Winter in Alpine County, CA
February 6th, 2010A trip to Alpine County takes you far, far away… deep into the sparsely populated California back country.
Take a Number: Trail Quotas on Half Dome
January 30th, 2010
– Carl Bidleman
There’s an old saying that we are “loving our parks to death” and it’s certainly true that during peak visitation times there are so many of us trying to enjoy the natural wonders of our western parks that we get in the way of the experience we’re seeking. The hike to the top of Half Dome is the latest example of this. It’s rapidly increasing popularity has been causing traffic jams on the top of the world.
Two of OpenRoad’s good friends are experts on Yosemite and Half Dome and they have posted information about the new quota rules on their excellent blogs. Check out Loyd Schutte’s Yosemite Blog and Rick Deutsch’s Mr. Half Dome’s Blog.
Then watch the video of Doug’s experience climbing Half Dome several years ago.
And if you decide to try it yourself, watch this video of tips from Mr. Half Dome before you go.
Time to Tell Doug Where to Go
January 27th, 2010– Carl Bidleman
CA Highway 1 in Big Sur, photo by me
We’re beginning to plan our episodes for season 2 of OpenRoad with Doug McConnell that airs on public television stations all over the country. Got any suggestions of where you’d like Doug to explore? Maybe a favorite place you want to share or some open road you’re anxious to travel in the future. We’ll see what the budget allows and then hit the road.
Alabama Hills Sunset — 1 Minute Vacation
October 24th, 2009Check out our full story on the Alabama Hills Movie History.
Redwood Empire — 1 Minute Vacation
October 17th, 2009Watch a couple of our videos from California’s North Coast.
Jason Rides Again
October 5th, 2009After a long work-imposed exile from his brilliant photography, our friend and advisor Jason Weisberger has picked up the camera and gotten back to it. He clearly hasn’t lost his touch. You can see some of his other work here. Good to have you back, man.
Muir Beach by Jason Weisberger
Shelton Johnson Tells the Story of the Buffalo Soldiers in Yosemite
September 27th, 2009– Carl Bidleman
I admire Shelton Johnson. He is a gifted musician and an even more gifted storyteller. John Muir would have loved Shelton’s stories. He has a passion for National Parks, especially Yosemite, which I have come to love. And he’s a native Detroiter. A west sider, yes, but a Detroiter none the less. (We can’t all be blessed to have come up on the sunrise side of Woodward.) Shelton Johnson embodies many of life’s good things. And thanks to Ken Burns, the whole world now knows about Ranger Johnson.
I thought I’d share a couple of videos that I shot a few years ago on a beautiful November Sunday afternoon. I never published these clips because I realized Shelton’s history walk would be better covered with two cameras instead of one. So they languished on the shelf. But when I took another look this weekend, I realized Shelton’s great storytelling skills trump my lack of shooting skills. I’ll edit the rest of the 90-minute tour in the coming days but here are two of my favorite moments of Shelton’s history walk. Enjoy. And check out more of Shelton’s work on the 9th Cavalry here: http://shadowsoldier.wilderness.net/
Below: Shelton Johnson (as Sgt. Bowman, Sir) tells how being called “Buffalo Soldier” was better than being called “Nigger Cavalry”.
Below: Shelton Johnson (as Sgt. Bowman, Sir) tells tales of the 9th Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers’” duty in Yosemite and meeting Mr. John Muir.
Find OpenRoad.TV’s other Yosemite videos and stories on our interactive map.
