Day 1296: Ghost Ranch

On a trip that took me halfway across the country, I certainly saw more than a few different views, but none of them could really compare to the beauty we found at Ghost Ranch. 

Previous to doing some research on Indiana Jones films, I'd never heard of a little ranch in the northern part of New Mexico. Turns out though, this place is more famous than many of us may realize. Numerous movies have been filmed here, including the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It's also where artist Georgia O'Keeffe set up shop when she moved to New Mexico permanently to live out her days painting the nearby mountains and landscapes that surrounded her. 

 

The ranch has a visitor fee of a few dollars to help preserve it and upkeep the various buildings, but it's still well worth a stop. They have two museums on the property, as well as several of the original historic buildings, including Georgia O'Keeffe's home. There are hiking trails all over the place, none of which we actually got a chance to use because it was hotter than anything I've ever experienced when we visited. In addition, you can also book a room to stay at Ghost Ranch in their lodge, meaning that for a few days, you can wake up the same way Georgia O'Keeffe did when she fell in love with the same vistas in front of you. 

We only got to spend a little over an hour at Ghost Ranch, partially because it was too hot to stay outside any longer, but I would gladly go back to experience more of it, especially when it might be cooler and I'm not suffering from the lingering effects of food poisoning. If you happen to be in the area, definitely go check out this area though! I'm not kidding when I say it's the most beautiful landscape I've ever seen in my life. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1170: Another Trip with Indy

I wasn't alive in 1989 when the final installment of the Indiana Jones series premiered in theaters, but I'm fairly certain that everyone believed it to be just that: a final installment. There wasn't this talk of a fourth, much less a fifth, film focused on the college professor and archaeologist that seemed to be almost old enough for a museum himself, and yet, here we are in 2016, almost 30 years later, talking about another film.  

If you've been living under a rock, it was recently announced that Harrison Ford will be again returning to reprise his role as Indiana Jones in a fifth installment of the series that will premiere in 2019. Now, that's a long time to wait, but we somehow managed to wait for Star Wars, so hopefully this won't be too bad. So here's the rest of what know so far: 

Indiana Jones, it seems, won't be facing the same fate as his alter ego, Han Solo. Thankfully, death doesn't seem to be in the cards for our favorite character. Meanwhile, George Lucas, a key element in the franchise, will also be returning along with Steven Spielberg and the rest of the creative team. 

There's plenty of debate out there on whether or not it will make sense for Ford to reprise his role, but that doesn't seem to be up for debate, especially not after he did a good portion of his own stunts for The Force Awakens. Meanwhile, others wonder if this next sequel will follow a similar storyline as the fourth movie, which disappointed many fans. Personally, I'm going to go for the positive side of things here. Indiana Jones really wouldn't be the same without Harrison Ford, and while I'm sure someday they'll do extra films that feature a younger actor, today is not that day. Plus, with what they learned from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I'm sure they'll reign things back in and give us a good, old fashioned, adventure packed Indiana Jones movie. 

Have a magical day!

Day 136: Indiana Jones...the Fourth One

As I am often known to do, I put in a movie to play while I worked on my homework. That's right, I love movies so much I watch them while doing homework. Granted, most people would get distracted, but since discovering Star Wars, I've learned how to make it so I can still work and watch at the same time (granted...I generally watch Empire and I only pay attention to the parts Han is in anyway).

So what did I put in? Indy of course! I've been wanting to watch the Fourth one for the last few weeks and decided it was about time...and I realize a few things while watching:

1. If Harrison can play Indy...he can play Han.

I think there's been a lot of talk about if Harrison Ford can accurately reprise the role of Han Solo...and the same goes for the other original actors. But personally I think that if any of them can do it...Harrison can! Easily! I mean, at 60 something he was still doing some of his own stunts for something like an Indy movie...which isn't exactly light stuff. Granted, he has a stunt double for some of it, but he's always been one to do many of his own stunts, and he's still in pretty good shape. Yeah, he's older and obviously looks it, but there are still those times when he really does look like his younger self. My brother and I would just go "He looks like Indy...there" because it's true...all of a sudden it's like he's 30 years younger.

Now if the others can do that, I'm not sure. But Han Solo...he'll be just fine.

2. The movie would have been so much better without the aliens.

One of the things about this movie is that a lot of people don't give it enough credit. Yes, it was made how many years (30?) after the original Indiana Jones film, but that doesn't make it any less of an Indy movie! There are certainly some things that could have been better...but in the grand scheme of things, my order for the Indy movies goes like this (from favorite to least favorite): Raiders, Last Crusade, Crystal Skull, Temple of Doom. Why? Because of the storylines! I just felt that Temple was really weak, and the one thing I really hated about it is that it didn't have a ton of historical references like the other three. Crystal Skull had that, just as Raiders and Last Crusade did! They had a historical portion to it that really made it seem more believable.

That believableness was killed though, by the Aliens.

Now, I'm not saying that the ending was all together bad, because it wasn't. I loved the idea that their treasure wasn't gold, but knowledge instead. But something with the alien idea (if that's really what they were...since it never really says I guess) just didn't sit well with me and kind of ruined the whole thing. Granted, HF is still amazing and it's still very much an Indy movie (one filled with too many priceless moments to count!), but I just felt like it could have been a lot better than it was.

3. It's set up for a sequel, and therefore...they should get on that.

Harrison's in, Spielberg's in...Lucas...get your act together! Enough said.

That's what I guess I got out of half-watching the movie, since I was working at the same time. It certainly won't be the last time I watch it (I think I watch Star Wars and Indy every few months...and that goes for the other movie I'm watching tonight: Tangled), because really...one can never have too much Indy.

Here's today's Disney History: 1990: Muppet creator, filmmaker, and television producer Jim Henson dies of pneumonia less than 24 hours after being rushed to a New York hospital. The fifty-three-old was misdiagnosed earlier in the week and had he been put on antibiotics only 8 hours earlier, it is believed Henson would have survived. A memorial service for Henson will air on PBS and draw millions of viewers and dozens of celebrities in reverence for his life and work. He was completing negotiations with the Disney company to include his Muppets at their theme parks at the time of his death. Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3-D will open at the Disney-MGM Studios theme park a year later.