Living, Playing & Writing in the Outdoors
Dan Nocera has a simple formula to save the planet: sunlight + water = energy for the world.
These shorts created for the Focus Forward Film Competition in 2013 are amazing displays of what special innovative minds can do to make a difference in the world. It’s too bad the competition didn’t continue. The more folks motivated to explore solutions or shed light on current projects, the better for all.
Treasure Mountain, Park City Ski Area, Park City Mountain Resort, PCMR. Now Vail Resorts has put a new name on the 50+ year-old ski area’s business card- Park City Mountain. The rebranding (the first since the mid-1990s) will go full-bore public in a week or so.
Colorado-based Vail finally got their mittens on PCMR in 2014 after acquiring the lease on (The) Canyons Resort in 2013 and is in the process of linking the two into a single property. The lift line for the new Interconnect Gondola is already in and foundations are being poured for the lift towers.
“Unveiling our new brand will mark a historic day for Park City Mountain. The ambitious $50 million capital improvement project to connect Park City and Canyons to create the largest resort in the U.S. is well underway and we are excited to share the new identity of the combined resort with our community,” said Bill Rock, the chief operating officer at PCMR (PCM?). Notice the missing “The” in his statement.
Park City Ski Area became PCMR when Powdr Corp. moved onto the property in 1996. The new owners were out to play nice with snowboarding, just like USSA did when they started calling themselves the United States Ski and Snowboard Association rather than the United States Ski Association.
So now Park City Mountain Resort becomes Park City Mountain and Canyons becomes ‘Canyons at Park City.’ Are we confused yet? The Vail Resorts statement said it would “continue to maintain the unique history and atmosphere of the two base areas with differentiated marketing for the diverse hotel and hospitality experiences.” Um, okay. Not really a whole lot of differences between the two areas that would need preserving but whatever.
VR plans to release more details at a public party July 29. A new logo and a redone trail map will also be unveiled.
Photo Courtesy ABC Entertainment
If you’ve ever wondered who the heck would commute to a film studio in Park City, Utah, wonder no more. Park City Film Studios announced today that ABC Entertainment Group will use the 375,000 square-foot facility as its base of operation for the new series “Blood & Oil” (formerly “Oil”, formerly “Boom”). The commercials are already airing on ABC during such popular shows as “The Bachelorette” and “Mistresses,” promising all the fun things that ‘sell’- lust, greed, sexy dudes and fashion. Oh, and Don Johnson.
“It’s highly unusual for a brand new studio to be selected for major production,” said Greg Ericksen, owner and developer of Park City Film Studios. “So, you can imagine that we are very excited to be working with ABC on this project.”
Park City Film Studios facility is still under construction but when it’s completed it will house three soundstages, production offices, and an array of studio services including a digital motion capture stage and technology and special effects stages. “Blood & Oil” is taking over the entire production facility including three 15,000 square foot production spaces and offices.
The Utah Film Commission recently announced the new TV drama is the first network series in 10 years to be filmed on location in Utah. “Granite Flats” doesn’t count as it is produced for KBYUtv, a non-profit, University channel. “Blood & Oil” will air on Sunday nights and premieres on Sept. 27, 2015.
The drama series features Don Johnson from “Nash Bridges” and more recently ‘Eastbound and Down” but who most GenXers remember as Sonny Crockett in the iconic 80s series “Miami Vice”. Hunky “Gossip Girl” alum Chace Crawford and Rebecca Rittenhouse from “Red Band Society” also star. But the real leads in this true-to-life oil industry story are Park City and Utah. Our ‘locals’ play the part of North Dakota.
Utah’s incentive program encourages out-of-state productions to film here and includes cash back when they spend a certain amount of money and utilize a percentage of local talent and crew. ABC says 300 local cast and crew members will be used and it is predicted to inject $35 million into the local economy.
It’s too bad, however, that leads and recurring roles are cast out of Los Angeles, leaving only day parts for our talented local pool. Of course, I’m looking forward to auditioning. Who wouldn’t? I haven’t done a part in a network series since “Promised Land.” I read for a couple of roles in “Everwood” but didn’t make it past the callbacks. Other Utah-filmed series include “Touched By An Angel” and “Extreme” – a short-lived action drama starring “Modern Family’s” Julie Bowen.
Park City Film Studios’ site is designed to support all stages of moviemaking, with plans to host a hotel, restaurants and retailers, at 4001 Kearns Boulevard, across from the National Ability Center in Park City.
According to ABC, “Blood & Oil” is written by Josh Pate and Rodes Fishburne. Executive producers are Tony Krantz, Josh Pate, Rodes Fishburne, Drew Comins, and Don Johnson; produced by ABC Signature.
If you’re planning a trip with your dog this summer but aren’t sure where to go, Milkbone and the Big Heart Pet Brands family is here to help. They’ve created a guide to the top 50 destinations for you and your pooch.
The list evolved by cross referencing online review sites with data on dog-friendly restaurants and hotels.
The only spot for Utah was Dinosaur National Monument (Maybell, Utah) at #44. Perhaps they were hurting for suggestions? Personally, the Manti-La Sal National Forest surrounding Moab is rocking for dogs. At DNM, pets can only hike on the Cold Desert Trail, Plug Hat Trail, Iron Springs Bench Overlook Trail and Echo Park Overlook Trail. They can’t go into the buildings, hiking trails within the monument, along the Green or Yampa Rivers, or in the monument’s backcountry.
But Moab’s extensive network of bike and hiking trails and backcountry terrain make for some awesome canine carousing year round. There are more than 75 pet-friendly lodging properties (but only about 10 hotels) and at least four patios where you can cool off with your dog. I appreciate the Silver Sage Inn. There’s a $10 pet fee and it’s not high-class, but it’s clean, they have free wifi, fridge, micro and coffee maker.
Here are Milkbone’s top 10. For the rest of the list, Click Here.
#1: The Original Dog Beach (San Diego, California) (50 Milk-Bone biscuits))
#2: SF Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, California) (49)
#3: Fort Tryon Park (New York City, New York) (48.5)
#4: Runyon Canyon (Los Angeles, California) (47)
#5: Acadia National Park (Mt. Desert Island, Maine) (46)
#6: Pike Place Market (Seattle, Washington) (45)
#7: Carmel (Carmel-by-the-Sea, California) (44.5)
#8: The Biltmore Estate (Asheville, North Carolina) (44)
#9: Central Park (New York City, New York) (43)
#10: Buckskin Joe Frontier Town (Cañon City, Colorado) (42.5)
FYI-
If you see a patch of open space you need to make sure you know who it belongs to. Here’s a breakdown in a nutshell.
National Parks
In general, dogs in national parks can be “anywhere a car can go.” Basically that’s, roads and parking lots. They can also be in picnic areas and campgrounds. Some parks actually allow leashed pets on those short trails around the Visitor Center but you’ll need to check with the individual parks you’re visiting. In Canada, however, most national parks extremely dog-friendly.
National Monuments
Some allow dogs on most trails while others like Devil’s Tower or Cedar Breaks ban them entirely.
National Forests and National Grasslands
National forests open their arms to pet owners. Most every trail is accessible. Usually the land surrounds national parks so you can let him run after you’ve left him back to explore the excluded places.
National Recreation Areas
Humans and dogs, ATVs and mountain bikes; usually everyone is welcome. Check the boating rules, however. If the NRA is a lake, dogs may be restricted to beaches or picnic areas.
National Seashores
The rule is pretty much no dogs on trails but ok on the beach, year-round. National lakeshores, however, allow canine hikers on many trails.
National Wildlife Refuges
Leashed dog are usually ok.
National Historical Parks, National Trail Systems
Get out and explore a bit of American history with your dog. It’s all good. Just check before setting off on a multi-day adventure if you are crossing private lands to make sure your dog can legally join in.
Bureau of Land Management Lands
Those 262 million acres of “nothing” are “something” for dogs. He’ll adore you for the romps stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast.
Ryan’s digging this a little too much. It’s great to see him excited and smiling after copping a dower attitude about work and two months of studying for the CFA exam. But not at my expense. The coach came around to check on us; to see if we understood the ‘superman’ move. We were supposed to extend our arms like Superman as the ‘perp’ came at us with a baseball bat from overhead. One hand would strike the side of his neck, the other would wrap over and around his forearm. Once the elbow was locked you would take your neck hand and administer a palm strike, knee the femur, the groin, the stomach, the head. Once they’re buckled over you switch the position of your hand on his neck, step your leg behind theirs and push him back onto his back and the ground. Except as the coach watched, Ryan gleefully slammed his hand into my neck and sent me reeling before ever completing the over moves. The coach said two things before moving on- “Are you okay?” and “Now you know what it feels like.” Yeah, not good.
And so for the rest of the night I kept my distance.
All of a sudden the Range Master is rapid firing the tactics and moves from wiggling out of a back grab, twisting the perp’s arm and getting them face down on the ground to disarming a gun. It starts to feel more like a demo than an instruction course but I try to keep up. Some of the moves (if done swiftly and correctly) are surprisingly easy.
But it can be confusing. I’m a doer not a watcher when it comes to learning so I don’t get it unless there’s a coach right there next to me to “adjust me”. Depending on where you stand on the mat there can be a huge lag between watching the demo and having a coach watch you. I certainly wasn’t going to practice the wrong way to do something, so with only five or six coaches walking around, there were long pauses in the action. By Day 3 this would be fine; I could use the rest. But tonight I wanted to play. I would grab one the minute he was nearby- “Can you help us?” Their corrections were swift. You felt the pressure to engrain it in your memory pronto because he was already on to the next group. All of the coaches are easy to follow and talk to, there just aren’t enough of them for our group. It should be more like one to six not one to 26. Ryan doesn’t like to ‘bother’ people but if it was simply up to me I would have them around me the whole night.
Perhaps it felt rushed because of the holiday. Fourth of July. Most of Front Sight’s courses are during the day but in the summer when temps loom around 103, classes start at 6 p.m. and end at 12:30 a.m. On the night of July 3 we ended at 10:30 p.m. for a special address by our fearless leader. Ignatius Piazza himself- made a rare personal appearance to address the student body before kicking off the Fourth with the first fireworks display of the holiday at 12:01 a.m. We got a pep talk about our Founding Fathers and what it means to be American. I was surprised to find the aggressive online marketer charming and self-effacing. He actually joked about his constant email campaigns for membership money.
When we stepped outside behind our workout tent we could finally relax and appreciate the end of our two-day empty hand defense course. As I watched the bombs bursting in air the irony hit me. We are celebrating our freedom while we learn to defend it so aggressively. It sucks that others can’t leave us alone. Even other Americans.
