photo by Jill Hewins
We’re leaving for a 5 day hike through Yellowstone early Thursday morning. We had such a great time hiking Bryce, Zion and Escalante last October with Jill from Wildland Trekking that we booked this trip with her. She’s been guiding there all summer and recently sent me some photos from one of those hikes. What a tease they were! Each photo is more magnificent than the last. I cannot wait to be there, marveling at it all with my own eyes.
I’ve mentioned before, depending on the type of trip I’m taking I like to travel this way, with a guide; I know I see more than I might otherwise if Bill and I tried to create our own itinerary. I leave the planning to the professionals and relax. I get nervous if I’m not sure about navigating through water or canyons, putting my trust in someone who’s been guiding the National Parks for years gives me the confidence to venture into unknown territory. The guides I’ve traveled with have also been flexible, could sense the group dynamic and made changes along the way. On our trip last October and our trip to Italy days would be flip-flopped, excursions removed from the agenda, excursions added. These organized vacations have never felt rigid.
But, I haven’t always used a guide and don’t plan on locking myself into this kind of travel every time I leave home. I’ve been to Barcelona and London with family; we did our own research beforehand, had a good idea of the territory we wanted to cover and I was happy with each trip.
I found it amusing that most people had a similar response to us when we told them we were hiking in Yellowstone.
“Watch out for bears, make a lot of noise,” and “hope you don’t see any bears,”
Our reply?
“Huh? Hope we do!”
where my feet are 
An excellent itinerary. Enjoy all of it!
Thank you, My goal is to stay in every moment and enjoy all the beauty!
Ha-ha! Can’t wait to see bears and wolves!
^..^
and dogs? 🙂