Traveling Cargopants

A journey into the west, the self, and beyond

Welcome To Our Site...

Fusce sed justo. Vestibulum eget pede. Pellentesque venenatis nisl et nulla. Nulla malesuada tincidunt nunc. Praesent erat diam, sollicitudin nec, egestas a, tempor et, felis. Aliquam ante lectus, vehicula ac, commodo sed, luctus a, turpis. Aliquam vehicula quam porttitor felis. Quisque metus ante, molestie sit amet, adipiscing sed, vulputate scelerisque, arcu. Nunc suscipit sem e.

July 2010
M T W T F S S
« Jun    
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  

The West Bank Story

Posted By Hargobind on June 24, 2010

West Bank Story is a comedy/musical short film, a parody of the classic musical film West Side Story. The film follows the romance between the relatives of the owners of rival falafel restaurants, one Israeli and the other Palestinian, respectively named the Kosher Kings and the Hummus Hut, in the West Bank.

Learn more about the video at www.westbankstory.com

Crossing into Utah

Posted By Hargobind on June 21, 2010

How about a nice acoustic song while you read today’s post…
Fire & Rain by James Taylor, cover by Alex de Grassi

Here’s a few beautiful pictures near sunset as we drove from Ouray along Highway 90 into Utah. These pictures were mainly taken between the towns of Naturita and Paradox in the Paradox Valley. You can kind of see how we were entering a massive canyon/basin, and then finally climbed up the side to reach the plateau above. The moon was rising to the northeast, and the skies were shaded in the most incredible hues of colors. The final picture is (I think) the San Juan mountain range. I had stopped at the edge of one of the canyon switchbacks to take pictures of nature’s dusky light show and the beautiful valley below us. When I looked back and saw that mountain range, I let out a deep sigh — this was our last view of the majestic mountains of Colorado, and it felt like I was saying goodbye to a dear friend for a long time to come…

Orvis Hot Springs and Ouray

Posted By Hargobind on June 17, 2010

After spending the night at Orvis Hot Springs, we drove south for a short sightseeing trip into the town of Ouray, which is considered the Switzerland of America. Tall mountains surround the town, and many of the buildings have a very mountainous European flair. Ouray was originally a base-camp town for mining operations further up into the San Juan mountains. It connects to the town of Silverton further south by a road called the Million Dollar Highway, an endearing name probably given for the multitude of mineral and metal mines along the road, and/or perhaps because it’s one of the most scenic roads in all of North America. Today, people visit the town to take in the inspiring views of the surrounding mountains and enjoy the town’s community-sized pool fed by natural hot springs. Adventurers also come to the area for both summer and winter recreation, which includes hiking, camping, rock climbing, ice climbing, and hiking to the top of Mt. Sneffels, a 14,000 foot peak with incredible views of the surrounding areas.

I visited this area a couple years ago on a camping trip further up into the mountains with some friends. We spent a day hiking up into Yankee Boy Basin and to the top of Mt. Sneffels. Although I didn’t make it to the top, I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life meditating next to a high mountain lake which overlooked a vast basin below. Whenever I need to recall the feeling of “infinity”, I think back on that experience.

Here are some pictures of our drive from Orvis into Ouray.

Free-diving into the deep blue

Posted By Hargobind on June 14, 2010

A friend recently sent me this awesome video of the World Champion of free-diving, Guillaume Néry. It’s an artistic, fictional video of a free dive into Dean’s Blue Hole, a 202 meter hole in the ocean located in a bay west of Clarence Town on Long Island, Bahamas.

The song is “You Make Me Feel” by Archive which you can download here

Travel inspiration (movies)

Posted By Hargobind on June 8, 2010

Where the Hell is Matt? — Awesome videos about a guy living a sedentary life who decided to get off his ass and see the world. One day in Hanoi, one of his travel buddies said, “Hey, why don’t you stand over there and do that dance. I’ll record it.” From then on, Matt has been traveling all over and taking funny dancing videos wherever he goes.

Into the Wild — A true story about Christopher McCandless, a young man on an amazing journey to escape the confines of society’s social and capitalistic oppression and find peace, solace and the meaning of existence in the beautiful poetry of nature. One of my favorite movies, and one that I watched again in the first couple months of my journey to help me open my eyes more to the endless possibilities of what lies on the road.

The Art of Travel — High school grad. Conner Layne is about to marry his first love, but when wedding plans fail, he goes solo on his honeymoon to Central America, finding adventure with a ragtag group of foreigners who attempt to cross the Darien Gap in record time. Not a great movie, but still entertaining to watch.

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea — A six episode series documentary about the history of the U.S. National Parks system, including the initial ideas which led to the world’s first national parks and the expansion of the system over 150 years. Really fascinating stories and imagery! This series inspired me to make it a priority to visit national/state parks and other places of nature on my journey.

Baraka by Ron Fricke — While this film/documentary has no narration or dialogue, there are a vast number of themes that this movie touches on, and the cinematography takes the viewer on a journey around the world to view spectacular nature scenes and get a glimpse of generally primitive and ancient cultures. And as I witnessed each new way of life, it got me thinking about my own journey and all the places I’ve seen and people I’ve met, and how so much of what makes this life worth living is getting to interact with other people and share experiences, stories and culture. And that makes me ask myself … what am I sharing with other people? What is my culture?

Light Painting

Posted By Hargobind on June 8, 2010

Light Warfare Replaces Violence With Epic Photography.

Really fun concept!