Let's hike a mountain when...

So I went hiking and it was really great. It always feel good. I went with my crazy roommates. Here are some pictures.
This is us when we got to the Y.  I don't like that hike.  It is a means to an end.

This is the canyon that we hiked up.  This is one of most beautiful parts of the hike.

About half way up the canyon we had quite a bit of shade.  The leaves were really green.

This is at the base of one of the meadows that has flowers later in the summer.


This is the top of the meadow and where most people stop but we kept going to the top

Also it has flowers all over the place.  Yellow, white, pinks, everywhere but later in the summer.
When we got to the top we built this 3ft tall "good omen" pillar.  We built it for good omens.

View of the valley.

View of the mountains and the valley.

The mountains behind us.  They were quite a bit larger.  One of the ones behind us has parallel lines running all along the mountain.  That was one of the projects that President Roosevelt made Utahns do as part of the New Deal in the Great Depression.  They made those to prevent erosion and to have something to work at.

These are the flowers that are growing in the field.  Good ender.  

Callao Utah...

So Mark and I have been working on documentaries like crazy lately as you probably know. I have not posted for quite a while because I have spent most of my time either editing or talking to Becky while I am on the computer. But tonight I have some time to post so I am going to get a bit more caught up.
For Mark's documentary he set up a date to go out to Juab county and film his wife's unlce's place. He owns some cattle there in a beautiful valley.

It was beautiful the first day we got there. Cool, refreshing, clean, but then I had to get to work. Filming an area can really add to the mystique of a place but then it takes away quite a bit as well because it becomes such work. You are also focusing on such an array of things it is hard to bring it all in simultaneously. I had a good time but was ready to leave when that time came. We filmed about 3 hrs of material for the interstitial for KBYU. We also helped with the herding, separating, tagging, vaccinating, castrating and regrouping of the cattle. I learned quite a bit. It was really interesting. When a calf is getting castrated right before your eyes it really brings you to the realization that things really have not changed over thousands of years. We continue the work that generations before us have done and will hopefully continue to do. The ranch is in danger of being closed down because of overdevelopment and selfishness in Las Vegas. They want to take the groundwater that is so important to people like Beth and Don out on the cattle ranch and I believe that what Las Vegas is doing is wrong. I hope to bring this out in the documentary. If you want more information on this google Snake Valley Water Rights and it should bring up what you need. I enjoyed my time there but am glad that I am a filmmaker and not a cattle rancher. Here are a couple of irrelevant pictures that just show the house that they live in and also the HUGE tree in their back yard.

Sorry I am late...

Story of my life.

Sorry I'm Late from Tomas Mankovsky on Vimeo.

Yeah, that was cool

Save The Ducks...

This really happened. It was kind of scary, for reals. But there is a happy ending.

Thank Goodness for 4x4's...

So for this alpaca shoot we are highlighting the area of Mapleton a bit. One feature of Mapleton is Maple Mountain once called Sierra Bonita by Father Escalante. We were looking to get higher so we could see the valley from this mountain and get some shots and driving was much easier than hiking. I was pleased to actually use my 4 wheel drive and it worked great. Here is a video of us coming down and having a good time. I love being a filmmaker.

Filming Alpacas and Such...

So I have been filming alpacas recently.
They are smaller than llamas and only used for their wool like sheep.
I also learned that llamas make good guard animals. Who knew?
Here are some pictures, with a film soon to follow.
Mark Lewis is helping me out with shooting so I can direct.

Madsen cycles...

I have as good a shot as anybody else.
If I win it I will give free taxi rides on Gallery Stroll night here in Provo.
Especially to Steve and Tim.

Wait for me...

...not literally. But this touching story almost made me cry. Unconditional love.

Wait For Me (3 Minute Documentary) from Red Light Films on Vimeo.

The world needs more dentures...

... in two pairs like this.

Stop Motion | The Long Haul from DUMAIS on Vimeo.

Distance is not as good as it could be...

On Sunday our Bishop got up and told us not to swear and to try to be less vulgar.

He said that instead of saying that something "sucks" you could say that something is just "not as good as it could be".

In lui of this I have this to say,

Long distance relationships are not as good as they could be.

I love my job...

I am not talking about the gardens, though I do love that job too.  I am talking about the job that I am not getting paid for, filming.  I am helping on two different projects this summer, one about the space center in PG and the other about Utah in general.  I have been working all morning getting contacts and permissions for filming.  The Utah thing will air on KBYU, a PBS affiliate (so cool) multiple times a week during prime time (5:20) as an interstitial documentary.  I am super excited about it. 

 Right now I have the following subjects lined up to choose from.

An alpaca (llama) breeder in Mapleton

A family that only rides bikes and that is it

A watermelon farmer in Green River Valley

and I am working on getting the following people involved

A winter olympic athlete training in the summer time

The elephants at Hogle Zoo

a really organized person who lives in SLC

So I have my work cut out for me.  It is going to be a lot of fun.  Anyways, which one sounds most interesting to you?  Please help me out.  If you also have other ideas or contacts, let me know!

Social VS Anti-Social...

I feel that I am a fairly social person.  Most of you who know me would probably agree.  I love to meet new people and make myself feel comfortable.  Lately I have not had such feelings, in fact, I have felt exactly the opposite.  I just want to avoid people, mind my own business, and work.  With Becky gone I have had to find myself more alone than I have been in months.  Brian, arguably by best friend, is so girl crazy it is not any fun to be around him sometimes.  Becky and her friends have been kind, but I don't feel like hanging out with them all the time either because she is not there.  Other friends have come and gone which has left me, once a social person, now feeling like I just want to be left alone.  Noelle is the friend that I feel that I have but unfortunately our schedules conflict and we can't spend that much time together.  I am sure that I will adjust and become social again, please just wait, but until then I am going to get as much work done as I can.  Social is fun and you get to meet new people, but anti-social can be incredibly work efficient.  Just new things that I am remembering.

I also would like to save up my money for one of those Honda Insight cars that they are coming out with.  They look quite cool, and hey, it's a Honda.

Honda Insight - Let It Shine from Honda on Vimeo.

I am a working man...

Sometimes I think that I would like to have a day off or not have anything to do so I could just relax.
Who am I kidding.
Since I was 7 years old I have been working.
I am a working man.
I love to work. It keeps me busy and it helps me progress and I just love it.
I do enjoy time off but only when my friends are around and we have fun things to do. If they are not around and I am by myself, then I would rather be working. That is not a lie. I know, sounds crazy. It is crazy. But I just came to this revelation yesterday. I love to work. I am working feverishly of two films right now and working 20-30 hrs at my real job that I actually get paid at the gardens.
I keep asking for more hours and part of my mind is like, "Hey, Travis, you are booking yourself too tight. You won't have any time to rest." And the other part, the working part, responds, "Travis, you know that if you were not working you would be at home trying to either find more work to do or sitting and watching your roommate play Zelda like he is every time I come home (it is kind of strange)."
So, Becky gone = more work to do to fill up time.
Thanks work for helping me pass the time.