– 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.

– 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.

– Carl Bidleman

Nine years ago this minute I was looking at this exact view.  While my wife Karen was somewhere out there on the horizon, hiking the perimeter of Convict Lake, my dog Buddy and I were sitting comfortably lakeside, nursing our bad hips.  I was preparing to have hip replacement surgery later in the month so I used this as an excuse to sit back, enjoy the quiet solitude, pull a couple cold ones from the cooler and continue reading Into Thin Air until Karen completed the loop.  To this day, I remember the contentment I felt at that moment.

What I didn’t know is that while I was enjoying this peaceful respite in the Eastern Sierra, life changed forever.  Upon my return home 24 hours later, I learned that at the very moment I was enjoying the alpine splendor of Convict Lake, a Ford 150 pickup blew a stop sign on a northern Michigan back road and killed my mother, Florence Bidleman, younger brother, Craig Bidleman, sister-in-law Tina Bidleman, and niece Dana Bidleman.  Only my seven year-old nephew, Brandon Bidleman survived.  They were heading to the Straits of Mackinac to see the July 4th fireworks. (I include their full names here because they didn’t live for much of the online era and Google returns few results when their names are searched.  I want to make sure people know they were here.)

I’m going to watch the fireworks in Sausalito tonight with Karen and Buddy’s heir, Jack the Dog.  But the holiday has never been the same.  I find myself telling everyone I know to enjoy a SAFE holiday. I’m happy to say my 16 year-old nephew is morphing into an incredibly fine young man.  A real tribute to the influences of his mom, dad, sister and grandma.

I’ve only been back to Convict Lake once.  It is still indescribably beautiful but a far more melancholy place for me these days.  My thoughts on this holiday are with families who are about to live this same experience.  Please drive carefully.

Premiers May 4 @ 7:30 on KQED.   Explore the island of Catalina above and below the sea.  (See Doug’s post below.)  Discover intriguing roadside attractions… Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno,  Litto’s Hubcap Ranch in northern California’s Pope Valley and the David Douglas Memorial on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Then meet Lu Huan, an amazing carver of stone.  If you miss it on KQED, watch the video here.

– 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.

– Carl Bidleman

There are many wonderful aspects of living in the San Francisco Bay Area but for my money, the  greatest is it’s parks and open space.  (Tip:  Be sure to watch this video in HQ mode.)

I should explain why we’ve been AWOL from blogging for a while.  This economic storm has forced me to take a full-time job leaving only Saturdays and a few hours during the week to attend to OpenRoad.TV.  I’ve been fortunate to land at the George Lucas Educational Foundation working with and meeting great people and getting paid to make little movies (as George calls them) about what works in public education. I’m very grateful. If you know any educators or someone who cares about educating our kids, tell them to visit the site.  It’s good and it’s free.

Meanwhile, Doug hasn’t blogged because he’s busy producing a new OpenRoad series for Public Television with the help of our pals Dan Herz, M’Gee Johnston and Stefan Ruenzel.  We’ll be launching the series in the Bay Area on KQED this April and syndicating nationwide in the fall.  Kaiser Permanente and East Bay Regional Parks are our first sponsors and we’re HUGELY grateful to them and our investors for making this possible.  We are determined to stay alive until the economy improves and we can find enough advertising support to let us continue to travel the West and bring you intriguing tales of the people and places that make this one of the most fascinating regions in the world.

In the meantime, I’ll plan on putting up at least one story a week from our library of travels.  Don’t have the time and resources to bring you the full updated information, links, Google maps, etc. just now.  But I think the videos are too good to just leave sitting on a hard drive on the shelf.  So here we go.  Let us know what you think.

– Carl

– Carl Bidleman

There’s a great new forum post with stunning photos about the Kirby Cove campground in the Marin Headlands today from Roadie.  Check it out.

Photo by Roadie