It’s no secret that I love the parklands of Calas Galadhon; I think Ty and Truck do an amazing job with the park, providing it for all to enjoy, changing it to match the seasons, offering a wide range of activities, seasonal or otherwise, throughout the year and presenting a host of entertainments throughout.
Not only that, but they also manage a special theme region, SilverMyst, currently the setting for this year’s One Christmas Night, which I was able to visit just before Truck and Ty were about to open it to the public, and which also hosts their Halloween delights.
When writing about One Christmas Night, I promised a visit to Calas itself to try to capture some of the winter magic there. However, plans change; Saffia Widdershins contacted me and asked if I could expand upon the One Christmas Night piece to provide an article on both it and Calas Galadhon in winter for the next issue of Prim Perfect magazine. Of course, I was happy to oblige.
So, rather than spoil that article by writing about Calas here, I’ll simply say Prim Perfect should be out at the end of this week, making it ideal reading for Christmas with or without my wibblings :). You can find it at any of the in-world Prim Perfect vendors, or grab it on-line from the Prim Perfect website.
In the meantime I’ll leave you with a poem by Robert Frost that came to mind as I explored the Calas winter regions on horseback, together with a few paintings I hope will whet your appetites for a visit there yourselves if you’ve not already done so!
December is almost upon us, bringing with it thoughts of Christmas, winterfest and other seasonal celebrations, and the end of the western calendar year. Many regions in SL are already reflecting the time of year and bringing with them scenes of snow and frosted trees as is traditionally the case – at least in the northern hemisphere.
However, no winter in Second Life is complete without two things: the winter landscapes of Calas Galadhon (which I’d be visiting soon) and the special Calas Galadhon Christmas theme at SilverMyst, so recently the home of Truck and Ty’s Halloween-themed Veil of Darkness.
While SilverMyst had then been to home to ghouls, ghosts, the undead and monsters, all amidst deserted towns dark and mist-filled bayous, tall castles and more, with One Christmas Night it has been transformed into a gorgeous rural winter scene, where reindeer, brown bears, weasels, penguins, polar bears and more roam beneath a wintery sky from which big, soft flakes of snow fall to cover the ground in a thick blanket.
Ty and Truck kindly invited me over to One Christmas Night to take a look around ahead of the opening, and for anyone with a romantic inclination and / or a love of winter scenes, it is very much going to be the place to visit. It’s also likely to be very much photographed – I felt I wanted to travel around with an easel, canvas and paints, a feeling I’ve tried to capture in the images here.
From the arrival point, you are free to wander on foot or, if you prefer, hop into a magic sleigh which will take you around the region before delivering you to the Christmas Pavilion. There are actually two sleighs available: the first seats up to four people, while the second offers more intimate cuddles for couples. Just jump in and touch to start.
Both provide a gentle ride along snow-covered tracks, passing winter scenes, several of which encompass Ty and Truck’s eye for humour – such as mother brown bear, obviously worn-out by the kids, is slumped across a log as her energetic cubs continue play in the snow. Keep an eye out, as well, for the flying reindeer ride, which offers another unique vantage-point from which to see the region.
When you arrive at the pavilion, there’s more to do. Step inside and avail yourself of a glass of Cognac or goblet mulled wine, admire the Christmas tree or sit by the warmth of the fire. For those who like a challenge, a harpsichord invites people to sit and play it for a while. For the very active, and a short walk away outside, is a frozen lake where you can dance and skate, or sit by a small log fire and simply watch others on the ice and wait for the huge kettle of hot chocolate to come to the boil while toasting marshmallows and hotdogs.
As with all of Ty and Truck’s celebratory builds, there are a few things worth pointing out in order to fully enjoy a visit. The first is that if your system can handle it, make sure Advanced Lighting Model (Preferences > Graphics) is active. You don’t have to have Shadows enabled, but if you can, it’s also worth giving it a go, depending upon how busy the region is. On that latter point, do please make sure you travel light to the region, script-wise, particularly if you’re attending one of the special events planned for the region (check the Calas Galadhon website or join the Calas announcement group for details).
Most importantly of all, do make sure you accept the region windlight on arrival or, if you’re feeling particularly romantic, sent an evening / night windlight in your viewer and do accept the region’s media streaming. Once again, Truck has hand-picked the music for the stream, and it greatly adds to the mood :).
One Christmas Night opens to Calas Galadhon group members at 14:00 on Thursday December 28th, and will open to the public over the course of the weekend. Enjoy!
The really terrific news is that Ty and Truck have managed to re-organise things so that only two regions – Bay of Belfalas and Sea of Nurnen – have gone. While both will be missed, particularly the latter with its underwater “garden” with sea turtles and mer-friendly dance area, it means that the rest of the park remains intact and ready for a new season.
Ty and Truck: keeping their vision alive
During the month-long closure, Ty and Truck have been busy right across the parklands, which are displaying signs that autumn is upon us, and we’re entering the shadow months of the year. Dimrill Dale and the Grey Havens have seen the most extensive changes, although there are touches and changes right across the entire estate.
“We added more romantic areas and new dances in the intans, too,” Truck informed me, when I dropped in on him and Ty shortly before they opened the gates once more. “We have three new gallery shows on main street,” he continued. “I’ve discovered Hamish Blakely, a RL artists we love… and of the period. And we have new rideable whales and dolphins.”
When looking at the issue of continuing to finance such a large public environment such as Calas Galadhon, Ty and Truck had considered allowing a small number of rental properties into the estate to help offset the costs of running so large an estate. Another idea they were toying with would be to limit park access. However, after giving both options cosiderable thought, they’ve decided to reject both, and continue to run the park as a place open to all.
“Considering our original vision of ‘Calas’ as an unique Estate destination (and haven) in Second Life, both in its size and natural beauty … we felt we’d be cutting off opportunities for those good folk who have not yet found us,” Ty comments in the blog post announcing the re-opening.
So when visiting, please do remember the donation points scattered throughout the regions and pass on a few Lindens so that many more can continue to enjoy the estate.
Live music will also continue to feature at Calas as well, with a new programme of events kicking-off in September at both the Dolphin Cafe and OZ Nightclub. Details of events and performers can be found at the information hubs across the park.
Sadly, my semi-preview visit was cut short by the needs of real life. However, I managed to see a good deal of the park and can say that while two regions have gone, what remains is even more stunning than ever. The Calas Galadhon parklands aren’t simply to be explored and enjoyed, they are to be savoured, each of them a feast for the eyes. If you’ve never visited before, I really do implore you to do so; there is so much to see and to do, whether you opt to hike the tracks and trails, take to a horse, pilot a boat or ride the winds in a balloon. And don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled above and below ground (and ready to peek under water as well!), or you still might miss something!
The park and wildlife regions of Calas Galadhon have long been a favourite of mine, and have appeared in these pages a few times. They are a landmark experience in SL – thirteen regions completely open to the public and offering a range of activities and events throughout the year, all maintained out of the pockets of Ty Tenk and Truck Meredith, with the welcome help of donations through the many donation boxes scattered throughout the regions.
Calas Galadhon: looking from South Farthing toward Eryn Vorn
Sadly, the challenges of real life, coupled with the overall cost of running thirteen regions, are forcing Ty and Truck to re-evaluate Calas Galadhon and look at ways and means to keep the park open, reduce to overheads (which includes the amount of time they have to spend in-world managing the regions as well as the costs involved) and continue to offer the rich and beautiful environs found within the park boundaries.
As a part of these deliberations, Ty dropped me an IM asking me if I could help spread the word that Calas Galadhon will close on Monday August 1st and remain closed through until early September. This is only a temporaryclosure, designed to give Ty and Truck breathing space to consider options and look to the future. Full details of the closure can be found on the Calas Galadhon website, and Ty asked me to help spread the word after the planned closure of the Park in January 2013 apparently caused a good deal of concern as many people missed the notices about it at the time.
Sadly, the overhaul of the regions is likely to see the loss of four of the regions from the park; the three main water regions of the Bay of Balfalas, Belegaer & Sea of Nurnen, and also the loss of Eryn Vorn (which I’ve personally always found spectacular). One of the remaining regions may also be converted to an OpenSpace region, although as noted, options are still being considered.
If you’ve not visited the parklands, and wish to do so before any changes do get underway, now is clearly the time to do so. I really cannot over-state how beautiful all of the regions are, and how they make for a fantastic place to visit.
Yes, there are parks throughout SL, but Calas Galadhon presents an astonishing and completely contiguous landscape through which you can wander at will and feel like you are exploring an entire country, or where you feel you are truly in the wilds, far from home. On top of this, Ty and Truck take extraordinary care to present an environment where there is a lot to do, and live events occur throughout the year.
This is a place you can visit and re-visit in the sure knowledge that things are always changing, evolving, showing the subtle passage of time as new features are added, others mature and evolve, all kept in balance and harmony with one another. For my part, I love all the attention to detail, especially with the wildlife, and the changing seasons through the year. I also love the fact I have the freedom to wander so far without fear of bumping into someone’s private property (there are no tenants in the regions), and can stop and sit at one of the many different campsites, panic areas, lodges, riverside shacks and so on, which are scattered around the park offering places to rest, to think and to simply observe.
There is a wonderful romance across all of the Calas parklands which is quite unique in Second Life – at least for me. Not only are there places where couples can be romantic if they so wish – there are plenty of cuddle spots and a dance locations throughout the parklands – the very names of the regions are themselves romantic, drawn as many of them are from Tolkien’s works, and there is all the romance of discovery to be enjoyed as you wander the trails, paths and cart-rutted tracks, wondering what you’ll find around the next corner or over the next bridge or in the next valley.
In some ways, I’m actually regretful that the park doesn’t allow a controlled number of tenants within its bounds; I’d like nothing more than to have a small cottage sitting on the edge of Calas Galadhon itself. It would be my ideal location and perfect home. However, I can well understand Ty and Truck’s desire to keep the parklands tenant-free; as mentioned, I certainly appreciate the fact they do when wandering through the parklands myself!
Calas will be re-opening during September, have no worries about that; it may be a wee bit smaller when it does, and some things may have changed, but it will be re-opening.
In the meantime, why not take a couple of hours and go and experience them to the fullest, particularly if any of those earmarked for closure hold special meaning for you. The chances are that if you do, you may well run into me doing the same. And if you haven’t discovered Galas Galadhon for yourself as yet, now is never too soon, whether or not changes are in the wind. As I said earlier in this piece, it really is exceptional. If you do, don’t forget to drop a small amount of your appreciation into one of the donation boxes :).
This time of year is always a little odd for me. The end of one year and the start of another sees a host of family birthdays, anniversaries, much too-ing and fro-ing, and of course, the Christmas / New Year gatherings. My own birthday falls this time of year, as does my SL rez day; which I suppose makes me a winter girl and might explain why I love snow so much both in the real world and Second Life.
Calas Galadhon – Dimrill Dale
One of may favourite places for winter scenery is Calas Galadhon park. I’ve written about this in the past, and I often drop in to wander and enjoy – eleven regions of open parkland is a huge delight, and full Kudos and thanks to Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith for providing it to all SL residents. The care taken across these regions is immense, and I love the way they can change to reflect the passing season – and the fact that they do so quite naturally.
Calas Galadhon – South Farthing
I was in Calas in October, in time to catch the arrival of the first snowfall. Back then, the snow was on the ground and on rooftops and branches, but the waters of the lake and rivers were all still ice-free and one could wander the streets with barely a hint of Christmas in the air, or take a boat out on the water.
Now, just three weeks later, the snow is falling, the lake is frozen and signs of Christmas are starting to appear.
Calas Galadhon
I’m not sure what it is about snow that I find so attractive; I just do – although I’m aware I’m far from alone in feeling this way. My early life was spent living near RAF bases which, while far from “remote”, where on the flat, “boring” parts of England which the snow seemed to love. Going to bed at night with the snow falling outside used to fill me with a thrill; waking up in the morning and seeing an unblemished blanket of white lying across the garden and the fields beyond, always left me with an impatience to get out of the door which even the prospect of a day imprisoned in a classroom could not dilute; all that mattered was being out in the snow.
Calas Galadhon – Dimrill Dale
I think one of the attractions of a virgin snowfall – one which is deep enough to cover the ground, hide the grass beneath, etc., is the suggestion of have a new world to explore; being the first to place fresh footprints in the snow. It’s a feeling which has stayed with me throughout my life. Even today, it’s my own small Neil Armstrong moment, planting a foot into the fresh snow and then lifting it to stare at the impression left behind. I still love to watch the snow falling at night, standing out on the front porch, perhaps a mug of something warm in my hands, watching the snowflakes fall past the street lights and wondering what the morning will bring and where I’ll roam.
Calas Galadhon
There is something undeniably romantic about walking in the snow, as Hollywood knows only too well. Doesn’t matter how cold the air or the time of day, it warms the heart – although I confess that walking in the evenings with the warm lights of distant homes across the park is the time I tend to enjoy the most. Perhaps its the promise of a warm room and a mug of hot chocolate and a chance to toast the toes near a fire – or as is more usually the case nowadays, against a radiator of hot water.
Calas Galadhon – Dimrill Dale
Nowadays of course, global warming and the shifting seasons means that more often than not, November and December tend to pass largely snow-free in this country, with heavy downfalls slowly becoming more the exception than the rule. The New Year is often more our season for snow – which is becoming more and more common well into the month of March, and has been known to put in an Easter appearance, rather than joining us for Christmas.
Which is probably why I love places like Calas Galadhon so much; they give me the freedom to enjoy the snow, to explore and recapture those childhood / teenage / adult feelings of wonder during the months with which I perhaps most associate them.
Calas Galadhon – Dimrill Dale
And in Calas, the attention to detail is lovely, from the gradual onset of winter, through the increasing snowfall – even the popping-up of Christmas decorations before the arrival of December. Even the appearance of dirty cart tracks marring the pristine surface of the snow along the roads leading into town is just perfect.
Of course, age tends to alter out view of winter and snow. The older we get, the less a friend it becomes; the romance fades and perhaps eventually dies. I hope I’m a long way from feeling that, should it ever happen. But if it does, I’ll still have my memories of my many meanderings, real and virtual, in some marvellous winter wonderlands.
Dimrill Dale, Misty Mountains, South Farthing, Armenelos, Bay of Balfalas – to anyone familiar with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, these are evocative names, along with Grey Havens, Gulf of Lune, Mirromere and Eryn Vorn. But within Second Life, these sims are not in any way a reproduction of Tolkien’s wonderful Middle-Earth (although I confess that’s why I was attracted to them in late 2010, when I made my first visit).
Calas Galadhon – or “Calas” to those more familiar with it – is the “parent” region to a 10-sim parkland estate owned, curated and offered to the people of Second Life by Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith. Like the other regions in the estate, it should have drawn on Tolkien for its name – Caras Galadhon – but for an opsie by Linden Lab. Not that the slip-up diminishes in any way the fact that it, and the other regions of the estate make for a must-see destination.
Calas Galadhon – winter scene
The core of the sims represents rural America in the early 1900s – but there is also a touch of the Mediterranean as well in the form of Armenelos, and even a hint of Atlantis. As such, there is much to explore and see, and the sims combine to make a fabulous setting for the romantically inclined or those that love SL photography.
At the moment, four of the ten sims – Glanduin, South Farthing, Dimrill Dale and Calas Galadhon itself – are given over to a winter wonderland, with snow covering the ground, frozen ponds and lakes for skating on, inviting lighting hanging from eaves and glowing through windows while snow-capped mountains make a stunning backdrop. Here you can take a balloon ride with your loved one and friends, or enjoy on your own, drifting serenely over the town before swinging out over Glanduin (where the sim crossing can be a little bumpy!) and the other sims in the estate.
Glanduin
Cross the bridge on the north side of Calas Galadhon, and you enter the summer world of Mirrormere and Grey Havens. Here you’ll find wooded parkland and hills to wander, all with their own secrets to reveal. There are places to sit down and meditate, places to dance with a partner and much on offer for the snap-happy. If you can turn your Draw distance up reasonably high (around 512m), there are some great landscape views to be captured and enjoyed, as well beautiful views across the water to the Grey Havens and Armenelos. Just remember to slide the Draw distance back down to avoid overloading the Viewer!
Walking through Mirrormere
Mirrormere is the home of the Calas Caverns – although to find them, you’ll need to keep a sharp eye open; the teleport point lands you close, but you’ll still have to take a little bit of a look around to find the entrance. The caverns wind under a part of Mirrormere, with little hideaways for romantic trysts, opportunities for swimming, and a tunnel that leads even deeper underground….although if you come via the bridge from Calas Galadhon, you may encounter the tunnel before the caverns…
Calas Caverns
The park continues up through Mirrormere into Misty Mountains, which has a wonderful series of trails and walks to follow, the best of them (to me) leading to marvellous views over to Armenelos, which can also be seen from the northern side of Grey Havens.
Armenelos itself offers an entirely different theme. Modelled on the island of Santorini, here you can climb the stairs to the cliff-hugging, whitewashed walls of the town and wander its narrow streets.
Looking across Armenelos from Grey Havens
The real Santorini – or Thēra, to give it its official name – was once an important trading point for the Minoan civilisation, prior to one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history devastating the island and resulting in the formation we see today, with the great lagoon and the broken rim of the caldera formed by the eruption. A popular theory has it that the eruption – 3600 years ago – gave rise to the legend of Atlantis.
Looking back from Armenelos to Misty Mountains
From Armenelos you can take a motorboat out onto the water, travelling out under the watery caverns of Grey Havens, or around the clifftop village and out into the Bay of Balfalas. As you do so, be aware that you are passing over another of the estate’s secrets: the Lost Gardens of Thera.
Here, in a nod to the legend of Atlantis and memory of the Minoan eruption, you can take the stairs down into the water, grab some scuba gear and explore a beautiful underwater world, moving among ancient ruins – and remnants from more recent times – where fish and rays swim and play.
Lost Gardens
wherever you go in the Calas Galadhon estate, it is evident that Tymus and Truck have gone to great lengths to present an immersive, enjoyable experience – one that extends to the sounds that are to be heard across the sims. In this regard, if you don’t have sound on as a rule when visiting SL, I strongly recommend that you enable it prior to visiting Calas Galadhon. The care with which Tymus and Truck have put together a soundscape to compliment the estate is incredible, and while there is much to be enjoyed without sound enabled, walking / riding through the sims with sound on, and being immersed in the soundscape really adds tremendous depth to the experience.
When you are exploring, keep an eye open for kiosks linked to the Bronx AIDS Services, the non-profit organisation supported by Tymus and Truck and make time to visit the AIDS & HIV learning Centre in Calas itself.
Calas Galadhon is an amazing place to visit and spent time exploring – I’ve deliberately not covered all ten sims here, as I wanted to leave you with places still to explore for yourselves. Given the care and attention put into the estate, it is little wonder that it rates so highly in several categories in the Destination Guide – so why not take time out this weekend and pay it a visit yourself?
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 