Canyonlands /  by Dave Hileman

Leaving the park after a thunderstorm we watched this rainbow grow and intensify in color. I pulled over on the side of the road and took this photo that looked like it was pointed to a city in the desert. 

"And this will be a sign..." Genesis

How to Buy an Oliver (tow vehicle edition), Chapter Four /  by Dave Hileman

My original plan to tow the trailer with a Subaru was unrealistic so, back in Raleigh, we intensify our search for a vehicle to pull the Oliver. We promised to pick the trailer up in about six weeks so we are under a time constraint. It does not start out well. Most SUV’s are just not up to the task. For the word “most” you can substitute “affordable.” The Porsche Cayenne will do nicely. It is just $60,000 over budget. So we are on to trucks. Then very shortly to four-door trucks. And we find lots of trucks with 200,000 miles and faint lettering behind newly buffed out old paint. 

We narrow our search to three smaller models that seem affordable. Don’t read that as actually small. The Toyota and the Honda are great, but none under 10k look like they would make it to Greensboro. Let alone Alaska. I settle on a Ford Explorer Sport Trac. It is car-like and dropping the K on Trac will drop the weight and save hundreds on gas. We find many we don’t want, and then Jim’s Sunday Truck appears on Craig’s List: one owner, tow package, reasonable mileage, well-maintained, nice guy and not too much over budget and it is white, a bonus. After a very brief test drive, we now own our first truck. Four new tires, new fluids and a new ball for the receiver and we are off to Tennessee to retrieve the Oliver. Along with a few more silver bars to actually pay for it but we have a truck so they fit in the bed. 

Painted Desert /  by Dave Hileman

Now a part of the Petrified Forest National Park the Painted Desert in Arizona is a stark and unforgiving landscape. The colors change as the sun moves across the sky and in different parts there are different minerals exposed so that alters the colors as well. We only did a short walk here, it was very hot. 

Not Quite Expected /  by Dave Hileman

The planning. We have been working on the Boston area for several evenings. We have failed to get the reservations we planned because the area state parks close camping on Monday to Wednesday this fall "to save money." Right. So that forced us out of the Quincy area and to the northwest of Boston. That necessitated a whole new approach to get to the nine National Park sites in an efficient fashion with new plans, schedules and routes for the ferry, bus and subway systems. Also, varied hours for the places to visit, times of tours and best times to photograph and different kinds of sites complicate the whole process. Not to mention the restaurants and ice cream shops we wish to try.  

Lincoln's Tomb /  by Dave Hileman

Abraham Lincoln is buried in this monumental crypt at the Oakwood cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. There are several statues around the area, most of them Civil War soldiers or patriotic symbols. The stone inside is simple and set alone in an alcove. You pass many more statues, usually small, in the corridors to and from the tomb itself. 

Tupelo National Battlefield /  by Dave Hileman

This is one of two graves on the small corner lot size site just off a busy street. It seemed infinitely sad to me. The stone was askew, not the neat rows of a National Cemetery and sort of awkwardly situated a few yards from a private home. The tattered flag may not be replaced as I read the park service was not going to use confederate flags any longer. There were two graves here both confederate soldiers. I wondered why they were buried here when the death toll among the South's soldiers numbered over 200. The battle was fought 152 years ago, today.

How to Buy an Oliver, Chapter Three /  by Dave Hileman

Before visiting the Oliver travel trailer factory in Hohenwald, TN, factory tour experiences were usually about food – chocolate, pretzels and potato chips in Pennsylvania, ice cream, cheese and maple syrup in Vermont – mostly through windows in long hallways beside the production area.  We did see F150 trucks assembled at Ford plant in Michigan but only from elevated walkways. And lets not even talk about the Hershey singing cows! So here we expected to see large machines putting together jigsaw puzzle trailers. Instead, as we walked through the cavernous building, we met people at each station on the factory floor carefully fitting together substantial metal frames and huge molded hulls of fiberglass with all of the electrical systems, plumbing and heating ducts carefully placed between two layers of the hull. Finishing and cleaning the inside of each trailer was accomplished with the same care and attention - as if each employee might drive that trailer on a family vacation.  We met Dana & Angela who did the final clean up, we talked with the electrician, the welders, the molder and more. We had a nice conversation with Jason, I think,. who addressed any flaws in the trailer with patience and craftsmanship. Each person’s pride, enthusiasm and dedication to improving each model absolutely sold us on the Oliver. So back at the showroom with Anita we turned over our chest of gold, agreed to provide the naming rights to our first great-grandchild and started home worried about what we needed to buy to bring the trailer home in a month. The MINI wasn't going to work.

Wright Flyer III /  by Dave Hileman

Another view of the 1905 Wright Flyer III. One of the major improvements of the plane over I and II was the front wing. It was moved forward a few feet and it gave the Wrights immediate control over aspects of the flights that had been most troublesome.   

Walk on Well-trod Ground /  by Dave Hileman

This is a portion of the original Natchez Trace also called the Old Natchez Trace that thousands of people traversed. Many of them from Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania would build and load barges and float down the rivers from various points and sell their goods in Natchez, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, including the barge! Then they would walk back home and, often, to it again. And well before the newly minted Americans make this long walk it was in use by Native Americans. The Pharr Mounds along the Trace are at least 2000 years old. 

Another View /  by Dave Hileman

Pilot Mountain from the base of the circumference trail. 

But you, O  lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
I cried out to the lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. Psalm 3:3,4 NLT

Pilot Mountain /  by Dave Hileman

One Sunday after church in Rural Hall we drove a short distance up to Pilot Mountain State Park and took the trail around the rocky dome. Then we traveled down, emphasis on down, the Ledge trail for about 2 miles and then two miles up on another trail. It was hot and exhausting. But we saw nice views, many rock climbers and more than a few of them resting in hammocks. Good choice. And you can see Andy's house from here. Or at least Barney says you can.

Happy 100th Birthday... /  by Dave Hileman

...to my favorite park, Acadia. Formed by private effort - the park was given to America, it was finally recognized on July 8th, 1916 as Sieur de Monts National Monument by President Woodrow Wilson. But it was countless determined and future oriented individuals at the turn of the 19th century that created the first eastern national park, recognizing its singular natural beauty and the need to protect it in perpetuity.

How to Buy an Oliver, Chapter Two /  by Dave Hileman

So, if you have done as we did and spent the night in Nashville, head out early in the morning toward Hohenwald. There are several routes but we wandered southwest along two lane highways past picturesque farms and beautiful ranches that I am sure were each owned by county music stars I did not know. We missed breakfast so as we approached the Natchez Trace (easiest way south) we stumbled on a great little crossroads community, Leipers Fork, with an old grocery store music venue and found an excellent breakfast across the street at Country Boys. We exited the Trace onto Highway 412 west toward Hohenwald. The Oliver showroom is right on the main road. However, you could easily drive by the nondescript building. It could have been a day-old bakery outlet. Except for the two Oliver trailers along the side and a sign. We pulled into the gravel lot and Anita was expecting us. The Oliver model we were interested in was inside and a second one outside to view. After an hour or more of looking, lots of questions and a tight grip on our box of doubloons, we went down the road a mile or so to take the factory tour. That was the highlight.