Summer is Easy /  by Dave Hileman

The bright afternoon sun brings out a mom and two cubs who frolic in the lush meadow grasses. A bike ride around the Cades Cove loop in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is always rewarding. Photos from a long way with the Fuji X-T5 and a 55-200 lens.

Back To Basics /  by Dave Hileman

Not many, actually not any that I am aware of, have followed this blog for the whole length of time I have been posting. Nor should anyone if you have not been sentenced to house arrest with nothing else to do. I started this just a bit over 14 years ago to force myself to improve my photos. I had a decent camera from about 2008/9 but two or three years in it was still on AUTO and Jpeg. So, I reasoned, post them publicly and you will be so embarrassed you will learn to take a better photo or you can take up Curling when you move to Canada out of shame. Then in 2015 I started on the National Park experiment to see and photograph the now 430 NPS units. It was then I changed the name to Two Lane Touring to reflect the desire to travel the scenic byways in the quest. And I posted, as I had from the start, 7 days a week. About 3 or 4 years ago I tried to “improve” the blog, writing more, more multiple photos and other poorly planned things. I introduced Cadillac the moose and he was fun but a lot of work. After Cindy died, my trips to National Parks lessoned, the trailer is sold yet the goal is still there. Since I was not doing so many parks I tried other things like extensive photos when on a trip, more information on the pictures, befriending Rowena in Scotland (also a lot of work). I have done themes and other stabs and things but they all take a lot of time. Not the real issue, however, the real issue was it was not fun some of the time. Even though my goal to improve the photos was still in process I was not doing everything well. So, my friends, and if you have read this far you certainly are a friend, I am going back to the basics, a photo a day, every day, and an occasional foray into some other aspect that strikes my fancy but usually just a shot each day. This most humble of blogs is not about how to take photos - everyone cheers, not about gear - I know little and not about the history or romance or drama or a YouTube on walking up a mountain to watch someone else shoot a spectacular image. It is just a photo each day. On a trip Rowena or Cadillac or ? may join but only temporarily. And I might even show a photo or two before and after processing, but still, each day, once again, a photo with minimal text. Thanks for being on this journey with me. Blessings, Dave

Lets see where the back roads take us!

More About the King's Burials /  by Dave Hileman

This is St. Oran’s Chapel. It is the oldest structure intact as built on the complex finished in 1100. Here is where many of the kings are buried and it was a “thin” experience, meaning you felt the presence of God very powerfully. Jill and I were in here for a bit before anyone else arrived and that was a special time. The building is small and simple. It is still used for burial services.

Burial Field for Scottish Kings /  by Dave Hileman

From the history of the site:

Iona Abbey, now a church, is one of the oldest and most important religious centers of western Europe, considered a sacred site. Established by Saint Columba in 563 AD, it quickly became one of the centers that perpetuated the spread of Christianity through Scotland. Indeed, King Macbeth ("Mac Bethad mac Findlaích" in Gaelic) was known for helping to spread the Christian faith throughout Europe.

Today, more than a thousand years later, abbey is one of the most well-preserved Ecclesiastical buildings survived from the Middle Ages on the Scottish Isles. Its ancient burial ground, St. Orin's Chapel Cemetery ("Rèilig Odhrain" in Gaelic), is the final resting place of centuries of monarchs from Scotland, Norway, Ireland, France, and even some Vikings. A plaque at the chapel reads: "Built in the 1100's, it is the oldest intact structure on Iona. Go through the decorated doorway to see the remains of an impressive tomb and a collection of elaborately-carved West Highland grave slabs."

Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure which royal graves are present at Iona. A 1549 inventory recorded 48 Scottish, 8 Norwegian and 4 Irish kings buried at St. Orin's cemetery, Macbeth, who was nicknamed the "Red King," among them. However, none of those graves are now identifiable, as the inscriptions have worn off long ago.


Dry Tortugas -- A Place Apart .3 /  by Dave Hileman

This is really a special place to visit. You have two ways to arrive at the Dry Tortugas, if you do not own your large boat, and that is tourist boat or seaplane. The tourist boat takes well over two hours plus loading time to traverse the 70 miles and you have three and a bit hours on the islands. Along with the 300 other people who traveled with you. The Seaplane travel is much shorter, 45 minutes, costs about $45 more and you have just a bit over 2 and a half hours on site. But you arrive with 14 to 20 others in two planes as everyone else is leaving! Perfect. Plus the scenery is spectacular - see Thursday’s post! This was the way Rusty and I chose to go and it was really excellent.

After the gulls are three Magnificent Frigatebirds. And then the seaplane.

First year winter Laughing gulls

Dry Tortugas -- A Place Apart .2 /  by Dave Hileman

More from Fort Jefferson on the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of America. The fort is massive and also contains several homes for NP rangers. You can camp on the beach here, requires permit, of course. You can also kayak to a couple of the other smaller islands including the one with the light house.

Dry Tortugas -- A Place Apart /  by Dave Hileman

This is a photo revisit, I found a number of photos I never even processed from the 2019 trip off Key West to the Dry Tortugas National Park. This is a fort that covers most of the land mass of five small islands about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida. The largest brick construction in the East. It was never finished but nearly so and was never used in any war. I will have several photos this week and a few birds that I found here as well. These first three feel a bit abstract

The Insider .2 /  by Dave Hileman

Details in the Castle Dunrobin including intricate ceilings, carvings and exotic woods, finished stairs in the towers, relief work, hidden courtyards and much more.