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.
Inverted-triangles.
Purple mountains' majesty.
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.
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.
Definitely not Ansel Adams.