National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! COMPLETED - Page 59 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Wow, I gotta say, Monument Valley is the "national park" (even though it isn't one, technically) besides Yellowstone that appeals to me the most (out of those you visited on your trip). I can't explain why but it just looks amazing! I'm tentatively planning a trip to the western U.S. for 2014 and I'm definitely including Monument Valley
It was amazing, and as I understand it (and I may be wrong here) the only reason it's not a national park is that it's not owned by the US government - it's owned by the Navajo tribes. That was my understanding anyway. I'm sure if it belonged to the government, they would make it a national park, as it deserves that status.
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I finally got all caught up with your TR and once again I have to say your photos are just amazing!!! I can't get over how much you covered on this trip! Your lodging accomodations were all very nice (although the cabin that had no heat was adorable, I would not have been a happy camper when I woke up freezing!) You both are very adventurous travelers and I appreciate that you share all your stories with us!
We do manage to pack a lot in - I'm sure Mark would've appreciated packing in a little less on certain days... but in general it worked.
I must be honest, I was very pleased with all the lodging we had. TripAdvisor was a real lifesaver in planning this trip. I do swear by that site, as every time I go for a well rated hotel/bed and breakfast etc., they usually are really good.
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All caught up again. More great photos, and I have to say that Mark is very brave for driving on that road.
I thought he was too - there is way I'd have attempted it... although in truth, I'd probably have started off and then got freaked out - and there is one bit I know I would never have tried... but I won't spoil that for you, as that bit is still to come...
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Wednesday 14 September – part four: dogs, goats and some amazing rock formations
We finally moved further on from them and got some photos of Mitchell Mesa with its classic W sign.
Next, on our left was the Elephant and Camel Buttes, although we had trouble seeing either animal in them. As Mark said, maybe bits have fallen off in the intervening years and they used to look more like the animals when they were first named.
From here on in, the rest of the scenic drive was one way and, in all honesty, from this point onwards, the road got a lot easier to drive, mainly because it was on the level, rather than going down or uphill.
We saw the huge Rain God Mesa, the geological centre of the park.
To the other side was the massive Thunderbird Mesa.
At the end of this were two small outcrops, the Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei, the latter being a group of dancers.
The car is supposed to be in shot – I was trying to give an impression of how big some of these were!
Our trip then took us alongside Spearhead Mesa and we could see why it had been named that....
On our way to our next stop, we saw this herd of goats, accompanied by a dog. Mark reckoned maybe he was looking after them.
Beautiful - one right after another! I tried to make out the elephant, but couldn't see a camel. The goats and the dog were much easier to see.
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When I first read what you said about the elephant and camel buttes, I thought you said "butts" but then I re-read it. And all of those animals seem like they were left out in the middle of nowhere...the horses, goats and dog!
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I can't get over how much you covered on this trip!
You both are very adventurous travelers and I appreciate that you share all your stories with us!
way I'd have attempted it... although in truth, I'd probably have started off and then got freaked out - and there is one bit I know I would never have tried... but I won't spoil that for you, as that bit is still to come... 
Mark reckoned maybe he was looking after them. 
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