As if one National Park wasn’t enough for one day, we had to squeeze in another! Thankfully the drive from Arches wasn’t too long and we landed ourselves in Canyonlands National Park!
I tried out a few panoramas here. I’m terrible at them (can anyone keep it on that line?) but I feel like they give you a better idea of just how vast these canyons are!
We decided to keep this one to a mostly scenic drive. It was really neat but hard to follow Arches for me. Especially in the same day. Harry had to quit on us.
We finally headed back to our campground (Dead Horse Point State Park) which is a site to see on its own and took one last shot at their view point.
It was a long, exhausting day so let me just give you a video recap of all my feelings, shall I?
One really important and quite interesting thing about this trip has been learning all about the Native American tribes in each area. The Blackfeet in Montana (long held Sands family history says there is a line in our family but we haven’t been able to trace it). The Sioux in South Dakota. And the Ute, Navajo, Hopi, and most recently the Ancestral Puebloans in the Colorado Plateau area.
Anyway, just when you thought we were done with Colorado, we dipped back in for a quick minute. Maps just sometimes be that way.
So, today we pre-gamed at Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. What I really loved about this place was that one of the films was geared towards young people and educating them on how to respect these sacred lands. Sometimes we’re pretty sure they are talking directly to Harry. Stay on the path, Don’t pick up rocks, etc. I also loved the sentiment that although everyone wants to take a piece with them when they leave, if we all do it, there will be nothing left.
After this stop we headed into yet ANOTHER National Park: Mesa Verde! Are you guys bored with this yet?!?
We did a few scenic overlooks but the big dance was the ranger-led tour of Cliff Palace! A must-do if you are in the area but note: you cannot book a tour online. You can only get tickets up to two days in advance and you can only buy them onsite. Seems an odd way to do things, especially since the tickets are only $5 but thankfully the line moved pretty quick and we only waited 20 minutes. I highly recommend stopping in the day before if you are in the area early or getting there in the morning. The first tour we could book was 4 hours later in the afternoon.
Anyway, this place is UNBELIEVABLE. You just stand there in awe of what was created so many centuries ago.
We were even able to stick our head into one of the rooms to view some art that has withstood time.
After watching so many national park videos about native people, I think it was great for the kids to finally see something more tangible. And a nice woman insisted on taking our picture here.
Okay, Colorado. We’re really done now. Love you. Miss you. Mean it.
So we decided to each spend some time in a different state. Ha! You all know we traveled into Navajo Nation and hit the four corners today! While everyone else in line took ho-hum photos in a group, we decided to be a little extra.
This area ALSO meant we could check off two more states on our list! As I mentioned before Arizona gets the award for lamest state sign pull-off area. Totally not as safe or as cool as the rest! But we will take it!
And I think my family gets coolest award for how bad-ass they are in New Mexico! This area feels a little too “Breaking Bad” for my liking.
Another thing we do in each state is find a geocache! Four corners literally has a virtual on EACH corner of the monument! Done and done and done and done!
And in case you are curious, I only have 4 states left on my license plate search: West Virginia, Delaware, Alabama, and you guessed it, Hawaii! Wish me luck!
We drove into the Monument Valley area but man we were so whipped and little bit sick of each other that we couldn’t get it together to go on another excursion. But I assure you the scenery was amazing!
We also stopped in at Natural Bridges for a few beautiful views as well!
But the highlight of this post is where we went next! Keep in mind that it’s hot. And I don’t mean like “Oh it’s 80 degrees and it’s hot.” I mean like “It’s 100 degrees in Utah for days on end and this must be what the surface of the sun feels like.” hot.
So when we arrived to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and realized we could jump into Lake Powell, we were all a little bit too excited!
The water was perfection. We floated and swam and cooled down and rinsed off all the grime. Plus we had the spot all to ourselves!
And then Harry did like Harry does and hurled himself off the rock into the canyon water.
This experience will be one that will stick in our minds at the end for sure!
Today was one of those unexpected awesome days! As you can tell, we are mostly doing park highlights since we are trying to fit so much into this trip. We just haven’t scheduled a lot of time in each park so we have to pick a few small things to do at each one.
We set off on what has been one of the most unique hikes to date. Each of these parks looks completely different from the one before! We walked down into a canyon and the walls still look reef like millions of years later!
Felicity chased lizards and Harry and Benj explored nooks and crannies along the way.
Of course, what adventure would be complete without some kind of video!
We ended the afternoon visiting the Mormon settlement areas. We picked up some fresh baked sourdough and some adorable pies from the Gifford Homestead. Plus…
That’s right! Apple picking in Utah! These Ginger Gold were the perfect blend of sweet and tart! Two thumbs up from the whole gang! An epic day for sure!
OMG, we FINALLY watched the movie RV with Robin Williams. The kids had watched it with Mimi and Papa but Benj and I had not seen it. So flipping funny! And a completely stacked cast! We LOVED it!
As the days pass I collect some fun photos of just the random stuff that happens in and around the RV.
For example, some days we don’t see a grocery store for days and we’re forced to buy something extra crappy from the campground store for dinner.
Other days we treat ourselves to dinner out and some people order rattlesnake cakes for dinner!
Sometimes you stay at Wonderland RV Park and the neighbors’ dog just wants to eat you up…
and the horses visit your site!
Still other days, you sort through all the laundry quarters to find the ones for your national park collection!
But most importantly, sometimes the shitter is indeed full!
If all goes well, I’ll be on a plane to London end of next week. I’ll visit dear friends in Cornwall, do a short test hike along the South West Coast Path, visit London (West End and more dear friends), and head up to Yorkshire for yet more more dear friends and the main event: a 6-day, 26 pub, 76 mile, pub-to-pub loop hike through the Yorkshire Dales.
I included Jessica in the photo just because I know it’ll get me more readers. Maybe I can photoshop her into the entire trip? But sadly, she’ll not be joining me on this excursion. We’ve completely failed to synchronize our retirements, and she’s just too important to spare back home. Not to mention, she’s neither fond of beer nor climbing through dales. More for the rest of us?
In other news, here’s a test link to a random VR180 YouTube video just to see what happens. Try it out in your VR headset if you have one! For no particular reason… 😏 [Note: Oculus Quest users will want to launch the YouTube VR app, click on the magnifying glass then the microphone, and say the name of the video to find it on there! That seems to be the only way to get the true VR180 3D experience. Just watching in the browser, even in full-screen VR180 mode, looks like crap!]
Okay. So I’m vaccinated, have 3 COVID tests (before/during/after) arranged, and plenty of KN95 masks packed. Now fingers crossed UK doesn’t change their travel rules before I get there! 🤞😬
Lex Nason in Vermont reading a birthday greeting today, his 100th birthday.
My mom’s dad turned 100 today. I want to give him a shout-out here because, along with both my parents, Popa had no small part in turning me into an outdoors-loving, adventure-loving person. No coincidence I just happen to be departing in the morning on a 6-day trek around the Yorkshire Dales!
Popa was, among other things, a wooden canoe builder. (Other things included his day job as a continent-hopping geologist, and in his retirement, a volunteer restorer of the paddlewheel steamboat Ticonderoga and supermodel for a garden supply company.)
You could sell me anything.
I have fond memories of hiking with Pop up Mount Wantastiquet overlooking Brattleboro, Vermont, or paddling down the Connecticut River in one of his canoes. On one of our adventures circa 1985 I gave him a minute-by-minute recounting of the plot of Back to the Future. It’s crazy to think that the +/- 30 year jumps back to 1955 or forward to 2015 don’t even begin to cover my grandfather’s experience on this green and blue planet. Who needs a DeLorean with a flux capacitor when you’ve got a Volvo and above-average health?
As Seth and I set out hiking in Grassington tomorrow morning, I’ll try to imagine what life might be like in the year 2075, and whether in the meantime I might have a chance to inspire someone’s lifetime love for the great outdoors. Happy 100th, Popa. This hike’s for you. ❤️
I meant to blog every day of this journey as it happened.
What was I thinking? We hiked all day. We drank beer. We ate dinner. We slept hard. We ate a big breakfast. Lather, rinse repeat.
The best I could do was occasionally offload the footage from the VR camera and make room for more. Especially after I filled up my SD card with footage of the interior of a sock. (I still think it made a fine camera case.)
And then once I was back home, forget it. A million other obligations take priority. And every step of editing, previewing, re-editing, and uploading VR content takes hours, even days when it comes to YouTube processing it. Compressing all the visual quality out of a decent video takes time you know!
Anyway, a month later it’s finally finished. I’ve watched this video in its entirety 6 times now. 37 minutes seems like the perfect length to really capture the spirit of our walk, while definitely feeling like you’ve earned yourself a beer by the end of it.
For Ma
While I hope you all enjoy the video, I wouldn’t have made it if not for my mother. Just 6 years ago we were hiking through the Yorkshire Dales together, just one section of the amazing Wainwright Walk, 192 miles coast-to-coast across England.
Shortly thereafter she received a life-altering diagnosis of ALS, which has put a significant damper on her hiking career, to say nothing of her Olympic dreams. (Luckily her sense of humor will be the last to go!) With that said, she just so happens to have a VR headset and is kind of a maven…
Don’t watch the video at the end of this post
I’m not just saying this. It’s the difference between watching someone else hike vs. being there yourself. If you watch on regular old 2D YouTube, you’ll get the gist of where we went and what we did. It’ll show you a monoscopic view that you can pan around. Better than nothing, sure. And if that’s the best you can do, at least maximize the YouTube window size and set the quality to the maximum available via the gear icon.
If you do have a VR headset, or know someone who does, watch the video in YouTube VR. It’ll be stereoscopic 3D, with a 180° field of view. (Trust me, if anyone you know has a VR headset, they’ll be thrilled to demo it for someone, anyone. Just ask your people!) Also, I make house calls, and my Oculus Quest 2 travels easily on a plane. Or they’re $300 at Amazon, Target, and Walmart.
Just download the YouTube VR app onto your headset if you don’t have it yet, and enter the title of the video into the search field, or even just “yorkshire” will work when combined with the 3D or VR180 buttons.
Instead of typing, try clicking the microphone icon and saying “Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales,” but don’t forget the VR180 or 3D button!
I tried to be sensitive to those with weaker stomachs while filming, avoiding fast camera pans. But there are a few spots that may make you queasy. Just breathe through it! Deep breaths work great for me.
About the camera
For those curious, the best sub-$1000 (and maybe the best sub-$5000?) camera I could find for this trip was the Vuze XR by Humaneyes. (Get it?)
Released in January 2018, almost 4 years ago, it’s a bit long in the tooth technology-wise. Yet its only real consumer-level competition for a 3D VR180 capable camera, the Insta360 EVO, is no longer available for sale at all. The only newer 3D video cameras since then are big heavy professional models in the $5000 to $15,000 range, and beyond! So I’m pretty happy with the results from my little $430 camera.
It’s really only when I was in motion that the compression artifacts really creep in big time. And I can’t blame it all on YouTube. The Vuze XR simply can’t record to SD faster than 120 Mbps. So the shots where I’m stationary, and not much changes frame to frame, look a lot nicer than the ones where I’m running down a trail. But even when, nay especially when, I’m running and it’s blurry, or there’s rain landing on the lenses, or there’s lots of wind noise, or Seth’s farting in Surround Sound, I feel fully immersed and right back in the Dales.
I hope you feel like you’re there with me and Seth, too. 🍻
Having escorted pebbles from the Irish Sea to the North Sea on the Wainwright Walk, now Benj is eyeing the Appalachian Trail…
