The Grand Circle Tour: Utah's Mighty Five and a Few More

This 100 minute documentary / travel guide takes you along 1500 miles of spectacular locations in Utah's Mighty Five National Parks and other natural wonders in the four corner's region of the US.

 

•Discs in both the US and EU (PAL) TV standard are available

 

Customer Reviews

 I must commend you on a most excellent presentation.  I'm sure there are no others available to compare to your product.  Again,  I thank you for the Disc and naturally I will be placing additional orders soon for your other selections.  I am incredibly impressed with the presentation as well as the helpful information as to 'what it is, how to view it, and how to capture it'."   L. Wisener

 

What a great video this is.  Extremely informative and well done !  And great photography!

                        --   Kon Soi Ming

 

Great video! I really enjoyed it all but I think the most useful information was related to the road conditions and what kind of vehicle I'd need to get off the beaten path.  I want to drive the roads in Canyonlands, etc so I need to plan accordingly.  Also, the information on the best light for pictures is good too. I'm a geologist, so I enjoyed the geology details.  Lots of good info.

Thanks.

                   -Troy

 

Award winning outdoor photographer Steve Salis is your guide and narrator. He provides tips on how to photograph the icons of The West.

 

Part 1: We start in Monument Valley Tribal Park, the setting for numerous western films. We then head to the nearby scenic spots of Mexican Hat and Goosenecks State Park. Local accommodations are also discussed.

 

Part 2: Moab Utah is base camp for exploring two of country's most spectacular desert parks. Arches National Park is just up road. You'll learn how to photograph some of the best known of its 2000 arches. Then you'll tour Canyonlands National Park and its Island in the Sky District where you'll learn how to capture an image of its famous Mesa Arch. Then you'll go off-road on the stunning Shafer Trail. The cameras role as the trail drops over 1900 feet across a cliff face in the first couple of miles.

 

You'll also learn about Moab's hotels and eateries. Then, you'll visit nearby Dead Horse Point State Park and take a drive along the river to rock climbing area called the Fisher Towers.

 

Part 3: Features the sites between Moab and Bryce Canyon National Park. The first is the other worldly looking Goblin Valley State Park. Then, our tour heads up the Water Pocket Fold to Capitol Reef National Park. Here we drive through a narrow high walled stone canyon. It  concludes with a tour and hike on a snowy trail in Bryce Canyon National Park.

 

Part 4: Closing the Circle. Alternative routes to Page AZ are discussed. Go one way to see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon another goes to Grosvenor Arch. In Page you'll learn where to shoot spectacular Horseshoe Bend just below Glen Canyon Dam and we'll take a tour of one of the world's most famous slot canyons- Antelope Canyon. These are must stops for any serious outdoor photographer.

 

Several alternative routes to close the circle are described. You'll learn what it takes to see the best preserved meteor crater on Earth, a well preserved stretch of Route 66 with its theme motels, and Petrified Forest National Park.

 

Then as we close the circle, you'll see three well known cliff dwelling we sites: Canyon de Chelly, Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde National Park. Hopefully, you'll be convinced to visit at least one of them.

 

It took several weeks to shoot and hundreds of hours in the editing room. Our goal was to not just show you stunning locations, our main goal is to help you explore the area yourself. The segments should help you pick and choose what sites you want to visit. If you've been to the area you'll almost certainly see some of the areas you missed.

 

During filming we experienced all sorts of weather just as you may. We visit 8 National Parks, several National Monuments and one very famous Tribal Park.

 

Many of you will want to bring part of the trip back with you. So, you'll learn how, when and where to take photographs worthy to hang on your wall. There’s also local history, even brief geology lessons. (they’re actually interesting).

 

ITINERARY

1)   Monument Valley Tribal Park

2)   Mexican Hat, UT

3)   Goosenecks State Park UT

4)   Moab, UT

5)   Arches, NP

6)   Canyonlands, NP

7)   Shafer Trail, Canyonlands NP

8)   Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

9)   Road to Fisher Towers, UT

10) Goblin Valley State Park, UT

11) Capitol Reef National Park, UT

12) Moki Dugway

 

Glacier:  The Hiker’s National Park (Blu-ray) is the most comprehensive Glacier National Park hiker’s video guide available. Award winning outdoor photographer Steve Salis takes you along as he describes over 70 miles of Glacier’s most popular day hikes. Don’t have the time or the energy to travel the 15.2 mile Highline Trail? Then, watch it! But beware, you may be inspired to get in shape and try it yourself. This is part of “The West is Big!” travel guide series.

 

Trails for those of all fitness levels are included. One is less than a mile long. Some are flat and other’s gain over 2000 feet to magnificent passes. At the top of one trail you’ll be able to touch one of last remaining glaciers.

 

The Glaciers are rapidly melting. One segment uses archival photographs and satellite imagery to show how fast most of them are disappearing.

 

There’s more to Glacier than hiking. The world famous Going to the Sun Road traverses the park. It’s widely acknowledged to be one of the most scenic roads in North America. The entire length of the road is beautifully photographed and described. To help you to decide where to stay, Glacier’s lodges and inns are discussed and you’ll see their spectacular locations. For those interested in more modern accommodations, you’ll learn where to find them outside the park.

 

Glacier is also a great place to see wildlife. You’ll learn where you’ll likely find bears, including grizzlies, moose, big horn sheep and many more animals. It’s important to know how to be safe in bear country, so there’s a segment that’ll give you a head start.

 

This video has been enjoyed by 100's of thousands from around the world. It has helped many plan their trip to this magnificent park and been enjoyed by thousands more who want a reminder of the great times they had in Montana’s Glacier National Park.

 

SEGMENTS

Going to the Sun Road         11:57

Virginia Falls Hike                   4:08

Lodges & Inns                         9:56

Hike to Bullhead Lake            6:18

Grinnell Glacier Trail Hike     11:07

Hike to Ice Berg Lake             5:57

Trail of the Cedars                  2:36

Highline Trail                         1 2:18

Hike to Piegan Pass                4:19

Hike to Ptarmigan Tunnel     4:57

Melting Glaciers in GNP         6:56

GNP Time-lapses                    3:52

 

 

13) Natural Bridges, National Monument

14) Garden of the Gods, UT

15) Bryce National Park, UT

16) Grosvenor Arch, UT

17) Grand Canyon, AZ – very briefly

18) Page, AZ and Lake Powell

19) Antelope Canyon, AZ

20) Meteor Crater, AZ

21) Rt. 66

22) Petrified Forest National Park

23) Canyon de Chelly, National Monument

24) Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, New Mexico

25) Mesa Verde National Park, CO