WILDEYES

A 6,000 Mile Journey to Film ALL 59 US National Parks in 360° Video

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In celebration of the 100th birthday of the National Park Services, we’re traveling the US filming all 59 national parks in 360° video.

This short, virtual reality film, narrated by a 13 year old Junior Ranger, takes you on a first person journey through the unique beauty of these preserved wild places and explores the importance of our national parks.

(Make sure to raise the resolution up and use your mouse to click and drag around the video!)

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"Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed -- chased and hunted down as long as fun or a dollar could be got out of their bark hides, branching horns, or magnificent bole backbones. Few that fell trees plant them; nor would planting avail much towards getting back anything like the noble primeval forests. ... It took more than three thousand years to make some of the trees in these Western woods -- trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forests of the Sierra. Through all the wonderful, eventful centuries ... God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but he cannot save them from fools -- only Uncle Sam can do that." -John Muir (at Sequoia National Park, California)

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"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." -Thorton Wilder /// I felt like a kid again as I hopped around on rocks and logs over the creek that ran through this magical place called Fern Canyon. (at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park, Fern Canyon)

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While driving through the Redwoods on 101 we stopped at this beach pull off with plenty of great rocks for climbing. We spotted lots of seagulls, a bald eagle, a seal bobbing around in the water, and far off in the distance some whales were doing their thing🐳 (at False Klamath Cove)

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"Every moment instructs, and every object; for wisdom is infused into every form." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (at Boy Scout Tree Trail, Jedediah Redwoods)

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Crown of the Continent 

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Adventures in Montana: Glacier National Park

The second we drove into this park I was moved by it’s grandeur. 

Established as a National Park in 1910, Glacier National Park encompasses over 1 million acres of pristine ecosystem that spans from Alberta & British Columbia to Montana. Originally home to the Blackfeet and Flathead tribes this land is also known as the ‘Crown of the Continent’ in that this park is the headwaters for the rivers that dump into the Pacific, Atlantic and Hudson Bay. Ten thousand years ago glaciers carved out many of the valleys and hundreds of lakes that call the park home. And fire is constantly destroying and renewing forest ecosystems. This park is one of the last remaining truly wild places in North America where grizzlies, moose and wolves still thrive. Five distinct ecosystems and the species that exist there converge in Glacier National Park: Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwest, Grassland Prairie, Boreal Forest and Alpine.

Fun fact: Glacier NP borders the Waterton National Park in Canada and together are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the first peace park in the world. 

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We arrived around sunset to the Apgar campground on the west side of the park. Apgar Village sits alongside the south end of Lake McDonald which is the largest lake in Glacier. We were treated to a spectacular view as the sky turned pink over the mountains in the distance. 

Those mountains were where we would be heading the next day. We had rented a car for driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road which is one of Glacier’s marvels and considered a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Construction on this road began in 1911 and took almost 30 years to complete. The name is rather appropriate as it climbs higher and higher up the surrounding mountains to the continental divide at Logan Pass, at 6000 ft. It’s really a marvelous feat that allows for exploration of a place that would otherwise be inaccessible to most of us.

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The next morning we packed our rental in preparation for Going-to-the-Sun and for camping out on the east side of the park at Two Medicine Lake. Our first stop was at McDonald Falls which feeds into the lake with the same name. It was a relatively short hike through moss covered rocks and ferns to a close view of the falls. 

We were able to climb down a rocky ledge to get an awesome perspective of the water and rocks. This is where we were when Remy anxiously clawed the door off of his crate in the back of the car. He seemed proud of his work because he was relatively calm in his doorless crate for the rest of our drive.

Trail of the Cedars was our next stop. This trail goes through old growth cedars, hemlock and cottonwoods. 

Some of these trees are thousands of years old. This trail also leads to Avalanche Lake but with everything else we wanted to see we didn’t have time to do the 3 mile hike. 

Next, we stopped at The Loop, an area that was burned by wildfires in 2003. It’s in the recovery stage but is still also considered a healthy ecosystem because this environment is capable of handling fire and sometimes even depends on it. In the case of the Lodgepole pine, as soon as the fire moves on their pine cones open up and begin growing new trees.

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There are so many amazing views off Going-to-the-Sun road that it was hard to know when to stop. This is why for part of it Derek put the 360 camera--carefully--out the window while we were driving.  

By the time we made it to the continental divide at Logan Pass the wind and rain had us cowering in the car. The visitor center closed just as we got there so we quickly moved on. This led us to the Jackson Glacier overlook which is one of the only remaining glaciers in the park that you can see from the road. 

After Jackson Glacier is St. Mary’s Lake, the east entrance of the park. A wild fire closed this part of Going-to-the-Sun rd over the summer and so most of the pull offs were closed for repair.  From the road I could see tufts of green making their way up from the scorched ground. I liked this area a lot which was more prairie than rocky mountain + there were beautiful aspen groves that were turning yellow. We stopped at a lodge outside of the park entrance and filled our bellies with delicious food and drinks before heading to Two Medicine (we have been mostly making food in our bus kitchen to save money but this day had us very tired and seeking hospitality.)

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We woke up early the next morning, before the sun, to try and catch a sunrise over the lake. The wind was so intense there were waves lapping at the shore and tears were being pulled out of my eyes. I had to keep hiding behind trees in between getting shots to give my icy fingers a break. The sky was dark and stormy over Sinopah Mountain.

Our plan this morning was to go to Many Glacier before driving Going-to-the-Sun again to our bus which was parked in Apgar. Then Derek realized his laptop was dead and he didn’t have his charger and so we couldn’t transfer footage off of the 360 camera...which was full. Noooo! So we detoured back to Apgar to get the charger from the bus, an almost 2 hour drive. We figured we’d also move the bus to the campsite we would stay at that night. “Peri” had been sitting for a whole day and night so naturally he didn’t start. We tried jumping him with our rental. Didn’t work. Finally a Minnesotan with a huge truck charged us up and we were good to go (for the time being.) We lost a lot of time with the detour and trying to jump the bus so it was after noon that we got back on Going-to-the-Sun. Our aim was to make it back to Logan Pass and that, hopefully, it wasn’t as cold and windy as yesterday.

On our way there we encountered some traffic. You know there’s an animal close to the road when a bunch of cars are pulled over and everyone is pointing. Just after the Loop parking area there was a mountain goat family grazing up a rocky hill. Can you find Derek in that photo trying to get a good 360 shot?

Our next visit to Logan Pass was milder than before. It was still windy but not raining. We went into the visitor center to find out where we could access the trail to Hidden Lake. While in there we discovered an awesome national parks pop up book! We found out the trail head was behind the visitor center and was about 1.5 miles to the Hidden Lake overlook. We wondered if it was worth it with the wind and cloudiness. We decided to do it and it was so worth it! I can only imagine how gorgeous this hike is on a sunny day during wildflower season.

As we were walking we saw a lone mountain goat who ended up crossing the trail in front of us. On the way back from the lake overlook Derek met another hiker who said he saw a black bear around Jackson’s Glacier the day before. This was our last day at Glacier and I was hoping to see a bear. So we scanned the hillsides really well as we drove east towards St. Mary’s Lake. I guess we didn’t have to try too hard because we saw a group of people stopped on the side of the road. We couldn’t tell what they were looking at until we pulled up right next to...a black bear! 

It was just eating grass on the side of the road. We pulled over and watched it (and tried to get some shots. Zoom lens please!) That black bear was the grand ending to our trip to Glacier National Park...or was it that second time we ate at St. Mary’s Lodge?

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We found this beauty in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Banana Slugs are found throughout the PNW and can grow up to 9 inches long making them the second largest slug in the world. Their tongues have little rows of teeth (called a radula) that help them grind up food like leaves, animal droppings and their favorite, mushrooms! (at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park)

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"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." -Chris McCandless ----------------------- #wildeyestour #alexandersupertramp #intothewild #wildernessculture #WeAreTheWild #nationalparks #nps #craterlake #craterlakenationalpark #livethemountainlife #getoutside #ontheroad #travel #sunset #rei1440project #findyourpark (at Crater Lake National Park)

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Hands down one of my favorite national park entrances #wildeyestour #nationalparks #mtrainier #mtrainiernationalpark #findyourpark #neverstopexploring #getoutside #getoutstayout #livethemountainlife #outdoorlife #rei1440project

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In the foreground is Wizard Island, a tiny volcano inside of the volcano that erupted and collapsed 7,700 years ago forming the deepest lake in the U.S. Fed only by rain and snow, Crater Lake is considered to be the cleanest body of water in the world. How cool is that?? We hiked up to Watchman Peak at sunset for this amazing view of Crater Lake. This place is a gem! ----------------------------- #wildeyestour #nationalparks #craterlake #craterlakenationalpark #exploreoregon #pnw #neverstopexploring #findyourpark #FYPyes #WeAreTheWild #wildnernessculture #hiking #livethemountainlife #volcano #getoutside #getoutstayout (at Watchman Peak)

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Thanks to our friend, Ryan, for getting this great shot of us and the bus while we were in Portland 😊 -------------------------- #wildeyestour #ontheroad #buslife #exploreoregon #pnw #pdx #neverstopexploring #roadtrip #traveling (at St. Johns, Portland, Oregon)

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"Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better" -Albert Einstein (at Trail of the Cedars)

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Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park

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I believe him!☝🏽Fall was such a beautiful time to see @mountrainiernps. Can't wait to visit when these alpine gardens are bursting with wildflowers. ----------------------------- #wildeyestour #johnmuir #nationalparks #mtrainiernationalpark #mtrainier #adventure #hiking #outdoorlife #getoutside #getoutstayout #inspiration #wildernessculture #quotes #wearethewild #livethemountainlife #neverstopexploring #natureisawesome #naturelovers (at Mt. Rainier)

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We've filmed 5 #nationalparks in #360video and we have 5 hours left in our #indiegogo campaign (!) to help us get to all 59! HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has inched us closer to our goal! We still have plenty of sweet perks! Click on that link in our profile! ------------------------- #wildeyestour #crowdfunding #360 #vr #mtrainier #explorewashington #mtrainiernationalpark #getoutside #getoutstayout #neverstopexploring #livethemountainlife #campvibes #nature #outdoorlife #buslife #buslove #adventure (at Mt Rainier National Park)