I took a lot of different steam and waterfall photos during the 10 days we were in the area. I simply love the colors of fall, the streams were pretty full after some soaking late September storms and the opportunity to be out in these leafy cathedrals rejuvenating. For some of the locations I would love the chance to shoot them in the spring when the deep green foliage is dotted with pink and while flowrers.
Thankful .7 /
I am thankful for the future and its promise.
In 1976 Cindy and I toured the West for the first time and had a remarkable 14 days. On Friday night of Memorial Day weekend we were in the reliable and durable 1971 VW zipping along the interstate in Missouri and needed to be home for Tuesday as we both had to work and a summer class I was taking also began. Our VW had 170k and never an issue. Then it did. Suddenly the engine blew and the now free spinning transmission thought it should join in the chaos. We were on the side of the road, little money, no credit cards back then and a very broken car.
I’ll give the end of the story but first, the point is the car. I have way more miles than it did and remarkably, I seem to be steaming down some sort of Interstate. But I know there are limits that I do not see and they can be gradual or sudden. I also know there is less of the road ahead than behind. But I am so thankful that is not the end of the story. Believers in the completed work of Jesus, imperfect as we are, faulty as we are, prone to fail as we are, are gifted with a future that is well beyond what might appear to be the end of the road. And, while an occasional doubt dances across my view, - that twitchy humanity again, it is a solid, logical and secure reality. “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. …. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1: 4 & 11 NLT
What we did have is AAA. A tow truck arrived and towed us to a full campground - Memorial weekend, remember, but they let us pitch our tent on a hill. We had torrents of rain that night and spent the night watching the lightning & sitting up in the car, soaking wet. In the AM the tow driver came back - he thoughtfully left his ticket open so we could use the whole 50 miles, and took us to the airport in St Louis to rent a car and the remains of the 1971 VW to the VW garage. We had enough to rent a car for three days and slept on the floor of a room at St Louis Chrsitian College. On Tuesday we got the bad news on the car and the time we spent trolling auto dealers Sunday and Monday paid off as we had a car in mind and Cindy’s old boss at a bank arranged financing for us over the phone, so off to Johnson only one day late with our Western trip souvenir a 1972 green Dodge Colt with A/C!
It is hard to know the whole path before us only that it leads to the Son.
Thankful .6 /
Where do you stop being grateful when you start a list? I am so thankful for our home both here and “en route” to wherever we are heading, for hobbies & interests that lead me to form new friendships, learn new skills (or at least try) and are a joy to pursue. I am grateful for mobility: we walk most days, hike on trips, balance across rocky streams, climb hills and, adding in car travel we have driven hundreds of thousands of miles crisscrossing the USA and Canada..
I have been blessed to work part-time or full time since I was 12 and began selling donuts door to door. It is amazing that I have had the opportunity to work with so many solid, creative, outstanding leaders in scores of churches.
We have a warm house - the repair person just fixed our heat pump, in fact, we have what we need and more.
It is easy to be a bit cynical or start to compare one’s life with someone who aprears to have things or circumstances better than you - what a trap. Simply being grateful for what we have, what sustains us in the moment, what challenges us and what a grand adventure any aspect of life affords all point to living a life a gratitude and thanksgiving. A good habit is to recall two or three things each morning that you are grateful for as you plan your day.
Last post on thankful tomorrow but first another gem from the most quotable Mr. Lewis:
“We shall not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so on the lowest. At best, our faith and reason will tell us that He is adorable, but we shall not have found Him so, not have tasted and seen. Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are “patches of Godlight” in the woods of our experience.” (Letters to Malcolm p122)
Thankful .5 /
C. S. Lewis wrote: “Man can neither make, nor retain, one moment of time; it all comes to him by pure gift.” How completely true. Time is a most precious gift and I am keenly aware of that at this stage of life and I try, often unsuccessfully, to be grateful for every moment. I am privileged to have lived across parts of 8 decades, and soon, nearly 30% of all American Presidents. Each day is full of decisions on how that day can be used, often just doing ordinary things, accomplishing work (though 2021 is my last year for that!) having dinner or simply doing some small task that needs to be done. We should celebrate the ordinary as that is most of our lives. Regardless of how we use them every moment is a gift to be savored and pondered so we ought to shepherd them with diligence and purpose and, always, with thanksgiving.
Clock tower, Lowell, MA
Thankful .4 /
Family - our sons and daughters-in-law and GRANDKIDS are all a blessing. You pray that your children will become productive and capable adults, find someone to share life with who is more than a good companion and will who be a full partner to create joy and meaning in life. I am so thankful for them. I am thankful that faith has meaning for all of their lives. And then there is the bonus, super grandkids. What absolute joy they provide and to see them growing into fine adults is gratifying and a privilege. There is not a day that slips past that I don’t give thanks for all of those who comprise what we simply define as family, and….
…on this Day of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for Cindy. It is hard, perhaps impossible, to understand at 16 when you are enamored by a beautiful young woman, what that means for life as you date, marry, raise a family, work, travel, attend to life together and age together. It is not hard, however, to look back from that first glance and to see how blessed, fortunate, and gifted that life became because she shared herself on that journey. It is Cindy that made a comfortable home wherever we lived (or travel), provided an atmosphere that enabled our sons to thrive, gave me the encouragement and support in many dimensions that allowed me to succeed at college and work and, with her discipline and attention to life’s details, she solves many issues small and large that otherwise would be a problem. She makes the travel more enjoyable, dinners more enticing and every day a blessing and a joy. Thankful seems almost an inadequate word.
At one of her preferred places, along side the ocean. This one at the Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Thankful .3 /
I am thankful for friends and delighted that in this restricted year Cindy and I were able to spend some time with a few of our friends both old and new. I think I can add food to this section because often seeing friends also means great times around a table. In a year that limits engagements and travel I have been blessed by good friends and the sharing of a bit life together.
Thankful .2 /
I am eternally grateful for the Church. The Church is an important portal through whom God chooses to make himself known and, so, essential for grace and mercy, for salvation and peace and much more. Often, because of flawed and faulty people, poor theology and misplaced priorities the Church suffers but it also endures, can blossom and is yet in this world a singular force for good, a voice for those genuinely disadvantaged, poor and broken. God’s people provide a place of healing, service and kindness. The Church is simply God’s people gathered or scattered seeking first His Kingdom and referencing first His grace. It is also often represented by a building known by the same name and while occasionally confused for The Church, a building is a neutral thing and a constant reminder driving around of the great numbers of people who profess to believe beyond what they can weigh and measure. And that is good. I am thankful for, enriched by and blessed because of the Church.
Doors of a small church building in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley somewhere!
Thankful /
One of the things I am grateful for is the ability to travel. I simply love going places and seeing, learning about and experiencing new things & different places. Both history and geography have always been fascinations of mine. Perusing maps, looking at images of places, and reading history were part of my life from a very early age. And I still get a thrill from being places where history occurred. Our time living in Williamsburg, Virginia was a constant source of amazement. Touring battlefields, the Wright Brothers’ shop, Edison’s lab, the training center for the Tuskegee Airmen or the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde still is thrilling. No matter how many times I have been, standing on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg is awe inspiring and sobering. Reading a sign in Hot Springs, Arkansas, that talked about baseball’s early stars converging there for informal spring training was amazing. And it was just a sign. Top all of that off with the stunning parks from Alaska to Florida to Maine and Montana. Photography is one of the ways I interact with all of this and the photos bring back clear memories that nothing else does. I am thankful to be able to travel, have the health right now to enjoy it, have a companion that I love and love being with and am never tired of planning the next place. I need to go hitch up the trailer right now, New Mexico is calling!
I am also glad this type of accommodation is no longer the norm. These very early cabins at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park each held two families with a shared sink and toilet in between the two tiny rooms. Cindy and I last stayed in one like this about five years ago near Baxter State Park in Maine. The bed filled the room and the small bathroom was added later on brick pillars. But we were traveling!
Overflowing /
This is a good week to consider, as are the other 51, the many ways we ought to be grateful.
“From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.” John 1:16 NLT
Flame /
Handmade candles in a craft gallery on the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community Trail out of Gatlinburg, TN. There are a lot of potential stops on this 8 mile loop.
Barn Two /
This bucolic scene was not. I took this across four lanes of busy traffic from the parking lot of a restaurant and shooting over a gas station and several buildings along the other side of the road. I really thought I had exactly what I was looking for - and it is close. I loved the tree in the right corner and the reflection it cast on the barn. What I did not love and did not see taking the photo were the power lines that crisscrossed the shot. Still my colorful hill was not too bad and the barn had character with the bonus tree reflection.
I have two variants of this barn as well.
Another impressionist photo simulation this one with a nod to E. Hopper. I really like this.
From the sketch book of Leonardo da Vinci
Barn One (Three Photos) /
I was in prime barn territory last week and was looking for a specific photo. I did not quite find it but I did shoot two that I liked if not exactly what I envisioned. So Barn One today. Yet to add another layer of interest - to me, I did some extra work in Topaz to make then more unique and I was happy with both results. So Barn One has two bonus adjustments at no extra charge for viewing.
This one is found on the Blue Ridge Parkway and in view one it is close to as shot with some opening of the shadows. Tomorrow, Barn Two!
This is an “impressionistic” version that I really like.
This is to represent an older, faded western US photo. Not sure how I feel about this one but definitely is not my favorite.
Torrent /
This is a portion of the lower Crabtree Falls just off the Blue Ridge Parkway on Route 56 East. The trail to the top is 1.8 miles and the reward of both the view and the upper falls are well worth the climb. Crabtree is also a dangerous place if you ignore the signs, over 20 people have died here falling off the slippery rocks. Cindy and I stopped here for a brief walk just after the area recieved over 5 inches of rain.
Great White Egret /
Saw this fellow while I was waiting for pelicans to appear in the bay. They didn’t. But this Great White posed and I took my first bird photo with manual focusing. Not sure if it was more sharp than the auto but I was more sure that what I wanted was sharp and not just some random branch.
Stark /
It was a foggy, misty morning as we traversed the Cades Cove loop road. This tree that appeared out of the mist as we neared caught my eye, and the camera came out.
Refreshing Joy /
“Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.” Philemon 1:7 NLT
Seige /
At this point on the Vicksburg, MS, battlefield in 1863 the Confederate forces held off an attack on the lines by the Union and when the Union troops withdrew with significant casualties Grant allowed a siege to begin a week into the battle on May 25th and it lasted until Vicksburg surrendered on July 4th, the day after Lee withdrew from Gettysburg in defeat. These are the twin events that the successful defense of the Union turned on - two long and bloody years of war had passed and two more to go but the outcome was decided on these two fronts.
"I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road"... /
The side of this business in Hot Springs AK has advertised different things. You can barely see the faint outline of the painted over Coke sign under the 10 cent cigar. Who does not want a ten cent cigar? At at the top you see the inspiration for today’s title “Rooms”
Roger Miller’s song, “King of the Road“ released in 1964 continues to rattle around in my head for reasons that baffle me. I never even had the album. But ask me if I know about “Dang Me” or “England Swings” or “You Can’t roller Skate in a Bufffalo Herd” and sadly, or fondly, I remember.
Here is Roger singing KotR, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk_hPTN50UE.
and a live version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKF-712iz9w
or a combo including: “…Buffalo Herd” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6WjfuxfIiw
Enjoy.
Ramsey Cascades GSMNP (three variants) /
One of my favorite areas of the park is near Tremont. There are several waterfall, nice hiking trails and an easy 2 miles or so of road hikes. And this stunning cascade only about a 15 minute walk from the parking area. It attracts many photographers who perch on the single bench along the road or set up tripods near by. I chose to clamber down from the road about 25 feet to get a different perspective. Not sure what I achieved but I still like the photo. The whole cascade extends a bit more off the edge to the left and quite a bit more on the top. Still the colorful leaves that coat the rocks add a nice dimension to the scene.
I have three different photos here: first one is a compact scene to give a bit of emphasis to the cascade in context, second one is a vertical focused on the water & leafy rocks and the third is a more full view from my uncomfortable spot of the edge of the cliff. Do you have a preference? Why? Comments are open.
Do Not Be Deceived By Appearances! /
No matter how it appears this flag is steel because of the men and women who upheld its values and their willingness to do whatever it takes to keep it strong. Thank you to the veterans of America’s military services: Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force and the new Space Force. Except for the latter I have known and still know fine men and women in all of those branches and appreciate deeply what they mean to this flag —- and what this flag means to them.
