The glacial lakes in Jackson Hole are stunning. Clear and reflective, with a perfect blue cast. I'm not sure I've ever seen such pure water in nature. I grew up on Lake Erie, and I've been to the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the Aegean Sea. I've seen the Pacific Ocean from near San Francisco and of course, I live on Long Island, with the Atlantic Ocean half an hour from my door. In my experience, nothing compares to the glacial lakes for clarity and reflectivity.

Lake Jenny, at the foot of Cascade Canyon.

Not all of the water in Jackson Hole is the result of glacial melting. The Snake River is the main water feature. Below is a view of the Snake from the Oxbow Bend.

Probably my favorite glacial lake is the one we encountered on Mount Glory. Surrounded on three sides by mountain, this (as far as I know) nameless crystal lake feels secret and special. It took a two-hour uphill hike to get to it. We spent an hour walking the perimeter, taking photos, and basking in the quiet.

There's very little distortion from the water. You can see the rocks below the surface in great detail from far away.

Try as I might, I couldn't fit the whole lake into the scope of my 210mm lens. That little blue speck on the shore on the right? That's Chris. It's that big.

It wasn't all clear. There was some algae or something clouding the water here.

from a technical point of view, not one of my best photos. The lake was more blue than green. Still, amazing to look at.

In my next installment, we'll wrap up with some close-up flora and a few people. I hope you're enjoying this little travelogue as much as I am.

Jackson Hole is big. Really, really big. The buildings in the photo above are big ones, but they're dwarfed by the mountains in the distance and swallowed up by the open prairie. We didn't get to approach the houses and barn -- this shot uses a telephoto lens -- but we saw enough to be impressed by the isolation here.

The Tetons are technically taller than the Rockies. Though the Rockies have higher altitude, their base is much higher than their younger neighbors. The Tetons are significantly larger, measured from base to peak(s). Being younger, less erosion has taken place on the Tetons, allowing them to retain the inverted-triangle shape that most of us imagine when we think of mountains.

I used a telephoto lens for most of these photos. Photographing mountains up close is a lot like trying to take a picture of the Empire State Building from Fifth Avenue and 34th Street; all you see is a tiny portion of the base, with no sense of scale to see how big it actually is.

The mountains are literally miles away. — The mountains are literally *miles* away.

More next time. For now, I'll leave you with my attempt at recreating the famous Ansel Adams photo of the Snake River. I'm no Ansel Adams, but I think it came out okay.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming - Part 3: Water

Jackson Hole, Wyoming - Part 2: Mountains