We’re Cutting Back the Amount of New Content Being Published. We’re Not Stopping It.

When I say we’re taking a break from blogging, that does not mean that we’re going to completely stop publishing content. Instead of weekly posts, we will be cutting back to 1-2 posts per month for the duration of the summer. New content will be published on the first and third Fridays of every month. Everything will still be published at the same time, on Fridays at 15:00 UTC (11 AM EDT/8 AM PDT). We’ll resume our once per week schedule in September.

Again, we’re not completely stopping publishing new blog content this summer. We’re simply reducing the amount of new content we’re publishing to the blog. Pretty much all of the blog content we’ll publish will come in the form of short tutorials and stories from the road as we travel across Canada and parts of the western United States.

Just a few of the amazing places this new chapter has already taken me.

Finally, taking a break from blogging is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The time we’re freeing up this summer is being devoted to expanding and diversifying our content, as well as getting the business fully back up and running in this exciting post-COVID chapter. If you want more of our content this summer, please check out our YouTube channel, Pinterest feed, or the Matt Gove Photo website for additional content this summer. Now, here are the details.

1. I Just Need a Break

I have always used my photography and video adventures as an escape during tough times. When the pandemic hit two years ago, it took away that escape. As a result, I really leaned on blogging to fill that void while we were all stuck at home. It was a great escape, and gave me something I could be passionate about throughout the shutdowns. And the results speak volumes. Over the past two years, we’ve grown both readership and engagement nearly an order of magnitude (a factor of 10).

As rewarding as it is to see those kind of results, I’d be lying if I told you it was easy. It takes an incredible amount of hard work and dedication to achieve just a fraction of those results. And after three straight years of pushing out weekly content, I simply need a break from the weekly grind of writing posts. This is exactly why we have put so much emphasis on evergreen content. It allows us to take these kinds of breaks, while at the same time continue to grow the blog.

2. I’m Adding Complimentary Content and Diversifying My Content Strategy

While blogging is my preferred method of content distribution, it’s important not to put all of our eggs into that one basket. Indeed, we launched new YouTube and Pinterest channels this spring. We’ve also updated our websites as an additional platform to distribute content. But it doesn’t stop there, either. As GIS professionals, you can probably guess, we’re also adding a bunch of interactive maps. Our goal is to make it incredibly easy to browse, find, and consume the location-specific content that you need to plan your next adventure.

In addition to videos, we’ll also be publishing online courses, books, guides, and much more over the next several months. Cutting back on blogging this summer will allow us to focus on growing our new channels so we can deliver even more quality and value to you.

3. I Need to Dedicate Some Time to Growing Other Areas of My Business

These two years of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a transition period for both myself and my business. We’ve undergone a lot of changes and have even started a new chapter. And with that transition being nearly complete, I need to dedicate some time to growing these new parts of the business.

In addition to all the new content channels, we also opened the Matt Gove Photo Store last year. We also unveiled a new Matthew Gove Web Development product catalog, shifting our focus to GIS, data science, and visual media.

With so much of my time last winter dedicated to getting my house sold, some areas of my business didn’t get as much attention as I would have liked. Cutting back on the blogging for the summer will allow me to really start getting those more neglected aspects of the business fully back up and running.

Conclusion

Cutting back on blogging for the summer is not a decision I make lightly. But it’s the best decision for both myself and the business going forward. Diversification will allow us to create more content that is tailored exactly to what you want to consume. And best of all, the quality and value of that content will only be better.

In the meantime, please subscribe to our YouTube channel, give us a follow on Pinterest, and sign up for our email newsletter. Keep an eye out for our next post on the first of July. And, as always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us anytime. Happy Summer!

Top Photo: Winter Sunrise in the Rocky Mountains
Boulder, Colorado – February, 2022

The post We’re Taking a Break From Blogging This Summer to Formally Begin This Life-Changing New Chapter appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

A Brief History of the Cyrillic Alphabet

The Cyrillic Alphabet is actually one of the newer alphabets in the world today. It was developed in the 9th century during the First Bulgarian Empire. In contrast, we first saw the Latin Alphabet in the 7th Century BC, about 1,500 years earlier. While the Cyrillic Alphabet is named after Saint Cyril, historians continue to hotly debate whether Cyril himself or one of his students actually invented it.

Today, the Cyrillic Alphabet remains prevalent across the Slavic world. From central Europe to central Asia, you’ll find the Cyrillic states stretching from the Balkan states in Europe all the way to Mongolia. Not surprisingly, most Asian nations that use the Cyrillic Alphabet are former Soviet Union members.

Look to the Cyrillic Alphabet to Explain the Pull Between Russia and the West

Long before the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out, you could clearly see the tug between Russia and the west in eastern Europe. Just look at the languages of the Slavic nations in eastern Europe. Poland is the perfect example. Mieszko I, who ruled the Polans tribe during the 10th Century, created the Polish language specifically for the Cyrillic Alphabet. Unfortunately for him, most Poles were converting to Catholicism, while the Orthodox Church was responsible for spreading the Cyrillic Alphabet. As a result, the Polish Language adopted the Latin alphabet used in the Catholic Church instead.

In 1772, the Russian Empire seized about 80% of Poland-Lithuania, which encompassed much of what is today the Baltic States, Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine. Over the next 40-plus years, the Russians introduced a Polish Cyrillic, and relentlessly tried to “Cyrillify” Poland. The Catholics fiercely resisted because they did not want to convert to the Orthodox Church. As a result, the only way the Russians succeeded in introducing the Cyrillic Alphabet to Poland was to introduce the Russian language. In the 1970’s, the Soviet Union tried once more to get Poland to adopt the Cyrillic alphabet, but was again unsuccessful.

To this day, Polish remains one of the few Slavic Languages that never adopted the Cyrillic Alphabet. And geography continues to play a major role in that. On one hand, as a member of both NATO and the European Union, Poland’s strong ties to the west are undeniable. But on the other hand, it’s hard to not look east from a linguistics perspective. Would Polish be any easier or any better off using the Cyrillic Alphabet? The two are a seemingly perfect match, after all. But that’s for the historians and language scholars to debate.

The Cyrillic Alphabet’s Roots Lie in Greece

While Greece has never used it, that’s where you’ll find the Cyrillic Alphabet’s deep roots. The Cyrillic Alphabet solved numerous linguistics issues for the Slavic people living in central and eastern Europe between the 5th and 9th Centuries. At the time, they used the Greek alphabet, which presented one major problem. There were numerous phonetics – both written and oral – in Slavic languages that don’t exist in the Greek Alphabet. As a result, the Cyrillic Alphabet is essentially just the Greek Alphabet with a few added letters to cover those missing Slavic phonetics. Can you spot the similarities?

When I first learned the Cyrillic Alphabet, I had a deep knowledge of the Greek Alphabet, from both my background in mathematics and taking a year of Ancient Greek. If you already know the Greek Alphabet, learning Cyrillic is very easy. If you want to learn the Cyrillic Alphabet, I highly recommend learning the Greek Alphabet first. However, I must note that while I know the Cyrillic alphabet, I claim no knowledge of anything more than just the basics of any language that actually uses it.

Cyrillic Letters Derived Directly from the Greek Alphabet

A Strategy for Learning the Cyrillic Alphabet

If you’re interested in learning the Cyrillic Alphabet, you should break it down into four steps. The first two are easy, but the second two are more of a challenge. Don’t fret, though. The Cyrillic Alphabet itself is very easy to learn. The languages that use it? Well, that’s a whole. different story.

First, start with the Cyrillic letters that both look and sound the same as their counterparts in the Latin Alphabet and in English. Then, learn the Cyrillic letters that are directly imported from the Greek Alphabet.

Now that you have a base established, then you can jump into the trickier letters. We’ll start with the letters that look like Latin letters, bur are not. When I first learned the Cyrillic Alphabet, I kept wanting to pronounce these like their Latin counterparts. Once you can break through that barrier, you’re pretty much there.

The Trickier Letters of the Cyrillic Alphabet

Finally, finish up with the Cyrillic letters that were added for Slavic phonetics. Hopefully these letters won’t be too hard to learn, as they bear little to no resemblance to anything in either the Greek or Latin alphabets.

Most Slavic Languages Add Their Own Letters to the Cyrillic Alphabet

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Cyrillic Alphabet is that it leaves room for each language to add its own letters. There is really no equivalent to that in any languages that use the Latin Alphabet. The closest thing any western language has to that is the Spanish enye (ñ) or the French cédille (ç). But the Slavic languages take it so much further with the Cyrillic alphabet. Believe it or not, some languages have added 10 or more letters to the Cyrillic alphabet.

The geography of the Slavic languages is absolutely fascinating. The Central Asian nations, all of whom are former Soviet Union states, have added the most letters to the Cyrillic alphabet. Even the more traditionally Cyrillic languages, including Russian and Ukrainian, have added their own letters. This not only adapts the Cyrillic alphabet to better fit their own native languages, it also helps each nation distance itself from Russia and its Soviet past.

Some nations have even gone as far as converting their language from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin alphabet. Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan all reverted back to the Latin alphabet as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also announced recently that they would begin transitioning from Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet starting in 2023.

It’s Incredibly Difficult for Former USSR States to Completely Abandon the Cyrillic Alphabet

This is where it gets complicated. Unfortunately, many former Soviet states have found that they can’t sever those ties completely. Why is that? Nearly every nation that made up the former Soviet Union has retained Russian (the official language of the USSR) as either an official or unofficial language. And that includes Ukraine.

Part of what is driving the war between Russia and Ukraine is Russia’s insistence that Ukraine adopt the Russian language. And while it’s easy to say, oh, Ukraine is its own sovereign nation, they should just tell Russia to piss off, it’s far more complicated than that. And it all ties back to the former Soviet Union. Because Russian was the official language of the USSR, nearly one third of Ukraine’s population speaks Russian as their native language. You can’t just alientate 1/3 of your own citizens.

So why is Russia so mad at Ukraine they decided to induce such a horrific war? Part of it is because other than the three Baltic States and Azerbaijan, Ukraine is the only former Soviet Union member that does not use Russian as one of their official languages. Have a look at these language statistics from Ukraine, broken down by oblast (their equivalent of states and provinces). Can you see a correlation between use of the Russian language and where the heaviest of the fighting is taking place?

Kyiv or Kiev: Why There is So Much Debate About the Spelling of the Ukrainian Capital

If you’ve watched the news recently, you’ve probably heard the debates over how the name of Ukraine’s capital is both spelled and pronounced. Is it spelled Kyiv or Kiev? As for which one is correct, well, it depends who you ask. Kyiv is the transliteration of the Ukrainian language spelling, while Kiev is the transliteration of the Russian language spelling. While Kiev was the official spelling during the Soviet Union, the United States adopted Kyiv as the official and preferred spelling in 2006. They actually retired Kiev as an alternate spelling in 2019 in an effort to persuade western media to use the Ukrainian spelling.

Interestingly, from a strictly nuts and bolts perspective, the spelling difference is no different than comparing the spellings of any location in any two languages. It gets complicated and becomes a hot-button issue once you take into account the history, politics, and culture of Russia and Ukraine. Without those aspects, it would be no different than doing this.

What About the Ukrainian President’s Name? How Do You Correctly Spell It?

Is it Zelenskyy, Zelensky, or Zelenskiy? You’ve probably seen it spelled all three ways on the news. To understand the correct spelling, we must look again to the Cyrillic alphabet and the long history between Ukraine and Russia. In Ukrainian, he spells his name Володомир Зеленський.

It turns out that when you use the Cyrillic alphabet, his name is spelled nearly identically in Russian (Володомир Зеленский) as it is in Ukrainian. So how does that help us in the Latin alphabet? You have to look at how the Cyrillic alphabet is transliterated in Russian vs Ukrainian. More specifically, the last two letters of his name. In Ukrainian, while и and й are pronounced differently, they both transliterate to the letter “y”. On the other hand, in Russian, и transliterates to the letter “i” and й transliterates to the letter “y”. So just like Kyiv, this once again boils down to the Russian vs Ukrainian spellings.

So what’s the verdict? According to the man himself, the Ukrainian spelling (Zelenskyy) is the correct one. And the third spelling? Zelensky is simply an anglicized version of the Ukrainian spelling, as the double-y does not exist in English.

Zelenskyy’s History Doesn’t End There

Because Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union during Zelenskyy’s childhood, he actually grew up speaking Russian, not Ukrainian. In fact, he used the Russian spelling of his own name (Zelenskiy) up until 2018. And why is that timing relevant? Because he became president of Ukraine in 2019. That’s just more proof that the long, intertwined history between Russia and Ukraine runs deeper than we can imagine. It took becoming president of Ukraine for Zelenskyy to finally distance himself from Russia.

Learn to Read the Cyrillic Alphabet with Geographic Names

Once you get a basic grasp of the Cyrillic alphabet, it’s time to build on that knowledge and get comfortable reading the Cyrillic alphabet. I find the best way to do that is to remove any aspect of having to bounce back and forth between languages and focus only on the transliteration. For that, we’ll look at the names of places, which we’ll transliterate directly from English.

We’ll start with the easy ones, where all letters except for one or two match the Latin alphabet. Cover up the right hand column and see if you can correctly identify each location. These are all major cities and states in the US and Canada.

The Easy Ones

The Medium Ones

Now that you’ve mastered the easy ones, let’s up the difficulty. These will be a little more complex, but you should still be able to figure them out from looking at them.

The Hard Ones

Now, it’s time for a challenge. The places have short names, but don’t look anything like their Latin counterparts. Remember, these are all names of states and major cities in the United States. If you’re struggling, start by focusing on letters you know.

The Extreme Ones

The ultimate challenge. These are places with long names whose Cyrillic transliterations look nothing like their English names. However, I’ll give you a hint. The last one is a major city in western Canada. The rest are all states and major cities in the United States.

Conclusion

The Cyrillic alphabet offers a fascinating, but powerful glance into the history of Ukraine, Russia, and the rest of the Slavic world. For Russia and Ukraine, it is the thread that ties their long, storied, and even twisted histories together. Yet paradoxically, it causes rifts and divisions that run deep enough to kick off the most brutal and horrific war Europe has seen since World War II.

I’ve always said that the more we understand about each other, the more accepting we’ll be of opposing viewpoints. Hopefully, this introduction to the Cyrillic alphabet has given at least enough of a glance into the history and culture of not just Russia and Ukraine, but the entire Slavic world. Because the history and culture of this region is fascinating. It would be such a shame to ruin it with disinformation. Слава Україні.

The post The Cyrillic Alphabet: A Fascinating Glimpse into the Russia-Ukraine War appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

If you haven’t heard the news yet, I sold my house in Arizona about a month ago to set off to travel and explore the world. Today, I want to formally invite you to follow along and experience this adventure of a lifetime with me.

Jump To: Full List of Resources to Bookmark, Subscribe, and/or Sign Up to Follow Along on this Adventure of a Lifetime

A History of Why We Travel

I first caught the travel and adventure bug chasing tornadoes as a meteorology student at the University of Oklahoma in 2011. Being able to get up close to something that is so beautiful and majestic, yet at the same time so powerful and destructive is a truly awe-inspiring experience. And paradoxically, when you get home, you can’t wait to get back out on the prairie and do it all over again. To this day, weather remains the heart and soul of my landscape and travel photography. It’s one of the main things that sets me apart from all the other travel bloggers, vloggers, and photographers out there.

Storm Chasing and Reality Collide in Heartbreak: The 2013 Moore, Oklahoma Tornado

Shortly after 3:00 PM on 20 May, 2013, an EF-5 tornado carved a 17-mile long gash through the heart of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. It razed one of the most densely populated areas in Oklahoma, packing 210 mph winds. Tragically, it struck 2 elementary schools and a hospital, killing 24 people on its 39-minute reign of terror. To give you an idea of just how powerful that storm was, mail with Moore addresses fell from the sky as far away as Branson, Missouri.

Destroyed Neighborhoods in Moore, Oklahoma 9 Days After the May, 2013 Tornado.

Watching the tornado tear through the heart of Moore is hard to put into words. It was a gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, and helpless feeling watching so many people’s lives get turned upside down in a matter of minutes. Yet at the same time, being so close to something that powerful was easily one of the most awe-inspiring, memorable, and incredible experiences of my life. More importantly, it really made me rethink how I viewed not just storm chasing, but also travel and photography.

Interestingly, photography really helped capture and process all of the different emotions you felt during both the tornado and the recovery. It let me tell the story in a way that’s so much more powerful than words. The outpouring of support for Moore from all over the world was truly amazing, and I take an enormous amount of pride in being able to participate in both the support and the recovery. Ever since that day, I try to tell a story with every photo series and video I produce.

Routinely Visiting Mexico During the Trump Era: The Path to Becoming a Global Citizen

After moving to Arizona in 2015, I wanted to expand my horizons even further. To immerse myself in a new culture, and my third language, I started taking routine trips to Mexico. Stepping across the border and looking at your home country from the outside is a truly eye-opening experience. You’ll gain a new appreciation for the good things you have, and expose societal and cultural flaws you thought were completely normal. That’s actually the first step to becoming a global citizen.

A global citizen is someone who is aware of the world and has a sense of their role in it. They are involved as members of the international community and are committed to building on this community in a meaningful and positive way. Becoming a global citizen will broaden your global perspective and allow you to bring fresh, new views back to your own community. Photography and video storytelling are incredibly powerful means to engage communities and raise awareness both at home and abroad.

Into Lockdown: A Deadbeat Employer and the COVID-19 Pandemic Changes Everything

You don’t know how good something is until it’s gone. That saying could not be more true after losing my traveling and photography adventures for a period that’s measured in years. First, in late 2017, a company I had been working with decided to stop paying me and not tell me. I discovered this the day after signing the purchase contracts to buy my house.

When the dust settled, they had stolen nearly $50,000 in wages from me. By that time, the company had gone into bankruptcy and the CEO had fled the country. I didn’t see a dime from them. The ensuing financial struggle forced me into a de-facto lockdown as I started to dig myself out of the hole. Because I used photography as an escape during hard times, it just felt like a part of your identity was gone.

Thankfully, my fortunes turned around quickly. I landed a new contract with a new company that gave me basically full-time hours. When that project wrapped up in late 2019, I had finally dug myself out of that awful financial hole. The future was once again bright. Then the pandemic hit, and it was back into lockdown as the world slammed shut.

Severe Burnout was the Final Straw

Being locked down for 4 out of the last 5 years makes you question everything that’s brought you to this point. Then throw severe burnout from the stresses of the pandemic and the fallout from the 2020 election in Arizona (read: death threats and people waving guns at you from both sides of the political aisle pretty much anywhere you went in public) on top of that. It became clear that the only path forward was a major life overhaul. So I threw all my stuff in a storage unit in Las Vegas, put the house on the market, and set my eyes on traveling the world. For the first time since 2019, it actually felt like I had control over my future again.

A New Mission and Vision

When you go through such a major overhaul, it never hurts to redefine exactly what you want to get out of your next chapter. For me, it’s a chance to spread good in the world and pay it forward for everyone that helped me get through all those dark days.

Matthew Gove Web Development will Shift to Focus Exclusively on Telling Your Story Through Web-Based Data Science, GIS Maps, and Visual Media

As we step into this next chapter, there are some major changes coming to Matthew Gove Web Development. Most notably, we will no longer be building websites or doing straight web development (existing clients will be grandfathered in). After severely burning out last fall, it became clear that pure web development was one of the primary causes of the burnout. I’m not sure what triggered it, but I just don’t enjoy doing it anymore. It’s simply time to move on.

Instead, our mission has shifted to telling your story using web-based data science, GIS, and visual media – photography, videos, and graphic design. And just as it always has been, Python, mathematics, and logic will power nearly all of that content. We want to inspire the world through immersive storytelling that raises awareness to your missions and passions.

Video Will Play a Major Role in Our Next Chapter

It’s no secret that video has exploded in popularity over the past several years. Indeed, video consumption is expected to make up between 70 and 80 percent of all internet traffic by 2025. Which is precisely why we’re adding it to our repertoire.

After learning the art of video storytelling during the lockdowns, we will be posting videos of this adenture-of-a-lifetime on YouTube. Having done still photography for over 15 years, I’ve found the transition from still photography to videos has been largely seamless. However, I’d be lying to you if I said there was no learning curve. And best of all, telling stories with video has allowed me to really fine-tune my still photography, making it even better than it was before.

Video is the Perfect Complement to Still Photography

With still photography, my goal has always been to immerse you in the journey. However, with video, you won’t just be able to listen to our stories. You’ll be able to experience them with us. Photography is a visual-only medium of a single moment frozen in time. Video, on the other hand, immerses you in both visuals and sound, allowing you experience the adventure in a much more in-depth and complete manner. Here’s a sneak peek.

Now is this video my best work? Probably not. But considering all I had at my dispense was a GoPro and a cell phone, I’d say it came out pretty darn well.

As we pivot into this next exciting chapter, I will be investing close to $100,000 of proceeds from the house sale directly into the business. Most importantly, all of our equipment will be getting a much-needed upgrade. We’ll be getting new state-of-the-art cameras, computers, drones, software, and much more. But we’re far from stopping just here.

The Matt Gove Photo Store: Your Go-To Resource for All Things Travel, Photography, and Videography

Back in 2008, someone approached me and told me I should put my photos up for sale online. At the time, I was heading into my senior year of college, so all of my time was put towards completing my degree. But I put that comment about selling my photos in my back pocket and held onto it tight. I knew I wanted to sell my photos online. I just didn’t know when I would have the opportunity to. Over the next decade, it seemed like I either had the time or the money to launch the store, but never both at the same time. And then, the pandemic gave me the opportunity I had been waiting 13 years for.

In June 2021, the Matt Gove Photo Store formally opened its doors. While the initial product line was (and still is) quite limited, we will be massively expanding the store’s offerings over the next two to three years. In addition to photo prints, you’ll be able to purchase travel guides for your next adventure, Adobe Lightroom presets to improve your photography, online courses to learn the art of photography and video storytelling, and much, much more.

New Products Coming in 2022 and 2023

We are also working a brand new design for the store that will greatly enhance your shopping experience. If it hasn’t already launched when this is published, the new store design will be rolled out within a week or two of this post. Sales from our store help fund the rich, immersive, and interactive content we produce every single week. Your support only helps us add even more quality and value to our photos, videos, maps, courses, and much more. Shop Now.

You Are Formally Invited to Join Us (Virtually) and Experience the Adventure of a Lifetime

I want to formally invite you to join us virtually, follow along, and experience this once-in-a-lifetime adventure with us. Here is the full list of our websites, channels, and everything else you need to tag along.

If you’re subscribed to either the Matt Gove Photo or Matthew Gove Web Development Facebook pages, please note that they will no longer be maintained or updated. In fact, I plan to close them down later this year. I strongly disagree with the way Facebook conducts itself, and can get my message out much better on other platforms. Please bookmark, subscribe, and/or sign up for any of the platforms listed above to stay up-to-date with the latest news.

A Sneak Peek at Our First Destinations

Okay, I know you’re itching to know where we’re going first. What are you going to experience when you tune into our YouTube channel for the latest video? As we wait for the world to fully reopen coming out of the pandemic, we expect to be confined to North America and the Caribbean for at least the rest of this year.

Before setting off to explore the world, one of the most important things you can do is to travel and experience as much of your home country as you can. As a result, my top short-term travel goal is to visit all 50 U.S. States. With the count of visited states currently sitting at 43, I hope to be able to tick off the remainder of the Lower 48 this summer. The remaining two – Alaska and Hawaii – will require a bit more planning. Additionally, I would like to visit all 13 Canadian provinces and territories, and also as many Mexican States as possible. 

A Summer Road Trip Across Canada

This summer, I’ll be doing a road trip across Canada on my way to one of my best friends’ wedding in California. After getting stuffed by bad weather in 2015 and 2019, I hope this will finally be the year that the weather cooperates at the Quebec National Parks. And seeing Jasper, Banff, and Yoho National Parks has long been on my bucket list. As for the rest of the trip, well, those plans are still in the works.

Heading to the Tropics for Some Warm Weather Next Winter

Furthermore, between the 2021 polar vortex and my adventures driving across the northern Rockies this past February, I am some ready for some warm weather. To that end, I’ll be heading south of the border to spend next winter in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. From our base in Mérida, the capital of Yucatán state, immerse yourself in rich Mayan and Mexican culture. 

Explore Mayan ruins, including Chichén Itzá, that are scattered throughout not just the Yucatán, but also parts of Guatemala. Cool off in the cenotes and relax on the palm-tree lined beaches. And if that’s not enough, the Yucatán is a great jumping off point to explore both Central America and the Caribbean. 

Barring any resurgence of COVID, we’ll finally expand beyond North America once we get into 2023 – most likely to Southeast Asia and/or South America. And are you curious as to what videos are coming down the pipe in the mean time? Have a look at the photo albums (2021 and 2022) from our recent 3-month trip across the western United States. We’ll have travel videos from every single one of those adventures coming in the following weeks.

Conclusion

There’s no better feeling in life than a fresh start or a new beginning. And I can’t think of a better way to do it than set out on a true adventure-of-a-lifetime. If you want to join us, our website, YouTube channel, and email newsletter are the best ways to follow along, as well as this blog. And if you have any questions, recommendations, or even just want to get together and collaborate on a project, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me any time. Thank you for your support. Let’s hit the road.

Top Photo: A Tranquil Turquoise Lagoon Surrounded by Majestic Snow-Capped Mountains Cleanses the Soul at Lake Tahoe
Incline Village, Nevada – February, 2020

The post The Next Chapter: We’re Setting off to Explore the World. Here’s How to Follow Along. appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

Less than 48 hours after the decision to suspend travel, the shit hit the fan. I was watching the Dallas Mavericks play the Denver Nuggets when the NBA suspended its season on 12 March. The next day, the NHL shut down, as did Major League Baseball. Borders closed, the world locked down, and we settled in for our long pandemic nap. So much of our lives have seemed frozen in time since then.

A Major Step in Our Return to Normal

When you shut something down indefinitely, time plays with your mind. By definition, there is literally no end to an indefinite suspension. It just drags on, and on, and on, and on, and on. Thankfully, as the world begins to open back up, we finally have an end date to the travel suspension. On 4 June, 2021, we will be formally lifting the indefinite suspension of all travel operations.

Now, this does not mean I’m going to be getting on a plane on 5 June to jet around the world. In fact, quite the opposite. Travel will resume gradually. Photography adventures will be largely local/regional throughout the summer and into the fall. I have no plans for any national or international travel until at least well into the fall. However, things can change, and I will certainly consider it earlier if, and only if, it’s safe to do so.

So what exactly went into the decision?

I Have Received Both Doses of the COVID-19 Vaccine

It feels great to be vaccinated. You can finally stop playing the world’s biggest game of adult cooties and worry a lot less about contracting a deadly virus every time you step out in public. So why is the 4th of June the magic day? It’s 2 weeks from my second shot and the day I reach my full immunity.

COVID-19 Numbers in the United States are at the Lowest Levels in Nearly a Year

And they’re continuing to drop. The seven day average of new daily cases recently dropped below 30,000 for the first time since mid-June, 2020. With over 60% of Americans having received at least one dose of the vaccine, I feel very confident in the model projections that numbers will continue to drop.

Many US States Have Lifted COVID-19 Restrictions

Across the country, governors, mayors, and other elected officials are lifting mask mandates, capacity limits, and more. And this time, they actually have the data to justify doing so. Even states that have implemented the strictest restrictions are starting to lift them. California is set to fully reopen on 15 June. New York recently lifted its mask mandates and most of its restrictions. Massachusetts is lifting its COVID-19 restrictions on 29 May. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, I am so excited to see Fenway Park at full capacity once again.

COVID-19 Numbers are Dropping in the Countries I May Be Visiting in the Initial Stage of International Travel

Once borders re-open, our initial phase of international travel will keep us pretty close to home. That means sticking to North America and the Caribbean. In Mexico, new daily cases are at their lowest levels since May, 2020. Canada recently passed the US in percentage of population that has received at least one dose of the vaccine. As a result, new daily cases in Canada are plummeting, and are expected to continue plummeting over at least the next two to four weeks.

COVID-19 numbers across the Caribbean are in very good shape, too. Many island nations are opening back up to tourists. Once the European Union fully reopens, there will be many more travel opportunities in the Caribbean.

International Borders are Reopening

Around the world, countries are slowly but surely reopening their borders. The European Union recently announced it would reopen to fully vaccinated visitors this summer. Canada and the US recently started talks about reopening the border, though the border is expected to remain closed until Canada can improve its vaccination rate. The same is true along the US-Mexico border. I’ve heard grumblings that the US-Mexico border could reopen as soon as 22 June, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on that.

International travel will not return overnight. The reopening of borders will be a slow and gradual process. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the occasional re-closure here and there in the event of a flare-up of COVID-19 cases. This is precisely why I do not expect to be doing any international travel until well into the fall at the earliest.

One the US Reaches the Point where it has more vaccine supply than demand, vaccination numbers will increase around the world.

Because the US so badly bungled its response to the pandemic, it has received a disproportionate share of the available vaccines. It is close to, if not past, the point where vaccine supply exceeds demand. Once that happens, the companies that make the vaccines can focus their distribution throughout the rest of the world. In addition, the US will be sending some of its excess vaccine to other countries. As a result, vaccine distribution around the world will get a good shot in the arm (pun fully intended).

As vaccine distribution increases around the world, travel will become easier and safer. Some places will open up before others. You just need to pick and choose those location that have high vaccination rates once they fully reopen.

If you are healthy and vaccinated and stay in lockdown mode, you’re essentially telling yourself that the vaccines don’t work.

I will absolutely continue to practice COVID-19 safety protocols as needed when I’m in public to protect others who may not yet be vaccinated. You should, too. However, the latest CDC guidelines should be all the motivation you need to get the shot. Reaching fully vaccinated status is largely a green light to return to pretty close to normal.

Trust the vaccines. They work. You don’t even need to thumb through reams of complex medical data from the clinical trials to see the proof, either. Just have a look at the new daily deaths in the United States. They’re currently at their lowest point since March, 2020. Notice how sharply they dropped once vaccine distribution really ramped up in February, 2021.

Conclusion

452 days is a long time to have to go without something you love and are passionate about. Over that time, you learn to really cherish those experiences because you never know when they’ll be taken away from you. It feels so great to finally be returning to normal. With a new and revamped mission and bucket list, I can’t wait to see the wonderful experiences that lie ahead. See you out there. Where are you heading first?

Top Photo: A Perfect Summer Day to Start a 3-Country Road Trip
Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico – August, 2019

The post Exciting News: Indefinite COVID-19 Travel Suspension to be Lifted on 4 June, 2021 appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

Looking back at the past year or so, woof, what a dumpster fire. The COVID-19 pandemic took away my travel and photography adventures. It exposed major flaws in my business model and tried mightily to take down my business. The fail-safes I put in place to protect the business following a major financial mishap in 2017 were put to the ultimate test, but they held. Then, to put the cherry on top, death threats and threats of political violence forced me out of my home in Arizona. I still have no idea if or how that will get resolved.

Believe It or Not, There Was Plenty of Good in 2020

I’ve never been one to have any tolerance for other people telling me how to go about my daily life. In times like the past 12 or so months, the best thing you can do is take all of that adversity and turn it around into something positive. Having my photography taken away and the flaws in my business model exposed were honestly one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but I’m being completely serious here.

Hear me out. If you’re running a business and your business model has flaws in it, wouldn’t you like to know? Without that knowledge, you’re only holding yourself and you customers back. What good is it if you can’t reach your full potential?

Losing Your Sense of Normalcy Lets You Freely Refocus and Redefine Your Values, Goals, and Dreams

Have you ever heard the saying “you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone”? If the COVID-19 pandemic had a slogan, that would be it. When you lose the comforts of normalcy, it’s easy to feel more emboldened, almost like you have less to lose.

Grab hold of that energy and ask yourself a few questions. If you had an unlimited supply of money and nothing tying you down, what would you do? Where would you do it? Why would you do it? When you answer those questions, you’ll discover your true values, goals, and dreams.

Interestingly, you would think that the pandemic’s impact on my business would have the greatest influence on my values, goals, and dreams. I thought that, too. It was actually losing my travel and photography adventures that made the greatest impact.

Shortly after moving to Arizona in 2015, I wanted to expand my awareness and views of the world. As a result, I began making routine trips to Mexico.

Stepping across the border and looking at your home country from the outside is a truly eye-opening experience. Gain a new appreciation for the good things you have. Expose societal and cultural flaws you thought were completely normal. Immersing myself in a new culture and a third language turned me on to the concept of being a global citizen.

Become a Global Citizen to Broaden Your Community at Home

A global citizen is someone who is aware of the world and has a sense of their role in it. They are involved as members of the international community and are committed to building on this community in a meaningful and positive way. Becoming a global citizen will broaden your global perspective and allow you to bring fresh, new views back to your own community. Photography is an incredibly powerful means to engage communities and raise awareness both at home and abroad. You can easily make a similar argument for the maps and data I work with, too.

Shutting down my travel and photography adventures for over a year made me question everything that’s brought me to this point. Witnessing the rapid, extreme, and too often terrifying radicalization of so many people in Arizona has only strengthened my rejection of those extremist views. Having to truly hate someone else’s views on the world is a terrible, awful feeling.

As a result, my drive and desire to raise awareness and share stories through my work in data science, GIS, and photography is stronger than ever. Coupling that work with international travel will make me a better business owner, a better photographer, and a better citizen.

Too many Americans are woefully ignorant about what’s going on outside our borders. The world should be a better place for everyone.

Use Times of Uncertainty to Execute Your Plan to Achieve Your Dreams

The seeds of my life dreams date back to the first time someone asked to purchase my photography. At the time, I was a college student who knew absolutely nothing about running a business, but I really wanted to be able to make money selling my photos online. However, the thought of the freedom that came with being your own boss was so alluring.

Graduating into a barren wasteland of a job market during the darkest days of the Great Recession only made crave that freedom of being your own boss more. After graduating, I used my spare time to learn the basics of how to run a business.

Because I had gone through multiple periods of long-term unemployment, most employers saw me as damaged goods and refused to hire me. At that point, I knew there was no going back. I started working as an independent contractor in 2013, and formally incorporated Matthew Gove Web Development, LLC in 2016.

When you run your own business, you learn to appreciate the good times and the bad. A client skipping out on a $40,000 bill nearly bankrupted me in 2017. After finally digging out of that hole, things finally began to take off in 2019. Then Covid hit. Despite all that, running my own business has been an incredibly rewarding process and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

What Are My Post COVID-19 Business Goals?

After exposing major flaws in my business model, the COVID-19 pandemic made me realize that I took way too much for granted. It’s time to chase those bucket list dreams on both a professional and personal level. If you’re not going to do it now, when are you?

Business Goal #1: Diversify Your Income and Eliminate the “Feast or Famine” Cycle

Matthew Gove Web Development, LLC will be releasing a new line of offerings within the next few weeks. The new lineup will eliminate much of the hassle of writing quotes and negotiating prices, and will allow us to deliver a higher quality product to you in a shorter time frame. In addition, I have automated most of the administrative tasks, freeing up valuable time to focus on your projects.

Business Goal #2: Rebuild to $100k per Year in Gross Revenue. Then Continue to Grow the Business to the Point You Need to Hire Help

Prior to the COVID-19 lockdowns, I had been on track to hit $100,000 per year in gross revenues at some point between 2020 and 2022. While the pandemic took a big bite out of that, I am confident that we’ll be able to reach that having patched the holes in my business model, I can hit benchmark sooner rather than later.

Once you reach that benchmark, why stop there? I’d love to get to $200k per year. Then maybe $400k? Having gone through the misery long-term unemployment after graduating college, I still dream of one day being able to create a job for someone in the same situation. My goal is to be able to do that within the next three to five years.

Business Goal #3: Open a Store to Sell Your Photography

Opening an online store to sell my photography has been on my bucket list for over 15 years. However, it seems like I’ve always lacked either the time, money, or experience to do so. Thankfully, a once-in-a-century pandemic has finally given me an opportunity where I have all three at once, so the Matt Gove Photo store will open within the next three to six weeks. If you can’t wait, you can license a photo today.

Realizing a Dream: We’re Setting Off to Travel the World

Losing the ability to travel and take photos took far more than just a fun activity I enjoy doing. It took away part of voice because I use photography to share stories and raise awareness. I didn’t realize just how much travel meant to me until I lost it to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

After the hellish pandemic year, it’s time to gain some new perspective. To become a better business owner, photographer, and global citizen, I am setting off to travel the world. One of the greatest perks of having my own business is that I can work from anywhere. After COVID-19, it’s a privilege I truly cherish. With all of the craziness going on in the United States right now, I hope to be able to bring some of the global perspective home with me.

What’s on Your Travel Bucket List

While I like to travel to beautiful places for landscape photography, my choice of destination goes far deeper than that. To become a better global citizen, I also want an authentic cultural experience that will allow me to engage communities both at home and abroad. I want to experience new foods, listen to new music, and immerse myself in both foreign language and cultural events.

It will likely still be a while before the world fully reopens, so we’ll be sticking closer to home at least to start. Since we’re based out of the United States, that means North America and the Caribbean.

Travel to All 50 U.S. States

In order to have the richest experience abroad, you should be familiar with the regional and cultural differences within your own country. In a country as vast and diverse as the United States, it’s especially critical. You can’t gain new perspectives abroad if you’re oblivious to what’s going on at home.

Thankfully, I’ve already been to 40 of the 50 states, so getting the last 10 shouldn’t be too difficult. I’d like to visit all of the US territories as well. It’s been close to 20 years since I last set foot in either Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Travel to All 13 Canadian Provinces and All 31 Mexican States

There are a couple trips in Canada I’ve had my eyes on for a while.

• Drive the Trans-Canada Highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific
• Road trip from the Peace Arch in Surrey, British Columbia to Inuvik, Northwest Territories via the Dempster Highway

South of the Border, I want to immerse myself in everything Mexico’s rich culture has to offer. Like the US, Mexico is an incredibly diverse country, and my adventures in Sonora and Baja California haven’t even begun to scratch the surface, yet. In addition, I hope to be able to gain fluency in Spanish and broaden my perspectives of the many issues plaguing the US-Mexico border today.

• Experience Mayan Culture in the Yucatán Peninsula. Swimming in the cenotes has been on my bucket list for a very long time. You can also use the Yucatán as a home base for exploring Central America and the Western Caribbean.
• Photograph the stunning blue waters of Agua Azul and Sumidero Canyon in the State of Chiapas
• Take a tequila tour through the highlands of Mexico’s “Tequila States”: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Nayarit, and Michoacán
• Hike to the breathtaking 250 m (820 ft) waterfall at Cascada de Basaseachi in Chihuahua
• Visit Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas – a popular tourist destination on the Texas border that will be an interesting comparison to my adventures in Los Algodones, Baja California
• Learn about the history and story of Chinaco Tequila. Chinaco is a unique tequila that is said to be more complex and rich in flavor than tequila from Jalisco. It’s made from blue agave farmed in fertile, high-mineral soil near the only licensed distillery in the State of Tamaulipas, which sits on the Gulf of Mexico and shares a border with Texas.
• Explore Big Bend National Park in Texas and make the unique border crossing across the Rio Grande to Boquillas del Carmen, Coahuila

National Parks

I would like to visit every National Park in the US and Canada. Making a big loop through the National Parks in western US and Canada has been on my bucket list ever since our Great Southwest Trip in 2012.

Foreign Language Re-Immersion

Immersing yourself in the local language is one of the best ways to maximize your experience in any location. Even if all you can say is “hello”, you’ll form a deeper connection with the locals once you can break through the language barrier.

French Language (Re-)Immersion. Martinique et Guadeloupe, vous m’avez manqué! I’d also love to get back to Québec at some point, as well as visit French Polynesia. However, I studied French language and culture for more than 10 years. The holy grail of French language and cultural immersion lies in the rich diversity of Francophone Africa. I already have plenty of knowledge and tips for visiting countries like Sénégal, Gabon, and the Congo.

Spanish Language Immersion in Mexico. Ever since setting foot in Mexico for the first time, my goal has been to gain fluency in Spanish. Instead of sitting at home endlessly thumbing through textbooks, what better way to gain fluency than the experience of immersing yourself in it?

Beyond North America

My worldwide bucket list goes far beyond anything I can list here, but here are a few to whet your palette.

• Take a food tour through Southeast Asia
• Go on an African Safari
• Drive across the Australian Outback in a 4×4
• Photograph some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the world in Kyrgyzstan
• See endangered gorillas at Virunga National Park and climb Mt. Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Go hoverboarding on Russia’s Lake Baikal in the winter

Conclusion

After 15 months of isolation and lockdown, we’re all itching to get back out and do the things we love with a semblance of normalcy. I hope the pandemic has given you as much drive to rediscover your passions as it has me.

Rediscovering my true values and purpose has motivated me to engage communities and raise awareness both at home and abroad through photography, as well as my work in data and GIS. In doing so, I hope to be able to gain new perspectives about life in the United States, as well as bring some world culture home.

During previous crises, I have always taken solace in music. As we get set to take back our lives and enjoy our newfound freedom, I wanted to express the mood and excitement of these new beginnings and new opportunities. Kenny Chesney couldn’t have done it better.

“This is our moment. This is our time. We ain’t holdin’ back, we’re laying it all on the line. This is our destiny. It’s our night to shine.” What are you waiting for? Go make your dreams become reality.

Top Photo: Pondering My Thoughts at Lake Thunderbird
Norman, Oklahoma – March, 2014

The post Using Reflection to Look Forward: COVID-19 Fuels a New Bucket List appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

Then COVID-19 came along changed everything. After the pandemic exposed some horrific flaws in my business model, I had an epiphany. Instead of wallowing in the sorrows of lockdowns, let’s seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Learn some new skills, patch those holes in the business model, and bring something good to the world.

As a result, I am so excited to announce the new Matt Gove Photo store to you. Everything is on target to launch the store in late May or early June, 2021.

A Brief History

I first fell in love with photography as a college student in Florida back in 2006, when I started photographing sailing regattas where I volunteered. By early 2008, I had received my first request from a sailor wanting to buy a photo I had taken of them. At the time, I was deep into my junior year of college and knew nothing about running a business. I opted to just give the photos away via email and Facebook.

By September, 2008, demand for my photos exceeded my ability to send them out to people. At the time, Facebook was still only available to college students, which heavily limited the audience. As a result of the ensuing frustration, Matt Gove Photo was born in January, 2009. I finally had my own platform to share and distribute photos. More importantly, you could access photos when and where you wanted to without having to bug me.

Ever since then, I have always wanted to launch a store to sell photos. In 2010, I made my first attempt to set up a photo store. Unfortunately, my lack of experience at the time coupled with the after-effects of the Great Recession led to that venture failing spectacularly.

As my goals changed throughout the 2010s, the photo store largely remained an afterthought. Even after starting Matthew Gove Web Development, LLC in 2016, I thought about giving the store another go a few times. When I wasn’t too busy working on other projects, I couldn’t come up with the money to fund the store’s launch.

Everything changed once the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Motivation: Why Are We Launching the Photo Store?

It took us over a decade of adventure and exploration to find our true mission. Watching firsthand the horrific 20 May, 2013 EF-5 tornado tear a deep 4-mile long gash through the heart of Moore, Oklahoma was hard to put into words. Photography really helped capture and process all of the different emotions I felt during both the tornado and the recovery. It let me tell the story in a way that’s so much more powerful than words. Ever since that day, I try to tell a story with every photo and photo series I produce.

Photography is also an incredibly effective way to bring awareness to issues you’re passionate about. After moving to Arizona in 2015, I started taking routine trips to Mexico to expand my horizons even further. Stepping across the border and looking at your home country from the outside is a truly eye-opening experience. Photography is an incredibly powerful means to engage communities and raise awareness both at home and abroad. If the store can generate enough income to be able to help solve even one of the world’s issues, it will have made the effort to open the store worth it.

The Importance of Photography in Today’s Media-Rich World

If you don’t think photography is important across all sectors of the economy today, consider these statistics. A 2019 study surveyed web users about media and graphics in the context of web design.

• Judgements on a company’s credibility are 75% based on the design of its website.
• First impressions are 94% related to the look and design of a website
• 46% of consumers base their purchasing decisions on the aesthetic appeal of the company’s website.

Which of our websites would you be more inclined to purchase something from? The 2013 version (which I cringe looking at today)?

Or the 2021 version?

I rest my case.

Photography, videography, and graphic design are playing a major role in the diversification and expansion of Matthew Gove Web Development in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. With every day that goes by, the demand for rich media only continues to grow. Without stunning graphics, you are only putting yourself behind. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll go out of business altogether.

The Matt Gove Photo store is just a small piece of the master puzzle. Whether you’re adding character to your workplace or creating a central talking point in your home, our landscape photography will help you establish a high-quality brand that is trustworthy and dependent.

What Can You Buy?

We have partnered with several photo labs and wholesalers to bring you the finest lineup of products featuring our breathtaking travel landscape and nature photography from across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and beyond. We’re including free shipping to the mainland United States (the Lower 48) on every item in the store.

• Standard, Metal, Canvas, Acrylic, and Wood Prints
  • Available in sizes up to 48×96 inches (122×244 cm)
  • Frames ranging from simple and elegant to exotic are made from the finest metals and woods
• Fine Art Photography
• Collages and Photo Art
• Home and Office Accessories
  • Coffee Mugs
  • Mouse Pads
  • Coasters
  • Face Masks
  • Much More
• Books and Calendars
• Photo Licensing
• Clothing and Merchandise

Both our wall art and our fine art landscape photography are a great way to add a little flair to your office or workplace. Hang a picture of a nearby tourist attraction to boost your brand and bring more customers into your store. Whisk yourself away to an exotic location when you can’t stand your annoying boss anymore. Or just add a cheery scene to boost your office morale.

You can also bring our photos into your home. Unwind from a stressful day in front of a serene water or seascape. On the other hand, pump your adrenaline with a dramatic mountain, cliff, or canyon landscape. Best of all, put a central talking point in your living room when you host your post-COVID-19 social gatherings. Do you really want to deal with that inevitable awkwardness when you see your in-laws for the first time in a year and a half?

When Will Everything be Available?

The store will initially launch around Memorial Day, with the remaining items added over the summer.

Photo Prints and Fine Art Photography

All photo prints and fine art photography will be part of the initial store launch. Right now, everything is on track for the grand opening to be sometime around Memorial Day.

Merchandise, Accessories, and Collectibles

The rest of the store items will roll out over the summer. I will be announcing launch dates for everything on our Facebook page as well as this blog. My goal is to have everything rolled out by the end of July.

Photo Licenses

Photo licenses are available today! We grant licenses for all commercial, journalism/educational, and personal uses. You can sign up for a license directly on our website.

New Beginnings Mean New Adventures: We’re Setting Off to Travel the World

Have you ever heard the saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”? Nothing rings more true after losing our traveling and photography adventures to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Being shut down for over a year makes you question everything that’s brought you to this point. Fortunately, those doubts have only strengthened the drive to adventure, travel, and reinforce our values.

As the world opens back up, we will be expanding our operations far beyond the border of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Life under lockdown made me realize just how important my traveling and photography adventures are. If you’re not going to do it now, when will you? In addition to opening up new experiences, traveling the world will elevate your status as a global citizen.

A global citizen is someone who is aware of the world and has a sense of their role in it. They are involved as members of the international community and are committed to building on this community in a meaningful and positive way. Becoming a global citizen will broaden your global perspective and allow you to bring fresh, new views back to your own community. As I mentioned earlier, photography is an incredibly powerful means to engage communities and raise awareness both at home and abroad.

When Do We Expect Travel Operations to Resume?

On 10 March, 2020, we made the painful, yet necessary decision to indefinitely suspend all travel operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That indefinite suspension remains in place to this day.

Fortunately, things are coming into focus as things continue to open up. While we expect to lift the indefinite suspension within the next month or two, it will be longer than that before we embark on any serious adventures. Travel is tentatively scheduled to resume in Fall, 2021. We will definitely be making some local day trip adventures before then!

So where are we heading for the first adventure of our world travels? I don’t want to give too much away, but we’ve got our eyes on the rich culture, exotic cenotes, and Mayan ruins of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. As always, you’re invited to join us on the adventure both on this blog and on the Matt Gove Photo website.

You’re Invited Grand Opening Sale! Get 40% Off Everything in the Store.

While we don’t have a set opening date yet, everything in the store will be 40% off for the first week following the grand opening. Give us a follow on Facebook for the latest updates. Be the first to know when we announce the store’s official opening dates and when we roll out additional products this summer.

Conclusion

As much as launching the Matt Gove Photo store has been a dream for much of the past 15 years, it means so much more than that now. After 14 months of lockdown, it’s a major step in the return to normalcy. Instead of worrying whether your next trip to the grocery store is going to kill you, you can actually think about starting to put some firm travel plans into place. I can’t wait. Where will your next adventure take you?

Top Photo: Crystal Clear Turquoise Waters in one of the many lagoons at Lake Tahoe
Near Sand Harbor, Nevada – February, 2020

The post New Beginnings, New Adventures: We’re Launching a Photo Store! appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

Since it’s easiest to stay isolated on road trips, experts agree they will be the first facet of travel to re-emerge from the pandemic lockdowns. While it was anything but recreational, I recently drove across the United States at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to share my lessons learned and observations made so you can plan your next road trip once COVID-19 finally becomes a thing of the past.

1. The Country is Bitterly Divided

I’ve taken road trips to all corners of the United States over the past decade. Not once have I ever experienced the level of hate, bitterness, and animosity directed towards me as I did on this trip.

There is no better example of the bitterness right now than my state, Arizona. Its toxic political culture coupled with the corrosiveness of a very close election has turned the state into a cesspool of hostility and resentment. Over the past year, Arizona has been in the news far too many times for all the wrong reasons.

For me, it all started when mask mandates started to go into effect in the Spring of 2020. Regardless of whether or not you chose to wear a mask, you were constantly being heckled, harassed, and berated in public. While it’s easy to laugh off childish name calling, I draw the line at the threat of physical violence.

Once I started getting death threats at the supermarket over masks, it had escalated beyond an acceptable level. By the time it got to the point where I couldn’t do mundane tasks such as getting the mail and taking out the trash without having to constantly face death threats or the risk of being attacked, it had already forced my hand. And yes, I had people try to attack me on more than one occasion. This had spiraled well beyond just masks and the election.

Bottom line is this. I expect that I was so frequently targeted because I was alone all the time. The vast majority of people you’ll run into remain warm, friendly, and welcoming. However, expect that no matter where you go, someone will be judging you…and not in a good way.

2. But We Can Still All Agree on One Thing…We’re Sick of Covid

These days, it seems like we can’t get any more divided. With record levels of animosity, we can’t agree on anything. Maybe with the exception of agreeing to disagree.

Interestingly, I noticed one common thread in every location I passed through on this trip. And it goes deeper than “the sky is blue” or “water is wet”. From the reddest of conservative areas to the bluest of liberal areas, and everywhere in between, we are all sick and tired of dealing with COVID-19. I don’t know about you, but I’m sure yearning to get my old life back.

3. Rules Vary Wildly From State to State

One of the rules I stuck to on this trip was to treat each state like it was its own country. Why you ask? Because the rules and restrictions vary so much from state to state. What’s completely acceptable in one state could land you a hefty fine in the next. Even more frustrating, in some states, the rules can be completely different going from county to county or town to town.

Look at some of the southwestern states as an example. States like Arizona and Texas have issued few restrictions with little to no penalty for violating them. However, cross into New Mexico and it’s a much different story.

As soon as you cross the state line, they make it very clear that masks are required statewide, capacity limits are in effect in many sectors, and some businesses remain closed altogether. The state will fine you if they catch you violating those restrictions.

New Mexico is also one of the few places that actually enforces its COVID-19 restrictions, which is a perfect segue into our next observation.

4. COVID-19 Restrictions are Rarely, if ever, Enforced

I really surprised me just how few places actually enforce their COVID-19 restrictions. When I passed through Amarillo, Texas, you’d never know we were in the middle of a pandemic. Bars, restaurants, theatres, malls, and museums were all packed. I did not see a single mask or anyone even pretending to stay socially distanced. And this was on a Wednesday afternoon, back when Texas still had a statewide mask mandate and capacity restrictions in place.

Sadly, I found this to be the rule, rather than the exception. While Amarillo was by far the most flagrant example of this utter disregard on the trip, I saw it in just about every state I passed through. We’re all fed up with COVID-19. I get the pandemic fatigue. I want to go back to normal just as badly as you do. Unfortunately, the longer we fight the restrictions, the longer it will take for us to reach normality.

Thankfully, though, the majority of people still comply with COVID-19 restrictions despite the fact that they’re largely unenforced. However, there remains enough resistance to make it both concerning, and a times, dangerous.

5. States Fall into One of Two Categories

And those categories are:

1. They take COVID-19 seriously
2. They openly mock it and brag about flouting their own guidelines and restrictions

Sometimes, the most amazing things happen when you least expect them. That was certainly the case as I crossed the St. Francis River.

For those of you who are not familiar with the area, the St. Francis River separates Paragould, Arkansas from Cardwell, Missouri. Both towns are in a rural, deeply conservative area.

At the time of my trip, Arkansas had a statewide mask mandate. Missouri did not. As I drove down Main Street in both Paragould and Cardwell, the difference could not have been more stark. Everyone on the Arkansas side of the river was masked. Not a single person on the Missouri side was. Even When I came upon a fender bender leaving Cardwell, even the public safety officers at the scene had opted against putting masks on.

6. You Don’t See Any Out-of-State License Plates

I love playing the license plate game on long road trips. When I took my three-country road trip in 2019, I saw license plates from all 50 US States (plus Washington, DC), 10 Canadian Provinces, and 8 Mexican States. Contrast that to when I took my first COVID-19 road trip to Oregon in July, 2020. I only saw license plates from 6 states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

On this trip, it didn’t take long to notice that the freeways were basically void of passenger cars. The pandemic had kept everyone at home, which led to another fascinating observation. In normal times, when you approach a state line, you start seeing license plates from the state you’re about to cross into. There was none of that driving across the country at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. People were that reluctant to travel out-of-state.

Not surprisingly, the results of the license plate game were putrid compared to 2019. I passed through 16 states to get across the country. Besides those 16 states, I only saw license plates from two other states.

• An SUV with Florida plates near Albuquerque, New Mexico
• A small hatchback with Alabama plates in eastern Oklahoma

7. With the Right Safety Protocols, You Can Safely Enjoy a Cross-Country Road Trip in the Age of Covid

While I can’t under any good conscience recommend it right now (unless you’re fully vaccinated), it is possible to safely drive across the country. However, COVID-19 safety does come at the expense of comfort, and to some degree, fun.

Yes, I cut myself off from hotels, public restrooms, and all other public buildings. I spent nearly 48 straight hours in the truck, peeing in Gatorade bottles, and camping in the middle of an ice storm on the side of a mountain in Kentucky on just one leg of the trip. But I argue that it was fun in its own way. Regardless of the circumstances, any trip is only as fun and adventurous as you allow it to be.

Conclusion

Driving across the country unvaccinated at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic was a memorable experience I won’t forget any time soon. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart, though. However, with the proper planning and safety protocols in place you can make it to your destination safely. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into, and have a plan in case anything goes wrong.

That wraps up the series on my cross-country COVID-19 road trip. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed reliving it. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section below or email me directly. We’ll be back to our normal content next week, traveling the world through data, maps, and photography. Have a great weekend, and see you next week.

Top Image: Freeway Junction Sign on My Cross-Country COVID-19 Road Trip
Morgantown, West Virginia – Feburary, 2021

The post 7 Powerful Lessons From a Cross-Country COVID-19 Road Trip appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

1. The Current COVID-19 Peak Lines Up Almost Perfectly with Our November, 2020 COVID-19 Forecast.

Recall that on 14 November, 2020, we looked at several reputable COVID-19 models. Based on those models, we created a prediction for the COVID-19 pandemic using the same methodology weather forecasters use. Here is the forecast we made.

– The peak of the winter wave will occur around New Year’s Day (1 January, 2021).

– There will be 320,000 to 400,000 new daily COVID-19 cases in the United States at the peak of the winter wave.

– By next spring, there will be 30 to 50 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Our Official Forecast on 14 November, 2020

So how did we do?

• The current COVID-19 peak occurred on 11 January, 2021 using the 7-day moving average. The United States confirmed just shy of 300,000 new cases on 2 January, 2021, setting the record for most new daily cases in a single day. What was that about the peak of the winter wave occurring around New Year’s Day?
• The 7-day average peaked just under 257,000 daily new cases, with a single day high of 299,087 cases on 2 January. Our analysis and forecast predicted 320,000 new daily cases at the peak.
• There are currently over 25 million total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States. Given that over 70% of those cases have been confirmed after Election Day (3 November), that forecast of 30 to 50 million cases by spring seems like a pretty safe bet right now.

2. Unlike previous dips in new COVID-19 cases, this peak is not occurring around a major holiday.

Both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays caused some interesting anomalies in the United States’ daily new case data.

Prior to each holiday, there was a huge excess demand for testing. People wanted to make sure they did not have COVID-19 prior to traveling. The excess demand bumped new daily cases higher than they would have been because more tests were being processed.

During the several days immediately leading up to and following each holiday, people were with their friends, family, and loved ones. Getting tested was far from being on their mind. As a result, fewer tests were being processed, and you see a sharp drop in new daily cases.

The holiday roller coaster is completed after people return home and get tested again to ensure they can safely integrate back into society at home. This surge in demand, coupled with the surge in transmission due to holiday gatherings, results in an upward spike of new cases following each holiday.

You can see the same anomalies in Canada’s COVID-19 data over the holidays. It’s interesting to note that Canadians don’t travel for Thanksgiving anywhere near as much as Americans do. You can see that in the magnitude of the anomalies.

There are no major holidays right now that could artificially lower the new daily case curves in both the United States and Canada. The current decline in cases appears to be happening naturally.

What’s even more encouraging is that Canada is seeing a drop in cases as well. Hospitalizations have leveled off and/or started to decline in many states and provinces in both the US and Canada, which also points to a natural decline.

3. Unlike artificial declines in new COVID-19 cases due to holidays, this peak has lasted much longer and is much better established.

Numbers don’t lie. The sharp artificial drop in new daily cases we saw over the holidays only lasted at most two or three days before turning around and shooting back up. The current sharp drop in new daily cases in the United States has already been going on for 11 days. In Canada, we’re on the 13th straight day of declining COVID-19 cases.

Experts have generally considered patterns in the COVID-19 pandemic to be well-established after they’ve been in place for 14 days straight. If the current trends continue, both the US and Canada will hit that magical 2 week mark early next week.

4. The US is Rolling Out and Scaling Up COVID-19 Vaccines

Unlike the spring and summer waves, COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and are beginning to roll out. It is nothing short of a miracle that these vaccines even exist right now. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the mumps vaccine, which previously held the record for the fastest vaccine development, took four years to create, trial, and deem safe. The COVID-19 vaccine accomplished the same feat in 10 months.

The US is roughly on track right now to hit Joe Biden’s goal of 100 million shots in 100 days with just the two currently approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The US is scaling up distribution of both vaccines as we speak, and there’s help waiting in the wings as well.

There are still 2 vaccines – Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca – that are in the final trial phase and will likely be approved within the next few months. It sounds like the J&J vaccine could be a game changer for scaling up vaccinations.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both require two doses and special ultra-cold storage. On the other hand, the J&J vaccine only requires one shot and can be stored in a standard refrigerator. In addition to being much easier to get it into hard-to-reach areas, you can also immunize twice as many people with it. Talk about a shot in the arm (pun fully intended)! From reports I’ve heard in the news, it sounds like Johnson & Johnson will apply for emergency use authorization within the next month or so.

5. We now have a President who believes in science and actually listens to experts

The Trump administration gave us a master class in how not to respond to a major disaster. They routinely mocked and ignored their own half-assed guidelines without a plan for anything. Common sense precautions became a political statement. The nation’s top infectious disease experts were silenced and instead we were told to inject ourselves with bleach. And then there was my favorite: when you test, you create cases. Facepalm!

With a new Biden administration now formally at the helm, a return to truth, logic, and science is a very welcome sight in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Want to know how much of a difference having leaders that are straight with their people and actually take the pandemic seriously? Have a look at Australia and New Zealand.

The leaders of both Australia and New Zealand used the pandemic as a rallying cry to unite their constituents and came out on Day 1 with a plan to defeat COVID-19. What was the difference? The United States recently recorded a record 4,610 deaths on 12 January alone. In New Zealand, 25 people have died in the entire pandemic. Australia has done pretty good, too. 909 Australians have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what evidence, what the science is, and know that’s it. Let the science speak. It is somewhat of a liberating feeling.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a 21 January, 2021 Press Conference

6. Reputable Models Show COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Continuing to Decline Through February, March, and April.

Back in November, we looked at the IHME, the COVID-19 Simulator, and my model. Let’s revisit them all again.

IHME (University of Washington)

The IHME model shows new daily cases, hospitalizations, and deaths decreasing significantly once we get into February. If its forecast verifies, it means that the 11 January peak will have been the peak of the winter wave.

COVID-19 Simulator

Using the current COVID-19 restrictions, the COVID-19 Simulator is in agreement with the IHME model, showing a downward trend of both new daily cases and deaths.

My Model

My COVID-19 model is in agreement with both the IHME and the COVID-19 simulator. It too shows new cases significantly declining though February, March, and April.

One Last Reason to be Optimistic About the Models

In the world of weather forecasting, we base our confidence in the forecasts on two factors.

• Are the models in agreement?
• Are the models stable or consistent from run-to-run?

We’ve looked at the first bullet plenty, but what about the second? Have a look back at the models’ projections in November. All three models have stayed consistent when compared to today’s projections. They’re showing basically the same outcomes today that they were showing back in November. As a result, we can be much more confident in forecasts based on these models, which are heading in the right direction.

7. Believe it or not, there is a positive silver lining to the US having the most cases in the world by far.

Any guesses as to what that may be? No? Before we jump in, I want to make it perfectly clear that this does not underscore or make light of the nearly 25 million people who have been infected or the 410,000-plus Americans who have died from COVID-19. Those numbers are beyond horrific and there is no excuse whatsoever for why or how we let those numbers get so high.

That being said, there is one silver lining to having so many people become infected in the US. Everyone who has been infected with COVID-19 has at least some natural immunity to the virus. As a result, it means the US has to vaccinate fewer susceptible people to reach herd immunity. This is especially critical given how much vaccine skepticism and hesitancy exists in the US.

Consider the following calculation. Let’s say for the sake of this argument, the US has 30 to 35 million confirmed infections by late spring. That’s roughly 10% of its total population of 330 million who already have some natural immunity.

In this scenario, to reach the 70 to 80 percent threshold for herd immunity, you only need to vaccinate 60 to 70 percent of the population. Furthermore, don’t forget that the true number of COVID-19 cases in the US is likely much higher than the number of confirmed positive tests. That only drives the number of people needing to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity even lower.

However, this is in no circumstance whatsoever a reason to not get the vaccine. Go get your shot as soon as you’re eligible.

A Final Word of Caution About the COVID-19 Peak

While there is plenty of optimism in this outlook, we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. The pandemic is far from over and there are plenty of opportunities for things to go awry.

• The fact that we’ve hit a peak in the COVID-19 pandemic and the models show that we’ve peaked is by no means a guarantee that we have actually hit the peak.
• While cases may have peaked, hospitalizations and deaths likely have not. If in fact 11 January was the case peak, COVID-19 hospitalizations should peak within the next week or so and deaths should peak in early February.
• There are plenty of external forces that can send cases rising again that the models have little to no way to accurately predict.
  • Events like the Washington, DC riots of 6 January, 2021
• More transmissible mutant strains of COVID-19 will likely become dominant in the US. The increased transmissibility or contagiousness can easily nullify the downward trend.
• Testing protocols will change as we shift from the Trump administration to the Biden administration. While these changes will not affect overall trends and patterns, they can cause anomalies in the data.

Conclusion

For the first time in months, there are signs for hope and optimism in the United States’ fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if we have actually hit the peak of the COVID-19 winter wave, we cannot let up in our fight. The pandemic is far from over, and there are still months to go before the end of the current winter wave. We all have a job to do to end the pandemic. Stay the course, do your job, and we’ll be back to normal before we know it.

Top Photo: Morning Sun Breaks over the McDowell-Sonoran Preserve
Scottsdale, Arizona – October, 2017

The post COVID-19 News: 7 Reasons to Be Optimistic America Has Peaked appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

Recent Model Performance

Why am I so concerned? First, my coronavirus model is predicting rather apocalyptic numbers across several states. Second, the model has been deadly accurate with its projections since the beginning of July. My coronavirus model forecasts case counts for the 50 US States and 6 Canadian Provinces at 2 weeks and 1 month from the date of the model run.

A Troubling Precursor: Melbourne, Australia

The most alarming peek into the crystal ball is the significant outbreak of COVID-19 over the 2020 winter in Melbourne, Australia. Starting in late June, a cluster of cases emerged and rapidly spread through the city, peaking in early August before finally tapering off in late September.

Australian officials deemed the likely cause of the outbreak to be people letting their guard down after Australia’s strict lockdown in April. Does that sound familiar to you?

You know what’s even more concerning about this outbreak, in the context of the United States and Canada? Australia had its outbreak well under control throughout late fall and into the start of winter. The entire country averaged less than 10 new cases per day in early and mid-June. Despite officials putting Melbourne into a very strict lockdown and sealing the entire State of Victoria off from the rest of the country, cases spiked to about 800 per day at their peak in early August, an increase of 2 orders of magnitude, or about 100-fold.

Diving into the Numbers

Let’s do a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation to extrapolate Australia’s outbreak to the United States and Canada. While Australia averaged about 8 new cases per day heading into its winter, the United States is currently averaging 45,000 new cases per day, and Canada is averaging 2,000.

Keep in mind, we’ve still got 2 months to go before the start of our winter in December. It’s also unlikely that either the US or Canada will see the same strict lockdowns and restrictions that were implemented in Victoria.

45,000 * 100 = 4,500,000

2,000 * 100 = 200,000

Come on, there’s no way this will actually happen, right? I sure hope not. It’s possible, though not very likely. Remember that everyone said that the US would get a reprieve from the pandemic over the summer, only to see cases spike to 80,000 per day across the Sun Belt.

General Outlook for This Fall and Winter

In many of the states and provinces listed below, you likely will not see the huge spikes like you saw previously in places like New York City, Miami, Melbourne, Los Angeles, and Houston. Instead, it will be a much slower increase due to the lower population density in these states, but the model is showing the potential for the virus to rip through a significant portion of their populations.

In the plots below, I have extended the coronavirus model run out further than one month. Please keep in mind that its accuracy diminishes significantly past the one month mark.

Montana

Montana successfully suppressed the coronavirus over the spring and summer. It is now one of many states in the north-central United States staring down a substantial outbreak of COVID-19. This outbreak will feel much different than the outbreaks across the northeast and the Sun Belt earlier this year.

Instead of a massive and rapid spike, the disease will spread much slower through the community. However, the surge will likely last longer and impact a larger portion of the population than in more populous states.

Previous outbreaks across the northeast and the Sun Belt lasted about 2 to 3 months. Montana’s outbreak will likely last 6 to 8 months due to lower transmission rates. In the worst case scenario, the model expects about 30% of Montanans to come down with COVID-19.

North Dakota

North Dakota has by far the highest average number of new cases per capita for any state since the pandemic began, a distinction that formerly belonged to Arizona. At the peak of its summer spike, Arizona saw a maximum 7-day average of about 510 new cases per million people. North Dakota has seen that number as high as 659 within the past two weeks. The model’s current worst case scenario shows over 60% of North Dakotans contracting COVID-19 by the end of the pandemic.

Ontario

The current situation in Ontario is quite fascinating. Over the past few weeks, cases have surged, showing signs of going into a full-blown outbreak, but each time you’ve managed to pull it back from the precipice. Just how long you can keep it up is up to you. There’s still time to prevent a spike.

I am particularly concerned about the heavily populated areas along the Highway 401 corridor, as well as the City of Ottawa, as we get deeper into the fall. It won’t take much to tip things over the edge and look a lot more like neighboring Québec.

Québec

Québec has been Canada’s epicenter for the majority of the pandemic. After successfully flattening the curve throughout the summer, cases are not just trending upwards as people are driven indoors, they’re accelerating upward. Though I don’t believe any outbreak in Québec will be as bad as ones in the US, without any action, you’ll likely be at 250,000 to 300,000 cases by March, 2021.

Le Québec a été l’epicentre du Canada pour la plupart de la pandémie. Après avoir réussi à aplatir la courbe pendant tout l’été, les cas ne sont pas seulement à la hausse quand tout le monde vient à l’intérieur, ils accélèrent à la hausse. Je ne crois pas qu’une éclosion au Québec sera aussi grave que celles aux États-Unis, mais sans aucune action, vous aurez probablement entre 250,000 et 300,000 cas en mars, 2021.

South Dakota

North Dakota may own the highest average number of new cases per capita, but South Dakota just shattered all previous records for the largest single day increase in new cases per capita. Two days ago, South Dakota saw a single-day increase of 1,141 new cases per million people.

COVID-19 is considered under control when that number drops below 50 new cases per million people per day. Like North Dakota, the model’s worst case scenario shows over 60% of South Dakotans contracting COVID-19. That’s up from about 11% just a few weeks ago.

Utah

Cases in Utah have been smoldering throughout the spring and summer, but are starting to burn after a significant acceleration in the rate of spread that started in early September. Without action, I expect that the rate of spread in Utah will not just continue, it will also accelerate.

While it’s unlikely you’ll see a New York-type spike, a surge similar to the one you saw in neighboring Arizona over the summer is certainly possible. Hospital and ICU bed usage is already near record highs. The coronavirus model is currently forecasting that over 12% of Utah’s population could be infected by the end of the pandemic, so you should be taking immediate action to flatten the curve.

West Virginia

West Virginia is currently in a situation similar to Utah’s, as transmission rates have recently begun to accelerate. The model is showing the potential for a significant outbreak of cases, but the window to prevent such a scenario is till open.

Under the current trajectory, it’s unlikely West Virginia will see a New York or Florida-like spike. The hospital system can handle the current surge, but the virus slowly ripping through the population can still do a lot of damage. The latest model runs show the current surge peaking in early November, infecting at most about 8% of the population.

Wisconsin

Of all the states and provinces on this list, I am most concerned about Wisconsin. With a significant outbreak of cases already underway, exponential growth is also accelerating.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the model predicted that only 7% of Wisconsin’s population could become infected. That number has jumped to 25% with the latest model run. At the peak of Florida’s outbreak this summer, the model never predicted more than 9% of Floridians could contract COVID-19.

So why am I so concerned with Wisconsin when both of the Dakotas are showing that up to 60% of their populations could possibly be infected?

• With 5.9 million residents, Wisconsin’s population is over 3.5 times larger than the populations of North Dakota (760,000) and South Dakota (885,000) combined.
• Wisconsin’s population centers are larger and denser than anywhere in the Dakotas. The coronavirus spreads much easier in those areas.
• Much of Wisconsin’s population lives in close proximity to one of the nation’s largest cities. Chicago is a hub of economic activity, transport, travel, and much more.
  • Downtown Chicago sits just 85 km (50 mi) from the Wisconsin State Line, and 150 km (93 mi) from Milwaukee.
  • If Wisconsin’s outbreak reaches Chicago, it could spread rapidly to other parts of the United States and the world.

Wyoming

Wyoming is in the same boat as the Dakotas. It’s a low population and low population density state facing a massive, yet slow outbreak of cases. To date, Wyoming’s coronavirus trajectory has been almost identical to South Dakota’s, with a rapid acceleration in transmission rate over the past month or so.

In early September, the model’s worst-case scenarios predicted that about 4% of Wyoming’s population could become infected with COVID-19. Over the past four to five weeks, I have watched that number rapidly rise. As of yesterday’s model run, it had risen to 50%, up from 35% just the week before. It is showing no signs of slowing down.

Other States That Should Be On Alert

After ripping through the northeast and the Sun Belt, the United States’ epicenter has set its sights on the Midwest and the Mississippi River Valley. These outbreaks will now be exacerbated as cooler weather drives people indoors. There is still time to take action to prevent clusters and surges, but these states should be on high alert.

• Arkansas
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma

Additionally, any state or province with large population centers in the northern US or southern Canada should be on high alert for surges in coronavirus. Cool fall weather driving people indoors is already seeding upticks in cases in many of the following states and provinces.

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Colorado
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Manitoba
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Ohio
• Washington – both Washington State and the District of Columbia

If you live in the southern half of the US, you are by no means out of the woods. This wave will reach you when cooler weather arrives later this fall. Take the time now to plan and prepare to keep yourself, your loved ones, and your fellow citizens safe.

Conclusion

Infectious disease experts have been warning us since April about the likelihood of a significant wave of coronavirus throughout the fall and winter months. Looking at preliminary data, coupled with predictions from several coronavirus models, it’s becoming increasingly clear that experts’ warnings are coming to fruition and that fall and winter wave may already be underway. Wash your hands often, wear your mask in public, and keep your distance from others, and we’ll get through this together.

Top Photo: View of the Summer Monsoon from a Lookout atop the Mogollon Rim
Payson, Arizona – July, 2017

The post My Coronavirus Model is Confirming Dire Warnings in These 9 States appeared first on Matthew Gove Blog.

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Top Picture: Sand Harbor State Park
Incline Village, Nevada, United States – February, 2020

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