Category: Exploring Second Life

Zion National Park – click any image for full size

Update: Zion National Park has closed. SLurls have therefore been removed from this article.

Zion National Park is an ambitious, two-region stretch of parkland designed by Judge Firecaster. It offers a look and feel of some of the great national parks of north America – most notably Yosemite, given the reproduction of the Mariposa Grove – and presents a lot to see and explore.

A visit starts on the north side of one of the two regions making up the park. This features a park lodge and a camping ground (parcels available for rent), looking to the north over open water and a distant range of mountains. A dirt track runs between the lodge and camp site, pointing west towards a narrow cleft between high shoulders of rock, and east to run almost parallel to the water’s edge and between the massive trunks of huge Sequoia-like conifers.

Zion National Park

Which route you take is entirely up to you – but if you have a wearable horse, you might want to add that and take to riding while exploring (a riding horse rezzing system would be a nice addition to the park). The route west will take you through the rocky cleft to where another body of water await, overlooked on both sides by a rugged landscape that, to the south, climbs towards distant green peaks.

Here the track swings by a small lodge were visitors can take a log ride around the lake – just wait for a boat to automatically rez ready to depart as one returns and de-rezzes. The ride will take you east along the lake, under the tall trestles of a cliff-top bridge spanning the water, and back around to the west before returning you to the little lodge. Or, if you prefer, you can follow the track to where it climbs up into the hills, switching back on itself as it does so, to arrive at a high café abuts the steeper slopes of the (off-sim) mountains).

Zion National Park

If you opt to go east from the landing point, the track will take you by twist and turn, passing the single permanent private residence to be found here, to where it again climbs up into the rocks and hills of the park. This leads the way past cliff-edge seating areas overlooking waterfalls, paths to hidden tunnels, and a climb up to a peak where a hang glider can be rezzed and you can take to the air to appreciate the park from overhead.

The high paths rise and fall, twist and turn, cross canyons and water by way of bridges, descend to the edge of bubbling streams  and pass through mine-like tunnels to link up with one another, allowing visitors to fully circumnavigate the park, often just a few short steps from where the regions end and the off-sim mountains begin – a relatively seamless join that gives Zion Park a huge amount of additional depth, vastly increasing its national park like feel.

Zion National Park

Wild life is to be found here in abundance – the trees are rich in bird song, bears grumble and roam,raccoons raid litter bins and get up to other mischief, wolves bask in the sunlight and elk graze or drink cautiously from the banks of streams. Going by the chap out on the waters of the lake and the cormorants on the shoreline, fish are in abundance in the waters here as well. There could perhaps be a few more places to sit and enjoy more of the many views to be found within the regions, but this is a minor point; as noted, if you do have a wearable horse to ride, this is a place where you can put it to good use and appreciate the views.

All-in all, Zion Park is a rich environment which demonstrates just how much can be done when working with Homestead regions. The default Windlight settings perhaps don’t do the landscaping full justice – I’d certainly recommend playing around with any you have installed on your viewer to find something more suitable and warm. When exploring, keep an eye out for the information boards, and the way down to the subterranean lake. The former are a worthwhile read for those unfamiliar with American national park heritage, and the latter takes a little finding – but a visit cannot be said to be complete until you do 😉 .

Zion National Park

Should you enjoy your visit to Zion National Park, please consider a donation at the lodge alongside the landing point to help ensure the regions remain for future visitors to enjoy – and for additional visits of your own as the mood takes you!

SLurl Details

• Zion National Park (Fhloston and Zion, both rated: Moderate)

Eri-Ador – click any image for full size

In Middle Earth, Eriador lies between the Blue Mountains (Ered Luin – or Erid Lindon) to the west and the Misty Mountains (Ered Hithui or Hithaeglir) to the east. It is the land within which – among other places – the Grey Havens, The Shire and Rivendell (Imladris) might be found.

Within Second Life Eri-Ador lies with mountains to the west and to the east (and also, admittedly, to the north and south). While carrying certain echoes of Tolkien’s mythical realm of Middle Earth – within it you will find elven halls and tree houses, Ents and Orcs and even the Dark Tower itself, surmounted by the Eye – it is not intended to be a facsimile of the world made famous through the likes of The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. Rather, it is a region that draws a degree of inspiration from Tolkien and from Second Life itself to present a place edged in mysticism and with a rich artistic vein.

Eri-Ador

The work of Tom Mcgregor (mastersinn) and his SL partner Misty Mcgregor (MistieDream),  Eri-Ador is difficult to really quantify; it is a place which has to be experienced, rather than described. There is so much to see and appreciate.

In the broadest terms, the region is split into two – the west side largely sitting on shallow water, the east a rugged, snow-dusted stretch of land. A visit beings on the western edge of the region, within a gazebo of distinctly elven design. From here, and lying under the guarding branches of arched trees, a grassy avenue sits on the water, pointing the way east to the rise of dry land.

Eri-Ador

To the right and left of this avenue, the waters offer the setting for a garden of sculptures from the likes of Mistero Hifeng, Sharni Lubomir (Sharni Azalee), Groll (Groll Greggan), Kadaj Yoshikawa, Shepherd (BF2 Shepherd), Paco Pooley and CioTToLiNa Xue to name just some. These are displayed either side of the east-pointing avenue, those to the south caught beneath a torrential downpour, about which a line of street lamps guarding a south-pointing board walk can do little: the umbrellas that hold aloft little more than handles and spines…

Travel south through the rains and you’ll eventually come to the elven hall. Imladris it may not be, but it sits, Rivendell like within the shadows of mountains, echoing the Last Homely House and carrying inside it, its own sense of mystery and magic – or perhaps modern elven science …

Eri-Ador

The board walk also branches to the east before reaching the elven hall and, like the grass path under the arched trees pointing eastwards from the landing point, eventually makes landfall. Here, sitting atop a low snow-covered shoulder of rock sits Barad-dûr, a dark finger of a tower, its nail the burning all-seeing eye. Before the tower floats a gaunt wraith, hands cupping fireballs – one of the Nine, perhaps?

Like the watery half of the region, there is much to discover on the rocky landscape either side of the Dark Tower, making careful exploration a must. There is, for example, a harpsichord and harp to be found with a small music stage close by; while elsewhere a balloon-suspended bridge connects a pointed escarpment to a platform floating upon clouds, while a stone stairway climbs even higher into the heavens, its passage marked by more of Mistro’s figures.

Eri-Ador – “Heaven”

All this still only touches on the richness to be found within Eri Ador – from the aforementioned Ents in their confrontation with an Orc through touches of whimsy with bearded dwarves. For those wishing to sit and admire the art and the setting, their are numerous places to sit – and even to participate in the music of the setting. And al of that is without mentioning the two further points of exploration: Heaven and riding area.

The latter are both located overhead, and reached via the teleport disc at the landing point. The riding area in particular offers a very different environment than found at ground level, giving visitors a touch of the Old Western frontier.  This is also not without its sense of sitting outside of time: it’s not every day you travel through a frontier town with saloon, stagecoach and gun slinger to arrive at a farm with a pick-up truck and tractor … I will confess, neither Caitlyn or I were entirely clear on the “riding” aspect of this level; neither of us were successful in finding any kind of horse rezzer – which didn’t stop us from exploring!

Eri-Ador – “Riding Area”

All-in-all, Eri-Ador is a fascinating and unique region; very different from those of recent visits, and definitely a place to visit and explore. I would note that the use of mesh rain and similar effects can have an impact on viewer performance, so some tweaking of viewer preferences might be in order – but this shouldn’t be used as a reason not to make a visit.

SLurl Details

• Eri Ador (Mystical Kingdom, rated: Moderate)

With thanks to Shakespeare for the LM ♥ .

Eclipse Tiny Place – click any image for full size

Update: Eclipse Tiny Place has closed. SLurls have therefore been removed from this article.

It’s the kind of place brought to mind when visiting Eclipse Tiny Place, a superbly designed 1/6 of a full region offered for public consumption by Lagoa. Despite its size – under 11,000 square metres, this is a parcel that offers almost something of everything for people to enjoy.

Occupying the north-east corner of the region on which it sits, the parcel is open to the sea on two sides, looking over a broad ribbon of sand arcing around the parcel and onto open waters. The remaining two sides of the land are backed by high cliffs which help create the feeling that this is a location isolated from the rest of the world. Water tumbles from the corner meeting-point of these two rocky walls, cascading in steps into a pool of clear blue water, a broad swathe of which runs north to slip under a rocky arc to the sea.

Eclipse Tiny Place

Two islands sit within this channel, each ringed by hedgerows. One is circular and home to an orangery, the other an oval on which sits a tree house – in the most literal sense of the word, the front door being in the trunk of the tree itself. Bridges link these islands one to another and with the rest of the parcel, providing a means for explorers to reach all parts of the parcel that may interest them.

Set out across the rest of the land are as series of garden areas laid out around a house. Paths segregate the various parts of the gardens and offer routes to a pavilion sitting at the southern end of the parcel, separated from the beach by tiered walls of floors.

Eclipse Tiny Place

To try to describe this parcel in all its beauty would be an understatement so much has been packed into it – and not just haphazardly; the design and placement of gardens, trees, seating areas, event spaces, buildings, has all been carried out almost flawlessly, making Eclipse Tiny Place the kind of place where visitors genuinely want to spend time. To help with this, throughout the parcel there are many places to sit and enjoy the setting.

Art is also very much in evidence here, from the water-like garden of the tree house to the ruler-straight hedgerows separating the gardens from the sands of the northern beach or the dragons guarding the pavilion mentioned earlier.

Eclipse Tiny Place

There are one or two little incongruities to be found: there is no direct path to the beach; instead, visitors have to scramble through hedgerows or climb over walls to reach the sand and the places people might as sit scattered along it. The local waterfowl are also perhaps on the large size 🙂 . A little more depth might also be added through the addition of an ambient sound scape. However, these are minor points.

Even without ambient sounds, there is a depth to Eclipse Tiny Place that really is astonishing. It is another tour de force of what can be done within a relatively small space (although admittedly, the full region on which Eclipse Tiny Place sits does make use of the full 30K LI available to private regions). As such, a visit and spending time exploring is highly recommended.

Eclipse Tiny Place

When visiting, don’t miss the little island floating overhead and the hot air balloon sitting offshore. And should you appreciate your time spent within the parcel, do please consider making a donation towards its upkeep and availability through one of the donation points somewhat cleverly described as food within the gardens and buildings.  And, for those who take photos of their visit, there is also the opportunity to share them via the Eclipse Tiny Place Flickr group.

SLurl Details

• Eclipse Tiny Place (Lombard Park, rated: Moderate)

Oboeru – click any image for full size

Update: Oboeru has closed. SLurl in this article have therefore been removed.

A fog horn plaintively calls in the early morning light, the Sun slowly burning through the dawn haze as it rises over the eastern horizon. Cicada song mixes with that of birds greeting the dawn and the stridulation of crickets, while in the background the dull rumble of waves breaking on a shoreline resonates through the air.

These are the sounds that greet visitors to Oboeru (“Remember” or “learn” in Japanese), a Homestead region designed by  Manis Lane and Axiom (Axiomatic Clarity). This is a place that is hauntingly romantic in its near-desolated nature; a low-slung archipelago, the main island of which has been clawed by long fingers of water, its outliers of varying sizes separated from it by channels which can be surprisingly deep.

Oboeru

This is a place which seems to brood under the early morning half-light; the deep mewling of the foghorn seeming to cloak the islands in an air of sadness. And yet this feeling of loneliness combines with the rugged setting with its patches of scrub grass, scatterings of copses of tall Scots pine and gatherings of shrubs and bushes, to present a place of mystery tinged with that hint of romance.

A single table of rock rises from the centre of the region, giving shape to the north-south “spine” of the main island. The single-storey building crowning this plateau calls to visitors as they arrive at the landing point, sitting on a knuckle of land to the north. Reaching the building takes a little effort – the plateau is pretty much sheer-sided, but a way up onto it can be found on the southern side

Oboeru

The building has the look and feel of a clubhouse; outside the front of the place is room to enjoy music and perhaps dance, while the rooms inside offer plenty of space to set on large sofas. Each room has its own bric-a-brac to set a cosily untidy setting for people to relax within; music also a theme indoors as well as outside.

There are a couple of other structures to be found in the region. To the west, and sited to offer a clear view of sunsets over the ocean, stands a tall tower of slowly rusting metal, creepers hanging from its frame as if a giant wave has at some point draped seaweed over it. Metal stairs climb two sides of the tower, offering a way up to its rusted platform, where an old sofa awaits, facing the sea under a canopy of circling gulls.

Oboeru

The second structure lies to the north-east, on one of the larger outlining islands. This is the ruins of a church or chapel,  windows now without glass, bushes reclaiming the space inside its walls as much as the space around it. Yet it is far from forlorn, and the stairs climbing to the flat roof offer another route up to a place where one can sit and remember or reflect…

There are numerous places to sit scattered over the landscape – from rooftop to tower to chairs amidst flowers. Board walks strike out over water, but sometimes with no direct connection to the land; but be warned, some of the channels the sit within are quite deep, as I’ve noted, so wading out to a board walk might hold a surprise.

Oboeru

Oboeru is an atypical region in its styling and approach. There is – as I’ve noted – something hauntingly beautiful about the entire region – the design, the windlight, the aural sound scape. Not a region to be missed.

SLurl Details

• Oboeru (Landscape Dialog, rated: Moderate)

With thanks to Miro Colas for the pointer to Oboeru

Devin’s Eye – click any image for full size

Miro Colas recently tweeted me with a suggestion that Caitlyn and I pay a visit to Devin’s Eye, a Homestead region which recently opened in Second Life. As the name was familiar to me, we hopped over to take a look, confirming in the process that Devin’s Eye is the work of Roy Mildor and Ally Mildor (Ally Daysleeper), and represents something of a continuation of their work as we first came across it in Devin, back in January 2017, offering as a does the opportunity to visit two sim-wide locations  – one on the ground, and the other in the air. (As a point of note, Devin still exists, but appears now to be under private ownership.)

The ground level location offer a rugged island setting with offshore mountain ranges to the east and north. The landing point is located towards the centre of the island, close to a cove that cuts into the island from a narrow neck of a channel spanned by a log bridge, with a smaller and entirely land-locked body of water close by.

Devin’s Eye

The south-eastern quarter of the region is given over to a rocky highland area, rising in steps to coastal cliffs that shelter in their landward lee, and somewhat incongruously, a motorcycle repair shop. The land before this slopes gently away towards the inland waters, largely denuded of trees but given over to growths of tough grass and shrubs, with the remnants of another barn and the bulk of a farm tractor sitting upon it.

These uplands continue northwards along the east side of the region, becoming gradually more verdant, becoming the home of grazing horses and coloured by shrubs and plants whilst offering several places visitors can sit and snuggle both on the ground and up in a wooden tower.

Devin’s Eye

To the west and north, the rocky lowland flow around the landlocked pool and watery coves to reach sandy beaches as fir and temperate deciduous trees slowly yield to palm trees out on the sandy headlands. Bridges of various types offer ways across the different bodies of water, connecting sand with sand or to the gently rising uplands to the south.

There is much to be found here. The open nature of the landscape, largely devoid of set routes through it, encourages visitors to explore. So it is that in wandering, visitors might come across a little clearing here where the opportunity to dance is offered, or find a bubble car rezzer there, allowing them to float over the landscape from above (the usual PAGE UP/DOWN, arrow & WASD + E/C keys to rise, descend and move), whilst elsewhere might be found a little camp site or beach-side chairs might be found, or a rowing boat to cuddle on… These are just some of the many attractions  the region has to offer.

Devin’s Eye

For the more active, there’s the opportunities to walk out along the pier to the north or go for a swim using the rings in the surf along the beaches or to ride the zip line ride running down from the southern uplands.

When taken as a whole, Devin’s Eye at the ground level can initially can come over as a curious potpourii of themes and scenes  which might in other circumstances clash one to another – the random wreckage of a plane crash, the motorcycle repair barn on its rocky shelf, the random placement of railings, the more coherent placement of fishing boat hulk and beach, together with the offshore scenes of boats at anchor, and so on. Yet the simple fact is – it all works, the different ideas and settings flowing together naturally to offer visitors something unique to enjoy.

Devin’s Eye

The upper level of the region – referred to as Devin 2 – can be reached via a number of teleport boards scattered across the ground level setting (one most notably placed alongside the landing point), which also offer quick hops to various points at ground level.

Devin 2 is remarkably similar to its former namesake at Devin, presenting an area which might be taken as a part of the Sahel Zone of Africa, with rolling dunes, some of which are covered in a thin but tough mat of grass, scattered trees and a lone watering hole where the local wildlife – elephants, zebra, rhinos, gazelle and giraffe – come to drink and seek shade while camels troop by. Only the cheetah appear to be looking for more than a drink and a rest as they pad towards the little dazzle of zebra. For those so inclined a dune buggy rezzer is available here – but as the landscape joins almost seamlessly with a region surround, keep an eye on your direction and distance from the region’s four sides if you want to avoid collisions!

Devin’s Eye

As with Devin, Devin’s Eye offers visitors a rich environment to explore and discover and with plenty to do. Should you enjoy your visit, please consider a donation towards the region’s continued availability as a public place.

SLurl Details

• Devin’s Eye (Devins Eye, rated: Moderate)

Cape Florida Lighthouse and Park – click any image for full size

Cape Florida Lighthouse and Park is a homestead region designed by Shen Molinaro, specifically designed for people to visit, enjoy and to relax in. It offers plenty of walks, both along its sandy beaches and inland along paved paths, wooden board walks and over raised earthen trails that wind over grass and under bough. Also on the beaches and under the boughs of trees and palms, can be found places to sit or hang out along with opportunities to enjoy board games, take a bicycle ride or have a swim (look for the HUD givers as well as the rings out on the surf).

The region is somewhat modelled after the Cape Florida Light and the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, at the southern end of Key Biscayne in Florida. The lighthouse has a long history, and is the oldest standing structure in Greater Miami. Today it is operated by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Cape Florida Lighthouse and Park

I’ve no idea how well the region reflects the park, as I’ve never had the good fortune to visit the latter; but the lighthouse presents a fitting homage to its physical world namesake, and the beaches echo those from which popular photos of the lighthouse have been taken. However, accurate physical resemblance to Bill Baggs State Park isn’t important: the region stands on its own as a  place of natural SL beauty.

The beaches run along the west and north sides of the region, the northern beach becoming quite expansive before it reaches the white finger of the lighthouse topped by the black “nail” of its light. Grass grows on the undulating beaches, vying with trapped seaweed to break-up the whiteness of the sands. Rocky outcrops also break up the sands, several of which have snagged flotsam deposited by the sea during high tide; there are also numerous places to sit and watch the ebb and flow of the tide – be it on sun loungers, deck chairs or blankets.

Cape Florida Lighthouse and Park

Behind the beaches, the land rises gently – not to any great height, but enough for the sand to give way to a more solid covering of grass spread beneath the boughs of tress and palms. It is here, among the trees that the majority of the board walks and paths can be found, offering multiple routes to different destinations. The latter includes the octagonal bulk of a great greenhouse overlooking the southern coastline, the glass long gone from its heavy wooden frame, a small cabin, a partially walled terrace, a paved terrace under a triangular awning, and more besides.

To the east of the park is a tiled roof gazebo offering shade, food and refreshments, one of several decks that hug the coastline sitting below it. On one of the latter, set above the south-western tip of a beach on a rocky overlook, offers a couple of spiKKo tables for those looking to play a game. Just above one of the beaches, tucked away near the old church gate marking the way to (or from!) the paved terrace and its awning, in a chess table. A little stall can be found here as well, offering a range of fresh fruit.

Cape Florida Lighthouse and Park

The paths and board walks, with their twisting and winding and frequent intersections, help to give a feeling that the park is larger than the region on which it sits. This is further helped by the use of trees, bushes and shrubs to hide views of the coastline.

Those wishing to rez props for photography can do so by joining the region’s group. It might also be worth playing with windlight settings – I confess to flicking my viewer over to a couple sky options provided by Stevie Davos as a part of his cloud and sky series (see here for more), as I found the default windlight left me feeling a little chilly whilst exploring the region. When wandering as well, make sure you have local sounds enabled; Shen has provided a rich sound scape to fit the region and breathe further life into it.

Cape Florida Lighthouse and Park

A beautifully conceived and executed region which invites people to tarry whilst visiting.

SLurl Details

• Cape Florida Lighthouse and Park (Cape Florida, rated: Moderate)