Exploring SL Archives – Page 185 – Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun in The Bayou

Posted on April 1, 2014April 9, 2021 by Inara Pey

The Bayou, April 2014

The Bayou first opened its doors – albeit it briefly – in September 2013. Designed by BuTToNs (pecandeluxe), it was a beautiful recreation of a bayou environment. At the time, it didn’t remain open long, although I did get to take a quick peek.

The doors re-opened to public access around the end of February, retaining all of its original beauty (with some small additions). As I’ve made several quick hops back since then, I thought it about time I actually blogged about it.

The Bayou, April 2014

Those who love really natural-looking environments in SL should love The Bayou. The signs of habitation are minimal: there’s a ramshackle cabin and a tree platform, plus a seating area to one side of the region. but beyond these and a couple of other scattered indications, the majority of the region is given over to trees, undergrowth, dark, flowing water and wooden walkways over what might otherwise be waterlogged ground.

The wooden board walks lead the visitor around the region, little wooden bridges providing the means to cross the water – and avoid the alligators. You might want to take a brolly with you, as it is raining heavily in one place. Along the way you’ll pass a fair number of InTan dance systems – so those of a romantic inclination will find a welcome in The Bayou (and don’t forget the couples’ pose systems near the landing point, which allow you to explore hand-in-hand).

The Bayou, April 2014

Wander inland, and you’ll eventually find your way to a couple of wooden stairways leading upwards. One will take you up into the hills on the far side of the region to the arrival point, where a path winds up to the start of the waterfalls. The other provides access to a grassy plateau where couples can again enjoy a dance.

There are some open areas down at ground level as well, but one of the things that makes The Bayou so attractive is that in places you can look around yourself and see nothing but trees and meandering water; with the ambient sounds, it really gives a feeling of being in the bayou.

The Bayou, April 2014

Several of the trees found in the region are the work of Serenah Raynier, who has a store and rezzing platform in the sky overhead. These can be reached via the teleport near the region’s landing point. The store offers the trees and other items for sale, while the rezzing platform offers the ability to view / purchase prefab packs up to a full region in size.

Now, given this is a post about The Bayou, there is really only one way to sign-off, and that’s with a song.

A pilgrim’s progress

Posted on March 26, 2014April 9, 2021 by Inara Pey

The Pilgrim’s Dawn, Banana Island, March 2014 – click for full size

In September 2013, I (among many others!) visited Bowie Zeplin’s home region of Banana Island. At that time it was called Pangloss, a beautifully surreal landscape of vivid colours and striking scenes.

Now, with the changing of seasons much in evident across the grid, Bowie has remodelled the region, and while this pilgrim opted to wait until after the initial rush had passed, a note was made to retrace her footsteps and see what new delights await a re-visit. The effort proved more than worthwhile.

The Pilgrim’s Dawn, Banana Island, March 2014 – click for full size

Where Pangloss was surreal and vivid, The Pilgrim’s Dawn, as the region is now known, is beautifully rural and scenic. On arriving, it instantly put me in mind of what might be called “Middle Zealand”, as it seems to form a combination of the scenes and landscapes gathered from around New Zealand to create Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth. There are high mountains, tree-lined slopes, broad rivers, and in the midst of it all, a rural / rustic scene which, while sans Hobbit holes and the like, wouldn’t look amiss with a group of Hobbits passing through on their way to Bree…

The Pilgrim’s Dawn, Banana Island, March 2014 – click for full size

Even without the Tolkien references, Pilgrim’s Dawn is simply breathtaking in the way it blends surrounding scenery and region into a whole, presenting a landscape in which one is instantly immersed. It’s very easy to imagine walking out onto the deck behind the house on a morning, mug of coffee in hand, and deciding that today would be a good day to climb the nearest peak and then just sit and paint or photograph the surrounding lands.

The Pilgrim’s Dawn, Banana Island, March 2014 – click for full size

This is an environment which really lends itself to wide photographs of the landscape, something which the default windlight only enhances – but there is also a wealth of detail here as well which makes careful exploration a must. There are tracks to follow across the region, running down from the house to the pastures of the headland, or around from the beach, along the side of the river and up into the hills where sheep graze contentedly. Across the river sits a wooded headland where deer roam, and above it, overlooking the broad stretch of water separating lowlands from mountains, sits an old mine, awaiting intrepid explorers.

The Pilgrim’s Dawn, Banana Island, March 2014 – click for full size

It’s been whispered to me that Pilgrim’s Dawn is a commissioned build, and that as such it may well be vanishing in the near future. If so, that’s something of a shame, because it is very much a place where this pilgrim definitely wanted to call her progress to a halt and simply rest, soaking up the scenery and environment.

Do be sure not to miss it.

The Pilgrim’s Dawn, Banana Island, March 2014 – click for full size