• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Westway Studio | San Diego’s most adventurous & colorful pet portraits and commercial brand photography

Commercial brand pet photography and rustic-luxury family pet portraits with one-of-a-kind experiences

  • Howdy
  • Blog
  • Family Pet Photography
    • Portfolio
    • Session Details & Rates
    • High Regards
  • Commercial Pet Photography
    • Project Portfolio
    • Photo + Video Dream Team
    • Your Brand Story
    • Commercial Rates
    • Top Mistakes to Avoid
  • Education for Photographers
  • Contact

October 2, 2013 by Terran 4 Comments

Road Trip 2013 | Jackson Hole, WY, Yellowstone, and Bozeman, MT

WARNING: Long post with a lot of photos! :)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my heart lives in Wyoming (although, I’ve never visited in the dead of winter). Last year, my hubby Greg worked with my niece Sam to create a special video they played for me on Christmas morning. The video revealed my full Christmas gift: a road trip to two of my favorite places on earth, Jackson Hole and Yellowstone… but this time, Roxy was coming, too!

So, a few weeks ago, we set off…
I love driving the truck.

© 2013 Westway Studio
Roxy is a great traveler.

© 2013 Westway Studio
“Welcome to Wyoming” — my favorite words!

© 2013 Westway Studio
Our first few nights were spent in Jackson, WY at the Fireside Resort. Aren’t the cabins awesome?! They even come with a s’mores kit.

© 2013 Westway Studio

© 2013 Westway Studio © 2013 Westway Studio
On our first day there, Greg, Roxy, and I had our portraits taken down near Mormon Row (read about our family portrait session) and afterward, we hung around to take some more photos.

This is one of my favorite barns.

© 2013 Westway Studio
My love & The Grand Teton mountains. Does it get any better?

© 2013 Westway Studio
I just loved this horse out in the field.

© 2013 Westway Studio © 2013 Westway Studio
A few days later, we headed up to Yellowstone. This is just one of the many gorgeous views along the way. Only in Wyoming have I seen skies like this.

© 2013 Westway Studio
Yay! Yellowstone!

© 2013 Westway Studio
On our way in to Canyon Lodge (located in the middle of the park on the eastern side), it started raining… and hailing… and sleeting… and snowing! We enjoyed watching the snow fall from our cabin…


After the snow stopped, we went out to take some photos near Hayden Valley.

Mr. Bison has a mouthful of grass.

© 2013 Westway Studio
The snowy Hayden Valley landscape was like a dream.

© 2013 Westway Studio
And the sunset was just magical.

© 2013 Westway Studio © 2013 Westway Studio
We found a coyote hunting in a field… I realized when we got here that my tripod broke (of course!) so I used the hood of the truck until I could get a replacement. I’ve never seen a coyote hunt like a little fox before!

© 2013 Westway Studio

© 2013 Westway Studio
Just listening…

© 2013 Westway Studio
And my favorite shot…

© 2013 Westway Studio
Speaking of that broken tripod… we had to make an emergency trip to F-11 Photographic in Bozeman, MT. I wanted to see Bozeman on this trip, anyway, so off we went. The salesman at the shop was extremely helpful and hooked me up with a brand new tripod and ball head that would work with the 600mm lens I rented from LensRentals.com. This lens requires the use of a tripod; it’s almost 18″ long and weighs just over 11 pounds… it’s not exactly a lens that can be hand-held (I dubbed it “THE BEAST” — yes, in all caps).

While we were there, I wanted to check out Hedvig’s Trail, a 37-acre — completely enclosed — trail system for dogs to enjoy off-leash. Here’s a shot of Roxy (well, her butt, at least) enjoying sniffing all the great smells.

© 2013 Westway Studio
On our way back, we came across this gorgeous bull elk.

© 2013 Westway Studio
Then he made my life complete by bugling. I was meant to live where the elk bugle.

© 2013 Westway Studio
The rut was definitely in full swing. Here are two bull bison fighting for the attention of the ladies!

© 2013 Westway Studio
Later that evening, the full moon rose over the mountainside. Greg flung the truck off the road so I could get this shot.

© 2013 Westway Studio
The next day, we came across a grizzly guarding an elk kill on far the side of Swan Lake. He stayed there for days, guarding his prize, only getting up to eat and chase away the birds.

© 2013 Westway Studio
On our travels, we came across so many pretty spots.

© 2013 Westway Studio © 2013 Westway Studio
Oh, Mr. Fisherman, pay no mind to the GIANT BULL BISON crossing the river beside you.

© 2013 Westway Studio

© 2013 Westway Studio
We stopped at Old Faithful for a show. Apparently, Roxy and I were more exciting than Old Faithful. HAH!!!

© 2013 Westway Studio
The quote of the day came from a little boy walking around with his parents. He saw Roxy and said, “that dog looks like a wolf!” Totally made my day. My little Yellowstone Wolf.

We also enjoyed some soft-serve. Yes, we shared some with Roxy, too.

© 2013 Westway Studio
A few days later, we moved up to Mammoth Hot Springs. We had never seen bighorn sheep before and it was on our wish-list for this trip. We knew they were around the Mammoth area and we got completely lucky one evening. We were driving by and — Oh! Hello! — a bighorn sheep right on the side of the road. We parked in the nearest pull-out and took a look up on the steep cliffs beside us…

© 2013 Westway Studio

© 2013 Westway Studio

© 2013 Westway Studio

© 2013 Westway Studio
We also love seeing moose. This bull was enjoying the first rays of sun one morning. Don’t make fun of his small antlers; that wouldn’t be nice.

© 2013 Westway Studio
Look at his breath — it was chilly!

© 2013 Westway Studio
We also came across this gorgeous little pronghorn antelope near Slough Creek.

© 2013 Westway Studio
After our moose and pronghorn encounters, we continued into Lamar Valley for a little picnic.

© 2013 Westway Studio
Roxy put her paw right on top of a bison hoof-print when she went to take a drink! My wild little wolf!

© 2013 Westway Studio
Greg took a few photos of us. We are all so happy here!

© 2013 Westway Studio © 2013 Westway Studio

© 2013 Westway Studio
On our way back out of Lamar, headed toward Tower-Roosevelt, we came across two pronghorn right off the road. We stopped and I got out THE BEAST lens so I could get some up-close shots of these two. What transpired was a truly special sight to see!

First, we have our bachelor, Little Guy…

© 2013 Westway Studio
And the lovely Lady (oh, those eyelashes!)…

© 2013 Westway Studio
Well, the Big Guy pronghorn — up on the hill with his harem — also liked the lovely Lady. Little Guy said “pfft, she’s mine!” (Look at the tongue! Hah!)

© 2013 Westway Studio
Big Guy took offense at that, so he started chasing Little Guy. Run, Little Guy, run!

© 2013 Westway Studio

© 2013 Westway Studio
After he chased Little Guy, he chased Lady.

© 2013 Westway Studio
This all went on for a while, but eventually Big Guy ushered Lady up the hill to the rest of his harem. We’re not sure if she was a part of it to begin with, but we felt pretty bad for her… she didn’t want anything to do with either of these guys… she just wanted to eat some grass!

© 2013 Westway Studio
After our pronghorn adventure, we stopped into a nearby lookout to see what we could find. There were lots of bison and elk roaming the hillside but the weather was rolling in so we decided to get back to the cabin…

© 2013 Westway Studio
There was so much more to this trip that I simply couldn’t get photos of. Sometimes, I just need to enjoy the moment. Some of these moments included: watching a mama bear and her two cubs far, far away on a hillside; spotting a little black bear just off the road one evening enjoying some dinner; and having picnic lunches in Slough Creek and watching Roxy sniff around all the new smells.

But, by far, my best memory of this trip was watching the Junction Butte wolf pack play on a hillside one morning. We met up with a group of wolf watchers and researches early that morning at a favorite lookout. The wolves were about five miles away (hence, no photos) but we were able to see them through the use of a spotting scope. I counted seven wolves, although others counted more. I could see this year’s puppies playing with each other, rolling around, then napping, then playing some more. We could see that some were gray and some were black. It was just so special to see the wild wolves of Yellowstone. As an added bonus, the bull elk in the canyon below were bugling the entire time!

This entire trip was an incredibly special one: we had great fun, saw a countless amount of wildlife, and now I can officially call Roxy my little Yellowstone wolf. Best Christmas present ever.

Filed Under: field notes, travel

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Allison says

    October 2, 2013 at 1:24 pm

    Girl, these photos are AWESOME!! Seriously – so, so gorgeous! And you rented a 600mm?! You HAVE to tell me more, let’s get together soon!

    Reply
  2. Traveler Ted says

    October 2, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    Snow, photos and you made it before the park closed. Very jealous… Mountain vs plains shots are great too. What camera body are you shooting with?

    Reply
    • Terran Bayer says

      October 3, 2013 at 11:20 am

      Hi Traveler Ted! Yes, we were VERY lucky to be in Yellowstone when we were. To answer your question: I’m a Nikon girl, currently shooting with a D800.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Our Family Portraits | Jackson Hole, Wyoming | Blog | San Diego Pet Photographer says:
    October 14, 2013 at 7:59 pm

    […] Greg and I planned our third road trip to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone and decided for sure that Roxy would be joining us, I knew this was what I’d been waiting […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home » Road Trip 2013 | Jackson Hole, WY, Yellowstone, and Bozeman, MT

Follow our wild, wild Westway adventures as we travel the U.S. in our Airstream

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Footer

Contact

Based in San Diego, CA
May – Aug. 2023: Utah, Wyoming,  & Montana
(858) 848-9378
Email Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
Wyoming better move on over and make some room bec Wyoming better move on over and make some room because Montana now shares my heart. We spent 45 days in the western half of the state this year and I did NOT want to leave.​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​On our last day, Roxy and I sat out by the Gallatin River together. I sipped my morning tea, we listened to the birds, and watched a little squirrel eat a nut in the tree next to us. It was pure perfection.⁣ 
My *TWO* Montana blogs are up on my website so head on over to westwaypets.com/blog or click the links in my IG bio!
We're officially back in San Diego but I'm still d We're officially back in San Diego but I'm still dreaming of Utah! Photographing Rey and her mom among the red rocks was one of the highlights of our trip. Rey's beautiful brindle tones worked so perfectly with the red rocks and I just loved the happy, natural smiles both mom & pup had when they were together!
I absolutely loved this peaceful spot in Jackson H I absolutely loved this peaceful spot in Jackson Hole. Down a gravel road, away from the tourist crowds, the Teton range stood nobly in the distance while tall trees, yellow wildflowers, and a friendly little chipmunk called this hilltop home. This was such a special evening and Mother Nature's dramatic sunset is not one I'll soon forget.
Here's a little Montana sunrise sparkle and a big Here's a little Montana sunrise sparkle and a big smile from Henry to start your day!
Hello, Las Vegas! Shutterhound starts TOMORROW!!!! Hello, Las Vegas! Shutterhound starts TOMORROW!!!! I know how hard the conference founders, Kaylee & Sam, have been working to pull this all together and I am 1,000,000% confident this will be an event to remember! I am honored to have been asked to teach two separate classes at the event and am so excited to get up there on stage and share what I've learned over the past 13 years as a pet photographer! Are any of my social followers here at the conference, too? Are you ready to have your socks knocked off????? I am!!!
Who's ready to go have some fun this weekend??? Who's ready to go have some fun this weekend???
We wrapped up this year's road trip in Big Sky, Mo We wrapped up this year's road trip in Big Sky, Montana and this was our final hike. Roxy rode in her carriage and was as happy as a little clam the whole time. She loves being out in nature and I'm just so glad we can still provide her with special outings like this one.
This year's Great American Road trip flew by way t This year's Great American Road trip flew by way too quickly. It feels like we were in Wyoming just yesterday, staring out at my favorite mountain range in awe, and photographing the amazing Harley and his mom.​​​​​​​​​ 
I'm flying out to Las Vegas next week to teach at Shutterhound, *the* conference for pet photographers. I'm excited to see old friends, meet new ones, and teach two classes! I am so honored to be part of the "rockstar speaker" lineup, which includes some of the very best, most iconic, and talented pet photographers from across the globe! Can Vegas even contain so much talent? As the conference founders are telling us, expect your socks to be blown right off more than once!
Montana taught me that I can plan and plan and pla Montana taught me that I can plan and plan and plan — but Mother Nature likes to have a little fun with those who get a little too confident in the weather! ➡️ We got completely drenched at one of our photo shoots this month and it will be one of my favorite memories from our entire road trip!
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Recent Posts

  • The Great American Road Trip Season 2, Part 5: The Finale
  • The Great American Road Trip Season 2, Part 4: Northwest Montana
  • The Great American Road Trip Season 2, Part 3: Wyoming
  • The Great American Road Trip Season 2, Part 2: Utah
  • The Great American Road Trip Season 2, Part 1: The Adventure Begins

All images and written content on this site are Copyright © 2010-2023 Westway Studio.
Nothing on this site may be copied, screenshot, downloaded, or used without the written permission of Westway Studio.

  • Howdy
  • Blog
  • Family Pet Photography
  • Commercial Pet Photography
  • For Photographers
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
GIT ALONG LI'L DOGGIES
Follow my adventures with dogs, travel, and ranch life in the Wild, Wild Westway