Forrest Productions

School Bus Conversion versus Motorhome

(In response to a young friend who ask me why I am converting a school bus rather than buying a used motorhome.)

First motorhomes are really expensive, or at least good ones are often costing $50 – 70 – 100,000.  There are less expensive ones but they are of generally poor quality.  Buses cost new in the $70,000 range,  You can find used motor homes for sale…

Interview with Director Matt Croyle

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/59822622

            Meet Director Matt Croyle, Director of the film “Potential Inertia.” He will be our guest at the next meeting of The Scene: DuBois Area Filmmakers on March 12, 2015. The meeting starts at 6:00pm at the Kinetic at 32 South Brady Street, DuBois (across from the library.) He will talk about his film, the production process, and future projects.…

Misadventures and Adventures This Weekend

Misadventures and Adventures This Weekend

I decided that his weekend I am going to take advantage of an uncommon opportunity and drive from PA to the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin to see the ice caves along the shore of the lake.  Last year was the first time since 2009 that the caves were accessible. This year they were unsure if they were going to be able to allow people to visit or not.  The…

Plans Are Constantly Under Revision – Key West

Plans Are Constantly Under Revision –  Key West

I was working through the material for the trip and realized that there isn’t any place I will be able to park my bus in Key West to look around. The plan had been to camp the night before at John Pennekamp State Park in Florida on Key Largo. In the morning we would take a glass bottom boat tour of the reefs, then drive down to Key West. After…

Caves on Our Expedition http://wp.me/s5edyP-caves

Caves on Our Expedition

I have been a caver and a member of the National Speleological Society since 1980.  It is natural that I wanted to include some caves on the trip.  In addition to revisiting some old friends, I am planning to see several examples that are new to me.  Our trip starts in Pennsylvania and first heads south to Shenandoah National Park.  There are some beautiful caves in…

Mountain Ranges on our Expedition

In the last post I talked about bridges of note we would be crossing. Today I got the bright idea of seeing how many of the mountain ranges in the continental US and parts of Canada we would be visiting.  It turns out that is not as easy as it sounds.  I am a geologist and realize that what constitutes a mountain range depends on how you define it.  There are…

Bridges on the Expedition

During the planning of the route I came across an article while perusing Facebook.  “10 Most Famous Bridges In The United States You Absolutely Must See”   http://travel.thefuntimesguide.com/2014/01/famous-bridges.phpon Fun Time Guide.com  I discovered that we already were going to cross several of the bridges on the route, and were passing close by several others.  So I…

Day 14:  Tall Grass Prairie National Grassland, KS

The destination for this day is Tallgrass Prairie National Grassland in Kansas.  There are many things to see in Kansas, but there really are not that many along what I see as the “Theme” of the journey.  Even Kansas City isn’t in Kansas.  from Wikipedia: “Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the…

Plans for Day 13:  Hot Springs National Park and Blanchard Springs Caverns, AR

We are first going to visit Hot Springs National Park.  The visitor’s center is in one of the spa buildings and ornately decorated.  We will tour this building and walk around the towns.  There are a couple places that you can see hot water bubbling up from the ground and several historic buildings. There are two spas…

Update on the Trip

Hello,

I have not been posting much lately.  The trip is still on.  My mother became gravely ill and died on December 29, 2014.  I have been dealing with the fallout from her illness and death, and a bout of illness myself.  The only change in the trip plans is that the start date has been pushed back until elementary school ends on May 29 (provided there aren’t too many snow days.)

I have posted…

Why Haven’t I Been Posting?

Just after my last post my mother, who entered a nursing home last summer, became seriously ill.  She was hospitalized with pneumonia.  After a few days she was doing better and was released back to the nursing home.  While there she had a dramatic downturn, a brief rally, then a downturn again.  She died last Monday.  I have been dealing with my mother’s illness and have not been emotionally up…

Plans for Day 12: Crater of Diamonds State Park, AR

Projected date: May 31, 2015.

Crater of Diamonds State Park, the only diamond-producing site in the world open to the public, stands out as a unique geological “gem” for you to explore and enjoy.  Here you can experience a one-of-a-kind adventure hunting for real diamonds. You’ll search over a 37 1/2-acre plowed field, the eroded surface of an ancient volcanic crater that 100 million years ago…

Projected dates May 29-30, 2015.

We should be able to visit Homosassa Springs Park in the morning.  The entire point of making this stop is to see some Manatees.  The description of the park from Wikipedia and Florida State Parks website read:

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is located near Homosassa Springs, Florida in the United States. The park is one of the best places in the state to…

Here are some very useful, and very inexpensive items for in your filmmaking kit and potentially as gifts for other filmmakers. Flashlights and headlamps. I have found them to be exceptionally useful when I am out shooting. I keep one on my camera bag, one in miscellaneous items box, one in my tool kit, and one in my make-up bag. I carry one around in my pocket. Whenever it seemed that I needed…

Projected May 27-28, 2015.

Everyone has heard of the Everglades. Everglades National Park (Wikipedia):

Everglades National Park is a U.S. National Park in Florida that protects the southern 20 percent of the original Everglades. In the United States, it is the largest tropical wilderness, the largest wilderness of any kind east of the Mississippi River, and is visited on average by one million…

Projected May 26, 2014.  The target for the day is John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and Key West in Florida.  The plan is to spend the night after visiting the Kennedy Space Center at John Pennekamp State Park.  Wikipedia says:

“Established in 1963, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was the first undersea park in the United States. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, and the adjacent…

Projected May 25, 2014.  The target for the day is the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.  I have visited it in the past. I even saw a launch from the VIP launch viewing area.  When my parents visited me during my short time as research faculty at the University of Central Florida’s Sinkhole Research Center we went and watched a shuttle launch from across the waters. It is a pretty…