Places – Kelly Hoffman

St. Mary’s Glacier

We’ve been meaning to hike St. Mary’s Glacier and we finally made it happen this weekend! It’s a really popular spot so we left pretty early and were on the trail by 9am. The hike up to the lake was super rocky. Once we got to the lake, we could see the glacier. It was cool to see that much up close in July. A few people were skiing and snowboarding down it, which I definitely want to come back and do. (Running/skidding down the snow in hiking boots was pretty fun tho.)

Most of these photo credits go to Anne, who has a really nice camera.

Trailhead directions: Google Maps
Parking fee: $5 cash
When to go: Weekdays or early mornings on weekends to beat the crowd.
Difficulty: Easy. (Kids, dogs, people in sandals)
Length: 1+ miles. (We did 4.6) Its an out-and-back so you can make it as long or as short as you want. You can just hike up to the lake for a short trip, but if you want to make it longer, there’s a ton of options including submitting a 13er (James Peak).

Colorado

We took a trip to Colorado this past December and I compiled all the footage into a video just in time for us to move.

⛷ Road Trip 🏂

Last March, my friend Parms* and I went on a 900 mile road trip to ski and snowboard. I was living in Chicago at the time and was itching to be in the mountains. She was having a not-so-stellar winter in New England and wanted that pow.

We met each other in Salt Lake City, rented a car and skied and snowboarded at 3 mountains in 3 states: Snowbird (UT), Sun Valley (ID) and Jackson Hole (WY). We stayed 3 days in Utah, 5 days in Idaho, and 5 days in Jackson Hole. We both work remotely so we were able to work in between being on the mountain, in the car, exploring the towns, and just hanging out.

*Her real name is Cheryl, but my friends and I call her Parms.

Grand Meetup 2015

I left Moab and drove back up to Park City to hang out with 400 of my coworkers for the week.

I co-worked with people I don’t normally get to work with, went on some epic mountain bike rides, used a selfie stick for the first time, jammed in the band room, tried crossfit, and danced to the Jane Doze. It really was the best time. Great end to an amazing road trip.

Singletrack

Biking with coworkers

Selfie op

This view

Mosco mule post ride

Jamming

Beer tasting

Selfie stick

First time crossfitting

The Automattic Band

Jane Doze dance party

We also had a too much fun in the photo booth, celebrating Automattic’s 10 year anniversary.

Launched on May 6, 2015. More themes by Cedaro.

Moab

After three nights in Jackson, we said goodbye to Wyoming and headed down to Utah.

We stayed in Utah for that night and drove to SLC the next morning to drop my dad off at the airport. Although I was less than 20 miles away from where I needed to be on Monday, it was only Saturday. Moab was calling my name so I drove the four hours to my friend’s house for some mountain biking and down time.

Snow capped mountains

Descending into Moab

The Love Muffin Cafe – a Moab must

Bike day

Planning out our route

Red rock for miles – Captain Ahab trail

“Everything rolls”

Drinks down by the river

I <3 Moab

Garden gifts

Dry

Jackson Hole

And the road trip continues. (Previously)

We decided to spend a few days in Jackson, WY. What a beautiful place to be in the fall.

A lone cowboy

Kayakers on Jenny Lake

Entrance to Teton National Park

Tetons

The famous barn in front of the tetons

Jenny Lake in Teton National Park

Rawhide motel – downtown Jackson

Snow King mountain

Cowboy Bar – downtown Jackson

Anter Motel – downtown Jackson

Get it?????

I can’t wait to come back here this winter. 🏂

Yellowstone

Day 3 of our road trip. (Previously)

Yellowstone National Park. If this place is not on your bucket list, I would suggest adding it. Caveat: must love nature.

Entering the park

stop and enjoy the view

still water

the road through the park

forest fire aftermath

Hello buffalo

at least he’s on the right side of the road

yes, my window was closed

buffalo herd by the road

Stunning scenery at every turn

Lower falls – Yellowstone National Park

otherworldly

cool blue paint pot

geiser

The open road

My dad and I redid a 1987 VW Vanagon last year. We (well, mostly he) did quite a bit on it and continues to be a work in progress. He was itching to go on another road trip and I had to be in Utah for work. I think you can guess what happened next.

He started driving from CT to my place in Chicago. He stayed the night and we got up on Sunday, said goodbye to Emi and hit the open road.

We knew we wanted to see Jackson Hole and Yellowstone and he had a flight out of SLC on Saturday, but other than that we didn’t have much of a plan. This is my favorite way to travel and well, to live. To have just enough of an idea of where you are going and things you want to accomplish while leaving plenty of room for “things” to happen.