Have Camera.... Will Travel

Jumping For Joy ( with a camera dangling on my neck ) @ Harding icefield Trail, Kenai Fjords National Park, AK

"Have camera, will travel."- when fellow blogger Rainfield left me that comment in one of my posts, HUGE SMILE came to my lips. For it has been quite several years now that I have been enjoying the priceless happiness of having a camera toy. :) I still could remember very well the words my hubby said, " since you love taking picture so much, of flowers, of landscapes and seascapes, of nature around you....why not raise your happiness by getting a DSLR?" That was April of 2006. At that time, I thought that buying a DSLR was way too luxurious. It took me 2 months later to finally decide to get myself one. That was because I learned from Travel Channel when it featured "THE TOP TEN WONDERS OF THE WEST" that San Diego is not that far from Channel Islands National Park, the very first US National Park I've experienced.

Anacapa Island 2006, Channel Islands National Park, California

After our trip to Channel Islands National Park, my heart was held captive by National Parks that I started making plans to see all 57 US National Parks in my lifetime. Indeed, it had become.... "HAVE CAMERA, WILL TRAVEL". And may I add, HAVE CAMERA, WILL HIKE!!

Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, June 2006

Soon after our Channel Islands visit, I found myself planning for thanksgiving trip to Grand Canyon National Park  in that same year. 

Hiking The Grand Canyon 2006 ( my first hike outside of California )
**Notice I wore jeans then, not hiking pants. Obviously, I still had not learned about the ultra comfort of light and breathable hiking pants then**

Summer of 2007, we flew to Chicago. After several days of wandering in Illinois, instead of flying back, we took a road trip from Illinois to Los Angeles. We planned for hiking and nature exploring stops at Colorado National Monument, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park. 

Zion (left), Arches ( top right) and Bryce ( bottom right) National Parks

After that trip, I was so "National Park" inspired that I told myself our travels will mostly explore Earth's "NATURAL MUSEUMS" preserved in State Parks and National Parks.

Our Illinois-Los Angeles road trip was my eye opener to so many travel planning lessons. Let me share with you some:

1. Planning for travel, does not only involve planning for places to see, but most of all, planning for "BEST TIME TO VISIT".

In that summer of 2007 trip, though we loved what we saw, BUT, we were not able to enjoy fully! We hardly took any hike in Arches National Park. I could just not handle the desert's summer heat! :( I was starting to feel nauseated and sick. We had to cut short our exploration of Arches so I could get rested and my conditions would not turn to worse to seek ER care. Though we have health insurance, but going to the ER is always the last resort. A friend of mine shared her experience that same year how she was hospitalized three times during her out of the country vacation where she said it was the most financially draining vacation of her life since her health insurance did not cover fully the medical cost outside of network, much more, outside of country.  It was then that we started looking into travel insurance that includes emergency medical coverage especially for our "outside of the country" trips, so we could still be 100% covered. Thankfully, finding an emergency medical travel insurance policy, such as KANETIX, was not difficult to find. You can visit the website to learn more about getting full health coverage during travel.

Despite getting heat exhaustion in Arches National Park during our first trip, it did not stop us from exploring that park at some other time. We scheduled several trips back to Arches National Park and its neighbor, Canyonlands National Park during the cooler months of late fall (thanksgiving break) or early spring (spring break). 

Delicate Arch @ Arches National Park, Utah (can you see how small hubby is compared to the Arch?)

2. Aside from searching for "Best time to visit", we also search for "best place and best time to shoot". Our trip itinerary is always very detailed, with mileage of hike and elevation change ( so we could prepare physically) and where we should be at a given time frame during the hike. 

Example 1, @Yosemite National Park: be at Bridalveil Falls by 5:00 pm

Rainbow and Waterfall, Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite National Park, CA

Before leaving for our Yosemite vacation, I wanted to see rainbow on a waterfall. It is not an impossibility, so I searched for the time when the sun is behind us and the Yosemite waterfalls. The picture above was not our only rainbow and waterfall shot at Yosemite, we had several more when we hiked Vernal and Nevada Falls. 

Example 2, Sunrise @ Mono Lake South Tufa State Reserve, Lee Vining, California

Tufa and Grebe, Mono Lake @ Dawn

Like the rainbow and waterfall shot above, we also had to plan ahead for Mono Lake shoots. First, we had to set our alarm clock. Yes, ALARM CLOCK on a vacation, haha! Somehow, vacation for us pays most if we see nature at its best, which means waking up early before sunrise and being there after sunset. Aside from alarm clock, we had to gear up for this shoot since the dawn temperature was way below freezing at 13 degrees Fahrenheit (-11C) .

Sunrise @ Mono Lake, Lee Vining, California

How do we endure hours of exposure to sub freezing temperature but still enjoy the beauty of outdoors? The answer is in travel trip #3.

Gearing Up For Cold @ Mono Lake, November 2011 ( we were out here more than one hour, dawn and after sunrise  at a temperature of  13 Fahrenheit or -10.5 Celsius, and it was not winter yet)

3. Prior to every trip, we check the weather. If situation requires us to brave sub-freezing temperatures, we search for performance hiking gears that are as light, waterproof, windproof and breathable as possible, yet providing us thermal comfort at negative temperatures.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, November 2011 ( @ -17 F or -27 Celsius )

When hiking,  regardless of the cold temperature, eventually, we find ourselves sweating from physical activity. Those overly thick and heavy fashionable warm jackets would be a curse as they trap moisture thereby freezing you from the inside, plus they become very uncomfortable when the day gets warmer.

4. After searching for places, I use google maps to arrange the places in logical order of exploration to save on travel time and also on gas. After establishing our itinerary path, I then search for scenic and wonderful places to shoot in the places we would pass by. It is always not by luck that we stumbled upon the place in our travel, they were always the result of searching before the trip. For after all, I.....

HAVE CAMERA..... WILL TRAVEL. :) 

♥♥