Ursus arctos horribilis /  by Dave Hileman

This is the first bear we spotted in Denali National Park. He was spotted from the bus at about 40 feet. I posted a shot of him a long time ago but I like the processing on this one much more. Besides, who can get enough bear? Plus you get a little Latin lesson. The educational value of this blog is unsurpassed.

Peek /  by Dave Hileman

I am woking on some older photos that have been neglected or in some cases very poorly processed and I came across this Willow Ptarmigan from the Wonder Lake area of Denali. Most of the Ptamigans we saw were on the road or in the open tundra, but this guy was a bit shy. I really like the startled look the eye ring gives to this most colorful bird.

Tree Tunnel /  by Dave Hileman

The is a portion of the Jessup Path in Acadia National Park. It is a neat area of marsh and transition trees. The birches are dying because the larger hardwoods are growing and blocking out the sun. This is natural. The area was burnt in a significant fire years ago and the birches grew quickly and now that the hardwoods have reached a more mature size the birches are losing out to them. The result for now is a neat landscape of white trunks and - in the fall - of a colorful canopy. Here the boardwalk is nearly a mile long and pretty straight. You can see, maybe, a group of people approaching deep in the trees on the boardwalk.

Meadowlark Primer /  by Dave Hileman

This is a Western Meadowlark. The songs of the Eastern and Western are distinctive and both are melodic- but the visual differences are subtile. The yellow in the Western extends past the beak toward the eye. This Western was photographed in the Badlands National Park.

Jordan Pond /  by Dave Hileman

This is a shot at Jordan Pond but not from the usual place at the end of the lake but at an inlet about 1/2 mile east of the Jordan Pond House. It gives a different perspective on the two Bubbles, South and North.

Going Fishin /  by Dave Hileman

At Lake Mary in the Ricketts’s Glen State Park. The sun was 20/30 minutes from setting and the rain cleared and the sun set the beautiful fall leaves on fire. Simply breathtaking.

Rapids Below /  by Dave Hileman

The rafters could be heard as they coursed through the rapids even from 1400 feet about the river. We were almost to the point that was the goal of this hike when I stopped and waited for these two rafts to go through this stretch of the river. The first raft is into calm water the second is just exiting the turbulent water but past the class 3 and 4 rapids.

Calm /  by Dave Hileman

I thought this image was very interesting. The dark aspects are a reflection of a tree overhanging the river and the leaves are simply some that fell into the river and ended up over the shadows. So the colorful leaves float on the surface and the dark ones just are on the surface but seem deeper. Simple but neat.

Just a Spot Along the Road /  by Dave Hileman

Driving in northern New Hampshire I was looking for some of the ferns that were not green or dead but the rich gold they turn briefly. Most fields were brown or some brown and a scattering of gold. Then I spied this tiny patch along the road with the bonus trees in the background. There were light poles and wires and road and some signs so the focus was a narrow slice of countryside.

The Fall 2021 Trip Recap /  by Dave Hileman

12 new NPS units, now at 305

8 NPS parks re-visited

15 State Parks, all of them new - the standout was Rickett’s Glen in Pennsylvania

We have now completed all the national parks in 25 states - visits and photographs - 25 states, 4 territories and DC still having remaining units to visit

We were gone 71 days across 16 states traveling 10,752 miles. Our Oliver has now been towed a total of 87,500 miles in 5.5 years (total trip mileage is greater). It is holding up very well. Our new batteries allowed us to stay many more nights more comfortably while not connected to power. Coffee with one button pressed in the morning was delightful. We had one repair this trip - a design flaw in the furnace caught up to us. It was repaired and redone by an expert at South Hero, Vermont. 

We stayed in 5 NP/COE sites, 11 state or municipal parks, 16 Harvest Host/ Boondocker sites, 9 commercial sites and 3 misc sites. Our largest expense, gasoline, was nearly double for this trip over the fall trip in 2020. 

We enjoyed seeing friends from Williamsburg and Florida while in Maine. We met another Johnson graduate and his wife (he worked with Cindy in the JU kitchen) in Michigan and stayed in their church yard. I reconnected with two high school friends, one living in NY and one in Springdale, PA. We visited with Cindy’s niece, Judy, in WV and our grandson at Appalachian State U. We met interesting people from China, Saudi, Ireland, Japan and many places across the US. 

What is next? We make plans as if we will keep moving forward on the parks list but that is always dependent on health, finances, and what God unfolds for our lives. Our next plan is a winter trip to Texas (13 parks), NM (12 parks), and AZ (9 parks) with a route home to complete MO (2), OK (2) AR (1) and KY (1). I would like to get to DC when some “hard to see” parks are open and pick up the four in MD we need. 

And figure out what havoc the Moose will caue. That’s the most unpredictable part!

One of about a dozen covered bridges we visited.