Extreme Mountain Top Bush Flying Over the Pacific Northwest

This flight originated in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada close to the U.S. border and the North Cascades National Park. The route took us over Harrison Lake and up through Golden Ears National Park. Pretty hair rasing stuff flying so close to the mountain tops as you can see in the video! The light aircraft we were flying in was a Piper Cherokee and a pretty old one at that. Our pilot was very skilled though as you have to be flying around mountains. Mountain flying is extremely dangerous and there is a lot for a pilot to watch for and take into consideration.

I will be uploading a complete version of this flight in the near future if viewers show enough interest. There were a lot of pretty amazing lakes we flew over that aren't included in this clip and the landing was bumpy and awesome.

A Day in the Life of London

This is a short film I made about the district around Tower Bridge in London. I try to highlight the anonymity that big cities can sometimes inflict on oneself. The blur tiltshift effect is supposed to represent this.

I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Time-Lapse, Primrose Hill, London

On a cold January evening, we headed up to nearby Primrose Hill to film a time-lapse over the city of London. Primrose Hill is located north of Regents's Park and offers one of the best views of the London skyline. If you're looking for views of the city, this is one of the best along with the views from Hamsptead Heath and Greenwich.

The video is best enjoyed in 1080p HD (you can change to this if your computer is fast enough to handle the processing by clicking on the '360p' icon on the bottom of the video window and selecting 1080p or 720p).

Inter-Railing Day 1: London to Rotterdam

It's midnight on the Harwich Rotterdam Express, that is the Stena Line 7hr. 30 minute crossing from Harwich International to Hoek Van Holland (near Rotterdam). We've just left port and to my left side I can still see the harbour lights flickering as we pull out of port.

For the next two weeks we'll be travelling around Europe on an inter-rail ticket. This is my second time inter-railing, my first been ten years ago. The plan on this journey is to travel to Frankfurt (the big one), Munich, Salzburg, Venice, Rome, Florence, Menton, Paris and back to London in 15 days. We'll see how the plan goes but like rules, plans are made to be broken so let's see.

The ferry is a pretty reasonable deal - you get a double cabin that sleeps two for £104 one way or the rail and sail deal for about £120 one way allowing to travel by train from London to any Dutch station including the ferry crossing and a cabin. Travel during the day (at your peril - 7hrs. 30 during the day is tough going and pretty boring) for about £29 one way.

Until tommorrow. Goodnight!

Climbing Mount Rainier, Washington State, USA

Climbing Mount Rainier from Steve Ronan on Vimeo.

I tackle one of the highest peaks in North America which also happens to be an active volcano. Yeehaw!

Ghosts, Rattlesnakes and Tumbleweed in other words...Rhyolite

Death Valley brings a lot of images to ones mind....mainly ones of extreme temperatures and death. The lowest point in the western hemisphere is found here at Bad Water Basin (gotta love those names) and also the second hottest place on earth (the other is some place in Africa - you can look it up).

Death Valley and her surrounding desert was once the place of prospectors and adventurers seeking to make their name in gold, oil and anything else they could find worth mining (they found a lot more Boxite there than gold). The valley played host to many a famous story such as those of the 49'ers, a group of pioneers who ran into trouble whilst trying to cross this unforgiving landscape in 1849. Various stories surround what exactly happened to them but according to legend, death found them pretty quick. It was out of their ordeal that the valley got it's name.

Soon after the initial expeditions, mining towns sprung up in and around the valley and rapidly filled with an influx of prospectors looking for you guessed it...gold. Rhyolite, as seen in my video, was no exception.

Located on the border between Nevada and California, Rhyolite was founded in 1905 and grew to a population of approx. 5000 in 1907 in just two years. In fact from it's foundation, Rhyolite grew from just a two man camp to 1,200 people in two weeks - a population explosion. By 1910 though, the local gold mines were operating at a loss and by 1920 the population was zero.

At the height of it's success (which for better or worse didn't last too long), the town had 50 saloons (oh yes, miners like their liquer), 19 gambling tables (and their gambling too), brothels (and their women also for that matter), a casino, a public bath house, a school house, 16 restaurants and a weekly newspaper. By 1907, the residents even had their very own railway station. Little did they know that just three years later, the local population of rattlesnakes would outnumber them by a ratio of many to none.

The day we visited Rhyolite, the temperature would reach 52 degrees celcius, one of the hottest on record for the valley (or so the park ranger told me). When we reached the town, it lived up to it's title as a ghost town - we were the only visible people there, excluding the spirits of course. The only sound that could be heard were the constant creaking of old rafters and shutters banging in the wind. Signs warned of rattlesnakes at every corner. With such things I always have a dangerous curiosity to see if I can see any of the critters but fortunatley (probably, for my sake) I didn't.

I peered into the ruins of several buildings. Bits of furniture were strewn around. A few old pots and pans could be seen on the foor, reminders of the life that so many people briefly had here. Rhyolite is a creepy place especially when you visit on a day when there's no other tourists around but that's a bonus of course. To see a place like this gives you a fascinating glimpse into what life must have been like. This wasn't the first ghost town we had visited on this road trip. We had now seen two extremes, Rhyolite in one of the hottest places on earth and the ghost town of Tomboy near Telluride, Colorado beside the Imagene Pass, one of the highest passes in the USA at above 13,000 feet (I can't recommend this place enough - I will write about it soon enough and publish a video guide so keep an eye out, you hear).

If your're ever heading to the Death Valley, visit Ryholite for sure. Heading from the direction of Las Vegas, drive towards the town of Beatty and then on towards Death Valley National Park. Rhyolite is located on the eastern edge of the park.

Good luck and say hi to the spirits for me.

Monument Valley, Arizona, USA

Mexican Hat (Click to Enlarge)

It was a scorching hot summers afternoon as we drove through the surreal looking Valley of the Gods. The desert scenery glowed a dusty red around us, our car leaving a trail of red dust behind us as we zipped through the desert highway. We were on our way to Monument Valley, what for me was to become one of the highlights of this particular road trip.

We stopped off at a petrol station (gas station to some) to fill our tank up at Mexican Hat, a small town located between the edge of the Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley. Like many small towns found in the desert, there's not a whole lot to see in Mexican Hat. One can find there a petrol station, a bar and a few run down motels. I don't want to do the place an injustice but it didn't seem to offer a whole lot, although it is a good place to spend the night if you want to pay a little less for a motel.

We filled up our trusty rental car and continued on through the desert road toward John Wayne country. Along the way, we realised where Mexican Hat got it's name from (see picture above) - a pretty cool rock formation that actually does look like a Mexican Hat.

After several more minutes, we got our first sight of the towering sandstone formations that give Monument Valley it's distinctive 'western' look. Goodness knows how many films were made here (more about that in a future article). We stopped the car, got out, and....WOW...the view took our breath away...that is, until a giant articulated lorry came whizzing by almost sending us back to a more spiritual version of the Valley of the Gods. It was time to get moving.

Turning off the main road into Monument Valley, you stop by a kiosk to pay an entrance fee ($5) to enter the Navajo governed tribal land that the park is located within. Don't expect to get a cold bear here, alcohol is banned but they do have one of the greatest restaurants I have ever eaten in located in the most spectacularly positioned hotel I have stayed in

The hotel, built by the Navajo themselves in 2008 overlooks the famous view of Monument Valley that you would surely recognise from the movies. The hotel is surprisingly unobtrusive and respectful to it's surroundings unlike some hotels I've visited where they built eyesores in the most ridiculous places at times often ruining the feel of a place. Happily, that is not the case here.

We hadn't booked anything and were therefore praying for a vacancy at a decent price that suited our shoestring budget. We were greeted politely at the check-in desk (which is always nice).

"Do you have any vacancies", I asked fearing the worst. "You're in luck", the lady said, "We were supposed to have a coach load of Chinese tourists show up this afternoon but they have cancelled their trip.....too afraid of catchin' Swine Flu". We were both relieved at this (and thankful) and managed to secure a room for a discounted $90 as opposed to the standard summer rate of $170. Sometimes when you travel, you get lucky. This time we got very lucky. The hotel turned out to be a real treat.

After dropping off our bags in our room, we had one thing on our mind...to go horse riding through the valley. After leaving the hotel, we walked to a distant stables in the hope of securing a guided horseback tour through the valley in time for sunset. We came across two very friendly Navajo guides who showed us a price list. We paid $180 for the two of us for a 1hr 30 minute tour. This might seem steep but it is well worth it. There are some things you do in life that stay with you forever and this is one of them. If you're going to spend money on something, spend it on this. Check out my video below in which I try to capture the magic of this horseback tour through the valley (it's not easy holding a camera steady while riding a horse!). Our guide was incredibly informative telling us the history of the valley, about Navajo culture and beliefs and how her grandfather was a good friend of John Wayne, and stared in several leading roles in his movies.

Upon getting back to the hotel, we went for something to eat in a really great restaurant located within the hotel. We paid $8 each for one of the most amazing meals I think I've ever eaten, delightfully presented and equally tasty. You won't be eating out if you come here (good job too because there's nothing with about 20 miles).

After washing down our food with some non-alcoholic beverages, we walked out onto the giant balcony found at the back of the hotel which overlooks an awesome panorama of the valley. It was dark and too late too see the view but instead we were greeted to an outdoor showing of John Ford's 'Rio Grande' starring John Wayne, projected onto the wall of the hotel. It's simply amazing to watch a classic movie like this on the set where it was filmed. Yeehah!!

Following this we went for a short walk around the edge of the hotel, looking out into the starry desert void listening to the many sounds of the night time desert (If I am too be truthful, I spent a lot of time looking for desert tarantula's and other creepy crawleys ...though with much regret, I didn't get to see any). It was time to retire back to our room now as Monument Valley had something extra special in store for us the next morning (to be continued....).

Video and Music Produced and Performed by Yours Truly.