A Little.... Photo Shoot /  by Dave Hileman

Steve, a friend of mine from the first church I served in Madisonville, TN, and I traveled to the Hiawassee River Crane Reserve last week. The weather was great and a lot of the Sandhill Cranes were still on the reserve. It is about an hour and a half from my house, so pretty accessible most anytime. It would be even better to have a kayak there as there are miles of lake shore and lots of birding along the mudflats that dot the river. I’m sure there will be more birds from that area in future TLT posts.

This immature eagle was a long way away as he landed on a bit of dinner.

W-B Nuthatch makes an appearance too!

A Little.... Film Premier /  by Dave Hileman

Jill wrote a KnoxCAM story and music a few years ago that she and Kevin Wines adapted into a full length movie. 18 months of post processing, scoring and a myriad of details followed the shooting schedule that took place over a 3-month span in 2023. Last Thursday the film premiered at the Regal Theatre here in Knoxville to a sold out audience. Reactions were enthusiastic and encouraging. The red carpet event was largely organized by the producer, Jill Holder, and it went flawlessly. What an exciting evening. Next step for the film is for it to be shown at some film festivals and then off to a streaming service. Congratulations to all for the super entertainment in an impactful film with an important message.

A Little.... Hike /  by Dave Hileman

Jil and I along with two friends, Jim and Leann, hiked a bit of the Chestnut Top trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Saturday morning. A 45 minute drive from home to the parking area and then off UP the mountain. the hike is way more up than my out of practice old legs were willing to welcome. But it was a glorious day, perfect temperature for a hike and, it is winter still, so no bugs. We enjoyed a low stress, easy walk on a very uncrowded pathway to a crest on the mountain, not the actual top and then back down to the car and off to The Social for a fabulous lunch and back home by 2:00 Just a great day with fine people - looking forward to the next one in March.

Jill getting into her new hiking shoes!

Photo Copyright Jim Dickson

Overlooked NPS Sites, West .4 /  by Dave Hileman

North Cascades National Park is not exactly overlooked but it is certainly one of the least visited of the NPs. These photos were from when I first decided to try and see (and photograph) all the National Park Service Units standing now at 429 while I am still at 366. I think that will change this spring. Anyway, North Cascades would not have been my choice to see if I had not thought “wouldn’t be cool to visit them all?” So we drove three hours out of our way and spent about 8 hours hiking a six mile trail in this park. Barely enough to say we were there. And what remote and beautiful country it is. Lots of snow even in early August and the traversing of a few spots more tricky than it appears. Anyway, would love to return to this park someday.

Photos here were shot in jpeg format with a six megapixel camera with a new and inexperienced operator although I did manage to point it in the required direction most of the time.

Overlooked NPS Sites, West .3 /  by Dave Hileman

Fort Bowie National Historical Site. I have written before about this site and almost did not include it here because it is only 25 miles from yesterday’s site. But it is a relatively unknown site and many people are not willing to invest their time and energy into this out-of-the-way park. Their loss. You park along a dirt road and walk 1.5 miles to the visitor center and sigs tell you to watch out for rattle snakes and mountain lions. Off to a great start, right. And on a day with temperatures in the high 90s (winter), well, maybe you see why it is not often visited. Yet if you go, and you are of the age when you grew up on the western movie, you simply should not miss this place. The Butterfield Stage route, Pony Express, miners, bandits, the US Calvary, wagon trains and Apaches. Apaches like Cochise and Geronimo. Many battles were fought here, stages robbed, kidnapping occurred and, claims were staked - and that is on a slow day. :) There is a cemetery here where three Medal of Honor recipients are buried, one of Cochise’s sons too. The walk is a walk along a most historic trail and ends at the remains of Fort Bowie. And at the visitor center you can get a cool drink of water before you walk back to your car and cross 150 years of history.

The first view of Fort Bowie

Ruins of the station where a wagon train held out against the Apache for four days before prevailing.

Overlooked NPS Sites, West .2 /  by Dave Hileman

Chiricahua National Memorial! This is a spectacular place and, count on it, it will be designated a National Park someday and then you will find it packed. In the meantime, what an amazing, uncrowded and fascinating park. This point of land in Southeast Arizona is where two mountain ranges and two deserts collide creating what is called a “sky island” of the Huachucas mountains. This park is blessed with a temperate to subtropical climate and is one of three centers of megadiversity on our planet. There is a wealth of birds, animals,, plants, and bats. There are caves, peaks over 7,000 feet, dark skies, old ranches, and streams. An absolute wonderland and a park I would go back to again and again.

Overlooked NPS Sites, West /  by Dave Hileman

First up the Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico. These are not the largest or actually the “est” anything but what sets them apart is how authentic and remote they are and how accessible. You reach them driving north from Southern New Mexico until the end of the road. That is right, to the end of the road. It is a twisty, mountainous road out of the town of Silver City about two hours into the Gila Wilderness.

I really enjoyed the time here, it felt like the people who built it, just left for a little while and would be back. Nice trails, streams, lots of cliff dwellings and even the birthplace of Geronimo.

Restaurant - Angie's - Decatur, Tennessee /  by Dave Hileman

A friend of mine, Steve, and I were off for a short adventure on Wednesday that included finding lunch. In the few square block town of Decatur Tennessee that is a limited search. So when we spied the brick building with Diner on it, we stopped. Angie’s turned out to exceed out expectations. A lot. It was a neat, three small room diner with friendly staff and very good food. There was a special that Steve had, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, beans and corn bread for the “not break the bank” price of $7.79. Course it was one of the day’s specials. I had a nice, two patty burger, well cooked and just perfect for the day when aided by unlimited sweet tea. The restaurant was super clean and we chatted with Angie who has owned the place for two years. Do yourself a favor on your next trip between Knoxville and Chattanooga and get off at Decatur, it might be two miles to the diner but you will enjoy your meal and find a new friend too. Definitely recommend.

Angie’s is on facebook under ANGIES DECATUR DINER, daily specials listed there, pick one you like and head out.

Southwestern Birds .3 /  by Dave Hileman

Two birds today, the first a Mexican Jay, not a shy bird especially if you are eating a picnic lunch. The other a Gilded Flicker. I was directly under this bird with the sunlight rapidly disappearing in the evening. .Not the best shot but if you look closely you can see the golden fringe of feathers on the top of his head.

Southwestern Birds .2 /  by Dave Hileman

I was able to photograph several California Towhees but this is the only Green-tailed Towhee I saw and that one for a very brief stop in this tree. It was a new bird for me on that trip as well as yesterday’s Painted Whitestart.

Southwestern Birds /  by Dave Hileman

I was preparing for overlooked parks, west, for the week but when I was working on the first one, i found several bird photos that I never processed. They were mostly dark and I recall not being able to bring them out too well. Moving forward some time and two updates with the processing program and I have some bird photos to share. It has been a while but welcome to Bird Week!

And first up, the elusive Painted Whitestart