Todd Rightsell Part 1: A North American Photo Tour

Todd Rightsell's dream is to visit every National Park in his Northstar truck camper.  After you see his beautiful photography, you may be inspired to chase Todd's National Park dream too.













During our visit to A&M Services earlier this month, we asked Mark Mallard, Owner, and Christy Jenkins, Office Manager, if they could recommend a truck camper customer or two for stories.  They immediately told us about Todd Rightsell and his adventures across the United States and Canada in his 2005 Northstar Arrow 8.5.  Mark then called Todd on the spot and handed us the phone to arrange an interview.  From that conversation, we knew Todd was going to be a great story for TCM.

When we got home we contacted Todd via email and he sent us a link to his breathtaking photography.  The more we looked at Todd's photos, the more we realized that we were going to do something a bit different with Todd's story.  What follows is part one of a two part photo exploration series that will take us from Colorado to Alaska.  Best of all, this article was written by Todd who explains each photo and the stories behind them.  Buckle your seatbelt, Todd's taking us on an adventure.


Todd Rightsell Part 1: A North American Photo Tour

Colorado 

I went to Colorado on my first big excursion in the truck camper.  I had owned the truck camper for about five weeks and I set off hoping for the best.  Four days later, I was in southeast Colorado and grinning from ear to ear.  This was my first real destination on my first real adventure in the camper. 

Although I had been to Colorado two other times, I had never seen it without a blanket of snow.  I was stunned by the scenery.  I wound my way across southern Colorado to Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado, wide eyed at the scenery the whole way.  Colorado is definitely a place I could spend more time.
 

Left: This was taken in southeast Colorado on my fourth day on the road.  When I saw those mountains, I knew my journey was underway.  To get myself in the camping spirit, I made a ham and cheese sandwich and ate it in a folding camp chair just staring at those mountains.  From there I headed west across the very southern part of Colorado towards Mesa Verde National Park.  
 
Center: This is Cliff House in Mesa Verde National Park.  The ancient Anasazi Indians lived in this part of Colorado for several hundred years before mysteriously disappearing from the area.  When they vanished, they left behind some of the most elaborate and best preserved cliff dwellings in North America.  It was hard to imagine what life must have been like in those stone villages, but the park rangers did their best to answer my incessant questions.
 
Right: If you ever get the chance to go to Rocky Mountain National Park, go!  It’s a great park, and just forty-five minutes from Denver.  Just go early or late in the season as it gets really crowded in the summer due to it's close proximity to Denver.  If you plan to be there in the summer months, I would highly recommend getting campsite reservations. 

Rocky Mountain National Park has a unique claim to fame.  It has the highest through road in America.  There are a few that go higher, but they just dead end on a mountain top.  From Estes Park, the quaint little town at the eastern entrance, Trail Ridge Road winds uphill for twenty-seven miles to an elevation of just over 12,000 feet before descending to the west side of the park.  Some people actually ride bicycles up it!  The Trail Ridge Road was way too much fun.


Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone was America's first National Park, and I think it's the best.  I knew before I even got to the actual entrance to Yellowstone that I'd be back.  This is some of the most fantastic and diverse country in the United States and the place is teeming with wildlife.  The very first day I was even in Yellowstone, it snowed all day.  That was on June first.  I couldn't see one hundred yards from the road, and I was in awe. 

The next day was warm and sunny, and I retraced my drive from the day before.  I was blown away.  This place is wild and gorgeous.  And there was big wildlife everywhere; bears, wolves, bull elk, bison, and moose.  All of these wildlife photos were taken from the relative safety of the side of the road.  When I hike in Yellowstone, I make a lot of noise because I really don't want to run across anything bigger than me! 

Yellowstone National Park is a must for any truck camper.  There are twelve campgrounds in the park.  All of them are easily accessible for a truck camper and offer a different experience.  If you have the time, spend a night or two in all of them.  I promise you will enjoy Yellowstone.
 

 
Left: This is the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone.  This point marks the beginning of a twenty-two mile long, 1,200 foot deep canyon carved by the Yellowstone River.  The waterfall is huge at 308 feet tall.  This picture was taken from Artists Point, which is one of the most popular viewpoints in the park.  There is a trail that goes along the edge of the river just upstream of the falls.  It is an enjoyable and easy walk.  This part of Yellowstone is the second most crowded portion of the park, but if you are willing to walk a half mile or so, you can have the place virtually to yourself.
 
Center: This is one of the countless thermal features in the park.  The west side of Yellowstone is the place to go to see thermal features.  There are several geyser basins on the west side of the park, including Old Faithful, Black Sands, Norris, and a few others.  All are easily accessible via a series of trails and/or boardwalks.  Try to time your visit to these basins when the sun is shining.  The features are much more brilliant under a sunny sky.  
 
Right: I captured this bison along the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley on the east side of the park.  He was a few hundred feet off the road and I used a zoom lens.  Bison are hard to capture correctly as they are so dark colored.  For wildlife, the east side of Yellowstone is the place to go.  Hayden and Lamar Valley are full of wildlife.  Ride through here at sunset and you are pretty much guaranteed to see Bison.  There's a pretty good chance you will see bears or wolves too.
 

Left: This big Bull Elk was stopping traffic and making a mess of things.  Like everybody else, I parked my truck on the side of the road and jumped out, camera in tow.  I was about thirty-five feet from him when I snapped this photo, which was so close that I could literally smell him.  There were several other people around and this big old bull just ignored us completely.  This was early in the season so he still had the velvet on his antlers.  They are huge animals.  I'd hate for that thing to get mad at me!
 
Center: I actually spotted this bear myself on the second day I was ever in Yellowstone.  I jumped out of the truck and was so excited I could barely hold the camera steady.  I was just a few feet from the truck, with the door open, and he was about fifty feet away up a hillside on the far side of a small stream.  He knew I was there because every now and then he would just glance up at me.  I assume he was making sure that I wasn't going to come any closer.  I wasn't!  He was collared.  I think about half of the grizzlies in Yellowstone are.  After a few carloads of people with noisy kids stopped, he lumbered up over the hillside and the show was over.
 
Right: I captured this fox just off the road in Lamar Valley in Yellowstone.  Nobody else was around and he let me get amazingly close.  I probably should not have gotten so close, but it's hard not to if you have a willing subject.  He was totally at ease, and allowed me to get about eight feet from him to get this picture.  I was afraid the sound of the shutter would spook him, but he never flinched.  All in all, one of my favorite wildlife photos.


Utah's National Parks

Utah was on my list for my first trip in my truck camper.  There are seven National Parks in a big circle called the Grand Circle.  I spent two weeks making the loop and visited each of the seven parks, plus two state parks and Monument Valley.  I should have spent three weeks; maybe four.  There is a ton of stuff to see in this area and it is all different. 

I never realized how many ways it was possible to stack rocks and how many shades and hues of red and brown there were until I went to Utah.  And the road which connects all these sites is Highway 12, which has been designated an "All American Road" and is listed as one of the most scenic drives in North America by just about any travel publication which lists such things.  You won't regret going.
 

Left: The entrance to Arches National Park is about five miles from downtown Moab, Utah.  Moab is a great place to stock up on groceries, propane, and supplies.  There are quite a few campgrounds in town and I would suggest spending a day or two there.

Then get up very early and be at the Visitor Center at Arches by 6:00 am to be lined up for a campsite.  That’s the only way you will get one in the spring and summer.  I got lucky and got in.  The campground has incredible views.  This photo was taken on a ranger led hike through a maze of slot canyons.  It’s very easy to get lost or disoriented in there.  The ranger led hikes are some of the best things about the parks.  They are always great.  I go on ranger led hikes whenever I get the chance.
 
Center: Capitol Reef National Park was the next park on my route.  This park is a geologic anomaly.  It is unlike any scenery I have ever seen.  There are a few dirt roads which wind through the park and offer spectacular views of the countryside.  Capitol Reef has pretty low visitation but, if you enjoy this type of country, it's another don't miss.
 
Right: Bryce Canyon National Park was the third park on the circle.  Bryce Canyon is pretty high in elevation, with parts being over 9,000 feet.  I was there in late May and many trails were still closed due to snow and ice.  This photo was taken at one of the many overlooks along the main park road.  Bryce Canyon is amazing.  It is a colorful maze of Hoodoos and rock walls with ever changing hues. 

If you arrive during a full moon in the summer, you can take a ranger led midnight hike to the bottom under the full moon.  It's only offered about six or eight times per year, but if you are lucky enough to get to go, you will never forget it.  I arrived late one such afternoon and found out about this walk and immediately signed up.  Then I purposely stayed away from the canyon rim so I had never seen it prior to walking down into it under the full moon.  It was an incredible experience.  And I was even more blown away the next morning when I peeked over the edge and saw where I had been walking the night before.
 

Left: Zion National Park is the exact opposite of Bryce Canyon.  In Bryce, you stand on the rim and look in.  In Zion, you stand at the bottom and look up.  Zion is a collection of huge rocks which just jut out of the desert floor.  It is a climber’s park.  There are many world renowned climbs here, some of which take several days to complete.  There are some amazing trails here; some downright scary.  One of the most famous, The Narrows, takes hikers seventeen miles up a slot canyon that in spots is no more than six to eight feet wide with 2,000 foot walls on either side.  When I was there, this trail was under six feet of rushing river water from snowmelt and rain.  It was raging.  Zion place gets hot, so plan your trip accordingly.
 
Center: Monument Valley is one of the most interesting and unique landscapes I have ever seen.  Many of the old spaghetti westerns were filmed here but, until you see it, it is hard to imagine.  This is on private lands owned by Native Americans and they have strict rules about where you can go and what you can do, so be respectful of them.  There is a main loop that winds through the valley.  The sights are unbelievable.  This particular shot is of the Mittens, one of the most prominent features in the valley.  Monument Valley is a definite must see.
 
Right: This is my camper in Monument Valley.  Sometimes it was hard to tell where the road was and where the desert started.  Just after this picture was taken a dust storm kicked up.  It was a doozie.  I sat and watched the storm coming from a distance and then it hit the truck and I could hear the sand and dirt just blasting against the truck and camper.  I had red dirt all over everything, even inside the camper!  After a quick wipe-down, I was back in business.

South Dakota

South Dakota was the last major stop on my first trip out west.  I sort of hated to arrive because it meant that my trip was coming to a close and I'd be headed east in a few days time.  By this time I had already resolved to go west again the next year! 

South Dakota is beautiful.  There is a lot of Native American heritage in this part of the country and some beautiful Indian Reservations.  The main draw in South Dakota is the Black Hills National Forest.  This is home to Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial.  Also in South Dakota is Custer State Park, which is hands down the best state park I have ever seen.  It is very similar to parts of Yellowstone.

 
Left: Mount Rushmore.  If you have never seen it, it is humbling.  This is what America is all about.  This is one of the best places I have ever visited.  If you have the time, stay a few hours and walk some of the trails.  Take a ranger led hike here for sure.  It's a great way to learn about the monument.  It was crowded when I was there, but it's worth the crowds to see it close up.
 
Center: I captured this Pronghorn Antelope in Custer State Park in South Dakota.  This big buck was a couple of hundred feet off the road and had a harem of does in tow.  They move pretty quick when they want to.  They are the fastest land animals in North America, so I was lucky to get this shot.  I once had two bucks chase each other down just behind me in Lamar Valley while fly fishing in the Lamar River.  Sounded like a freight train coming, and they were already past me by the time I realized it wasn't a bear charging.  Pronghorn are all over South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.
 
Right: This is Badlands National Park in South Dakota.  NASA trained here years ago in preparation for the moon landings.  It is unlike any landscape I have seen.  The park got its name from the early settlers who tried to homestead just east of here.  The ones that didn't die from starvation, cold, or Indian attacks eventually gave up and fled, calling the land Badlands and proclaiming it was good for nothing.  It is a unique landscape and worthy of a tour, but it's pretty deserted and you probably won’t want to stay for more than a day. 

Badlands National Park is also close to the famous Wall Drug Store, a tourist attraction all in itself.  If you have ever driven within five hundred miles of it, you've seen the signs!


The Grand Canyon

Several years ago, I flew out to Arizona to visit a friend who lived in Kingman.  He took me to a place where you can literally drive to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  There is only one spot where you can do this.  It's on the Hualapai Indian reservation off route 66 just northeast of Kingman, Arizona.  My friend took me to the bottom in his jeep and I was floored.  It was surreal. 

When I bought the Northstar several years later, I knew this was a must do on my list.  How many folks have literally driven to the bottom of the Grand Canyon?  Much less in a truck camper?  Needless to say, this ranks pretty high on my list of the most incredible things I have ever done.
 

Left: This was just a few miles from the start of the trip heading down into the canyon.  The road is dirt, and pretty good, but can be a bit tricky in spots.  The trip is about twenty-two miles each way, and it took me about two and a half hours each way.  But hey, the scenery was unbelievable! 

As I neared the bottom of the canyon, the road started to turn into a small stream, and soon I could hear water, big water, in the distance.  I rounded a corner and was taken aback.  The Colorado River was about 100 yards in front of me and the road was more like a half flooded stream bed at this point.  There was a small dirt parking area off to one side of the road and I had to put the truck in four wheel drive to get out of the stream bed and up into the soft sand.  I was terrified I was going to get stuck!  I made it out, parked, and had lunch in the bottom of the Grand Canyon all by myself.  I stayed there for three hours hiking up and down the river and never saw another soul.  That was one of the highlights of my life.  I have never experienced anything like being alone in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  It was a special treat.
 
Center: On the way out of the canyon, I ran across this rattlesnake.  I had seen a few on the way in, but was too excited to stop.  When I saw this one on the way out, I stopped.  I got the camera out, put the zoom lens on, and took a few pics from twenty feet or so.  He never moved and made no sign that I was disturbing him, so I inched closer.  Still no reaction.  So I kept getting closer.  Still nothing.  I finally ended up about five feet from him nose to nose with the zoom lens on and my heart racing.  I could barely hold the camera steady.  I knew I was out of strike range, but I also knew that, God forbid, should something happen, I was literally hours from medical care and all alone.  Sometimes you just have to go for it.   
 
Right: After getting out of the canyon alive and well, I went to the South Rim. This is where most folks go when they visit the Grand Canyon.  I couldn't help but smile when I looked down and saw the Colorado River far below.


Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is probably the most crowded park in the National Park system, and there is a reason why.  Actually, there are many reasons why.  Yosemite Valley is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.  The valley is only about seven or eight miles long, but is packed with more jaw dropping scenery than possibly any place in the United States. 

I was in Yosemite in May and it was jam packed.  Even the trails were crowded.  I mean so packed that often there were jam-ups on the trails.  It was a real mess, but worth it.  The waterfalls were at full tilt and they were literally coming down from every direction in the valley.  Park rangers were saying the waterfalls were the best they had been in over fifty years.  It was amazing.  I spent a week in the valley, but was unable to get up to the Tuolumne Meadows high country because it was still under eleven feet of snow.  I will definitely be going back to Yosemite.
 

Left: This is the top of Yosemite Falls taken with a zoom lens.  As you can see, it was thundering.  By late summer it's dry, but on that day it was literally making the ground shake.  The falls are a staggering 2,400 feet high and are the tallest in North America.  The first drop alone is over 1,400 feet.  It is one of the most humbling natural sites I have ever seen.  It was definitely worth fighting the crowds.
 
Center: The Half Dome is one of the signature formations in Yosemite Valley.  Literally carved by a glacier, the other half was ground into boulders and strewn about the valley miles away.  The face of half dome is a sheer cliff, but you can hike up the back side if you have the stamina.  It’s eight miles uphill for every step, and then a 600 foot hand over fist climb up steel cables to the top.  And then you have to get back down.  Sixteen miles is a bit more than I can handle.  This was my view of the rock from my campsite in the valley floor.
 
Right: This was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in nature.  I was on the open air tram tour of the valley floor, a great tour and well worth the few dollars they charge.  The driver took us to all the usual viewpoints and told us all about the valley and the park.  Then we got to the world famous Tunnel View parking area.  He told us we were in for a treat and to pay close attention to the mist from Bridalveil Falls. The mist slowly turned from red to orange and then to a full spectrum of color.  I was stunned.  He told us it only happens in the late afternoon for a few minutes and only when the sun has the right angle in the sky.  There was no editing done to this photo, that is truly how it looked.  It is just another one of the incredible sights in Yosemite Valley.


Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Sequoia and Kings Canyon are two National Parks set in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.  While technically they are two different parks, they are managed as one unit by the Parks Service.  These two parks are just south of Yosemite National Park and, compared to Yosemite, they are deserted.  Glimpses of Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower forty-eight, can be seen from both parks.  King's Canyon was carved by the King River and is the deeper than the Grand Canyon at over 5,000 feet deep.  The main park road winds to the bottom, where there's a campground.  And the Sequoia trees are huge!
 

Left: This is one of the sweeping views from along the park road just after passing through the Sequoia park gate.  The road offers a great scenery, but the really good stuff is off the road.  This is a great hiking park with lots of trails and access to the famous John Muir Trail.  Sequoia National Park is a beautiful park that gets overlooked by many in their rush to Yosemite, which is more accessible and much more popular.
 
Center: This is a shot of my camper entering the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park.  As you can see, the trees are massive.  This group of Sequoias was pretty typical in size, but they can get much larger.  These giants can reach well over 200 feet into the sky and their trunks are literally big enough to drive automobiles through.  Sorry, no truck campers!  They are truly impressive.  To walk among them gives you a sense of peace and sort of puts you in your place.

Right: Sequoia trees usually grow in circles of several trees.  This is due to how the parent tree disperses seeds.  It's pretty neat to walk into the middle of a group of these huge trees and just look straight up.  If you have never seen them, it's really hard to imagine just how big they actually are.  The trunks of these trees can get to be ten to twelve feet in diameter.  It can take two thousand years for these trees to reach this size, and most were logged prior to the creation of Sequoia and King's Canyon Parks.  Thank goodness the majority of Sequoias that remain are mostly on federal land and are now protected.


The California Coast

In 2006, I decided to drive the Pacific Coast Highway.  More specifically, I wanted to drive from Los Angeles to Washington State; the entire west coast.  The California coast is very different from the southern east coast.  Very different.  I was struck by the amount of it that is virtually inaccessible.  Although it makes for some spectacular vistas, it also makes the portions that are accessible just that much more crowded.  All in all, it's a great drive and another must do on any truck camper's bucket list.
 

Left: The Mendocino Coastline is some of the prettiest along the Pacific Coast Highway.  I can only imagine what it must be like to be fortunate enough to enjoy this place year round.  There are some unbelievable homes in this area nestled into the cliff sides overlooking the sea.  But then again, thats true for many parts of the Pacific Coast Highway.

Center: This was taken at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, a small state park on the California coastline just south of Big Sur.  It is one of the most photographed spots on the Pacific Coast Highway.  One of the things that amazed me most about the west coast was the fantastic sunsets.  Every night brought another one better than the night before it seemed.  And every night I watched in awe as that orange ball of fire seemed to slip into the water.
 
Right: Redwoods National Park is usually foggy and wet, and my visit was no exception.  After all, that's what the Redwood trees thrive in.  I camped here for three nights.  I was the only RV in the campground.  There were about five other groups in tents.  To get in here, I had to drive down a muddy, rain drenched, and terrifying dirt road for several miles in an absolute deluge.  The only reason I stayed three nights here is I was convinced that I would never make it back out in the rain!  I was seventy-five feet from the Pacific Ocean the whole time, and could hear it, but never saw it until the weather cleared on the third day.  It was then that I realized I had made a pretty good choice of campsites after all.