Three years ago I started recording videos every day. Every year I took those videos, grabbed a second from each day, and made a movie.
When I decided to stop filming last March, exactly three years after I started, I started work on an epic 18 minute film showcasing the last three years of my life.
And now, three and half years after that first video from the highway at sunrise, it's ready.
It's been a while since we've hit up nature for some fresh air and spaciousness. Friday night we made a quick plan to go to Waterton Lakes National Park. Saturday morning we packed into the truck for its superior all-wheel drive capabilities and went on a road trip. Brittany and I had Waterton on our list of places to visit and it was finally happening. We ignored the wind warning and ventured forth.
The drive from Calgary to Waterton is about three hours but there are a handful of lookouts along the way where you can take a break from driving and stretch. One particular lookout just outside the entrance to Waterton Lakes National Park had a great view of a group of mountains. The wind was eroding the layer of snow at their peaks.
The toll booths leading into the park were abandoned and the road to the Prince of Wales hotel wasn't plowed. The whole thing had an eerie Shining vibe to it. Thankfully the snow wasn't deep and we all had boots so we made our way to the top of the hill.
The wind was much stronger around the hotel. We were all having fun leaning into it and letting it push us around. These were definitely newscaster-reporting-on-impending-hurricane winds. Mum fell over near the top of the hill and Levi had to bail after he started running and couldn't stop.
Our next stop was Cameron Falls. It was around this time we realized that Waterton is deserted in winter. Shops are closed and boarded up and most people have left their cottages. We drove through the town nearly alone. Anyone else we saw seemed just as amazed at the emptiness as we were. A little research beforehand would've told us Waterton shuts down in winter but our spontaneity got the better of us.
The lake in Waterton felt more like an ocean when we got to the beach. The wind was creating some impressive waves that crashed against the shore. A few of them looked like they were flash frozen. We started picking up snow, throwing it and then watching where the wind took it.
Dad wanted to see how far the Akamina Parkway went in winter. It's a winding road that goes out of Waterton and leads to the nearby Cameron Lake. Along the way we saw ice climbers scaling a waterfall. A few other cars were stopped and watching from the road.
I had some video from the day so I put together a collection of hyperlapses, slo-mo footage and evidence of just how windy it was in Waterton.
This photo was safely taken from the backseat of a car.
Mobile phones do a lot of good but they can also be harmful, especially while driving. The solution seems easy (put your phone away while you’re behind the wheel) but it’s difficult in practice.
Luckily, there’s something already on your phone that can help. With about a minute of setup, two taps after that and a bit of habit you can be safer in the car. Do Not Disturb was introduced in iOS 6 to silence calls, alerts and notifications but using a certain combination of settings for Do Not Disturb can make for a temporary Driving Mode until a better solution arrives.
This combination of settings will allow you to use block most notifications, allow you to still receive calls in an emergency and use your navigation and music apps.
To set up Do Not Disturb for driving tap Settings > Do Not Disturb.
To start setting up Do Not Disturb as Driving Mode tap Settings > Do Not Disturb. There are five settings on this screen.
The first setting is Manual. This is one way to enable or disable Do Not Disturb. When enabled, calls and alerts received while the device is locked will be silenced.
The second setting is Scheduled. It’s not important for setting up Driving Mode.
The third setting is Allow Calls From. Set this to Favorites.
This allows calls to come through from a group of people you specify even while Do Not Disturb (Driving Mode) is turned on. This support article from Apple explains how to add contacts to Favorites. Use this for your family, your significant other or other important contacts like a doctor’s office or the vet.
The fourth setting is Repeated Calls. Set this to Enabled.
This allows a second call from the same person within three minutes to come through. It’s an extra level of assurance that in an emergency you can still be contacted. However, it’s important that you pull over to the side of the road if you need to take a call.
The last setting is Silence. Set this to Always.
This prevents notifications from showing up on the screen when your device is unlocked. It’s handy if you use your phone for music or navigation while driving.
That’s it. Do Not Disturb is now Driving Mode. You shouldn’t need to change these settings again.
From Control Center you can turn on Do Not Disturb by tapping the moon icon.
Now that Driving Mode is set up you need to build a habit around your driving. Thankfully it’s a pretty easy one that doesn’t even involve unlocking your phone. Whenever you get in your car just wake your phone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access Control Center and then tap the moon icon to turn on Do Not Disturb (Driving Mode). If you forget to turn it on and you start receiving notifications while driving you can quickly pull over and enable it.
The hardest part about this will be remembering to turn Do Not Disturb mode on. If you’re having a lot of trouble you can leave yourself a note on the dash of the car.
The moon icon in the status bar shows that Do Not Disturb is enabled.
Once you arrive at your destination simply wake your phone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access Control Center and then tap the moon icon to turn off Do Not Disturb (Driving Mode). If you forget to turn off Do Not Disturb mode when you leave your car you may notice a moon icon in the status bar. Just swipe up from the bottom of the screen anywhere to access Control Center and turn off Do Not Disturb.
It’s not an elegant solution but it’s an attempt at one. Using our phones can be tempting while driving but the majority of the time it’s something that can wait until it’s much safer.
My thanks to the designer who inspired me to write this.
“…Cars are overcomplicated and they should be free of distractions.”
Sources:
Add a Contact to Favorites by Apple
iOS on Wikipedia
My Lunch with Dieter Rams by Andrew Kim
Using Do Not Disturb by Apple