- [Announcer] Production funding for "Outside: Beyond the Lens" provided by Visit Fresno County, home to unique attractions, California's fifth largest city, and easy access to three nearby national parks.

(air whooshes) By Advance Beverage Company, serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- We are proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- [Announcer] By Hodges Electric Inc., over five decades of delivering innovative solutions for residential, agricultural, and battery storage systems.

By the Penstar Group, promoting opportunity and growth for the future.

By Central California's Valley Children's Healthcare, futures worth fighting for.

By A-Plus Signs, we never stop innovating for you.

And by Valley Air Conditioning & Repair, family-owned and trusted for over 50 years.

Proud to support public television and the wonders of travel.

(light music) - [Jeff] There's something magical about waking up in a mountain town that hasn't quite opened its eyes yet.

The streets are quiet, snowflakes drift like ash through frozen air, and a camera, well, a camera loves mornings like this.

This is Park City, Utah.

And while it might be famous for champagne powder and Olympic dreams, this trip isn't about medals or moguls.

This trip is about friends.

- [Speaker] We're coming in hot!

- [Jeff] Now traveling with friends can be a bit of a gamble.

The couple you love to grill steaks with on Saturdays may not be the ones you want to navigate airport security next to.

The trick is finding your travel tribe, the people who roll like you do.

Some need every hour mapped out in a spreadsheet, others don't wear watches or socks.

Park City's charm isn't just on the slopes, it's in the way a small town glows under fresh snow, in the muffled silence of the storm, and in a round of shots at a bar with a name like No Name.

And while the guys chase powder down Black Diamonds, I take the girls on a little detour, the outside kind.

I've got three beautiful women to walk with 'cause the boys are skiing right now.

Sometimes the best way to explore a place is through a lens.

But as we go through this canyon, as it tightens up, I would expect we're gonna see some pretty cool scenery in here.

Time slows down.

You start to see the beauty in things you'd normally walk right past.

And when the weather breaks, just long enough, we pile into a car and head off the main road.

There's some waterfalls and they're flowing.

Utah has secrets and we're about to meet a few.

Let's bag a couple of shots here, and we'll go get some lunch.

Here, a little town not far from Park City is called Little Switzerland.

Not sure who's keeping score, but they've earned the name.

It's quaint, quirky, and full of surprises.

Like an underground hot spring inside a 10,000-year-old limestone dome.

It's like Mother Nature built a spa and forgot to put a doorbell on it.

- I wanna go in.

- It's so cool.

- [Jeff] And if a natural hot tub wasn't enough, how about a rocket ride on a bobsled down the actual Olympic track?

60 miles an hour, four Gs, a frozen head-banging ride we'll never forget.

- [Speaker] (laughs) Oh my God!

- [Jeff] And we capped the trip the only way we know how, bundled in blankets behind some really big horses that pull us up a mountain into a dinner we won't forget.

The truth is, it doesn't really matter where you go, what matters is who you go with.

Because when you travel with people who make you laugh, who let you wander off with your camera, and who know when it's time for one more round.

(group cheering) (bell dinging) You start to realize that the best memories aren't always found on maps.

Oh, that's gorgeous.

That's a great waterfall.

They're hiding in small towns, frozen in falling snow, waiting just beyond the lens.

(upbeat music) When you travel, the world becomes a smaller place.

When you explore with friends like mine who share a love of photography, destinations come to life.

(aircraft whooshing) (Jeff laughs) We tell the stories of travel with our cameras, capturing the wonders of this world in every frame.

Day one of filming on island and it's like crazy.

But on every trip, the unplanned moments we film are the ones we remember the most.

Jordan, good to meet you, brother.

- Good to meet you too.

- [Jeff] Right on, man.

Now, join David Boomer, Zach Allen, John Neely, and me, Jeff Aiello, as we set out on a new journey to discover the people, places, and food that all make travel life's never-ending adventure.

This is "Outside: Beyond the Lens."

(upbeat music) (soft twangy music) Waking up in Park City, Utah, snow still falling, the kind that muffles everything.

Like nature pressed pause overnight.

This is one of those mornings you don't rush.

No alarm, no schedule, just the rhythm of a house full of people easing into the day.

Phones checked, coffee started, fire lit.

We've been here before.

We come back for this feeling.

The calm, the quiet, the way snow changes everything.

(soft twangy music continues) It's not about big plans today, we'll figure it out, or we won't.

That's the beauty of this kind of trip.

The day can take whatever shape it wants, we're just along for the ride.

Three days in Park City, a quick escape, flying Thursday, back out Sunday.

Just enough time to shake off the routine, not enough time to overthink anything.

(light string music) This morning, plans start to split.

Brian and Mark are chasing powder, skis loaded, gear-packed, and a short drive over the hill for me to drop them off at Deer Valley.

Back in town, the rest of us are gonna take it slow today.

- [Heidi] Beautiful day in the neighborhood.

- [Jeff] It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, says Heidi.

We're gonna do a little walk down Main Street Park City, Utah.

It's historic and I've got three beautiful women to walk with 'cause the boys are skiing right now.

- Yep.

- Lucky me.

- Cold, okay.

- [Jeff] Let's go.

No need for lift tickets, no rush to get anywhere, that's the magic of this place.

Park City gives everyone something, whether you're carving lines through fresh snow, or walking Main Street with a coffee in your hand.

Some towns ask you to follow the crowd, Park City lets you find your own pace.

(light string music continues) Downtown Park City is always full of character, quirky shops, historic facades, and more bars than you can shake a ski pole at.

One of our favorite stops when we're in town, the No Name Saloon.

This place is legend, housed in a 110-year-old building.

It started out as a general store, then a pool hall, and today it's one of the liveliest, most iconic watering holes in Utah.

A taxidermy wonderland, neon signs, good food, better drinks.

It's the kind of place where the ski day ends and the real stories begin.

(lively pleasant music) The snow is dumping outside, inside, shoulder to shoulder, wall to wall, locals, tourists, borders, and bar stool philosophers, all packed into this high-altitude hive of energy.

And in Park City, bar hopping is practically an Olympic event.

Sure, Salt Lake City hosted the winter games in 2002, but no medals were handed out for endurance pub crawling, not yet anyway.

Still, I find myself chaperoning three highly-trained competitors.

Let's just say they've been training for this moment for years.

By the second stop of the afternoon, the social energy is dialed in.

The girls are making friends fast, as tends to happen in this town where everyone is off the clock and on the same page.

Meanwhile, my phone buzzes.

It's Brian and Mark, done skiing, ready for pickup.

This means I'm leaving the girls behind mid shot ski, possibly a tactical error.

Time will tell.

(bell dinging) (group cheering) So I just left the bar.

I've gotta go pick up Brian and Mark at the Deer Valley Ski Resort right now.

So our house is not far up the road, but as you can see, we got a little bit of snow falling on us here in Park City.

It's such a great town.

Love this place.

Love it a little bit more when I'm out of the snow.

A little slippery too.

Don't have the right shoes on for this.

(light string music) After picking up Mark and Brian at Deer Valley and scooping up the girls just before their shots ski session went from legendary to just plain weird, we chill at the house for a while to warm up as thick flakes continue to fall over Park City.

(light string music continues) Two more friends, Sherry and Kevin from back home are in town.

They own a vacation home near Park City, so they know the landscape well and drop by to give us a quick tour of another high-end resort not far away.

On an afternoon like this, time slows down, and the beauty of this place washes over us in a magical way.

Sticking to the no plan plan is paying off as we drift from place to place, not unlike the giant flakes of snow on their slow fall to earth.

But the take the day as it comes rule is about to be broken.

Kevin has made reservations for a unique experience he can't wait to share.

We drive over to the base of Park City Mountain, not far from our place.

It's a little strange to be walking into a ski resort at the end of the day when it's basically shutting down.

But Kevin always has something up his sleeve, and this time he has really outdone himself.

(light music) In the distance, they begin to emerge, giant draft horses pulling massive sleighs driven by rugged cowboys, you know, a typical sight in a place like Park City, Utah.

This is the Snowed Inn Sleigh Company, and we're about to be taken to a mountaintop lodge for a true western style dinner with live music.

Wrapped in blankets and cameras ready, as the skies finally begin to break, the rhythmic clap of hooves on groomed snow become an unforgettable soundtrack to this late afternoon adventure.

Inside, the warm glow of lanterns and welcoming hearts draws us into a large dining room with family style seating.

There's a chow line whipped up by gourmet cowboys and live music completes the ambience that transports us to another place in time.

This was another surprise experience on our trip and another example of Park City's wide range of charms.

(light music continues) (soft music) There's a quiet kind of magic that only exists before the day begins, before the coffee shops open, before the plows scrape the streets, before anyone stirs from sleep, there's this.

A frozen little town, wrapped in fresh snow and early light.

It's 17 degrees, still dark enough that the street lights feel like they're holding the silence in place.

But the light is coming, and I'm out here walking these streets alone with a camera and a tripod because this is when I feel most connected to a place.

I love sneaking out before everyone else is up.

I love that moment when the world hasn't quite remembered it exists yet.

And I love the challenge of shooting in moments like this because it's uncomfortable, and maybe that's the point.

Comfort doesn't usually lead to great photographs.

Great shots are earned.

You trade warmth for authenticity.

You trade sleep for solitude.

You lean into stillness and hope the image you come back with feels like what it felt like to stand there.

This is what drives a photographer.

(soft music continues) We chase light, we chase silence, we chase something real.

Whether it's a quiet street in Park City, or first light on a desert canyon wall, or a soft breeze across to Turquoise Bay, thousands of miles from here.

It's always the same thing we're after.

Not the postcard version, not the staged perfect shot, but the truth of a place before it puts its makeup on.

(soft music continues) And that's why we do it, because some moments are meant to be shared and some are meant to be remembered just as they were when no one else was looking.

(soft music continues) (light upbeat music) You know, sometimes you just need to go fast.

Park City is known for its skiing, and yeah, that's great, but if you're looking for a different kind of downhill thrill, there are a few ways to kick things into high gear, like this.

- Woo!

- [Jeff] Just outside of town, near Heber is a little gym called Soldier Hollow.

And yeah, it's basically a winter playground for grownups who still act like kids.

- Yee!

Woo!

- [Jeff] On a previous trip here, we spent the better part of the afternoon launching ourselves down a groomed hill on oversized inner tubes, hitting speeds that'll make your eyes water and your cheeks hurt from laughing.

All right, we're on the tube.

Here we go.

- Woo!

(upbeat music) (wind blowing) Woo!

- [Jeff] Got it, we're good, we're good.

Look at me, guys!

Look at me, guys!

Toby, look here.

We're coming in hot!

(shouting) But that was just a warmup because when flying down a hill at 40 miles an hour on rubber isn't enough, you find yourself saying yes to this.

This is the actual Olympic bobsled track from the 2002 Winter Games.

And yes, they let you ride it, sort of.

After a safety briefing and a waiver that basically says you might lose your fillings, they strap you into a four-man sled, give you a little push, and then gravity takes over.

What follows is 45 seconds of pure ice cold chaos.

You're pulling four G's, rattling through 15 curves, and hanging on like your lunch depends on it.

It's fast, it's violent, it's ridiculous, and it gives you a whole new level of respect for the athletes who do this for real.

Oh my God!

This is just one more reason I love coming back to this part of Utah, because around every snowy corner, there's always a new way to have fun without ever putting skis on your feet.

(upbeat music) All right, so we are starting the day, the boys, Brian and Mark went skiing again and the rest of us felt like just doing a road trip, Right, girls, we're gonna do it.

I'm lucky to be chaperoning three beautiful friends and women along today.

So we're gonna be on Highway 189 heading south.

We're gonna go explore the Heber Valley.

That's kind of the plan for today.

(light pleasant music) Just a short drive from Park City is the small town of Midway, a place that feels like it was plucked from the Alps and dropped right into the Utah countryside.

Originally settled by Swiss immigrants in the 1800s, Midway still holds onto that old world charm.

Chalet-style homes, ornate woodwork, even the signage feels like something you'd find in a mountain village in Europe.

It's quiet here, peaceful, and a great place to just slow the pace, stretch the legs, and see what catches the eye through the lens.

(light pleasant music continues) Not far from Midway's historic core, we spot something unusual on the edge of town, a dome, round, weathered, and a little mysterious.

It's called a Utah Crater or Midway Crater.

And to be honest, we're not totally sure what to expect.

It sits tucked behind a resort, kind of off to the side, and there are no big signs and no crowds.

So we park, hop out, and do what curious travelers do, we walk in.

Inside, the space opens up like a secret world, a towering dome of limestone carved out over thousands of years by mineral rich water.

And at its base, a naturally-heated pool, 60 feet deep glowing in the low light.

- [Speaker] What do you guys think?

- I wanna go in.

- So cool.

- Right, I wanna jump in.

- [Speaker] You wanna cannonball?

- Yeah.

(speaker filming laughs) - [Jeff] It's silent, warm, steam curls toward the roof like breath rising from the earth itself.

We weren't planning on this stop, but sometimes those are the best kind.

Okay, so we're back in the car after checking out the Homestead Crater.

And everybody thought that was pretty cool, right?

- Yeah, it was cool.

- Yeah, totally.

- Yeah, this is what's fun about these little like last minute, off the cuff road trips.

Literally, I jumped on YouTube, searched out Heber Valley, this popped up, we went and checked it out, and we were all sort of amazed at how cool that was.

- It was, it was warm.

- I can't wait to do it.

- Yeah, we're gonna come back.

We'll do another segment here.

We'll come back here and actually get in that water.

65 feet deep, 95 degree water, and a very unique stop here in Heber Valley for sure.

(lively music) We push on from Midway following that same ribbon of US 189 South and West, the Provo Canyon Scenic Byway.

Soon enough, we find ourselves gliding alongside a big water vista, Deer Creek Reservoir, stretching across a gray and wind-swept scene.

Deer Creek is the heart of Heber Valley, fed by the Provo River and framed by towering Wasatch Peaks.

It's a stunning stop to pull over, raise a camera, and just take it in.

From here, the canyon narrows, traffic whizzes by, but pull outs gray tiny islands of calm.

We hop out, tripod in hand, point the lens up.

Not far past the turnoff to Sundance Resort, Provo Canyon unveils its hidden treasures, Bridal Veil Falls, all 607 feet of cascading double streams flowing down in two dramatic drops right off the highway.

We're photographing nature's dramatic shifts from placid lakes to rushing waterfalls, all in the space of a single drive.

It's the kind of spontaneous detour that reminds me why this area speaks to photographers and explorers alike.

There's something special about trips like this, the kind where you laugh too much, stay up too late, but still find time to sneak away with a camera and chase the light.

For me, the camera never really turns off because these are moments worth remembering.

Not just the big ones, but the quiet ones too.

If you're lucky, a trip like this gives you both.

And if you've got a camera in hand, you get to take a piece of it with you because every photo you take is just light and time frozen.

A little proof that you were there and that it meant something.

(lively music concludes) - [Announcer] Production funding for "Outside: Beyond the Lens" provided by Visit Fresno County, home to unique attractions, California's fifth largest city, and easy access to three nearby national parks.

(air whooshes) By Advance Beverage Company, serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- We are proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- [Announcer] By Hodges Electric Inc., over five decades of delivering innovative solutions for residential, agricultural, and battery storage systems.

By the Penstar Group, promoting opportunity and growth for the future.

By Central California's Valley Children's Healthcare, futures worth fighting for.

By A-Plus Signs, we never stop innovating for you.

And by Valley Air Conditioning & Repair, family-owned and trusted for over 50 years.

Proud to support public television and the wonders of travel.

(light music)