Missing Zion

Written by Kyle on September 16th, 2009

Now that I’m back in Brooklyn after a summer on the road, readjusting to the sedentary life, I’m catching up on the massive pile of videos that went unedited this summer. It’s hard to drive and edit at the same time, particularly if you’re hoping to do so without committing vehicular manslaughter.

Pouring over footage that is now a few months old is such a great way to relive the journey and brings up fond memories of the places and people who made my trip so special. My first friends of the road were the wonderful people of the Zion Canyon Bed and Breakfast who were so gracious to host me on my travels and give me brief respite from my life in a tent.

Here’s the video I made for them. I’m not just talking them up to be nice, they seriously rock so hard. Great food. Great people. If you’re going to Zion National Park stay there, you’ll thank me.

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Burning Man. Whoa. Dude.

Written by Kyle on September 9th, 2009

I apologize that I didn’t take any pictures at Burning Man, but if you really want to see pictures, go Google them. Trust me. Any pictures I would’ve taken would’ve just been dark, black, with glowing lights and/or dirty looking people. You’d look at my pictures and roll your eyes, because it’d just look like me in short shorts (which you’ve seen a hundred other pictures of) standing out in a dirty, dry desert looking way too excited and you’d think its just like any other festival, and you’d be wrong, and I’d be remiss in not adequately conducting how truly awesome the experience is.

In the months leading up to Burning Man, I was excited to go, but not overly so. I’ve been to Coachella and other assorted festivals, and they’re fun, but not life changing. In the days leading up to Burning Man I was nervous. It is after all (for those not aware of this event)  7 days long, 100 miles into the Nevada high desert with no amenities whatsoever. Would I run out of water and die after trying to drink water from a cactus, which I saw on Man Vs Wild, but probably doesn’t actually work? Would I be attacked by a band of hallucinating hippies who could tell that I have a 9 to 5 job back home and don’t vote for the green party?

Prior to the Burn, Kristin and I met up in Reno with Pat, the OG Digital Vagabond in his super pimped out vagabond mobile, equipped with his merry batch of first time Burners. In order to prepare, we did a little prepartying in Reno, which is exactly as lame as Reno 911 makes it out to be, then we hit up The Melting Pot, Reno’s finest Burning Man supply shop. If you need glitter, body paint, masks, weird hats, love beads, or any other funky costumes, this is the spot. It was packed full of Burners, and we lucked out, because Kristin did not yet have a ticket and we met a very nice guy outside willing to sell his for less than the market value. I was at first a little hesitant, wondering if he was selling a fake ticket, but it ended up being legit.

The night before Burning Man we camped out on the shore of Lake Tahoe with our crew of 7 where we met 4 girls and a guy from London, also on their way to Burning Man, and after a night of bbqed lamb, it was off to the Black Rock Desert! Kind of. Ok, fine. After a shopping trip, replacing the exploded water container on Pat’s RV, getting gas, and going to the hardware store we were off. Sure it was about 6 hours late, but there are no points for being early to Burning Man.

We rolled into the camp at about 10pm, and as I said, there are no points for being early to Burning Man, and it is a hippie fest, so when we got there on Monday night, day one of the festival, it was still partly empty. We caught a jazz combo performance at the center camp and went to bed.

By 9am the desert sun was baking us in our little backpacking tent, a phenomenon that became a recurring morning theme. Overnight the city had come alive. 40,000 people had descended on this dusty desert in the middle of nowhere, and everyone had brought with them tents, water, clothing (or lack thereof), an open mind, and the best version of their self. Burning Man is a lot of things: art festival, self reliance, community experiment, radical self expression grounds, but more than anything its a city full of the nicest people in the world.

The coolest thing about Burning Man is that it is an economy based around gifting, volunteer, and barter. People were so nice to me and gave me so much free food, drinks, hugs, and crafts that I now have a vague idea what it’s like to be a super hot woman. To add to the coolness there is a ton of music, performance art like I’ve never seen before, hot naked people, giant sculptures, a 40×40x40 voice activated rubics cube, and giant exploding things on fire. The coolest thing of all though is to live in a city of that size, look out over the most creative skyline in the world, feel the creative buzz of energy all around you, and revel in the fact that you can go up to anyone, talk to them, and they wont be a jerk. I wish I could say the same about any other city I’ve lived in.

I can’t wait to go back.

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The West Coast Just Feels Like Home

Written by Kyle on August 25th, 2009

I’ve had 4 addresses in the past year, and have called 4 countries home in my lifetime of just 23 years, so when people ask me where I’m from I usually just tell them where I lived the longest in recent history. San Diego is kind of an answer. The San Francisco Bay Area is kind of an answer. California is good and vague to combine the two.

As I’ve rolled around the map of these states united during the past few months I’ve been taken in by wonderful people in a diverse array of cities. It wasn’t until I made it back to the West Coast that I realized my home is on the Pacific Ocean. Ok, technically my bills get sent to Brooklyn, but you know what I mean.

I was enraptured with Seattle and reminded of why I love the West Coast. The weather is beautiful. Sure it may rain, but it doesn’t snow in the cities and where it does snow there are mountains that you can snowboard on. Flat snowy places just seem like a waste to me. You can’t do anything on them other than hate their very existence and step in puddles that you didn’t see coming.

The book stores are also awesome. I know that other places have bookstores, but the West Coast has such an abundance of independent book stores. I suppose it doesn’t really matter, and that you can get any book you want at Amazon anyway, but there is something wonderfully thereapeutic about a thriving local bookstore. It means that people are reading, which generally means they’re also voting for equality and sustainability.

New York has been fun, but the best thing about vagabonding is that you can use it like a shopping trip for cities you may like to call home and I think that Seattle will be my next home. After living in California and New York I’m utterly dazzled by the thought of a coastal city in which middle class income qualifies you for home ownership. Such a thing is pretty unheard of in San Diego or New York.

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Check out those Tetons!

Written by Kyle on August 21st, 2009

6448_772009634374_3304555_44658256_5894167_nSorry for the radio silence vagabonds and vagabondettes, but I’ve been in the backcountry.

I am currently in Kalispell, Montana near Glacier National Park staying with a super cool family of inn keepers at the Emerald Sunrise B&B and shooting a video for them in exchange for their gracious hospitality.

We spent last weekend in the Grand Tetons, and they’re pretty crazy, though not always in a good way. They’re beautiful, and unique, and just thrust right off the plains of Wyoming like a wilderness skyline, but they’re crowded. Also, in Jackson lake, the lake behind us in this picture, they allow boats. Not kayaks, but boats, fucking yachts, ships, damn near oil tankers zooming around in this pristine wilderness. When did they start allowing ski boats in national parks?

I chose to explore the mountain west to get away from all the crowds and typical tourists, thinking that they’d be back at Disney World and Branson, not riding jet skis in a national park.

Now, as far as its neighbor to the north, Yellowstone National Park, if you’er thinking aboug going, go there. If you’re thinking about dedicating hours of your day to waiting for Old Faithful to erupt, skip it. It’s not really any cooler than any of the dozens of other geysers in the park. It’s just more predictable.

I, however, waited nearly an hour to watch the eruption, partly out of patriotic duty, partly just to smuggly giggle at hilarious looking people rocking fashions that have never been cool anywhere in any point in history.

6448_772009664314_3304555_44658261_4709669_nApparently Slater from Saved by the Bell was having a garage sale and clearing out all of his workout pants from 1990…

Not to be outdone, I also purchased my own super awesome tourist shirt. It’s almost as cool as my Mt. Rushmore Ed Hardy ultra trendy douchebag knock off shirt! You can tell its a good deal because it features bison, elk, moose, AND an eagle, all for just 16 dollars! That’s 4 dollars per animal, quite a steal.

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Mt. Rushmore – An Epic Journey of Intensity!

Written by Kyle on August 16th, 2009
The Black Hills in Southwestern South Dakota are beautiful, remote, and for the most part devoid of major tourist crowds (other than during the Sturgis Bike Ralley, which we unfortunately missed by a week). In may respects National Forrests are much better for camping than National Parks. They’re more rustic, they’re cheaper, and the camp sites are numerous, though small, generally with fewer than 10 sites.
I understand why people would come to camp in the Black Hills: for the serenity, for the beauty, for the trees, landscape, and jutting rocks. What I do not understand is why someone would look at said rocks and go “yeah, they’re ok… but they’d be AWESOME if we carved some presidents’ faces in them!”. What I fail to understand further is why the US government in their infinite wisdom said “Dude! You are so right! Carve that shit up and lets make a parking lot!”
I’m all for presidential monuments. Washington D.C. is the perfect place for them. Not the wilderness.
It sends a bit of a mixed message when they discourage graffiti in national parks and forests, but charge 10 bucks (not covered by the annual park pass by the way, WTF?) to see Mt. Rushmore.
I decided to make a documentary chronicling my bold and epic journey to see this monument.

Watch more Keystone videos at tripfilms.com

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Breathers: My Summer Book Report

Written by Kyle on August 14th, 2009

Listening to the radio at 5:00am on a Sunday morning driving along the San Francisco Bay in late June I happened upon an interview being conducted with a local author by the name of S.G. Browne who had written a book titled Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament.

Breathers follows the life, or undeath, of Andy a recently reanimated zombie in his 30s now dealing with the difficulties of zombiehood. Browne flips the genre upside down by writing the first actual zombie book. Truly, all other alleged zombie books are the stories of humans dealing with a zombie menace, but in Browne’s world that’s just Hollywood propaganda; some zombies are unemployed and live in their parents’ wine cellard watching daytime television. Far from a menace, Browne’s zombies are oppressed and pathetic.

From the interview I learned that Browne would be leading a zombie rights protest on the steps of San Francisco City Hall while I’d be in town, which I attended and filmed. Click here to see that video.

After the rally I followed over to hear S.G. Browne do a reading of some select passages. After hearing about Andy’s disastrous first Thankgsiving as a member of the undead, and zombie rights slogans such as “it’s not necrophelia if you’re both dead” I was hooked.

I bought a copy and over the course of my trip have been reading it. I just finished it in the Black Hills National Forrest, South Dakota and cannot recommend it enough to others as a very smart, very funny read.

Click here to get a copy.

book-breathers

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Combatting Vagabond Fatigue

Written by Kyle on August 14th, 2009

Never staying in one place for more than two nights is both the coolest and strangest thing I’ve ever done.

Some days I am so excited to be living in this moment, doing what I’m doing, bouncing around the country, but at times I would love to be at home in my cozy apartment in New York living a life of more stability.

I can at the very least now appreciate the value of each lifestyle, but I know myself well enough to know that I’m just not good at doing the same thing for extended periods of time, whether its traveling forever or staying in one place forever. Anything permanent just sounds awfully boring.

I’m having a bit of sendentary-sickness at the moment, but I think that’s just a symptom of being in a place like Casper, Wyoming. Not to hate on Casper, it’s just so very very much not my thing. The land is beautiful and the sky is big, and while a trip to the bowling alley is fun from time to time, I don’t think that a bowling league and weekend rodeos would really rock my life for the long term.

The fortunate thing about vagabonding fatigue is that I get the chance to move on and tomorrow I’ll be in the Tetons and loving the fact that I’m not in an office. I have the most profound respect for guys like Pat Henessey and Ed Buryns who are lifelong vagabonders, because some days I just don’t know if I have it in me to do this for a lifetime. Maybe I just need a sweet van…

Posted in California | 6 Responses »

A day in the mountains with none of the huffing and puffing!

Written by Kristin on August 12th, 2009

If you want to see the Rocky Mountain wilderness, but want none of the hiking…

try taking a drive up Trail Ridge Road. It’s the highest continuous highway in the United States and promises stunning views of the mountains. You may even learn a thing or two about moraines, tundra, and other geological features found in the park. Those informational boards are for more than positioning your camera for the family Christmas card photo!

I felt like we were being a little wimpy for choosing to spend the better part of a day driving through the mountains instead of hiking, but this drive is definitely a must-see if you visit the park. And while a good hike provides only satisfying views of the terrain below, at the top of Trail Ridge Road you can munch chili cheese dogs, buy pottery and commemorative shot glasses, and enjoy breath-taking views without any of the wind. Pretty cool.

In all seriousness though, I recommend doing Trail Ridge Road early in your trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. The first part of the drive showcases a lot of the trailheads you may want to use later in your trip, and you’ll be able to see terrain that would otherwise require a multiple-day hike.

Check out the video Kyle and I made for an overview:

Watch more travel videos at tripfilms.com

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Im too high to do this

Written by Kyle on August 11th, 2009

I’m coming clean. I couldn’t do it. I was just too high.

Admittedly we got a late start in our day attempting to climb Spearhead, a 12,575 ft tall jagged rock formation thrusting out of the alpine tundra. I had done this before, climbed this mountain, when I was 15 or 16, but that was after having spent a month at camp, hiking well over a hundred miles in the Rocky Mountain National Park, getting my legs and lungs adjusted. When you live in New York City, even though New Yorkers do walk a lot, the walking is flat and the only elevation I see is when I go to work on the 24th floor 55 Broad St. 12,575 feet for me is just too damn high.

After 5.5 miles in, we had to turn around. It was getting late in the day and my head was feeling so light I was worried it might just up and float away. If you’ve never experienced severe altitude changes, it’s truly one of the strangest sensations. You immediately feel what it is like to no longer be you, but a weak, asmatic, baby-like version of you where each step becomes difficult (unless you’re a Sherpa).

As a kid, going to camp in Estes Park, CO I climbed a lot of mountains, and failed to climb a lot of mountains. Back then I would have to go back to my bunk, dejected and bitter at the wasted opportunity after failing to summit. My philosophy then was that if at first I didn’t succeed I must try and try again until I could stand on top of that mountain. As a big kid, I have a different perspective: If at first you don’t succeed, kick back with a beer and writing an amusing blog about it. Being a big kid rocks.

kylehiking

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Delicate Arch and My Delicate Skin

Written by Kyle on August 6th, 2009
If editing videos were a race, I’d be more tortoise than hare, but hey, let’s remember who won that race dammit!
That being said, I’m still getting out my videos from last week. It’s been a crazy trek, and about 500 miles on the odometer since last weekend, which I spent in Moab, Utah home of Arches National Park. Arches is one of the coolest, and least crowded parks I’ve visited. I almost feel bad blogging about it. It’s like that sweet little local bar in your neighborhood that the ironic hipsters and guys with tribal arm tattoos (switch to lower back for their female counter parts) have not yet discovered and made sucky. In comparison, it makes Yosemite seem like an overbooked Southwest flight.
Perhaps I just hit it at off peak season, but Arches is pretty far out there. Denver is 5 hours away, Las Vegas is about 8. This means that everyone at Arches is stoked to be at Arches, which also means that they’re mainly European. If you don’t mind socks with sandles and an overabundance of fanny packs (both of which I celebrate), then you will find that Arches rocks the socks right out from under your sandles.
I hiked to a rock formation known as Delicate Arch. I’m sure glad I saw it now, because it is almost certain to erode sometime within the next few million years, not that my progeny will care, they will be too busy playing “laser ball” in “the thunder dome” or Halo 9,257 (dream big!).
I know that I do it in the video, but I truly apologize for the paleness. It was very hot. I ordinarily only take my shirt off in the event that I need to flag down a plane or satellite, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Posted in Road Trip, Utah | 2 Responses »

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