Bishop, California

What kind of Film Festival Road Warrior would I be if I didn't stop at the Lone Pine Film Museum located on highway 395 just south of Bishop. The museum celebrates the area's involvement in the Western genre complete with set props, costumes, and vintage posters. When we entered, the host greeted us with a warm "Are you here for the Banff Film Festival?" and I thought "Wow, what great word of mouth in this town!". I later realized that both I and my husband were proudly donning our BMFF T-shirts, so I guess it was quite obvious what we were in town for.

Wilson's Eastside Sports has been hosting the World Tour in Bishop since 1993, and they have built an extremely loyal audience. A record number of attendees attended the 2 screenings. Each night, it was like 800 old friends who hadn't seen each other in a year (which was true in many of the cases) planning to get together for climbing and biking trips -- it was hard to get them back into their seats so I could start the show! I even met a couple that had driven all the way from Vegas to see the show. I pointed out that we do, indeed, have a screening in Vegas (which is free to attend) ... but they wanted to see it in Bishop so they could enjoy 2 nights of programming, and a little outdoor adventure on the side.

And since we were in town for a couple nights, we got to explore the area a little. We visited the 11 acres occupied by the Law's Railroad Museum and caught up on our train history and knowledge. They even let us ring the train bell!

And after another rough day of playing tourists, we found one of Bishop's natural (AKA "Free") Hot Springs.

I just finished the the first-ever show in Redlands, California. As a Road Warrior, it is rare that we have a stop in a new location. A new location brings all sorts of questions: What kind of set up will we do? Which lens to use? How many cables do I need? And, most importantly, will the audience know when to cheer at all of the regular spots? We have such a loyal audience, that they generally cheer when the lights dim to play our Intro Video, and then they cheer when the Intro Video is over, they laugh/cry/ohh/ahh through various points of each film. How would the brand new audience in Redlands know the drill?

Well, it seemed that they figured it out. Despite being new at this, they were not shy about cheering as loud as possible. It was great! Our new hosts, the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association, were fabulous to work with. The SGWA is using the World Tour as both a fundraiser and outreach awareness, and the screenings was a success on both fronts.

Hooray for Hollywood!

It seems that immediately at the start of my tour, I have a couple days off due to the calendar placement of Easter this year. We happen to be in LA, so there is certainly no shortage of cool things to see and do.

While in the LA train station, I noticed two directors chairs. I thought they were set up for tourists to take pictures in as they were marked "Guest Cast". Nope -- I found myself smack-dab in the middle of a location shoot for one of my favourite TV shows, Numbers. I tried to hang around long enough to end up being one of the extras during the shoot, but decided to head on my way. The episode is called "Checkmate".

I'm a sucker for a science center, so we headed to the California Science Center to view the Bodyworlds exhibit. The exhibit featured over 200 authentic human specimens including whole body plastinates not seen before, organs, translucent body slices, and the debut of a special presentation on the heart. Plastinates, you ask? During Plastination, all bodily fluids and soluble fats are replaced with reactive resins and elastomers such as silicon rubber and epoxy, through a vacuum process. After gas, heat, or light curing, the specimens become rigid -- making for some very spooky displays. The whole-body plastinates are comprised of people who, in their lifetime, donated their bodies for Plastination and the express purpose of educating future generations about health. I know that you're really disappointed that cameras were not allowed in the exhibit hall. You'll just have to go see it yourself!

What trip to LA would be complete without trying to be a contestant on The Price is Right. Yes -- I was on The Price is Right. And by 'on' I mean I was one of those crazy people in the audience screaming "$400!!!$400!!!". The episode is supposed to air April 17. The big winner won 2 cars and a bunch of other stuff. He didn't scream at all. He must have been in shock.

And I even got to see a Hollywood star -- not the gold ones inset along Hollywood Boulevard, a real person. As I was waiting patiently in the looooong line to get into the studio, Danielle Donato -- 2nd place on Big Brother 8 -- walked on by. I glanced around to see if there was a glimmer of ackowledgement on anyone else's face, but it seemed I was the only one to recognize Daniele. Yes -- I'm a reality TV junkie.

It's probably time I should get back to work, and show some films or something! :)

Biking in the North Carolina Mountains

There are a lot of neat things about being a Road Warrior. One of the best things, by far, is seeing North America. My favorite state has been North Carolina; The rolling mountains remind me of Banff in their own little way. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that I spent my three days off over Easter Weekend back in North Carolina. I enjoyed my time in Asheville immensely but the best part? Mountain biking in the mountains! Mahalia Peck, my host from Greenville SC adopted me over the weekend and invited me to join her and her friends on an easy Easter Sunday ride. Mike (Mahalia's boy) hooked me up with a sweet Specialized ride from the local bike shop and I got to enjoy rear shocks for the first time ever! They brought me into the mountains near Brevard (Robin I wanted to find you but I just didn't know how) which was trippy since I actually knew the Walmart we were driving by! (It was the first time I'd returned to a town on my trip.) The ride was about an hour and a half of grueling uphill (25% of which I walked the bike up) and 30 minutes of a FANTASTIC downhill. The scenery was magnificent and the weather couldn't have been better. We spent the next few hours shuttling the boys (and Alex) up the mountain for a quick downhill run that resulted in Tom's totally tacoed front wheel. Which meant that Mahalia and I didn't get to shuttle...but I'll just have to go next time! Luckily Mike had taken some great helmetcam footage so we got to watch the accident over and over and over...We followed it all up with Mexican and beer and ended the day early. I couldn't have asked for a better Easter Sunday. Thanks to Mahalia and Mike and all of their Asheville friends for including me on their bike ride!

Soft Boiled Peanuts

I've eaten a lot of weird things on this tour. In Philadelphia, PA Paul and I went to an Afghan restaurant for lunch where I ate pumpkin. It was great! Very sweet, with the consistency of squash. Then, in NYC I ate an Ayurveda meal. Entirely vegetarian Indian cuisine that was required to consist of a sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent taste. But the weirdest of all HAS to be soft boiled peanuts. My host in Brevard, Rob, suggested I pull over and buy some from a vendor the first time I see them. So I did. I pulled over in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain and bought $4 worth. I had no idea what to expect and I was totally surprised when the vendor pulled out a GIANT cup and then opened this massive boiling pot and spooned out a TON of wet, hot, dripping peanuts! Think peanut, in a shell....but boiled. The taste is somewhat salty, but the texture is the hardest part to get over. You put the peanut in your mouth, then you have to crack through the shell with your teeth without destroying the SOFT peanuts inside. Once you've divided the shell in half, you have to coax the whole peanut out with your tongue. If you screw any part of that process up, you end up with a gooey warm mess! But it's totally worth it! I highly recommend trying them at least once if you ever happen to pass by a street side vendor in the back woods of North Carolina.

On the road again ...

It has been almost a year since I've been on the road with the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. It's great to be back out! I have 34 shows over the next 49 days, heading through California, Nevada, Oregon and Montana.

Kilometres Travelled: 0
Films Viewed Thus Far: 0

I can't wait to share all of the crazy stories, and meet all the loyal fans along the way. Stay Tuned!

Bliss

After a month in Southern Alberta, Winnipeg and Northern Ontario, followed by 5 weeks of the Western van tour, the hard Road Warrior life starts to take its toll on you. Enters the world of Aspen with its beautiful and comfy lodges and wonderful exterior hot tubs. Susan from Ute Mountaineer, our Aspen host, greeted me with a warm welcome and a care pack; she had been reading the blog and figured that after so many days on the road, one may need some comfort food. This was her first time ever hosting the Banff Film Festival and I have to say she did a fabulous job as a first timer! We had quite the workout setting up in the beautiful Wheeler Opera House (an 1880’s theatre recently restored), as most of the equipment had to be hand carried up many, many stairs (thanks a million to the techs and volunteers) and the projector lifted on a platform (I dared not watch). The sold out evening was a great success and many came afterwards to give comments about the films and how much they enjoyed having ‘Banff’ in Aspen. My little free time was spent strolling along the pretty streets of Aspen and, of course, soaking in the hot tub! This is the life I tell you! The next morning, Susan had printed a map for the best way to Crested Butte via a shortcut that would offer me spectacular scenery; and that it did! A windy road over a deep gorge led me through, once again, fantastic areas and even though snow was in the forecast, it was nowhere to be seen-not that I was disappointed!

*All interior photos courtesy of Susan Jackson