We just got back from a lovely trip down to Sand Hollow State Park in Southern Utah, just outside of Zion’s National Park. It was the first time we have camped with our trailer since we bought the Subaru XV Crosstrek and I have to say that towing with that car is a dream.
Right after Christmas in 2010, we took a trip to Disneyland with my sister and her husband.
It was unpleasant.
There were so many people that they LITERALLY stopped letting anyone in. I snapped this photo in front of New Orleans Square, just trying to get past the Haunted Mansion. Click to see it full-sized.
We had reservations at the Blue Bayou for an early dinner, but Dan had to work earlier in the day, so he didn’t try to come in until about 3pm, but they wouldn’t let him in. It took us multiple calls to the restaurant just to get him into the park so we could have our dinner.
At the same time, we couldn’t get on any rides. Mike and I rode the Pooh Bear ride (twice) and that was all we did that day. EVERYTHING was so packed that we could barely walk through the park without a crush of the crowd all around us.
Whatever that number is that makes them stop letting people into the park, it’s WAY too high. I have been to Disneyland since, but I will never again go right after Christmas. It was a miserable experience and a WASTE of money.
I’ve talked before about Oquirrh Lake and how beautiful it is. Here is a walking video that goes past the lake from Starling Fitness:
The next time you’re feeling trapped and want to escape, take a few minutes and watch this video. You’ll be transported to a Utah wintery walk and return to your life refreshed and a little chilly.
With over a foot of snow and temperatures at seven degrees Fahrenheit, I am missing camping. We usually camp all year long, going down to St. George and Lake Mead to camp, but even those areas are dealing with snow and low temperatures this year.
And then I remembered, it’s summer in Australia. I watched this video and loved the UEV-360 trailer with its Wild Goose style pop-up lid.
Rather than satiating me, it only made me miss camping even more. Man, winter is hard for me…
In honor of Halloween, I found these photos of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyworld with the lights on at Haunted Mansion Backstage. Here is their description:
Not exactly backstage, but here’s a cool lights-on peek near the end of the Graveyard scene after a ride stop and evacuation at the WDW Mansion. Every time I ride the Mansion I wish for this to happen to me! Ride stops, eventually lights come on and a CM has to escort us out. Please! 🙂
I’ve never once thought that I might be on the ride and they would have to turn it off, turn on the lights and escort me out. I have sat for five minutes while we have been “unexpectedly delayed by spirits,” but I had no idea that I might have a chance to walk through a fully lit Haunted Mansion to get out.
Via: WIL WHEATON dot TUMBLR, hauntedmansionbackstage: Not exactly backstage,…
I am DISGUSTED at this video of boy scout leaders toppling a rock formation in Goblin Valley State Park.
The guy filming the video is David Hall. He’s the one who sings, “wiggle it just a little bit.” He’s also the guy who laughs, saying, “We have modified Goblin Valley!” Here is his Facebook Page:
The man who actually pushed over the rock is Glenn Taylor. Here is his Facebook Page:
He’s the owner of NoBounds IT.
Here is the Wikipedia definition of a goblin:
The unusual stone shapes in Goblin Valley result from the weathering of Entrada Sandstone. They consist of debris eroded from former highlands and redeposited on a former tidal flat of alternating layers of sandstone, siltstone and shale. The rocks show evidence of being near an ancient sea with the ebb and flow of tides, tidal channels that directed currents back to the sea and coastal sand dunes.
Joint or fracture patterns within the Entrada’s sandstone beds created initial zones of weakness. The unweathered joints intersected to form sharp edges and corners with greater surface-area-to-volume ratios than the faces. As a result, the edges weathered more quickly, producing the spherical-shaped ‘goblins’.
The rock formations are estimated to be around 170 million years old.
Those “leaders” destroyed 170 MILLION YEARS of history. The Emery County Attorney, David Blackwell, is deciding whether to press charges against them. I’ve written an email to the David Blackwell:
Dear Mr. Blackwell,
I just saw the video of the Goblin Valley vandalism performed by Glenn Taylor and the two other boy scout participants. Over the years, I’ve seen MANY hooligans like this destroy our national parks and monuments. PLEASE make an example of these guys. If you have any ability to press charges against them, please do so. I am so sick of people like this destroying our public lands.
You can email him as well: bwell@co.emery.ut.us
Here is a video of them trying to justify this behavior:
Don’t let these guys get away with this sort of behavior. It’s not their place to decide if a rock is going to topple. It’s NATURE’S place to decide (and the state park employees in charge of that park). When vandalism like this is allowed in our public lands, then what are we saving them for?
Update 12-15-13: Goblin topplers may spur new law against wilderness vandalism | The Salt Lake Tribune
Via: Fox 13 News – Man who toppled rock formation at Goblin Valley says formation was dangerous
The Long Long Honeymoon had a wonderful experience camping in the snow. Here is the video they made about it.
I particularly like seeing how they back into the camping site. It looks so easy and efficient. I’ve seen hundreds of campers trying to back into their sites at campgrounds all over this nation and it is NEVER this easy and efficient. Either clever editing has occurred or they are SO used to camping life that it is down to a science for them.
Most of the time, a big camper like their Airstream would still be pulling in and out, inches at a time, while we hand roll our tent camper into its spot. We can get our little tent trailer into its spot, hooked up and set up before most big trailers can park. It’s a lot more heavy labor to do it than positioning a huge vehicle, but it certainly takes less time.
Last year, we camped in freezing weather that surprised the camping folks in Las Vegas and Arizona. The RV resort in Vegas was SO surprised that they didn’t turn off their water features, which froze solid overnight.
We were able to stay warm all night with two electric heaters, even though temperatures dipped down to the upper teens. It appears they were camping in the national park, however, so there are no electrical hookups to run electric heaters. They had to stock up on their propane.
The next time you feel trapped at home because it’s too cold to go camping, remember this. You can have an inexpensive and beautiful get-away as long as you’re willing to prepare for the cold.
This video shows a buffalo, just leisurely strolling past some hikers in Yellowstone.
This LITERALLY happens every day in Yellowstone park. I don’t think there is a time when I’ve visited a park and haven’t had a buffalo just owning the road, ambling inches past our car, trapped on the road.
I feel a little jaded because I’ve visited Yellowstone every year for the last decade. I get surprised when people stop their cars in the middle of the road just to look at the elk or buffalo. I forget that the people in those cars haven’t seen buffalo every year for the last ten years. For them, it’s the first time.
That’s the benefit of living in Utah. We are so close to tons of National Parks that wondrous sites like the passing of a buffalo are commonplace to us.
Mello Mike went to Southern Utah in his truck camper and had a great time. You can read the introduction here:
My favorite photo is of his boondocking spot in the Valley of the Gods:
Check out his website and enjoy the beautiful photography!
I saw these pictures on Motion Burns The Mood, but they had labeled them, “Abandoned Amusement Park in New Orleans.” After some sleuthing, I finally found where this abandoned amusement park really was: Chippewa Lake Park in Ohio.
Here is a documentary exploring the park and comparing its abandoned decay to the beauty of its past.
There is something about a defunct amusement park that seems so appealing to me. I feel as if I could ride the rides all day long with no other people in line in front of me. Logically, I know that I couldn’t go on any of the rides, but still, I want to visit an abandoned amusement park, if only to FEEL as if I had it all to myself. It seems to appeal to the hermit side of me, wanting to create a place of fun just for myself, like Michael Jackson did with Neverland Ranch.
Unfortunately, you can’t visit the abandoned site of Chippewa Lake Park anymore. In 2009, it was demolished.
If you want to learn more, here are some more links:
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