having a good time in God’s country. Hope it will stay that way for awhile , before Hillary or John McCain gets a chance to sell it off for mining to Russia.
I think that’s pretty unlikely Chuck if for no other reason than doing anything with Public Land requires an act of Congress.
Bob
Congress could stop the destruction of the land, but the recent Oak Flats deal in Arizona is going ahead with destroying sacred and beautiful land. There will be more.
Are U for real ? We do NOT want russians in our land !!
Jaw dropping photos, Bob. Rocky Mountain’s, makes me think of a movie I’d seen several times at the drive-in theater back in 1973?, when the movie ‘Jeremiah Johnson” came out. Robert Redford starred in. Great movie!
Cody is one good looking dog. He should be a outdoors model! lol.
Looking forward to, 2016 Summer reports, that Cody and you will be entertaining us “home bound” types with.
Thanks Danny! I’m glad to entertain you all!!
Bob
Mosquitoes are terrible because of the recent rains. Seeing all the different varieties of birds and dolphins and crocs in the water makes it a wonderful stay in the Everglades.
Sounds like heaven and hell at the same time Jeff!
Bob
These pictures remind me why mobility is worthwhile. I could find one place to live, and it might be really nice, but then I would not travel as much. I would not discover places like this.
Calvin, it’s the age old issue of comfort versus mobility. They are mutually exclusive and you just have to decide which is more important to you.
Bob
Bob, for some good reading check out Oak Flat an Tonto Nat. park, 2433acres of our public land was traded for 5344ac. of used allready mined land ,John McCain put this together in a under the table deal with Resolution copper mining company 2015 and signed by our wonderful president.
Uranium One and Rosatom , a deal which our former sec. of state Hillary is behind , gives Mr. Putin 1/5 of all uranium production in the U.S.A. souther oregon and wyo.
Just some good reading , OUR PUBLIC LANDS ARE NOT SAFE!
Thanks Chuck.
Bob
Bob, thank you for sharing those lovely pictures. Just looking at them on my phone relaxes me. I can understand how much joy it would bring to be there in person. I am from India and my life is so different and all but I keep coming back to your website and enjoy reading your experiences. Thank you for sharing them here.
Thank you Raj, thank you for that comment, it’s encouraging for me to know that even with the differences my writing and photos can still mean something to you. Thanks!
Bob
Hi Bob~ When I saw your blog about the Snowy Range my heart skipped a beat! I was born and raised in Cheyenne and moved to Laramie when I was 25, living there 17 years. You flooded with me such wonderful memories of snowshoeing, fishing, hiking and then stopping in Centennial, Wyoming for a good meal or a beer on the way home. I woke up to the Snowies every single day from my west facing bedroom window. Your photos are BREATHTAKING! Thank you for doing it such deserving justice–You made a home girl proud! 🙂
Thanks Gigi, you are very lucky to grow up in such a beautiful place! I really like Laramie, very nice little town.
Bob
The only photo that shows up for me is the one of your dog. Do your photos get deleted after a period of time?
Dear Bob,
I have just watched a youtube in which you told everyone that you have a heart problem. I am sorry to hear that.
I read that some magnesium is wonderful for the heart. Magnesium works with calcium. There are many sources of calcium in food but the most common source is dairy. Milk has a lot of calcium and chocolate has a lot of magnesium that is in an organic state and therefore very bio-available.
In my Walmart grocery store on the aisle of baking stuff there are little bags of Giardelli chocolate and it is rich and bittersweet and dark. It is not expensive like candy bars that only give minimal chocolate. I eat Giardelli chocolate because I love it and for the magnesium.
One can also simply take magnesium pills.
One of the biggest things for health is a balance of acidity and alkalinity. One who eats a lot of meat sugar fat etc. is eating excellent caloric intake but if it is too much of a good thing and things are not in balance this can cause a meat eater to be too acidic.
One who eats a lot of fresh fruit and veggies is eating less caloric intake but more vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals help one to burn the meat and fat instead of wearing it or having it clog the arteries.
Old age disease and death are all associated with a body too high in acidity.
It is hard for me to eat healthy. I usually start out with as many veggies as I can get myself to eat and then reward myself to some extent with things like meat and sugary fruit etc.
It is true that men need more calories than women but as men get older they need to eat more like women with less calories and more food rich in vitamins and minerals. And that is fresh fruit and veggies.
I appreciate your youtubes a great deal. Thanks
Theresa Paufranz
P.S. You are such a big help to other people I want to say a few words that might be of some help to you.
I have been struggling all my life to eat better and I still have a long way to go. Eating habits are very hard to change and it is good to go slow.
I appreciate your youtubes a great deal. Thanks
It is true that men need more calories than women but as men get older they need to eat more like women with less calories and more food rich in vitamins and minerals. And that is fresh fruit and veggies.
I appreciate your youtubes a great deal. Thanks
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