Rock Art & Live Webcams at Moab, Utah
I just finished a new website devoted to the Indian Rock Art found near Moab, Utah. The Home Page at MoabRockart.com includes a story about author and naturalist Craig Childs, as he leads a writers group up Seven Mile Canyon during the Confluence Celebration 2008.
· The website also includes a two-part article about Native American rock art along Mill Creek, in Moab, Utah.
During my August 2009 visit to Moab, I repaired or
replaced several of our old webcams with higher quality Logitech,
International. units. Currently, we have three live webcam feeds from
Highway 191 South, at the Moab Rim CamPark. Additionally, Moab Ranch has a live webcam feed from the Pueblo Verde Tract in the Spanish Valley. To review all of our webcam feeds, go to the MoabLive.com Webcam Page. There you will see live webcams from Downtown Moab to the Spanish Valley.
Currently, we have two webcam systems that are
tested and ready for deployment in Moab. If you live in the area and
have a business and a great view; let us talk about a shared feed
through MoabLive.com.
We are actively looking for business partners and will lease an entire
system on an annual basis or barter our webcam placement for your
services in return.
While in discussion with Michele Hill, newly appointed Facility and Event Promoter at the Moab Area Travel Council, (developing conference and event planning for Moab),
we mentioned how fun it was travel throughout the West and always be
able to see four live views of Moab. Apparently, we made it sound like
the sole purpose of the Moab webcams was for personal pleasure. In
explaining that we sometimes succumb to hyperbole, we told Michelle that
our writer hero is Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). Known during his
lifetime as an American prophet and a humor writer, Mark Twain enjoyed
making up his own version of any facts that were not readily at hand.
Then it struck us; what would Mark Twain have to say
about webcams and streaming video? Clemens lived from 1835 until 1910.
Imagine meeting the spirit of Mark Twain that less than one century
after his death. There, you would describe a worldwide viewing-port,
capable of producing live images of his favorite places on Earth. Might
he think you were telling a story as tall as his own, "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".
According to his biography, Clemens met with Alexander Graham Bell
regarding investing in the fledgling Bell Telephone Company. Bell
offered Clemens as many shares of stock in the new company as he might
want, at any price he was willing to pay. Although Clemens spent his
fortune and over a decade of time funding an ill-fated typesetting
machine, he did not see the value of Bell’s telephonic device. Maybe if
Bell had a working webcam at the time…
From our place of understanding, one of the most
popular searches on the internet is for webcams that are local to the
searcher’s point of interest. Believing in that theory and believing in
the beauty of the land, sky and weather around Moab, we launched our
first webcam in October 2008, at the Moab Rim RV CamPark. There, it
stands today.
Over the past year, we had our share of webcam
failures. From power failures to hardware and software glitches, we
experienced it all. Since early August 2009,
all four webcam systems have operated flawlessly. In our case,
“flawlessly” means that from time to time, individual frames may drop
out. Using a cable modem or DSL at the head-end of our systems,
available bandwidth does not allow for an infallible feed. More costly,
dedicated bandwidth would solve that issue.
As of August 2009, we are proud to say that no other
organization has more live webcams streaming from Moab and the Spanish
Valley. Here, we tip our hat to Red Cliffs Lodge
for their pioneering webcam work along the Colorado River. Although
their Colorado River webcam is reliable, the MoabLive webcams refresh
every three seconds, rather than every three minutes.
We see a future in which almost every business in Moab will have at least one webcam. By offering MoabLive,
and in color to the world, interest in tourism surely would grow. How
could any distant viewer resist the beauty that we see each day, around
Moab and the Spanish Valley?
Currently we are in Simi Valley, California, writing and developing new webcam systems. To view our current test, look at CasaCarrieCam,
live from Simi Valley. In early October 2009, we will return to Moab,
for both business and pleasure. While there, we will cover the 24-Hours
of Moab Bicycle Race. While the race is on, we will post an updated
article on our blog.
If you go to Moab24Live.com, you will see our coverage of last year’s race. In October 2008, we followed Dax & Dean of Team Shake & Bake. From prerace to podium,
we covered their first-in-class victory. This year, we have agreed to
cooperate further, reporting their story through the written word, still
images and video. Dax has assured me that he and partner, Dean will win
their class again in 2009.
With proper exposure, this race could have enormous
TV appeal. Couch potatoes all over the country would like to be riding
free in the wind, as Dax & Dean shall for the 24 Hours at Moab. The
race starts at Noon, local time on Saturday, October 10. The race will
conclude at Noon on Sunday, October 11, 2009, with award ceremonies to
follow.
By James McGillis at 04:52 PM | | Comments (0) | Link
No comments:
Post a Comment