Not Really /  by Dave Hileman

Walking around the Shaker Village in Kentucky I told Cindy that looked like a perfect house, nice proportions, not too large, I thought it was really nice. Later in the day I find out it is a water tank not a house. The Shakers did not want an ugly tank in their community so they built my “perfect” house. At least it had running water and a hot tub!

Rushing (2 photos) /  by Dave Hileman

This is the Russian River in Alaska. This was taken after some locally heavy rains and most of the salmon were pooling instead of trying to battle upstream. The second photo shows one still trying!

This one did not get the message!

Seconds after Sunrise /  by Dave Hileman

Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park light up bright red for a few seconds just as the sun peaks on the horizon. this color does not last very long and changes in intensity across a few moments.

RIP - Lieutenant Colonel Thomas W. Light, ret. /  by Dave Hileman

Cindy and I travel today to Williamsburg to participate in the funeral service for our good friend, Tom Light. We want to share thoughts about him today on the blog because he was an enthusiastic fan of Two Lane Touring. 

We met Tom in 1996 when he arrived at Williamsburg Christian Church. Over the next few years, we became friends and traveling companions. Tom’s orderly processes and thoughtful questions led to many interesting discussions as he reconnected to his faith in deeper and more insightful ways. I loved those times. Tom made an impact on that church as well serving in several capacities. He was my foil in the skits we devised to start each night of the annual Vacation Bible School. Dr. Disaster was his favorite! We frightened small children with our science experiments. 

Tom also made an impact on the Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship, where both Cindy and I worked, as a three-year director followed by six years as treasurer. He participated in key decisions that left the VEF much stronger financially. 

Tom was a great friend to our whole family. He provided sound career advice to our older son and baptized our younger son. While he was guiding me on how to sell a house, he bought our home and welcomed us to stay with him when we visited Williamsburg. 

Traveling with Tom was the most fun: we went to Florida, Chincoteague, the Shenandoah Valley, Lancaster, the Great Smoky Mountains and to Acadia National Park three times. But the most memorable trip was the two weeks he spent with us in Alaska. He and I flew to Lake Clark National Park across the bay in a seaplane and took an airboat to get up close views of many grizzly bears. We had amazing views of the mountain at Denali with no cloud cover, we searched out moose and caribou in the astonishing scenery, and we sailed to Kenai Fjords National Park to view calving glaciers. Meals included lots of fish (salmon caught by Tom), steaks, and ice cream with an ever changing group of people and lots of laughter. He planned to find the best blueberry pie in Maine which required all of us to eat way more calories than old people should. Hikes showed him to be a good sport even when they started at 4:00 am and were not flat and occasionally - “slightly” different than advertised. 

A faithful reader of this blog, Tom never failed to send me notes when I posted photos he especially liked, flowers were among his favorites, and he waited expectantly for the latest adventures of Cadillac the Moose.

Tom Light made an impact on so many people. He was a loyal, generous and supportive friend. We miss him already and planning a trip without him seems dull. But we are grateful for the time we shared and look forward to meeting again one day.  

Showing Tom, Dave Faith and other friends, the tradition of dropping a stone from the bottom of the trail on the apex of the trail - Penobscot Mountain in Acadia National Park.

Tom at a restaurant in Bass Harbor, Maine

Tom in Denali National Park, Alaska

On the ship at the Kenai Fjord’s National Park.

Still Morning /  by Dave Hileman

Along Acadia’s shore are numerous small inlets and harbors. I like to haunt them before daylight for photos. I “think” this is Seal Harbor but I am not sure. Serene.

Apples? /  by Dave Hileman

This is a Harvest Host we stayed with in Minnesota. The host was really nice and said we should drive around to a farm access lane then pick a two and park in the middle of the orchard. It was super quiet. There was a large field across from us where we could see a few cows but that was it. Lovely spot and apples to pick from the steps of the trailer.

Another Walk /  by Dave Hileman

After church on Sunday we went to the Eno River State Park and did a nice roughly 3 mile walk in the forest. We choose a combination of two trails, Cole Mill and Bobbit Hole were the two primary ones we were on. It starts off in the woods and over a ridge then drops through a tent only camper area and then on to Bobbits Hole. This is a popular swimming place and there were 8 people and 4 dogs in the water when we left the area. We then walked along the river about a mile back up a short hill to the parking area. Perfect weather for a hike.

This seems like an odd place to care that you are changing counties?

The swimming hole.

All the feeder streams have bridges which is nice.

The river was placid and we finished our along the banks of the Eno.

Not the Horticulture Channel! /  by Dave Hileman

Yet, I loved this tiny rose bud. It was on a trellis as you enter the rose garden. The flower was about three quarters of an inch long and came out of the trunk and not off a shoot. I just thought it was delicate and perfect. Once again from the Raleigh arboretum.

A Walk /  by Dave Hileman

Cindy and I went for a longer walk today in Raleigh. The weather was perfect. Something I would rarely say. We went to Lake Johnson in the south portion of Raleigh and parked by the trail near the bridge. The first 2.8 miles is paved and flat until you cross the dam at about 1 mile, then the ups and downs are pretty steep and a good workout. We crossed the fishing bridge and back to the car to eat our lunch. Apples! Then we did the East loop. This side is not paved and very pleasant. Good views of the lake. The first 1/2 mile is flat then you cross a boardwalk over a marshy area and a creek and the hills begin. This time you need to watch for roots. We stopped for a short time at an overlook and watched a couple of Blue Heron in the distance. It was a nice hike and if I had not missed a portion of the correct trail it would have been about 4.5 miles, we added a mile:)

I hope they are very happy!

Green and Green /  by Dave Hileman

We were walking along the Green River in the Mammoth Cave National Park. This is a large park both above and below ground and there are miles of hiking trails and horse back trails. This trail led off the plateau down to this river with deep forest and decent cliffs on one side of the water. Steamboats used to bring tourists to the area and docked near where we were. What caught my eye were the emerging leaves - spring green agains the deeper, green, brown-tinged Green River. An early sign of spring at a higher altitude in the Cumberland.

Drips and Domes /  by Dave Hileman

This was the name of one of the tours I took at Mammoth Cave. It included 580 steps down into the cave where we were on a level that was nearly 300 feet underground. It was about a 2 mile walk through the limestone passages of the cave. There are about 400 miles of mapped and they estimate 600 miles of addition passages in this massive underground labyrinth.

Is it real or is it memorex? /  by Dave Hileman

Once again trying to learn a bit about using the software program. This Glossy Ibis was flying fast across a blue sky and appeared in the photo like a silhouette (who knew there was an “H” in silhouette?). So this is with a new sky and using some masks et al in a new way. Not perfect for sure but we are learning.

You can even move the background around

Poor /  by Dave Hileman

This was a throw-a-way snap. Cindy and I were touring the Dr. Pepper place in Waco, worth the visit, and this was on a wall near where the trucks loaded for delivery. It is an original - could have been re-done at some point, it dates from the 1940’s. This was the longest any slogan lasted for Dr. P. This one began in 1923 and was used until the late 1950’s. I did a terrible job with the exposure among other faults. Finally i wrote something everyone can agree with! Anyway On 1, my editing software offered a free course and following the course I got this photo. Still not a super shot but way better than where I started. I plan to try a few more this week with this course as the basis for the edits. We will see how it goes.