There's Just No Gettin' Around It...Dinosaurs Are COOL!

Cool...but I'm still glad they're gone.

It's unlikely that international visitors to Western Canada would miss an opportunity to visit what is likely the Mecca of the dinosaur world; the Royal Tyrrell Museum. We first visited the museum in 1986 shortly after it opened. Back then it wasn't “Royal” yet, but it was still very impressive. Since we wanted to give the museum a chance to a add something new before we visited again, we hung on for about 30 years until we went back for another look, Sure enough, it was MUCH better this time, and worthy of the addition of the Royal appellation to the name.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum nestled in the badlands of Southern Alberta.

Travelers that find themselves anywhere in the vicinity of the town of Drumheller in the "badlands" of Southern Alberta would find it well worth their time to keep about 3 or 4 hours free for a trip back in time...way back. Admission is only $18 for adults, which would barely get you a burger and fries in a sit-down restaurant these days, and I guarantee you'll remember your day at Tyrrell long after you've forgotten a good burger.

Dramatic diorama-style staging of the first gallery gets you in the mood to learn more about this prehistoric world.

The museum features ten galleries, and the first (Cretaceous Alberta) is brilliantly executed in a way that sets the stage and builds anticipation for the rest of your exploration of the 121,000 square feet of spectacular displays. It features an up close and personal meeting with our very own local cousin of the T. Rex, the enormous top-of-the-food chain predator; Albertosaurus.

  In Cretaceous Alberta "objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear..."

After you leave the “you are there” realism of the first gallery, we visit a well presented historical retrospective of the museum's development and the astounding and significant finds from the region.

One of the most important T. Rex skeletons ever found.

While there are some special exhibits (like the T. Rex shown above) that will change from time to time, there will be a similar gallery to gallery flow for future visitors. That flow is not random, and the thoughtful arrangement adds to the pleasure of exploring the museum.

Truly impressive Triceratops skull.

We next get a look into the working “Preparations Lab” where you can see real work being done on the remains of these long dead creatures. If you've ever imagined yourself on your knees in the field as an archaeologist, scraping at an exposed dinosaur leg bone and then brushing away the sand with a fine paintbrush, the preparations lab will give you a look at how it really happens.

The Preparations Lab, where the real work takes place.

The next gallery, the “Lords of the Land” is in some ways the most beautiful and moving of them all. Here dinosaur bones are raised to the level of art, and are presented as such. This dark and beautiful room presents the displays as if they were sculptures or paintings, sometimes complete with frames. Here you will see a graceful and beautiful Velociraptor that is literally “put up on a pedestal,” and while beautiful, you'll be glad that nobody has actually cloned them back to life as explored in “Jurassic Park.” (A nice creature to visit, but I wouldn't want them to live here.)

The beautifully displayed remains of Velociraptor are raised to the level of art.

The gallery's centerpiece is J.B. Tyrrell's initial big find, the Albertosaurus, and the gorgeous “Black Beauty,” a rare black colored skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. (Note to geneticists: If you ever really do develop the ability to re-introduce these things...DON'T!)

Tyrrell's "big" find - Albertosaurus.

Heading up the ramp to the second level, we move on to the “Burgess Shale” where we see an ingenious “all around you” depiction of the bizarre and almost alien creatures that lived in the area of the Canadian Rocky Mountains more than 500 million years ago. While generally fist-sized in their real lives, here we see them as many times that size in order to let us feel as if we are swimming among them in an ancient otherworldly sea. Even the floor is glass so we see the animals below us as if we were floating in the water above them.

The bizarre creatures of the "Burgess Shale" gallery. Hmm...maybe with a little garlic butter?

A wonderful surprise to us was the small but beautifully crafted “Devonian Reef.” More a display than a gallery, it offers us a look at the underwater world of the Devonian period when the badlands of today were covered by an enormous tropical sea. Using a “dry for wet” technique, we get the benefit of seeing a most realistic presentation without any of the peskiness of having to deal with any actual water.

The "Devonian Reef" display is a realistic underwater scene.

Scuba divers will note that the changes in the creatures that inhabit our world's reefs over the eons have been much less dramatic than those on land. They will also note that the museum did a good job of depicting what the surface of the ocean looks like when you're below it.

Prehistoric calamari.

Small, but important, the "Terrestrial Paleozoic" gallery then takes you “...through over 200 million years in ten paces.” Covering the period during which life was moving out of the ocean and onto dry land, this part of Earth's past boasted dragonflies the size of actual dragons. (Well, not quite, but their wingspans were more than 2 feet).

A dragonfly the size of an eagle.

Here a happy childhood memory was crushed when I learned that one of my favorite dinosaurs, the sail-backed Dimetrodon wasn't even really a dinosaur at all, but a “mammal-like reptile.” However, without this guy, we might not have our dogs and cats today, as Dimetrodon and his like gave rise to modern mammals. I wonder if it barked?

Dimetrodon's "sail" may have been for body temperature regulation - a combination solar panel & radiator.

The next gallery, “Triassic Giant” offers the museum visitor a unique opportunity to walk around the remains of a truly enormous sea creature from our past, an Ichthyosaur (properly known as “Shonisaurus Sikanniensis”). Measuring 69 feet (21 meters) in length, the portion of the fossilized remains that were recovered are laid out on the floor atop a painted black outline of the original size and shape of the living creature.

This is how the "Triassic Giant" looked when it was still swimming around.

This is the largest known marine reptile to have existed, and like the baleen whales of today, was a filter feeder. There is something about this cleverly designed room that underscores the true sense of scale when viewing this fossil that other galleries and displays do not. Despite its apparent simplicity it was a most memorable part of our visit.

The gallery provides a real sense of scale for the viewer.

Easily missed near the exit to the “Triassic Giant” gallery is the entrance to a beautiful and restful tour through the “Cretaceous Garden.” A greenhouse of sorts, the garden features what is billed as “Canada's largest collection of prehistoric plant relatives.” This provides the viewer with an opportunity to imagine the desert-like landscape that surrounds the museum today as the lush, tropical, shallow sea and marshland that existed when the fossils showcased at Tyrrell lived and breathed. Even the pest control is all natural here, employing toads, salamanders, and ladybugs instead of ten-syllable chemicals. Don't miss this warm and humid walk through the past, especially if you're visiting during a cold time of year.

A "relative" of a prehistoric flower.

The spectacular "Dinosaur Hall" is still...well....spectacular, and in some ways remains the central display area of the museum. The Hall lets the visitor place him or herself into the world of the dinosaur, at least for a while, and I'm glad that we never really co-existed, Hollywood “evidence” notwithstanding.

A "before and after" style display is common in the Dinosaur Hall.

The feel of the room is starting to show its age, and it now has a nostalgic vibe that hearkens back to our childhood schoolroom ideas about what dinosaurs were all about. Back then, we kids stood on firm ground with what we “knew” about them (like my Dimetrodon) and nobody could have shaken us from our confidence that there really was such a thing as a “Brontosaurus.” I was heartbroken when we were later told that it was really just an Apatosaurus all along. But hold on! Paleontologists have recently decided that our beloved childhood swamp-plant-muncher really was a distinct creature after all. Yay Brontosaurus! (I know how Pluto must have felt when it got demoted to “dwarf-planet” status...but I think they really prefer to be called “little-planets” these days. Maybe it will make a comeback as a real planet too).

The guest can study these specimens very closely.

Nestled in the center of Dinosaur Hall is the dark and beautiful “Marine Hall.” In this gallery, the skeletons of enormous sea creatures cavort and swirl around us and overhead in a display that cleverly gives a sense of being undersea and at the very center of the action. Sort of like what a diver feels in a swirling mass of reef fish, but if the fish were all twenty feet long and had teeth like crocodiles.

"We need a bigger boat..."

Now we had back toward the present day as we enter the “Ice Age.” Here, despite the Arctic setting, the creatures are more familiar, looking more like alternate reality versions of elephants, bison, and cougars. Familiar or not, I'm glad that it's a deer that we risk hitting on the highway these days instead of a ten foot tall, 8 ton, woolly mammoth.

If those cats pull this off...they'll eat like kings!

Our final stop before returning to the present is “Mammal Hall.” While mammals actually developed right alongside dinosaurs, they were mostly small creatures (and really scared...ALL the time) until dinosaurs met their still somewhat mysterious demise. With the ecological niche cleared by the absence of all those twenty-five foot tall meat eating monsters, mammals had a chance to get bigger...much bigger. Our own early ancestors were probably pretty happy to have access to a herd of slow, docile, plant eaters from which they could obtain a decent steak.

I'm bettin' there'd be a few good roasts on that guy...just sayin'...

Finally, inevitably, we complete our journey through the incredible history of our planet in the time honored fashion that has itself been passed down through the ages as we “exit through the gift shop.” If you can't find an appealing souvenir widget or thing-a-ma-bob in here to put on your desk or hang from your rear-view mirror, it's really your own fault. Beware those of you that bring small children. This place is chock-a-block with plastic toy dinosaurs of every shape, size, and type, so make sure you have plenty of room on your credit card. As for me...hmmm...I like those speckled blue “Tyrrell Logo” bistro style coffee mugs...and we really ought to have some little memento...”Vicky!...Honey!...What do you you think of these?...”


Fox & Vicky

The Happiest Place On Earth Turns 60

Happy Diamond Anniversary Disneyland!

It's early evening on July 17th, 2015. Vicky and I have just arrived at Disneyland. There's a celebratory atmosphere as we approach the turnstiles, our tickets in hand. We're both just vibrating with excitement, and I can't help but imagine how Walt Disney must have felt on opening day exactly 60 years ago. I'm sure he was excited with the hope that the embodiment of his dream would be a success. We're excited because we know that it was. Once admitted we walk towards one of the entrance tunnels that pass beneath the railroad tracks. Looking up, I see the brass plaque that states: "Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy". Vicky and I walk through the tunnel -- such an easy thing -- and yet the plaque speaks the truth, and the magic happens again this time...like every time. Suddenly, we are now somewhere entirely different than where we started. A different place, a better place, and arguably a different time as well. We have emerged into Disneyland, specifically turn of the century Main Street USA (I guess that's two turns of the century ago now). This feeling just never gets old, and it might even be getting better as our love of this Park grows and deepens with every passing year.

Walt really gambled it all on this untested new concept. Sure, there were other amusement parks, but there had never been anything quite like this. His park had a magic core. It was born in the mind of a film maker, and that made it subtly yet importantly different from any other amusement enterprise of the day. The tunnel that admits guests to the Park is a three dimensional transition or "fade" between two scenes of a living film that guests are a part of. It's difficult to say how much of this genius was consciously created, and how much was the result of the ingrained but subconscious film-maker's thought processes that formed the mental groundwork for Walt's WED Enterprises team. But either way, it shows up time and time again throughout Disneyland, and it's a critical component of why this all works so well. I was always afraid that if I started to really learn about the history of the Park, if I peeked behind the curtain of its creation, that the magic would all come crumbling down around me. Like Toto exposing the Wizard of OZ. But Walt's wizardry is made of sturdier stuff, and the more I learned, the better it all got. There is a layer of genius beneath every surface, and further study reveals yet another layer beneath that. The magic of Sorcerer Yensid runs deep.

Engine No.4 - The Ernest S. Marsh

Vicky and I wander into Town Square and are rewarded with a pleasant anti-shock to the senses. This place is tranquil, simple to understand, and clearly a place where your real life can't get at you. We feel an immediate sense of relief, and happiness settles over us like a blanket warm from the dryer. We've arrived a little late, and so we've had to plan our own festivities to celebrate the 60th birthday of the only Disney Park that Walt ever actually set foot in. We've decided to do honor to the Park by enjoying an "opening day" attraction. It just feels right to do something tonight that the very first visitors to the Park also did back on that hot summer day in '55. There are still plenty of opening day attractions left, though none have remained completely unchanged over the years. For our purposes we've selected the Disneyland Railroad as that most quintessentially "Walt" of them all. We climb the steps to the Main Street Station, and wait for the next steam engine to arrive. It turns out to be the "Ernest S. Marsh" or the No.4 engine. It wasn't really yet in service on opening day, but that in no way sullies the experience of taking the "Grand Circle Tour" via live steam around Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom. The conductor yells, "All aboaaarrrd!" and we take our seats for some old time magic, Walt style.

Main Street USA

It's been said that Walt Disney built Disneyland because he wanted one. I've been enjoying its wonders for 48 years now (since 1967) and the Park is woven into the fabric of my life. I feel very lucky, since Walt himself had only 11 years with his finest achievement. John Hench, one of the greats of Walt's early team, spoke often of the "architecture of reassurance" that the Park's design elements are meant to convey. Main Street USA is a fine example. While the persistent legend held that it was inspired by Walt's "hometown" main street of Marceline, Missouri (Walt was actually born In Chicago) it isn't really inspired by any main street anywhere. In fact it is actually a clever distillation of design elements that call to mind an idealized Victorian era street as we imagine it might have been. While the buildings themselves are constructed in diminishing scale, they are not all 5/8 scale as yet another persistent legend claimed. (This can be traced back to Art Linkletter's inaccurate statement during the opening day television broadcast that the entire Park was built at 5/8 scale. It's true that some things were, but only a few). The first floors of the Main Street buildings are all built approximately full scale, with second floors at 3/4 to 5/8, and third floors at approximately 1/2. This is a use of the film makers technique of “forced-perspective” which makes the buildings look taller than they actually are. But the undersized buildings do something else too. They produce in adult visitors an unconscious sense of having returned to a well known childhood locale. We have all felt this while re-visiting a childhood home when we notice that everything seems so much smaller than it did to us as children. We are of course simply bigger. This sensation then becomes tied to the feeling of having been to Disneyland before as children, whether we really had been there as children or not. The visitor is thus affected from the moment they enter the Park by all of these skillfully applied layers of nuance: the fade-like tunnel transition from “out there” to “in here”; the profound sense of time having slowed, or perhaps even reversed; the perfectly idealized environment of a simpler past life with horse drawn trolleys and gas streetlamps; the subconscious effect of the altered scale of the buildings which produces a child-like sense of wonder, safety, and of having come home. This is the architecture of reassurance of which John Hench speaks, and it is the true genius of the mind of Walt Disney.

Rancho del Zocalo

Sadly, tonight is not the night for an unhurried stroll down a quaint and calming Main Street USA to savor its design magic. It's Disneyland's 60th birthday, and the Park is packed beyond belief. Brilliant new nighttime entertainment offerings of parades and fireworks have drawn a multitude to the sidewalks and rendered them nearly impassable. No worries though...Vicky and I are veterans, and the Park can't really throw anything at us that we can't handle. Sticking to the axiom that Disneyland should be sipped and not guzzled, we remain on the train after our Grand Circle Tour, and let the chuff and hiss of the steam engine pull us away from the mob and around the tracks for just one more stop to the New Orleans Square station before we disembark. Our pace tonight will be an easy one as we continue our opening day quest and wander over to the Rancho del Zocalo for some much needed sustenance. Frontierland has ever had a part of Old Mexico in its DNA, and while the names have changed, the experience of a Mexican meal in Disney's Old West has only gotten better. This dining venue is simply stunning at night, and it's always a struggle to keep our hands off the cameras while we eat. It's delicious Tostada salads for us tonight, and we choose a table next to a stone wall that was almost certainly there those 21,915 days ago (give or take a few) when Walt was trying to figure out which of the 29 cameras were on him for the then unprecedented and trouble plagued ABC television special. Our night is going a little more smoothly than that as we relax after our meal. We're heading for big fun next...Elvis is here!

Nighttime magic at Disneyland didn't start right away. It took a suggestion from Tommy Walker to get the ball rolling for the nightly summertime Fantasy In The Sky fireworks display. It's hard to imagine a Disneyland without colorful fireworks exploding directly over the Castle (or seeming to – since most are really launched from far behind the castle and outside of the Park proper for safety) but the institution did not even begin until 1958. (As an aside, it's also impossible to imagine any major sporting event without the impetus of the 6 musical note anthem: “Da da da DUT da DUH – followed by “CHARGE!” - Yet indeed it was Tommy Walker himself that wrote this in 1946 for the University of Southern California Trojans). The reason for the fireworks was not entirely entertainment related though, and was actually part of a shrewd plan to keep Park guests there much later so that they would need to eat dinner in the Park. This is the kind of business that all enterprises should endeavor to engage in, because the payoff for the guest so vastly outweighs any revenues generated by the effort to increase the evening receipts at the Park restaurants. While the evening meal for the family and whatever it cost would be quickly forgotten by the Disneyland guests of the late '50s, the immeasurable wonder of seeing fireworks erupt over the fairy-tale towers of Sleeping Beauty Castle would be engraved in their minds as a treasured memory for life. In the end, all we own are our experiences, and this one has become a cultural touchstone that defies the affixing of a price.

We ignore the fireworks tonight (since they're not an “opening day” thing anyway) and take the less traveled “Big Thunder Trail” to avoid the crowds on our way around to Tomorrowland. We pause on the bridge overlooking the lake that was once part of the “Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland.” Some real nature has moved in, and we see good sized turtles, bright orange Koi fish, and crawdads so big they look like lobsters. Carrying on to the land of the future, we stake out our place in front of the stage at the Tomorrowland Terrace to await the arrival of Elvis and his rock-a-billy band. “Elvis” in this case is the gifted impersonator Scot Bruce. We've seen him before, and he's so good that it's difficult after the show to shake the feeling that you were actually ten feet away from Elvis Presley himself. Now I have to apply a healthy dose of opening day double-think. While the details of the setting might be all wrong, the vibe is all right. This Tomorrowland venue and its immediate surroundings didn't come to be until 1967, but that was the year of my first visit, so that's cool. And while Elvis didn't really play Disneyland on opening day, he could have, so I let the odd mix of nostalgia wash over me as the stage rises up smoothly from below ground. Scot takes the microphone, calling on the Spirit of Walt and drawing our attention to the wonders of what might be the greatest monument ever built to a man. The people gathered near the stage aren't run of the mill Disneyland fans. They're pretty much all “foamers” like us, and there's hardly a dry eye in the house...he's got us all by the heart now. Then Scot launches into his “Tribute To The King Of Rock-N-Roll” and it feels like the birthday party has just really started. During his show is when it happens. I'm holding Vicky, and Elvis/Scot is singing “Can't Help Falling In Love” (Yeah I know – released in '61 – shhhh...don't spoil it!) I can never predict it, and it always arrives without warning like a happy sledgehammer...a moment of pure joy. They are rare, and brief, but you'll know one when you get one. A moment of pure joy is one so perfect, so happy, that you could freeze it and live in it forever and ever, but you can't freeze it, and then it's gone. They make life worth living, and I cherish every one I get. Thanks Vicky...Thanks Scot...Thanks Walt.

"Elvis"

If Disneyland itself has a heart beating in its chest, then surely it's located in Fantasyland. The iconic Castle is the “wienie” (Walt's term for a visual enticement, drawn from an animal trainer's use of a hot dog as an incentive) that beckons all that enter Disneyland toward the home of some of the Park's most beloved and long lived attractions. Here Peter Pan and Wendy fly forever over the streets of London, Snow White is saved by the Dwarfs time and again, and Mr. Toad drives wildly to his humorously macabre end in Hell. Here we see the closest links between Walt's animation heritage, and the genesis of the Park. Though all these attractions were there on opening day, they have seen changes over the decades. None however have lost the simple magic that delighted those first guests 60 years ago. Peter Pan especially maintains his position as the patriarch of the “dark ride” family, as new Park guests still gasp even today at the giddy sense of flight aboard a pirate ship sailing the night skies. What wasn't there on opening day was the fairy-tale architectural perfection of the village buildings that surround the King Arthur Carrousel today. Money ran out, and concessions were made, leaving the original Fantasyland structures to make their debut wearing flat and uninspired Medieval “tournament tent” facades. It wasn't until 1983 that Disney Imagineers bit the bullet and leveled the whole area, so that it could be reborn as it was “meant” to be. (What would Walt want? I'm sure this question still lurks in the minds of every Imagineer today, and even Tony Baxter was said to have asked himself; “What have we done?” when he surveyed the demolition of the original Fantasyland. Not to worry Tony...you did the right thing). The continuing popularity of these attractions is owed to the clever avoidance of any effort to simply retell the story of a beloved animated film. Instead, each attraction succeeds in evoking a specific feeling in the guest. With Peter Pan, it's the wonder of flight, with Snow White it's fear, and with Mr. Toad it's wild abandon. While the attraction designers never quite pulled off their original intention of placing the guests themselves in the role of Peter, or Snow, or Toad, it didn't matter in the end. The feelings they intended us to have are still there today. The guests of Disneyland are not passive observers, but are a living part of the show, on levels within levels.

Fantasyland

And so it is with a kind of unconscious drifting, nudged by forces both unseen and unfelt, that Vicky and I find ourselves crossing the drawbridge and entering Fastasyland via the one-true-way of passing through the Castle itself. I don't need to waste a moment of thought on it; I know in my heart that this is the only place to be right now as midnight of the Park's 60th birthday approaches. We'd hoped to catch a flight with Peter and Wendy, but the recent refurbishment has driven typically long lines for this attraction to lengths I've never seen before, and I was here on July 4th during the 50th. Every cloud has a silver lining though, and since Peter is getting all the love tonight, it's looking like Snow White is a “walk-on.” We enter the beautiful building and I'm filled with a sense of confidence that Walt is smiling somewhere. The feeling of anticipation has never dulled for me, and it's still here tonight as we board our ore cart and glide through the scenes. The Dwarf's mine remains a favorite, and I wonder jokingly if this is where they got all the diamonds for the 60th. Leaving Snow White, Pinocchio is next with no wait to speak of there either. While he's a relative newcomer, it's still a pretty good attraction, and I never tire of the fireworks or seeing the Blue Fairy vanish. The happy ending is a nice touch too, since it's really the only dark ride that has a proper one. As we say goodnight to Figaro and Cleo, there's a decision to be made. We could make it into the Mr. Toad line before 12:00, but that would mean it's the last ride of the night, and I hate to finish such a magical evening with a trip to Hell. I know what to do. If Fantasyland is the heart of the Park, then the King Arthur Carrousel is the warm, glowing, heart of Fantasyland. The Carrousel is still loading, and there's nobody in the queue at all. We hurry over, hoping to make it on since it might be our last chance. The cast member closes the gate in front of us, and I feel hope slip away. He says, "I'll get you on the next one; it's the last ride of the night...will that be OK?” OK?? It will be PERFECT! I let him know that Vicky is angling for Jingles, and he gives me the “nod” of understanding. When our turn to load comes, he opens the gate for us and Vicky walks quickly to the left where she knows Jingles will be waiting for her. She climbs into the gleaming saddle of Walt's favorite horse, and I take my place on my own galloping steed beside her. The music starts, the horses surge forward, and I think fondly of my Grandfather and his lifelong love of carrousels. Our horses glide smoothly up and down, side by side as the glimmering nighttime village of Fantasyland whirls around us. 60 years...the last ride of the night...spinning on the heart of the heart of Walt's labor of love..what could be better...?

Jingles

Visiting Disneyland is a skill. I don't think I'm being overconfident when I say that Vicky and I are pretty good at it these days. Like any skill, it took a great deal of practice and a bunch of mistakes to get it “right.” (Right for us that is). It started with childhood visits during which my parents called the shots, but they gave me a groundwork of familiarity to build on. When Vicky and I first started coming on our own, the visits were brief by necessity, and so we attacked the Park with military precision and planning. Armed with detailed touring plans, and an alarm clock set for 5:00 AM, we'd be right at the front of the “rope drop” mob ready to bolt (by which I mean to walk calmly and safely) to the latest hot attraction. Then, following our touring plans, we'd beetle from place to place so as to maximize the number of attractions we could experience before the crowds drove us out. Wasting time on things like eating and bathroom breaks was highly frowned upon. What mattered was the “list” and crossing things off of it. We'd take an afternoon break, and then start our touring plan again as the heat and overtired kids drove the mobs back out in the late afternoon. Oh, we'd get it ALL done in three days, and the good stuff more than once, but the pace was grueling even back then, and we were just kids ourselves. I had it all wrong. The word I had missed out on was “Park” (I've been spelling it with a capital “P” all along for a reason). Disneyland is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a more concentrated patch of “beautiful” anywhere. It is also one of the most photographed locations on Earth, and for good reason. Even at today's sky-high ticket prices, you would have your money's worth if you experienced not a single attraction, but instead simply spent the day there enjoying the lush and detailed surroundings. This is what I was missing. Every square inch is soaked in the beauty of achievement. Whether it's the living legacy of Bill Evans' gardens and landscaping, or the architectural genius that lets me move from the Old West of the late 1800's to the Jungles of Africa or Asia with only twenty steps, it's an honor to just BE there. We won't go for less than two weeks anymore, and it's this luxury of a casual pace, mixed with experience, and a growing knowledge of the Park's history, that makes each perfect minute melt into the next with no sense of pressure or obligation. Now there is only happiness, in what is truthfully, the Happiest Place On Earth.

Fantasy Faire

It's after midnight now as we cross the drawbridge again, and that means it's time for a “photo-safari.” Nighttime at Disneyland has a special beauty, and thanks to the advances in cameras of late, we can finally do it justice. Vicky and I head out to the hub, and as usual we're overwhelmed by the options. The Castle is resplendent in its diamond birthday suit, but there's still a throng of people out front taking pictures of it with their phones...sigh. We decide to go over and work the now vacant Fantasy-Faire. It's not long before the ubiquitous but patient security guys make their appearance. They're used to this last minute effort to capture the park sans guests and we chat amiably with them while we compose and shoot. Now, working our way out, we hunt for more subjects. This last hour is a magic time for the camera buffs. All but the sturdiest have fled, leaving only islands of color and light for us to try to freeze for later enjoyment. Soon every entrance to every land is occupied by security, and all that's left to us is Main Street. The parade and fireworks mobs are long gone. The stores are still doing a booming trade though, as the demand for 60th souvenirs seems bottomless. The gingerbread roof-lines are all sparkling with the golden glow of popcorn lights, and there's an older couple still sitting close together on the bench of “Rolly's” porch, savoring a moment of solace at the end of the day. We stop in at the Cinema, and catch a black-and-white Mickey cartoon for old time's sake. The Cinema too is an opening day attraction, and it feels like a nice way to cap the evening. It's nearly 1:00 AM now, and our way is steadily toward the tunnels. We drift toward the one on our right. That way we pass a little closer to Walt's apartment, the lamp in the window lit to let everyone know that he's “there” tonight, as tradition dictates. With a twinge of pain that I don't think will ever stop, we find ourselves passing again through that transition, but this time from “in there” to “out here.” In there is better. I console myself with the thought that it's only the first day. I turn to Vicky and ask with enthusiasm, “Hey, do you know what we're doin' tomorrow?” Vicky lowers her brow and restrains a knowing smirk as she replies; “What?” and I explode with the answer she already knows is coming; “We're going to DISNEYLAND!”

Goodnight Disneyland!

Fox and Vicky

Why Do My Fireworks Pictures Look So Crappy?

If you've ever been at a major fireworks display, perhaps on the 4th of July, or any night at Disneyland, you've probably been surrounded by hopeful tourists snapping away with their cameras. Many might even have the flash turned on. (It's dark right? So I need the flash...right? Ummm...wrong). These people are all doomed to fail in their efforts to capture pictures of fireworks that will do them any kind of justice, and they'll usually end up with something that looks like this:

Not What You Were Hoping For

Part of this is a failure to understand just why fireworks look so great in person, but so lousy in point-and-shoot vacation snapshots. The rest is caused by a lack of attention to the "Two T's" of fireworks photography: Time and Tripod. With just a little attention to the details, you can expect to get something more like this:

That's more like it!

So what's the trick? At any given moment during a display, there may be several different fireworks exploding overhead, and those may also be in different phases of their explosion, some just started, some fully formed, and others fading out at the end of their few seconds of sparkling life.The important words here to the budding fireworks photographer are "few seconds".

A typical modern digital camera on its "automatic setting" might have a shutter speed of around 1/8th of a second when trying to shoot fireworks photos. That means that only what is happening during that 1/8th of a second is actually recorded in the photograph. So what you end up with is a disappointing few points of light, or a fuzzy white smudge, and never the sky filled with color that you seem be seeing as you watch. However, if the camera is set to keep the shutter open for 5, or 15, or even 60 seconds, then everything that happens during that time is recorded in the photo. A great deal happens in 15 seconds during a well timed professional fireworks display, and not surprisingly, a photo that records all of it in a single image can be pretty impressive. (The photo above was taken using a 6 second exposure).

As we wrote in an earlier post, it's in a situation like this that knowing some of the basic principles of photography really helps out. While it's difficult to give any specific instructions because of the huge variety of cameras out there, there are certainly a few general guidelines that will apply to most. If your camera has a "manual" setting, you'll want to use that, as it will give you complete control over the features that will ensure a great series of fireworks photos. If not, many cameras have a "fireworks" setting that will automatically set a slow shutter speed of several seconds, which is not a perfect solution but better than nothing.

Since we need to keep the shutter open for many seconds, we're going to need a tripod, either a real one or a makeshift tripod. (Sorry, there's just no getting around it). It's simply impossible to hand-hold the camera steadily enough for any shutter speed longer than about 1/4th of a second. The good news is that there are many practical options to solve this problem. There are traditional tripods that are extremely small and light, some even small enough to fit inside a backpack with ease.

Only 15 Inches Long & 24 Ounces In Weight

But these will still open up to almost the same size as a full-on "pro" tripod:

But perhaps more importantly, there is a range of tiny travel tripods that can be pressed into service by placing them on the ground, or on top of a nearby object like a trash bin or a fence post, and some that even have bendy, gripper legs, that can be wrapped around a handy pole or traffic sign. Vicky and I carry two of the little ones whenever we travel. (My favorite is the tiny, light, and very sturdy Q-Pod seen below on the right). In a pinch, the camera can simply be propped up on any acceptable surface and rested on something like a folded up jacket to steady and support it. Anything will do, as long as the camera doesn't move while the shutter is open to take a photo.

Tiny Travel Tripods (folded)

Open Q-Pod - Gives BIG performance

OK, the hard part is over. Now all we have to do is fine tune the amount of light that gets into the camera during the exposure. There are several ways to do this. With a long exposure time of this sort, we need to keep the ISO setting low. An ISO of 100 or 200 will do fine in most cases. (All cameras will allow you to control this). It's also wise to set your aperture as small as possible as well. (You might need a manual setting for this one). Both these things help to prevent your photo from being overexposed due to the very slow shutter speeds. An overexposed fireworks photo will rob the picture of its color, and everything might appear white. Most important by far though is setting the length of the time for the shutter to stay open. This depends a great deal on how "vigorous" the display is. A slow display may need 60 seconds, while a very rapid fire one may need only 3 or 4. The 4th Of July photo (below) needed a 60 second exposure because the firing rate of the show was very slow paced, while the faster paced Disneyland display (2nd photo below) took only 4 seconds to capture).

Slow Show! What you see recorded in this photo took 60 seconds to happen

Fast Show! This photo took only 4 seconds to capture.

This is where digital photography really pays off, since you can see the results of each attempt instantly, and then adjust the settings before the next one.

Lastly, we have to be sure not to move the camera at all when we release the shutter. This means (as with any tripod photography) that we can't actually push the shutter release button manually like we usually do. We'll either need to have a wireless shutter release, or simply use the timer that's already built into most cameras. The timer option is the easiest and least expensive, and all you'll need to do is choose the "2 second" option so that the shutter releases 2 seconds AFTER you push the button. This prevents the inevitable jiggle caused by touching the camera from being recorded as fuzziness on the final image.

Now that you're armed with the basics, you can prepare for your next night of fireworks and come home with pictures that do the show justice. Just take a little time to learn the basic controls on your camera, grab your tripod, and have fun!

Fox & Vicky

Jewels

Okay, I admit it. I'm too busy either preparing to travel, travelling, or recovering from travel, to actually write about travel. That is irony...right? In fact, the date on the post prior to this one has been taunting me so aggressively regarding my failings, that I feel compelled to get something up here just to make it stop. (I would just hate to end up being one of those writers that "think" about writing a great deal, but never actually writes). Now that my confession is out of the way, I will regale you all with another post regarding our time "Down South" which indeed had sufficient effect on our lives to warrant another visit...

Enjoy!


I’m walking along one of the roads that run parallel to the waterfront, but it’s not one of the roads a tourist would be likely to see. There are no jewelry stores and no T-shirt shops. No one is asking me to come inside because they “have the best junk,” or “speak broken English perfectly.” No enormous white ships can be seen sitting offshore like office buildings lying on their sides. None of the things twenty thousand cruise passengers a day might remember about this island are on this street, but it does have a few attractions of its own. I pass a bougainvillea, pouring over a mission style wall like a waterfall, exploding with red flowers. The color is so intense in the setting sunlight that it doesn’t even seem real. On my left now is a bright orange house I never tire of seeing. The locals are fearless about their use of color in decorating, with vibrant yellows, blues, and reds everywhere. My neighborhood back home was brown and gray. The sidewalk under my feet is mostly cracked concrete, but in the center of every rectangular section is a small, bright-blue square of tile, set like a jewel. Jewels of a different kind for those of us that pass this way. 

Orchid Growing Wild In Our Back Garden - Cozumel, Mexico

Yin and yang, good and bad: each needs the other. I enjoy the frequent blasts of beauty I see while walking here all the more, because ugliness is not that rare either. Cozumel is never neutral, and never dull. One minute I might pass a house or restaurant and exclaim, “Oh my god! What is that smell?” as the intoxicating aroma of a delicious meal being prepared escapes into the air. The next, while passing a vacant lot, might produce the same exclamation -- but for a different reason entirely -- as I smell something dead and decaying amongst the garbage and empty beer bottles. It’s a feast for the senses here, but good or bad, everything is set to maximum. When I returned home for a visit last summer, I was struck by how ordinary everything seemed. There were identical houses with identical lawns, no highs and lows, no wild oscillation in the range of sights and smells. Beauty isn’t as valuable without anything to compare it to.

Mayan Ruins - San Gervasio Site - Cozumel, Mexico

I walk past a "municipal jungle," my name for the empty lots dotting the town. Green rectangles of unrestrained nature, they are usually bordered on four sides by man's handiwork. In these places nature makes a stand, and fights back with a ferocity that can only be seen in the tropics. I smile at the notion that the whole island looked like this once, and would look like it again if it were not held at bay every single day. Sky-blue flowers, the size and shape of a petunia are everywhere, giving the jungle the look of an out of control garden. A young egret stands near one border of this wild spot like a garden ornament: slim, graceful, and white. But it’s real, and a reminder that nature is patiently waiting to take over if it gets the chance. I often hear we need to save the planet, but I think the planet will do just fine by itself if one day we aren’t around to interfere; it’s we that need to be saved from ourselves. 

Iguana - So common that they're the "gophers" of Cozumel, Mexico

I heard a parable once about an old man standing near the gates of an ancient walled city. A family approached carrying all their belongings in a wagon. The father spoke to the old man, telling him they were looking for a new place to live, and asking him what he thought of this city. The old man asked, “What was the place you came from like?” The father answered, “It was a terrible place, dirty, ugly, and full of liars and thieves. No one was kind and everyone looked out only for himself.” The old man replied, “You won’t like it here then, because this city is just like that.” With this, the family moved on. Soon another family approached and asked the same question of the old man, as they too were looking for a new place to live. Again, the old man asked, “What was the place you came from like?” They answered, “It was a wonderful place, clean and beautiful, full of loving and kind people that were always ready to lend a helping hand.” The old man said, “Then you will like it here, because this city is just like that.” Well Cozumel is just like that too, and like any other place, it is exactly what you make of it.

Performers In The Annual Carnival Parade - Cozumel, Mexico

The sun has plunged toward the sea now, seeming to set faster here somehow. The sky to the west is on fire with yellow and orange and red. The clouds look like something from an oil painting, illuminated from within as if they are the source of this light and color. I’m on my way to a local nightspot. It’s not some noisy bar full of twenty-somethings, swilling beer and flashing their tattoos and body piercing. It’s a quiet oasis of cosmopolitan flair called Ambar, another example of the surprising range of this place. I walk through the lounge; past eclectic art and machine turned tabletops, thinking this place would be at home in the most hip of districts in any metropolis. I head through the back door into a garden seating area, where jazz plays softly from speakers hidden in the plants. I love the way the architecture in Mexico blurs the distinction between indoors and out. Vicky is waiting for me at one of the tables, with two ice-cold bottles of dark beer at the ready. The moon is full, or nearly so, and those areas not lit by the garden lights are bathed in bright blue moonlight. I shake my head, thinking that back home the snow is two feet deep and it’s thirty degrees below zero. We clink our bottles together, making a toast, and drink deeply; it’s hot out tonight. 

The Harbor At Christmas - Cozumel, Mexico

Travelers to places like this probably go home thinking they have a notion of what it’s really like here. They tell their friends and family they have been to Cozumel. Sadly though, they have likely seen only a sanitized and carefully prepared set, designed to empty as much cash from their wallets as possible. Avenida Rafael Melgar, the main shopping street along the waterfront, is all of Cozumel most people will ever see. They are warned not to wander onto the dangerous back streets, and to be wary of the local eating establishments. Patent nonsense, as this is the safest place I have ever been, and I’d rather trust local restaurants (that feed their friends and families day after day) than tourist joints that serve you once and never see you again. Make the effort to break free of convention and see the real Cozumel, because you won’t find it on Melgar. Sure, you might see some garbage on the streets, or smell something bad, but you might see some unexpected beauty too.

Sunset From The Ventanas Al Mar (Windows To The Sea) Eco-Hotel - East Coast - Cozumel, Mexico

Vicky and I are walking home now. The streets are quiet but for the occasional taxi driving by. They still flash their headlights in case we want a ride. I guess we’ll always look like tourists no matter how long we live here. Overhead, the moon is bright and clear, and seems impossibly large. Closer to home, we are passing by another municipal jungle when something catches my eye. We stop to look more closely, and within the densely packed leaves and vines is a natural marvel. Hundreds of tiny flickering yellow lights are moving this way and that throughout the plants. They are fireflies, and they look like Christmas tree lights that have been freed, as if by magic, to float away from their wires and do as they please. I stand and stare in wonder. It’s dark, and though I’m sure this jungle is just as full of trash as all the rest, it’s the fireflies I will remember. Each one of us lives in a world of our own making, given form by the power of our thoughts and perceptions. We can see the beer bottles and garbage, or we can see the flowers, birds, and fireflies: the jewels of a different kind. Each one of us is in charge of how we feel. 

I feel lucky.


Fox & Vicky

The Happiest Place On Earth! - IF You Know What You're Doing

My Mom first visited Disneyland when she was 7 months pregnant with me. You know how they say that babies can hear you talking to them, or benefit from hearing music while still in the womb? Well I think that somehow her excitement and wonder at visiting Walt Disney's park back when he was still alive somehow got into my system. Maybe I even heard it all for myself in her belly...and I'm only half joking here. I just LOVE being there, and it's one of our favorite travel destinations for many reasons.

Main Street Station - At The Entrance To Disneyland, Anaheim, California

I'm sorry to admit that I went about it all in the worst possible way when Vicky and I first started to visit "The Park" as a couple. (When you're there, you'll never hear anybody that really knows the ropes say, "We're going to Disneyland today", and instead they'll say, "We're going to The Park", and they say it in capitals). I felt that I already knew all there was to know about Disneyland, since I'd been going there since I was very young. We had family that lived in Anaheim at the time, so going to Disneyland was just a natural for us in the 60's.

The Setting California Sun Bathes The Spires Of Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Our early trips as an adult couple were brief, and I insisted on doing EVERYTHING, and I had to do the really good stuff twice. I was a Disneyland Commando. This drove Vicky crazy, and I often got her up at 5 AM to be at The Park well before opening time so that we could be nearly first in line. Then I marched the poor girl around the place for 14 hours a day like a drill sergeant, often with a detailed "touring plan" in hand that specified the most efficient order in which to do things. This got a lot done in the time available, but it was physically grueling, and we needed a vacation when we got home from our vacation....and Vicky hated my guts.

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party - A Disneyland Staple Since 1955

But if fifty years of repeat visits to The Park have taught me anything, it's that Disneyland is meant to be sipped, not guzzled. If at all possible, the best experiences are to be had with longer visits. Two weeks is what we prefer these days, and given the overwhelming number of entertainment and dining options now available, I could stay even longer.

The Riverboat "Mark Twain"

If you must visit Disneyland on a tight schedule (3 to 5 days) then do yourself a huge favor and buy a copy of Bob Sehlinger's indispensable book, "The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland" before you go. While you might find yourself being a bit of a Disneyland Commando, the author's brilliantly conceived and efficient "touring plans" will give you a real shot at experiencing all the best offerings of the resort, even on a short visit.

The "King Arthur Carrousel" - Perhaps The Finest Still In Existence Today

Don't forget to take your camera. Disneyland is one of the most photographed places in the world, and for good reason. It presents an amazing bounty of great opportunities for both casual and serious photographers to explore their creativity. Having enough time to stop and smell the roses, and then take pictures of them, is perhaps one of the greatest rewards that come with the luxury of longer stays. The experienced visitor will often find themselves absorbed more by the rich detail and subtle beauty of their surroundings, than they are by the admittedly astounding attractions that Disneyland is known for.

R2D2 Rides Shotgun On Your Star Tours Adventure

Even the food at Disneyland is a draw these days, and for those that know the history of The Park, that is a kind of miracle. Up until the last few years, there was very little to recommend eating in Disneyland at all. You were better off at the Denny's on Harbor Blvd. across the street from the main entrance. This was always a great mystery to me; how could Disneyland possibly be so good at everything else, and be so bad at preparing food?

The Beautiful "Court Of Angels" In New Orleans Square - Sadly Now Closed To The Public

Apparently serving mediocre food for half a century or so was their limit, and suddenly, amazingly, gloriously, that all changed. Now there are so many great places to eat that it's nearly impossible to hit them all, even in a two week visit and eating exclusively at Disney restaurants. In fact, the great food offerings are so numerous that they'll need to be explored in detail in future posts.

Castle Reflections

It's been said that, "Walt built Disneyland because he wanted one", and while he may have been beaten to the punch by Knott's Berry Farm, and Santa's Village, Disneyland really defined the final form of the new entertainment venue that came to be known as the theme park. I'm confident that it remains the premiere destination for theme park fans today because it was the only one that Walt ever actually set foot in, and it bears the unmistakable touch of his creative hand.

The World Famous "Jungle Cruise" - Featuring The "Backside Of Water"

Many make the error of thinking that it's somehow a place meant only for children, and that adults just endure it for their kid's sake. But the opposite is really true, and it's much more a playground for adults than children.

Check Your Adulthood At The Door Please

When queried, the 5 to 7 year old set respond that the best part of their trip to Disneyland was the swimming pool at the hotel. Nothing could more clearly illustrate the need to wait until your kids possess both the maturity and the stamina to enjoy The Park for what it really is - a place to cast off the mantle of reality, and revel in the suspension of disbelief. It may well be the greatest example of virtual reality ever conceived, and it's adults that need this place to rediscover the lost art of "play", not children; they haven't lost it yet.

Fox & Vicky