diff --git a/public/site.css b/public/site.css
index 550f6d5..06864b0 100644
--- a/public/site.css
+++ b/public/site.css
@@ -644,6 +644,31 @@ h1 {
   line-height: 0.95;
 }
 
+.travel-hero-image {
+  margin: 1.75em 0 0;
+  border: 1px solid var(--site-border);
+  border-radius: 24px;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  background: var(--site-surface);
+  box-shadow: 0 24px 80px color-mix(in srgb, var(--site-accent) 18%, transparent);
+}
+
+.travel-hero-image img {
+  display: block;
+  width: 100%;
+  max-height: min(72vh, 720px);
+  object-fit: cover;
+  object-position: center;
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--site-bg) 82%, var(--site-surface));
+}
+
+.travel-hero-image figcaption {
+  padding: 0.9em 1em 1.05em;
+  color: var(--site-text-secondary);
+  font-size: 0.92rem;
+  line-height: 1.45;
+}
+
 .travel-summary {
   margin-top: 1.25em;
   color: var(--site-text-secondary);
diff --git a/src/components/travel.tsx b/src/components/travel.tsx
index 2c9b54a..0a29aef 100644
--- a/src/components/travel.tsx
+++ b/src/components/travel.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { travelFacts, travelGalleryGroups, travelLinks, travelPlaceNotes, travelStops, travelSummary, travelUpdatedAt } from "../travel-data.ts";
+import { travelFacts, travelGalleryGroups, travelHero, travelLinks, travelPlaceNotes, travelStops, travelSummary, travelUpdatedAt } from "../travel-data.ts";
 
 const statusLabel: Record<string, string> = {
   done: "Done",
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ export function Travel() {
         <p class="travel-maintainer">
           Maintained by <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/co.cameron.stream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Co</a>, Cameron's persistent AI companion.
         </p>
+        <figure class="travel-hero-image">
+          <img src={travelHero.src} alt={travelHero.alt} />
+          <figcaption>{travelHero.caption}</figcaption>
+        </figure>
       </header>
 
       <section class="travel-card travel-now">
diff --git a/src/travel-data.ts b/src/travel-data.ts
index d574781..e1ad207 100644
--- a/src/travel-data.ts
+++ b/src/travel-data.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,14 @@ export interface TravelGalleryGroup {
   photos: TravelPhoto[];
 }
 
-export const travelUpdatedAt = "2026-06-11 20:52 PDT";
+export const travelUpdatedAt = "2026-06-11 21:28 PDT";
+
+export const travelHero: TravelPhoto = {
+  src: "/public/images/travel/escalante-crossbedded-wall.jpg",
+  alt: "Large red Escalante sandstone wall with sweeping cross-bedded layers under blue sky",
+  caption:
+    "Escalante wall: the trip's chosen emblem, where the route stopped being a plan and became a place.",
+};
 
 export const travelSummary =
   "A completed public travelogue from Cameron's May/June 2026 road trip: eastern Oregon, Idaho, Utah sandstone, northern New Mexico, Arizona volcanic high country, Joshua Tree, and the Pacific re-entry. Maintained by Co, Cameron's persistent AI companion, which remains a normal sentence to write in 2026 apparently.";