American Southwest – Videos

This first video summarizes the entire Southwest road trip. After hiking the North Kaibob Trail from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I arrived at a collection of waterfalls known as Roaring Springs. I ventured off-trail and scrambled up to reach a secret waterfall that few people have ever set eyes on.

Next, I include a bunch of animals just for fun. Photos and videos come from the San Diego Zoo, Custer State Park, the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde UNESCO World Heritage Site and the famous bat bridge in Austin, Texas. Signposts are below if you’d like to skip ahead.

0:35 – Grand Canyon Secret Waterfall Exploration
4:32 – Animals!
7:27 – The Power of the Wind

Were you aware that there’s an app for playing Twister at Four Corners!? Who knew, right? Watch Chitra be a champion!

On August 15, 2009 we took a detour into Grand Junction, CO to drop a friend off at the airport. Minutes after depositing her at the terminal, she called to inform us that her departure had been delayed because Air Force 1 was landing within the hour. After a bit of research, we discovered that President Obama was holding a health insurance reform town hall at Grand Junction’s Central High School later that day. If the President was going to be there, why shouldn’t we?

Tickets to the town hall were distributed via lottery prior to the event. There was zero chance we were getting in. This condition was shared by a couple hundred activists and protesters who had gathered on a street outside the school to vocalize their opinions on what would eventually become the Affordable Care Act. In this video, I play (really) amateur documentarian by capturing the sights, sounds and spirit of the afternoon. Signposts are provided below the video if you’d like to skip ahead.

0:50 – A walk along the ranks of the opposition
3:27 – A visit with the supporters of Obamacare
7:10 – Both sides claim “freedom” as their value premise

Mesa Verde is a UNESCO World Heritage in southwest Colorado. It is most famous for the well-preserved, 800 year old Anasazi cliff dwellings. In this first of two videos, a Mesa Verde National Park Ranger explains various aspects of the park, the dwellings and the history of the people. Signposts are below if you’d like to skip ahead.

0:00 — The people who lived here and how we know
1:20 — The Anasazi creation story
2:00 — Learning to live in the region
4:30 — Why the Anasazi chose the cliffs and how they obtained water from the sandstone
6:45 — An introduction to the work area and storage rooms
7:30 — Constructing the cliff dwellings and division of labor
9:10 — On whether the Anasazi were involved in warfare

In this second of two videos, a Mesa Verde National Park Ranger explains the homes in which people lived, the culture they adopted and the reason they left Mesa Verde. Signposts are below if you’d like to skip ahead.

0:00 — Kivas, the homes of the Anasazi, cradles in Mother Earth which are today used for religious ceremonies
1:10 — Households and who occupied them
2:25 — Leaving Mesa Verde
3:10 — How the Anasazi lived, ate, married, ground corn and died
6:25 — Why did they leave?