– Carl Bidleman

Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world make their way to Alcatraz.  Episode 4 of OpenRoad with Doug McConnell, shows you why.  You’ll also get an insider’s view of another famous San Francisco destination, Chinatown.  The irrepressable Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook fame, leads Doug on a memorable eating tour. Then there’s zipline and kayaking adventures in Kauai, and mountainbikinig near Moab,Utah and in California’s Sierra Nevada.  Finally, you’ll travel to Mendocino, California and meet the unforgettable Wavy Gravy.  The first airing is Monday, April 27, 2009 @ 7:30 PM on KQED.  Additional airtimes can be found here.  Links to the five episodes are here.  Enjoy.

– Carl Bidleman

Episode three debuts on KQED tonight at 7:30.  Doug will take viewers up the cables to the top of Yosemite’s best known landmark, Half Dome, and down a mountain bike path to the much less visited Tuolumne River valley for a little fly fishing.  (Fish are never in danger when Doug’s around.) Then it’s on to Alaska, Hawaii and central California for three of the best places to see wildlife.  And finally, a stop in the town of Sebastopol, CA where you’ll meet an artist, and a community, with a keen sense of humor.  If you missed it on the bigger screen, you can watch it here.  Enjoy.

KQED’s broadcast schedule for OpenRoad with Doug McConnell.

– Carl Bidleman

At 7:30 tonight, I’ll be settling down in front of the other screen in my life (the bigger one that’s not the laptop, desktop, dashboard or smartphone screen) to watch episode 2 of OpenRoad with Doug McConnell.  Tonight it’s Hawaii. If you missed it, you can see it on the little screen here and  find out here when KQED will be broadcasting again. And even via a screen, Hawaii has a nurturing and calming effect on me.  This episode is also special for me because we’re featuring an adventure to Midway with the Oceanic Society.  (In the spirit of full disclosure, I am an Oceanic Society board member.)  Birgit Winning is the Director and she’s doing a fantastic job keeping the organizations’s good work going during very tough economic times. The Oceanic Society’s expeditions are an ubelieveably engagin way to see and engage the natural world.  Check out the menu of expeditions here. Here’s a little more info Birgit asked me to pass along.

Annually, the Society offers expert guided natural history expeditions which include wildlife observations, historical excursions, bird watching, one snorkeling lagoon boat trip, and select beach snorkeling. A tour  to Eastern Island, uninhabited and crowded with seabirds, including several seabird species not found on Sand Island, is included.   Participants can also assist staff with habitat restoration, historic preservation  or wildlife monitoring and service tasks. Although seabirds nest on Midway on a year-round basis, November through July is peak albatross season. April and May offers warmer weather and water temperatures. Protection of the island’s unique resources requires that visitors stay on specially designated trails. Most beaches are restricted for monk seal pupping (the best beach is shared with humans), and visitors will follow strict guidelines set forth by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Midway is still  wonderfully limited to only 16 visitors the entire atoll at one time. Midway Atoll is accessible via a 4 ½ -hour flight from Honolulu.  Oceanic Society has a wildlife calendar to help you plan your trip.  Contact:  Menglund@oceanicsociety.org or visit www.oceanicsociety.org.

– Carl Bidleman

We’re back on the road!  Thanks to Kaiser Permanente, East Bay Regional Park District, Lake County, California and investors who have hung with us through some very tough economic times, Doug and the crew are on the road and on the air, once again.  The work of Doug, Dan Herz, Stefan Reunzel, M’Gee Johnston, Dave Vandergriff, Nick Asbill, Chris Lehmann, Michael Shaw, Stephen Silver and Paul Swensen can be seen, in the Bay Area, on KQED, Mondays @ 7:30 PM.  In the fall of 2009, thanks to the efforts of our pals at KQED, we’ll be on the air in cities all over the country.  We’ll keep you posted on our progress.  Check out Episode 1 on KQED and right here on OpenRoad.TV.