well off the beathen path

Yes indeed, Total Escape is alive and well - and still online! the redesign is finally here 2019 October marks the 23rd year of our presence on the world wide web. Site founder, DanaMite has been redesigning the site and making it easier to find everything - over 10,000 pages on just California. This particular overhaul has been years in the making and I needed to 'hire out' on certain skills in to accomplish it. Big thanks goes to  Jamison  who helped me get CSS headers in order and looking great, and the new navigation launched last month on Total Escape. Mobile users will be pointed to the main URL  http://www.totalescape.com/index.html Desktop users can still use the classic feel http://www.totalescape.com/classic.html Search Bar is located back on top, the Outside Blog now visually matches the rest of the site, and we have created some new sub-sections of the site, which include: DESTINATIONS - http://totalescape.com/destinations/ JOURNEY - h...

Responding to the width of any device. The phrase 'responsive web design' did not exist a decade ago because bigger was better and the large 1500 mega pixel wide flat displays were all the rage back then. Wider photographs, crystal clear imagery, streaming videos and playing movies on your home computer. Gone were the days of ugly web 1.0, w/ limited screen space and 800 width, as advertising banners and text ads filled any blank space. Fast forward to today and web sites now need to look good on all computers, from desktop to palm sized. NEW SITE DESIGN IS IN THE WORKS for the content site of Total Escape. Map store sales are on the way out! Total Escape is celebrating 18 years online this month and it continues to be the independent travel guide to California Outdoors and Off the Beaten Path.

It often seems as if I have forgotten about this long standing blogger blog, leaving it for months at a time without a post (maybe while traveling for weeks or working other more pressing projects). Over this past winter, I spent much time rebuilding older pages to a new format (WordPress) Outside Blog and I will continue this throughout the year. Covering the back roads like no other! I, DanaMite , am dedicated to the whole of Total Escape, my 8000 page web site on California travel destinations, off the beaten path . Established way back in 1996, in the web 1.0 days, on a 33k modem. First and foremost that I can offer is real world content, real experiences, travel logs, photos, GPS data and research I gather while exploring the golden state. Sleeping on the ground, tent camping outside of developed campgrounds, way back there "out in the field". Lakes, Rivers, Wilderness, Outdoor Recreation, Small Towns & Unique Lodging Managing databases on California d...

WATERPROOF TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS Paper maps are fading fast. Literally, disappearing into landfills, campfires or into the archives of map collectors. Digital maps have totally taken over our lives and you'll be hard pressed to find a decent printed local area hiking map when traveling small towns inside California . Keep in mind that many of the middle-of-nowhere, back road destinations we feature on Total Escape do not receive adequate cell phone service, much less a wireless, high speed, digital network. So plan accordingly. Old timers, frequent travelers and experienced outdoor folks still want the hard copy - a real map! Waterproof and tear resistant plastic maps are now common. Tom Harrison was one if the first to offer quality plastic hiking maps. All the  NatGeo map titles are 2-sided, full color and plastic. USDA has slowly been transitioning their National Forests maps to plastic maps over the past few years. California Wilderness area maps are only about...

NEW SEARCH California road trip planner Like cooking and gardening, travel and trip planning is an art form unto itself. Local vacations should be worry free and easy, close to home, with plenty of time for relaxing and enjoying the outdoors. Spend some time dreaming, browsing online and planning (well in advance). Laying down a basic itinerary ahead of time will help so you can see more sights - and stress less. maps.google.com is an invaluable tool for planning local road trips, getting an overview, plus an idea of travel time, mileage and distance. Total Escape is now 17 years old and founder DanaMite is celebrating this milestone by cleaning house, redesigning some areas and moving servers. So, this was perfect time to redo the SEARCH tool , aka search box, search Total Escape featured at the top of every page. Please take in mind that there are two different sites that make up Total Escape (not including the blogspot blog, flickr photos or any social media pages). ...

organic cali Organic search results proves well for Total Escape data. (Google Analytics 2008) If you are actually searching for prime Organic finds inside California - organic cafes, organic wineries, organic farms, organic bnbs, organic orchards, organic food seeds, farm stands, fine dining restaurants... you will find organic small businesses listed on the A to Z town pages under local links section.

Many times over the years of Total Escape, I get letters such as this one below, which makes me realize just how important it is to take your kids out traveling & camping. My name is Wendy and when I was a toddler, we used to camp at Lundy Lake. It was pure wilderness then and my dad used to make whistles for us out of the birch trees I think. I just wanted to share my memories with someone that might love to hear what it was like then. I haven't been there since I was about 8 or 9, but we took our summer vacation every single year to the High Sierras & Virginia Lakes from years 1952-1971. What sweet memories! We went to Green Creek when no one hardly knew it was there. My dad and mom were fishaholics and we lived in Santa Barbara CA and we love the high Sierras.  how to find these sacred spaces - California Lakes & Reservoirs California National Forest Maps California Wilderness Maps California Cabin Rentals   California Rivers California Creek Campi...