Montana Journal – the final days

The journey continues….from Yellowstone we swung down through the majestic Grand Tetons. Again, I found vintage look postcards in a gift shop and added them to my vintage and worn ledger that I was using as a journal. I added torn paper, and cut out photo images of the mountains. In the corner I tucked one of my favorite photos. It is impossible to capture the beauty on a two dimensional page, but the images can serve well to jog our memories!

In Jackson, we marveled at the antler arch, and the ski slopes jutting right up to the town. En route to our campground we encountered a large herd of bison, and a moose meandering through the campsites. The next day was a highlight when we went rafting down the Snake River. Since we didn’t have photos of that activity, I had to make do with my own illustration and description of it. Wavy journal lines, and swirly words are meant to give the feel of the event.

Leave behind the mountains, the drive from Jackson to Denver seemed a barren one! I had my journal on my lap, but there was not much to take note of other than large open spaces and the occasional distant pronghorn deer.

In Denver, I got up early in the morning to work in my journal as had become my habit on this trip. However, turning on the light was problematic because it would have awakened others. So, I sat in the dark, sketching and writing on a page I could barely see. Interesting results!

Now that we were back in civilization, we caught up on what we had missed while traveling, mainly the Olympics. So I made a page of newspaper clippings of things that had happened during our trip. Maybe it will be interesting years from now to have some historic reference to the time.

The journal ends with pages of contents, naming some of the supplies that I used on each of the pages. This might be a handy reference one day. I also collaged some of our receipts and expenses…both practical and nostalgic.