Thank you for following along here friends. I appreciate any interest in my projects, and this footage representing Grand Teton National Park’s Bradley Lake Trail is very special to me, even though it doesn’t represent my best work. This is one of the first times I set a camera down for a minute to take-in nature, where I had a vague idea of how I’d use the footage to help bring you along. The cameras I had available the day I recorded this (7 July 2012) were a Sony DSC-W290 compact and a Droid Razr. Below, I’m sharing more of my snaps from that spectacular day. The Rare Air footage was taken on our hike up the mountainside, not too far past the crossing of a welcome creek, where Riley and I had cooled off, and I had paused John Muir-style to admire the world’s upness. We achieved an especially lovely spot, and I parked myself with the Sony while Beth, Amelia and Riley took a rest.
Right then, it struck me that I had started something new… and that day, there were a couple more times when I repeated the one-minute documentary session. Unfortunately, at that time, I had not yet learned the very important lesson about disabling a camera’s auto-focus settings. So, even though I had started getting into the habit of methodically capturing good footage, much of what I shot that day and for months afterward isn’t really usable, because of camera auto-focusing.
Nonetheless, after giving the subject a lot of thought, I’ve decided that the July 7 footage is not too objectionable to make it worth sharing here, so long as I can also pass along a good story with it. This day of our 2012 U.S. National Parks tour began at the Jenny Lake campground in Grand Teton National Park. For breakfast, we tried our luck at the Jenny Lake Lodge, but quickly learned (1) that reservations were required, and (2) that we were under-dressed. But the nice people there recommended we drive to Dornan’s Chuckwagon in Moose, Wyoming (only 10 miles away!), and that was one of the best and most memorable breakfasts of our entire trip. Here are more notes from my journal.
We took the advice of another camper (Jesse, a fly fisherman) and went to Lupin Meadow, then walked 3.2 miles up to Bradley Lake, where Riley and I submerged and the girls splashed around and also had a great time. For most of the way back to the parking lot, the kids made up their own verses to “On Top of Old Smokey,” which got more and more ridiculous as we marched, banging our bear-bells as we rolled along. And afterward, we came back to camp, where dinner was gluten-free “beefaroni” with carrots, and I finally ate the last chocolate pudding in the cooler, while the kids took the walkie-talkie and went to the Jenny Lake General Store on their own… and Beth and I sat by the campfire laughing at our kids’ humorous walkie-talkie emissions.
Rare Air is an ongoing experiment, and of course, I want it to be worthwhile for anyone who takes the time to join in. Essentially, I want to encourage you to visit America’s National Parks and to immerse yourself in nature whenever you get the chance. As I think back to the day I recorded this video and took these pictures with my family, I realize it was easily one of the very best days of my life. In the future, I look forward to sharing more lovely moments with you, and I wish you all the best.
