July Issue of Sunset Magazine

I love Sunset Magazine.

It's one of the magazines that I keep around to refer back to for design or trip ideas.  After I tagged "sunset camps" to one of my instagram photos I took of myself in Death Valley, they contacted me to license the image to place next to the editor's note in the July edition of the magazine.  If you're on instagram, you can see this photo along with others at @alisontravels

Thank you Sunset Magazine!

Death Valley National Park

Lowest Point In America - Badwater Basin

It's hard to believe that I've never been to Death Valley National Park until last week.  I grew up in Southern California and have lived here (when I'm not on the road) most of my life.  The weather was perfect so I thought I would go for a visit.

There is something about a National Park that gets me so excited inside.  I love driving up to the gate and showing my annual pass and getting a map and guide.  It's like an adventure is about to begin, and it does.  This is the first National Park that I've experienced that doesn't have a guard gate.  Perhaps because it gets so hot in the summer.  In any case, I arrived late so I went to the visitor center to get a pass the following day.

I woke up early to drive to Badwater Basin to find that I was the only person there!  As much as I love our National Parks, so does most everyone else.  Getting a private spot at an overlook is pretty rare so I soaked up the moment. Badwater Basin is the lowest point in United States so it was a treat to be able to visit the spot.  After that, I went on a hike to see a natural bridge, met Korean nun friends at the visitor center, ran the dunes with Max, then found a free camping site with a wild Burro watching over us.  It really was a magical trip.  In fact, I don't have anything bad to say about our National Parks.  I love them so much that I wanted to visit another one the following day!  We got up early and drove to Sequoia National Park to see the big trees.  Unfortunately for us, we needed chains to do so and we didn't have any so Ranger Dave sent us on our way.  I did get a nice portrait of him before we left so all was not lost.  

I hope you get to one of our National Parks soon.  It connects you in ways that the internet will never be able to and that's a good thing. Which is your favorite park?  Here are some iphone images from our few days at the park.

Koren Nuns Visiting Death Valley

Shut Down Motel near the park

Do you see our Burro friend?

Max loves running in the dunes

More happy dune running

Nothing for miles... 

Full Timers planning their next move, a la Risk style

Crow flying from a Palm Tree

Morning Ritual

Sunrise

One of the most beautiful roads just outside of the park

An old Sign outside of the park

Max refused to leave the comfort of his warm bed in the morning.

Gas Station outside of park

Jumping on Salt in Badwater Basin

Ranger Dave denying entrance to the Sequoia National Park without chains

Yellowstone National Park With My iphone

As much as I would like to upload several beautiful images from my big camera, I left my card reader in Spokane and I haven't been on my computer in weeks. The last few posts were done with my iPhone and for me, it doesn't matter what equipment you use to get an image, as long as you are able to tell a story. I post photographs from my journey each day on instagram if you have that app in your iPhone, you can find me there.

Yellowstone is my favorite National Park by far. Everytime I go, I discover something new and this trip was no exception. In fact, I think this was my favorite visit yet!

I was lucky enough to get three nights of camping by a last minute cancellation since the park was completely sold out.

Here are photographs I took with my phone. I hope it gives you an idea of what my experience was like. If you've never been to Yellowstone, I would highly recommend a visit.

Glacier National Park

I have always wanted to go to Glacier.  On each road trip the past few years, it was just far enough North that I was unable to visit.  After leaving Spokane, I headed to visit a photographer friend (more on her in the next post) and took a day trip to the park.

The day I went to visit, it rained the entire time.  That's the risk you take when you take a trip somewhere, you never know what weather to expect once you are there.  It didn't ruin my day or diminish the experience.  The park itself is quiet magical.  The roads were being worked on so I waited to pass on a one lane road on the side of a cliff in the rain which was interesting, to say the least.

I headed into the park and went as far as Logan Pass.  The views were amazing and I am sure even better on a clear day.  I love being in nature.  I don't do so well with crowds, however.  The parks are for all to enjoy but when I wait in my car for an hour to go a mile, I feel like I am in the city.

After a few photographs, I was on my way.  I would love to spend more time at this magical park and I hope to do that some day.  As with all of our National Parks, it is one not to miss.

The Land Of The Giant Trees In Redwood National Forest

I am in awe of this forest.  I specifically wanted to come to the coast to beat the heat and that I did.  It is hard to describe in words what the trees feel like in this forest.  Without sounding corny, this redwood forest is truly magical.

I wanted to take a scenic drive through the trees but the road was closed so Max and I took a walk down the drive.  If you have seen the movie Avitar, this would be the closest thing to actually being in the movie.  The trees, ferns and all plants seem to have taken a mass amount of miracle grow and make you feel pretty insignificant standing next to them.  It was hard to actually capture the feeling I had in pictures but here are a few from our walk.  The day started out foggy when we hiked out of our campsite, but to me it was so beautiful.

We left our site, walked on the beach to watch a coyote, met the Muffin Man while I stopped for coffee and then toured the forest.  I don't plan what I am going to do far in advance but I am so glad I took the turn to the coast to see this forest.  It's been a little under 30 years since I've been to this place and these trees have been there much longer than any of us have been on this earth.  I am glad that we decided to protect this part of the forest for all to see.

Along the way, we also stopped to take a picture of Paul Bunyan and his Ox, Babe.  Beware, Paul will talk to you.  He said, "hello young lady in the blue shirt."  Such a charmer.

If you've never been to this forest, I would recommend it.  I love Yellowstone, Yosemite, and all of the national parks but there is something about this one that holds a place in my heart.  Next we are going to see where the coastline takes us.

A Tourist Watching Tourists In Yosemite National Park

Ahhh, the joy of getting out of the city to get away from it all.  To breathe in the fresh air, see the mountains, look at the beautiful trees...oh yeah, with everyone else driving from the city to do the same.  I love our National Parks, as many other Americans do, but sometimes the crowds can rival those in metro areas. This was one of those weekends.

You know the stories of extremely rich people wanting to go to outer space alone and are willing to pay big bucks to do so?  I wonder what it would be like if you could do that with a National Park.  Can you imagine being at one of these parks alone? Now I just need to win the lottery to see if it's possible.

As I toured through Yosemite, I wondered if Ansel Adams could handle the crowds that tour the park today.  I was laughing to myself thinking of him setting up his camera and waiting for the light as 20 tourists stood behind him snapping away.  It is pretty insane how many people line up to wait for a parking space and then walk fifty feet to look at a waterfall.  Don't get me wrong, the scenery is so beautiful and amazing but when you pair it with sitting in traffic to park just to walk behind a herd of people, you start thinking to yourself, "this better be the most beautiful waterfall ever!...or else!"

I took pictures of the scenery, but I also enjoyed snapping pictures of the tourists.  Once a bear was spotted in the field, the traffic was jammed up for miles, there was a ranger directing the traffic and yelling at people to keep moving, the same ranger was yelling at people to stay on the road as the crowd tried to inch closer and closer to the grazing bear.  I cracked up as I saw a family turning to take a family photo. This is how the mother would describe the printed picture to someone: "Here's the last picture I have of my husband and kids when they turned their back to the hungry bear in Yosemite."

Oh, and after the hike to the waterfall, there was also the line ten people deep to use the "bathroom."

I spent the day driving on the road that took me through the entire park.  After touring the valley, it was time to go back to the campsite for some quiet time with Max.  The following morning, we left our site around 7:30a.m and the line to get a site was out of the door at the reservation house.  Oddly enough, I wasn't the only one who thought it would be a good idea to camp at Yosemite this weekend.

The Women Park Rangers Of Yosemite

After Max and I left Big Bear, we head up to Yosemite.  After a long day of driving, we arrived around four in the afternoon.  Lucky for us, a campsite just opened up that day so there were spots available.  We decided to stay a few nights.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, a goal of mine is to meet woman across the United States in different professions and introduce them to you.  Ultimately, I look forward to the opportunity to put them together in a book. I was lucky enough to meet five park rangers and do a photoshoot with them.  I also spent some time interviewing the more seasoned veteran of the group, Michele.

I checked in to camp and told them about my project.  I was thrilled to hear that all of them were on board with it and agreed to be photographed.  That night I set up camp and Max and I decided to relax after a long day of driving.  The next morning, we woke up and took some pictures of the ladies on duty.

Throughout the day, people were checking in to camp and I considered myself lucky that I got there in time before the entire site filled up.  Shortly after I arrived, the vacancy turned into "full."  There is something about a National Park that we all love.  In fact, I thought about how great it would be to be a park ranger when I was considering job options while I was in college. Things went in a slightly different direction.

These women are living the dream and each day they get to call a National Park their office.  Don't get me wrong, this is not an easy job.  They still have to deal with unhappy campers with a smile.  I witnessed it myself as car after car pulled up hoping for a spot.

I wasn't the only one who thought the park would be a great place to go right before a holiday weekend. More on touring the sites in the next blog.

A big thank you to all of these wonderful rangers that took the time to help me with my project.