While my personal and professional life is focused on Arlington, VA, I also love to travel. This summer I was able to visit my former real estate mentor and partner Tracy Walczak at her beautiful home in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.
It was a great opportunity to catch up and recharge.
Tracy is now a Realtor® in Montana and lives with her husband Paul in Darby, MT. And the view from the deck of their home is amazing (see photo in gallery above). And, just a little different from when they lived in the Yorktown neighborhood of Arlington!
And, since I was in Montana, it was also a great chance to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is simply amazing. More than 3,500 square miles full of wildlife (grizzly bears, buffalo, elk, wolves and much more) and wild sights (geysers, boiling mud pots, vibrant colored hot springs and much more).
The Grand Prismatic Spring’s rainbow of colors (see photo in gallery above) are so vibrant they seem like they can’t be real. It was a favorite of both my husband Jon and I. Smithsonian Magazine has a great article on the science behind the Grand Prismatic.
We also were lucky to see Steamboat Geyser, the world’s tallest geyser at about 300 feet, erupt while we were in the park. It’s been very active this year, erupting about a dozen times. But there have been periods where there were 50-year gaps between eruptions.
And Yellowstone offers so much more: Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone with the spectacular 308-foot tall Lower Falls (see photo in gallery above), Yellowstone Lake, Mammoth Hot Springs and so much more.
Grand Teton National Park
Not far (in Western distances) from Yellowstone is another fabulous national park, Grand Teton.
Grand Teton National Park is a hiker’s paradise. We were able to take many hikes and each offered spectacular views. Whether it was at Hidden Falls above Jenny Lake, up into Cascade Canyon or the Cirque Trail that starts at 10,450 feet at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, there was always amazing views.
We also stopped at the Mormon Row Historic District (see photo in gallery above), an early homestead settlement from the early 1900’s.
Getting away from home always give me new perspectives and a broader view. Where’s your favorite place to get away?
