Touring Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Bryce, and Zion National Parks - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Just beautiful! We are looking at heading out that way in the next two years and I'll be checking out that lodge. The cabins look adorable without being too rustic and the main building looks great!
Awesome photographs! The pinks and purples on the mountaintops, and the reflections. Amazing. My favorite is the last shot because I'm still entranced by all the golds in the foreground. I love wild grasses-- marsh grass and meadow grass.
It must be so fascinating to look at the photos others in the group have taken-- same light, same scenery, different photos.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Just beautiful! We are looking at heading out that way in the next two years and I'll be checking out that lodge. The cabins look adorable without being too rustic and the main building looks great!
We did enjoy the Lodge - it's big, but has a nice ambience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great shots of the sunrise!
Gracias.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Awesome photographs! The pinks and purples on the mountaintops, and the reflections. Amazing. My favorite is the last shot because I'm still entranced by all the golds in the foreground. I love wild grasses-- marsh grass and meadow grass.
It must be so fascinating to look at the photos others in the group have taken-- same light, same scenery, different photos.
If you like meadow grass, especially the orange stuff, Laurie - you really need to do a trip here is fall. Sometimes it was almost too orange.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlb38
Interesting how you can see the mountains clearer in the water. Sounds like a chilly but great start to a day.
We all noticed the reflections were sharper than the mountains - I think it has to do with the haze, as well as the darker surface of the water (and perhaps the distance from the camera to the reflections. Not positive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Love the sunrise shots - well worth getting up so early for.
Fortunately, I am an early riser.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LLaffinPlace
Oh, wow! Beautiful!
Somewhere there's a jigsaw puzzle manufacturer that wants to meet you!
Lol - maybe I can start a new career
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlb38
That's funny Larry, I thought the same things many times when I saw the pictures in Shazza's East coast TR.
Real Time Update - we drove 10 hours to Bryce Canyon today. We didn't go to the park, but went to our lodging for the night. We are staying at a lovely Inn which has separate cottages - the Stone Canyon Inn. We have a full kitchen, so Lou cooked burritos tonight. My plan is to rise early tomorrow to head to Bryce for sunrise photos.
The rest of Tuesday, Sep 18th:
I ended the last update with our Sunrise Photo shoot at the beaver ponds. We then went back to the Lodge for our 9am breakfast reservation - food tends to be important on the Van Os Tours, and we eat well when the opportunity is there. After a filling breakfast buffet and just a few minutes to collect our stuff, we headed out for more sight seeing and photo ops.
We stopped at the Sacred Heart Chapel for photos, but we'll have to wait for those, as they require extra processing. Then it was on to String Lake. We had an hour or so here to wander on our own, and then had a picnic lunch.
We had a decent view of the mountains from the lake, although it was past the time for good reflections:
We packed up and headed up to the top of the summit, to the Valley View overlook. Boy, did we have a view:
The smoke was showing in strong force; we could smell it and our eyes were watering as well. We attempted to make the best of it, finding some fall color to shoot. And, Lou took a photo of the flowers:
We drove past Jenny Lake Lodge and Jenny Lake, but didn't stop for photos - the smoke was just too much. As we continued down the road, we saw a bunch of cars pulled over. Of course, we hopped out to see what was going on. There was a moose lying in a small meadow - ignoring everyone:
We hung around for a while, but he wasn't very active. We saw some silly people actually hike down to where he was - as if they were going to roust him out. Fortunately, the Ranger showed up and they got a good talking to. People are crazy.
We then drove to Menor's Ferry Historic District and the Chapel of the Transfiguration. This is where some of the early settlers had a community, and a few of the buildings/artifacts are still standing.
The Chapel of the Transfiguration was built in 1914, and still holds services. The chapel was built so you can see the Tetons in the window behind the alter.
(I still have work to do on this photo, but you get the idea)
Some of the old stuff left at Menor's Ferry Crossing:
After Menor's, Len (our leader), decided to go back and see what was up with the old moose. Yep, there was still a crowd. But now, Bullwinkle was standing! We took some photos and waited for him to do something. He did - he laid down again. I thought he looked kind of old and tired, so didn't really find this to be all that exciting.
After the excitement of the old moose, we drove around some more, checked out some Look Out areas and searched for Aspen Groves, but didn't really have too much success. It was time to head back to the Lodge and get cleaned up for our Dinner Reservation at the Mural Room at 8pm. Everyone was disappointed with the impact the smoke was having on photo ops, but we all knew it couldn't be helped. Tomorrow was another early one for sunrise, followed by the trek to Yellowstone. Will we have better luck?
Coming up Next: Sunrise at Mormon Row, and our first day in Yellowstone
Oh, I almost forgot. While downloading the files for this particular day, I had some old stuff on the card. So thought I'd share a photo of another dangerous wild animal...
That's Natasha, our Cocker Spaniel puppy, at about 3 months old. We sure are missing her, but we hear she's doing well.
And, on another note - some of you may recall that the pup knocked over a glass of wine into my new Macbook Pro computer. Guess what? I just got confirmation that Amex is going to credit me the full amount of the repairs ($1650 !!!). They accepted all my paperwork for the claim with no questions. Sure glad I remembered about the 90 day accident/theft protection.
Love all the shots and those ones from the Valley View Overlook brought back some great memories. I'm with you - I couldn't get over people's behaviour around animals in Yellowstone... let's just walk up to where the buffalo are rutting.
I love the tree shots, so vibrant. The chapel is adorable. That moose did look old. I'm amazed how stupid people can be when seeing wildlife. We dealt with that at Yellowstone. The rangers sure have to deal with a lot of crazy people! You dog is precious! Good news about the Mac!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Beautiful fall colors! That poor old moose. Not the most comfortable spot for him to nap, I'd think. I much prefer the shot of your 3-month-old beast. Hi, Natasha!
I do need to make another trip--in fall-- to that area, or at least north to Acadia. I'll have to inspire a friend to do a road trip next year, since I don't drive any more.
Interesting that the moose seems to have settle by someone`s campfire set up. The yellow is so vivid. Makes me think I need to get out this weekend and see some Canadian colour.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
I'm with you - I couldn't get over people's behaviour around animals in Yellowstone... let's just walk up to where the buffalo are rutting. 
Linear Mode
