July 29th, 2009
– Carl Bidleman
Today’s photo is from Bryce Edwards of San Jose, California. I love the framing, Bryce. Thanks.
Despite the fact that the Ahwahnee is an upscale hotel in an incomparable natural setting, I really like the place. Doug and I have filmed there several times over the years. Stayed there once. As a national historic building, it’s open to the public… not just to paying guests. My wife loves winter in Yosemite, especially when she can sit on the warm stone bench inside one of several large fireplaces. Don’t miss the Ahwahnee. Even if you’re camping. We’ve got a great video story about the Ahwahnee and it’s history on OpenRoad.TV. Check it out.
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July 19th, 2009
– Carl Bidleman
Today’s photo is the work of Paul Kelly of York, United Kingdom. Love the clouds, Paul. And if you like this scene, check out Doug’s essay and video story about his Grand Southwestern Roadtrip.
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July 4th, 2009
– 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.
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July 3rd, 2009
– Carl Bidleman
Thanks to Nelson Minar for a beautiful photo of the Mendocino Headlands, one of my favorite places.
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June 30th, 2009
– Carl Bidleman
Here’s a shot of a place I never knew existed until I stumbled upon it by accident back in 1989. I was traveling from Detroit via Las Vegas to film a television special along the the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I had never heard of Zion. My photographer and I stopped every 300 yards to take stills of a landscape that continually surprised and delighted. Here’s the visual evidence. Thanks to Rene Schwietzke at Flickr.
Photo by Rene Schwietzke
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June 1st, 2009
– Doug McConnell
I hope you enjoyed our journeys in Hawaii and will travel there yourself soon enough. The human and natural histories of the islands are fascinating and the environment is, of course, extraordinarily beautiful. Hawaii calls, that’s for sure, but it’s not a cheap getaway from the mainland…and that’s keeping many of us “stateside” now in this harsh economy.
The good news is, for those of us who live in the West, we have wonderful places to visit right in our own backyards. We can have world-class vacations without really leaving home.
Mt. Tamalpais State Park photo by Jerry Downs
For example, I live in northern California, not far from Olompali State Park which we featured with legendary drummer, Mickey Hart, in this show. Olompali is just one of California’s several hundred state parks, some of the Golden State’s crown jewels. The first official state park in California was Big Basin, near Santa Cruz, which was established in 1902. In the past 107 years, California has created the largest state park system in the nation. These parks protect the state’s environment, interpret the complex and fascinating stories of the state, provide recreational opportunities to many millions of people every year and serve as important engines of California’s tourist economy.
When I was a kid growing up in California, people of all political stripes were proud of the fine public education and park systems that had been created here. Now, tragically, California’s educational and state park systems have fallen into serious disrepair….and in this economic crisis word has just come down from Sacramento that 80% of our state parks will be closed and boarded up beginning early this September. Olompali, which helped shape the nurturing social and environmental values of Mickey Hart, and I’m sure many others, will be one of more than 200 parks to be shut down. In a word, this is outrageous.
In times of great social stress, we need our parks more than ever. They are essential investments in our health and well-being, and they are inexpensively accessible to people of all ages, all cultures and all levels of income. They restore and renew us, they bring us together and connect us to nature and history, and they appeal to our finer selves. To lose them now is a tragedy beyond measure. And their closure will do little to close a yawning budget gap created in large measure by governmental dysfunction, incompetence and shortsightedness. We need a fundamental overhaul of our political system….not the closure of our finest public treasures.
My heart is breaking for the California I know so well and love so deeply. My family has been in California for nearly 140 years, and I can’t believe what we are allowing to happen to our most important social institutions, such as our parks…created and sustained over many decades by Republicans and Democrats alike. We have lost a sense of public service for the greater good, and have allowed the politics of bitterness, self-righteousness and self-interest, and government by recall and initiative to hold sway. When I was young, and two of my mentors in college and graduate school were Republican, Hugh Flournoy and Democrat, Jesse Unruh, political leaders on both sides of the aisles would argue like cats and dogs, reach generally reasonable compromises, go have a drink together and get ready for combat and compromise the next day. We now have system of term-limited legislators from safe seats who don’t have much experience, won’t be around long
and have no need to compromise, and they have to pass budgets by super-majorities. There are many good people still doing good work, but the fact is that Sacramento is in shambles. Our state government needs fixing fast. So here’s my simple proposal.
Assemble a Constitutional Convention. Gather delegates sworn to uphold the public interest. Demand the best from them and scrutinize their efforts. And have them gather on hallowed ground somewhere, a place that might inspire the greatness we so desperately need and that California so richly and at long last deserves. Let’s see, how about a State Park somewhere? Just a thought.
In the meantime, no matter what, we have to keep our state parks open. To find out more and how you can help, follow this link to the California State Parks Foundation, www.calparks.org. We need a voice for parks and they are speaking as loudly as anyone.
Thank you.
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May 23rd, 2009
– Doug McConnell
As I’ve mentioned here and there on the television series and this website, I’ve had a long love affair with Alaska. I moved to Ketchikan in 1973 to help organize the local planning department and do a comprehensive and transportation plan for the community. In 1975, I moved to Anchorage and did many projects for the Governor’s Office, the Alaska Humanities Forum, the University of Alaska, Alaska Public Television, the Capital Site Selection Committee and many others. When President Carter was in office, I commuted to Washington quite a bit for a variety of fascinating assignments, but my heart and my home remained in Alaska.
My wife and I our two dogs finally left Alaska in 1982 so that I could get back into television full time. We moved to Seattle and I went to work for legendary KING Television. At the end of 1983, we moved to the Bay Area to be closer to our families and raise our kids, but we never lost our affection for Alaska and we get back as often as possible. Since 2002, I’ve served on the board of the Alaska Conservation Foundation.
Driving the Dalton Highway was a treat, but one of the things I love most about Alaska is how few roads there really are. In the Lower 48 states, I don’t think it’s possible now to be more than 14 miles from a road. That may not be exactly right, but it’s close. In Alaska, you can find yourself hundreds and hundreds of miles from the nearest roadway of any kind. In fact, from the northern reaches of the Dalton Highway….due east and west…the nearest roads of any magnitude are thousands of miles away. There are few places on earth where that can be said, and may it remain true for a long time to come.
For the Public Television broadcast, we had to leave out some other portions of our shoot along and near the Dalton Highway that I liked very much. But, you can find them here on OpenRoad.TV. The stories are in the column to the right. You can see the full lengths of our two stories about driving the Dalton Highway, and meet some other interesting people including Eric May, an old friend who lives in Europe and just happened to be in Coldfoot when we got there. He was working with a German television crew. Now what are the odds of that chance encounter? Actually, in Alaska, places like tiny Coldfoot become sort of Grand Central Stations. Stay there long enough and everybody will show up eventually.
And then, you can take a flight with us deep into the Brooks Range to visit the eskimo village of Anaktuvak Pass located in a stark, imposing and magnificently beautiful setting.
Alaska is a forceful place. It grabs hold, and doesn’t easily let go. It requires respect and attention, and it can be deadly. It never lets you forget exactly where you are. You take it for granted at your peril. It heightens the senses. If you’re willing to stay alert and attentive, Alaska is for you. It certainly is for me.
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