Are you as excited as I am about Ken Burns documentary, National Parks, America’s Best Idea, that will be on PBS starting September 27, 2009? This 12-hour, 6 part highly anticipated documentary took 10 years to make, and based on the previews I’ve seen, it will have amazing footage from many of our wonderful U.S. National Parks.
The entire series on DVD:
The book!
The episodes follow the history of the national parks, starting with Congress’ protection of Yosemite and the creation of Yellowstone, the first national park.
Do you want some inspirational wallpaper on your computer desktop? After poking around the PBS website to find out more about Ken Burns new TV series The National Parks, I found some really great high quality FREE wallpaper downloads! Check out the wallpaper here.
My favorite is Yosemite Valley in Winter, followed by Mount Rainier. The snowcapped mountain in the background with the spring wildflowers in the foreground makes it quite an impressive photo.
Yosemite Valley in winter, Yosemite National Park Photo by: QT Luong, terragalleria.com
Mount Rainier National Park Photo by: Craig Mellish, Florentine Films
When I’m working away on my computer it is refreshing to see these images, intermixed with my own hiking and outdoor adventure photos of course!
The Ansel Adams Gallery is hosting a National Park Photography Contest, with the theme: “U.S. NATIONAL PARKS, LANDMARKS & MONUMENTS”.
The contest begins on October 1, 2009, and has really great prizes including a $500 Ansel Adams Gallery gift certificate (grand prize), as well as first, second and third prizes.
Check back on October 1st when The Ansel Adams Gallery posts full details. Good luck! I think I’ll enter some pictures from a trip to Yosemite…
I’ve received links to this video from numerous friends, and every time I see it I yearn to learn (ha that rhymes!) more about this trail! Apparently it is the El Caminito del Rey (I took Spanish in high school so I can translate that ….”The King’s Little Pathway”) and it is in Málaga, Spain. It lies along a narrow gorge in El Chorro.
I finally decided to do some research, and this is what I found out:
El Caminito del Rey was built in 4 years, and finished in 1905
It is said to have been built by Asian workers, not Spanish
Even though it was completed in 1905, it was not inaugurated until 1921 when the King of Spain, Alfonso XIII, crossed the walkway. Ever since then, it has been called The King’s Little Pathway
El Caminito del Rey, the early days
The purpose of the path was to enable workers to cross between the hydroelectric power plants at Chorro Falls and Gaitanejo Falls
It is one meter in width ( 3 feet 3″)
It is 300 meters above the river (984 feet) in spots
Most of the path has no handrail
It’s pretty obvious, but it is in a state of total disrepair. Concrete blocks are missing along many parts of the trail
If you want to go walking along the trail, you can clip in to a safety wire, but it can hold very little weight
4 people died on the path in 1999 and 2000
The Andalusian government budgeted €6.6 million to restore it in 2006
It technically isn’t open to the public, but people still sneak on.
There is a memorial at the end of the path for 3 young men who died in 2000 after falling 700 feet to the gorge below
In late 2008 the President of the Malaga Provincial Government, Salvador Pendon, announced that the financing for the project needs to get put in place before repair work is started
Here’s a map of where it’s located:
Hopefully they can fix this up and make it safe so we can all check it out some day! I’d really love to go (once it is fixed up of course!)
Has you been? Post a comment below and share your stories!
Those of you who live in Colorado are lucky to have the Mountainfilm Festival coming again this year to Telluride, Colorado. The 2010 festival will be in May 2010, and they’ll announce more details later. For 31 years this film festival has brought together filmmakers, photographers, conservationists, mountaineers, and lovers of the outdoors to share their love of mountain life, adventure, and the environment.
In addition to the several day Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, there are shorter versions like the Mountainfilm Summit in Aspen, Colorado August 27 – 30, 2009. This year Ed Viesturs, the famous American mountaineer, will be there, as will Jim Whittaker. Both will be making presentations. I sure wish I could go to Colorado for this!
![Image of Ken Burns: The National Parks - America's Best Idea (Blu-Ray) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51gJRhGkLkL._SL160_.jpg "Ken Burns: The National Parks - America's Best Idea (Blu-Ray) [Blu-ray]")
….”The King’s Little Pathway”) and it is in Málaga, Spain. It lies along a narrow gorge in El Chorro.
