Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, Really is Captivating

Capitol Reef National Park, one of the Utah parks in the south, really is captivating. It's a long skinny national park accessible between Torrey and Hanksville. Or if you're doing a clockwise trip around the national parks like I did, it's between Bryce Canyon National Park to the west and Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park to the east.

I love photographing different signs. The national parks, in particular, have a clear welcoming sign that lets you know that you're in for something spectacular. Photographing signs also indicates where the next photographs have been taken.

It's also not a bad idea to photograph the sign when you leave a place (for obvious reasons).

The Visitor Center very fittingly blends in well with its surroundings. It's well worth a visit to pick up maps and information, look at the exhibits, watch a short video, buy souvenirs and use the rest rooms. The location is at the junction of the Scenic Drive and Route 24.

I really only had time to travel along the Scenic Drive and back and then continue east along the main road. However, the park really needs a couple of days to explore.

Looking at the photos, you can see that Capitol Reef National Park is one of those really rocky Utah parks. It's comprised of 378 square miles of towering landforms, canyons, mesas and folded rock layers and it's a photographer's Paradise (most of my photos of Utah are rocks, rocks and more rocks!). Stay tuned for more posts later.

Here's more information about Capitol Reef National Park.

How to Pilot Your Business and Navigate Your Way to Success - Ebook

"How to Pilot Your Business and Navigate Your Way to Success" is now available as a downloadable ebook.

Here's some information.

"In this guide you will find ten pointers for piloting your business and navigating your way to success. These pointers are based on Fran’s flying experiences both as a pilot and as a passenger.

Fran West has certainly achieved success following her dreams and reaching her goals. She is an award-winning pilot, adventurer, author, photographer and motivational speaker.




After a radical career change in 1999, Fran became the first woman pilot to fly a light aircraft around the coast of mainland Australia and Tasmania during Oz Flight ’99.

With a background in management, local and state government, and small business, she’s observed that there are many parallels between flying and business. Fran’s lived the adventures, learnt lessons from them and put those lessons into practice.

Now she wants others to share in and benefit from her knowledge and experience. So, use these pointers to help you to be successful and your business to soar."

How to pilot your business and navigate your way to success

Ebook $9.95

Once payment is received, "How to pilot your business and navigate your way to success" will be emailed to you.

Review:
“Fran West is an inspiration! In this e-book she takes you on a journey that few people would dare to make in their lifetime – and from it, draws out ten valuable lessons for achieving success in business and life. Fran encourages you to set goals beyond what you think is possible, and to work towards them step by step. When you see what Fran accomplished, just by having the ambition, setting her goals and persevering, it makes you realize that you too can achieve much more in life. It’s worth reading the book simply for the story and the beautiful photos – it’s a remarkable adventure. But it’s not just about Fran’s journey – the principles that she’s extracted from the experience constitute wise advice for anyone who wants to make the most of what life has to offer.”

Shelley Dunstone
Win in a world without precedent
Web: www.shelleydunstone.com
Web: www.legalcircles.com

Fran's Backpack - British Heritage Magazine

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is British Heritage magazine.

Having just returned from a month in the United Kingdom, this magazine looks like a good read for those who want to find out more about the places visited. It's impossible to take in everything during a trip, so leisurely reading a magazine afterwards is ideal. Also good for catching a glimpse before you travel. I do believe I actually visited the castle on the cover of the magazine too. So much heritage, so little time.

Click on the ad for more information.

Product Description
The magazine of travel, culture and adventure, especially written for those who love England, Scotland and Wales. A must-read for Anglophiles, British Heritage shows a broad spectrum of British life, including popular culture, travel, historic aspects and best places to stay.

Positive Police Presence on Magnificent Mount in London, England

Our South Australian Mounted Police do an incredible job. However, they don't have to deal with the hundreds of thousands of people like the Mounted Police in London do.

For a person from a city of about a million people, Adelaide, South Australia, the millions of people in London are overwhelming. Nevertheless, in all that seeming chaos, there is order, British order, and outside Buckingham Palace, crowd management is essential. Obviously, the Mounted Police play an important role in controlling tourists and locals alike.

As with our South Australian Mounted Police, this officer looks as though he loves his job and his horse. It must be a great feeling to have a job where you get the best view overlooking the crowd, particularly when it's changing the guard at Buckingham Palace.


If you zoom in on the photo, you'll see the horse is looking right at the woman with the camera. I'm sure it's saying "Hurry up, lady, I've got a job to do. I can't stand around posing all day for tourists you know!"

Here's some more information about the City of London Mounted Police.

Flyabout around Australia's Coast - 12th Anniversary, 3rd July

It's hard to believe that it's 12 years since I set off from Naracoorte, in South Australia's South East, to fly around the coast of Australia. I was two days behind schedule because of the dreadful wintry weather. Even one of the flight briefing officers said the weather was so bad that I should go back to bed and not bother flying in the Cessna 172!

Nevertheless, I did set off around Australia's coast, flying over the ocean about a mile out to sea and at about 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the water. This provided an excellent oblique angle for the photographs and the Cessna 172 was the right speed aircraft for photographing under the high wing.

Plane Reflections Book

Australia (incl. P&H) $25.00 Overseas (incl. P&H) $28.00

Reflecting back on the flight and the past 12 years has been good for my own reminiscence therapy. Life certainly has changed for me.


Even though I had no team, partner, manager or thousands of dollars of sponsorship behind me, I still achieved my goal. However, I did receive help from people along the way. Members of the Australian Women Pilots' Association and members of Soroptimist International Service Organisation, in particular, provided me with accommodation and local knowledge when possible. I'd also like to thank again the series of friends and strangers who flew with me on different parts of my journey. From them I learnt a lot about flying, myself and life in general.

I had a dream to fly around Australia's coast and photograph while I was flying and I actually did it. The best advice I can give to people is that if you have a burning desire to do something, no matter how big or small, then just do it! Stop stuffing around and get on with it! You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't at least have a go.

Because I had a dream and did something about it, I set in motion a sequence of events which has led me to where I am now. On the return from my flight, I started speaking to people about my experiences. People then wanted me to write a book, which I did, Plane Reflections, and that led to collaboration in several academic publications. After that, I put my photos on CD and then progressed to movie presentations of the photos on DVDs. That in turn led me to producing DVDs for aged care and dementia patients as reminiscence therapy.

It hasn't been an easy path. In between times I suffered injuries in a head on collision in a car which further forced me in the direction that I'm now heading. Strange how my dream has now turned from me doing something solely for myself to me helping others.

Life is an adventure, so make the most of it.

If you want to hear or read more about my philosophy of life and business you can contact me at fran@franwest.com.

My websites are www.franwest.com and www.alzheimersproducts.blogspot.com.

Amazing Arches is Absolutely Awesome

Arches National Park, in southern Utah, USA, is absolutely awe inspiring. So much so that the state has actually put an image of Delicate Arch, located in the park, on vehicle number plates. I'm obviously not the only one gobsmacked by this national park!

It's easy to get to being not that far out of Moab, action capital of Utah. Just take US 191 and travel for about 5 miles north of Moab - a national park situated so close to a major town. How good is that?

After you've picked up your information at the Arches Visitor Center, you then head up the winding road to really enter the park.





Obviously there are many arches in the park to give it its name. You may think a dozen or so but you'd be wrong. Apparently there are over 2,000 arches and they vary considerably in size from something a few feet across to the largest, which is Landscape Arch. This one is 306 feet wide and so skinny too!

Check out the Arches National Park website for further information.

Fran's Backpack - Allen Brown's English Castles [Paperback]

Fran's Backpack brings to you various products on travel, adventure, flying and photography.

They could be books, ebooks, videos, or gear. Check each one out as it's highlighted on the day.

Today's item in the Backpack is Allen Brown's English Castles [Paperback].

I've just returned from a trip to the UK and on the list of things to see were of course castles. This book looks interesting.

Click on the ad for more information.

Review
Anyone with any interest in castles should own and read this book. CASEMATEA good solid book, full of interesting information, which has to be a must for anyone writing or researching the subject of castles. MEDIEVAL HISTORY

Product Description
Castle studies have been shaped and defined over the past half-century by the work of R. Allen Brown. His classic English Castles, renamed here to acknowledge its definitive approach to the subject, has never been superseded by other more recent studies, and is still the foundation study of the English, and Welsh, castles built between the Norman Conquest and the mid 1500s. As the subject evolved, so too did this book, and for the most recent edition a considerable amount of French comparative material was added, though it remains essentially a study of English castles. For Allen Brown, castles were fortified residences (or residential fortresses), and developed, from European precursors, to support political and social realities as the Norman and Angevin kings secured their realm. Once these political ends had been largely met, the castle and castle-building entered a period of decline, and domestic and military interests went in opposite directions. This book, with numerous photographs and plans, remains the outstanding guide to the origins, purpose and identity of the great castles of England and Wales.