Desert Treasures

I never make a guess at what I might find when out on the desert. We have found all kinds of strange things - lots of beer cans and beer bottles, wine and liqueur bottles, soft drink cans and fast food wrappers are common. We have found lots of tires, chairs, broken TV's, computers, printers, cell phones, clothes, dishes, broken drills and other tools, and anything that you might think of would be in any household trash can. It seems a lot of people would rather dump their trash on the desert instead of paying their trash bill so that the trash company will haul it for them. To me that doesn't make any since at all. We have heard of people that have found nice furniture and other things that they took home and used - a recliner, dresser, kids swing set, and someone found nice curtains in a plastic bag they took, cleaned and used for years. You have to wonder why some things are thrown out. Couldn't they just be donated to the local thrift store? The other day Lee and I were driving down the road and at the same time we pointed and said, "Is that a boat?" we could just barely see it out in the sage brush. We drove out and yes, it was a boat, but to bad it wasn't in condition to take home. It looked as if it had been wreaked. Maybe on a trailer going down a highway and rolled off. We went on farther and there was what had been a nice couch sitting under a juniper tree just waiting for someone to sit on it and enjoy the scenery. The hill behind the tree and couch in the photo hides a pond where cows were drinking. I had a though about how many cows could sit on the couch at once but none came over to try.

Balloons

Tall Boots, Zippers, and Mixte Stays

If you ride a mixte with twin lateral stays and wear tall boots with zippers along the inseams, you may notice that the zippers can rub against the stays as you pedal, which, over time, can damage the paint. This was a big problem on my vintage mixte - whenever I would wear boots like these, the entire length of the zippers would rub. On theRoyal H. this is less of a problem -either the stays must be closer together, or my feet further apart on the pedals. The zippers themselves clear the stays and only thepull tabs hit them occasionally. Still, it won't do to have metal tabs repeatedly hit parts of the frame.



I am going to try covering the pull tabs with black electrical tape or something similar. If that doesn't work, then I guess I just can't wear these boots on the mixte. Unfortunate, because I don't own that many pairs of footwear. My previous pair of tall boots had zippers along the back, but after wearing them out I was not able to find a replacement with the same design. Just a little glitch to be aware of when it comes to mixtes and tall boots!

The Beautiful Old Barn

When we drove by this beautiful old barn, I snapped a few drive by shots. I mentioned to Nathan that it was one of those things that I would love to take 20 pictures of. So he went back. And I took 20 pictures of it.



I really love old barns like this one. They are so classic. They have so many stories to tell. I remembered my own stories of being in barns. I remembered the smell of hay that goes along with being in a barn. I remembered how scratchy that hay feels on bare summer feet and legs. Nice memories go along with barns.





Truth be told, after I took my 20 shots, I then took 23 more.



I could have easily taken 43 more.



Living the life in sunny Florida.



A PS to this post. My MIL recently sent some beautiful pictures like these and told us that my FIL had wanted to take pictures of old building and make a book with them. She said perhaps I could pick up that project. I think it's very likely that I will do just that!

Spring Flow, Glen Avon Falls

Yesterday I went down the shore to photograph some of the rivers at their spring flow. The rivers have really opened up over the weekend and boy was it ever cool to see them flowing at such high capacity. There was water everywhere along Highway 61 as I drove south. The ditches were full of water and temporary waterfalls were everywhere along the highway rock cuts. The rivers were bursting at their seams with water. Some of the larger rivers still had chunks of ice that were floating downstream. The photo you see here is of a waterfall on the Beaver River. It is a location that I visited for the first time last year, but I was there when the water was low. At that time I thought it would be cool to come back when the water was high, and I was right! This spot was amazing, I love how it doesn't even really look like a river, it looks like the water is just running straight down through the forest. It was 71 degrees here when I made this shot, and just a few miles away where the river empties into Lake Superior, the temperature was only 43 degrees! I guess spring and "cooler by the lake" is now officially here :-)

Update from Salt Lake City :: Week Two

In the “early years” of on-site research (back in the 1980s) I usually just abstracted deeds and estate records. Very seldom did I get copies of an entire estate file. The few copies that I did make back then have faded over the years and many of them are no longer legible. In addition, there are estate and other records that I “know” are there – from information obtained from published indexes or other researchers. So, I've been concentrating on obtaining digital copies of those records as well.



It's not super exciting or anything but it's nice to know that I'll be filling in some of the blanks – at least as far as some records are concerned - those that are available here at the Family History Library! As a result of that strategy (gathering records, so to speak), there still haven't been any big breakthroughs although I have found some rather interesting things – some that have generated additional questions, as so often happens.



So far I've scanned deed records for 15 ancestors as well as the complete estate files for the following ancestors, amounting to several hundred pages:

• James Ball 1830, Owen County, Kentucky


• John D. Berlin, 1879, Elkhart County, Indiana


• Susan Berlin, 1880, Elkhart County, Indiana


• Henry Bray, 1798, Nelson County, Kentucky


• Christian Schuder (Sr), 1842, Montgomery County, Ohio


• Casper Stiver (Casper Stoever III), 1821, Montgomery County, Ohio


• Eli Yarian, 1895, Elkhart County, Indiana

As Randy Seaver says, these will provide plenty of “blog fodder” in the future!





Receipt slip signed by my 2nd great-grandparents Lovina Yarian and Eli Yarian.Elkhart County, Indiana Estate file D25. Microfilm No. 1711412.Estate of John D. and Susan Berlin.Susan died before John's estate was settled and her estate was combined with his.

Bikes, Cameras, (in)Action

As some of you've noticed that my posts have been impersonal lately, I will come clean: My talent for injury has triumphed once again. A few days after arriving in Vienna, I had a silly experience that resulted in a dislocated shoulderblade and injured ribs. The thing about injuries like this, is that nothing can be done about them; you just keep living your life until everything heals - while taking painkillers and anti-inflamatories. For the first week after it happened, I could not move my right arm above the elbow and I couldn't lean forward with the right side of my body. Now I can, but the pain is still there - especially after long days at work. Hopefully by next week I will be all mended and bike-ready.



To ease this pathetic state, I gifted myself a "new" camera (a Rolleicord Ia circa 1941, if that means anything to you). That's the one hanging around my neck with the twin lenses. The one in my hands is a Lumix 3 digital point-and-shoot. And yes, those are bicycles behind me. Ironic, isn't it? I have two bicycles at my disposal... once I have healed enough to ride them, which hopefully will be soon.



[image from Cycling is Good for You]

In other news, I will be getting together with Anna from Cycling Is Good for You once again tomorrow, to have a look at her new Retrovelo Paula - stay tuned!

Sackville Trunksack: How Fitting for a Rear Rack!

I have talked ad nauseum about my Carradice Barley bag, and so I thought it was time to review my other bag, the Sackville Trunksack. As far as I know, it is available exclusively from Rivendell, and you can read their product description here.

The Sackville Trunksack is a handsome box-shaped bag, in a dark-olive waterproof canvas with golden-brown leather trim and brass hardware. The large size is designed for the rear rack. It fits Pletscher-style racks perfectly, neither leaving portions of the rack uncovered, nor overhanging from any part of the rack. It looks great on many different types of bicycles, including the Motobecane mixte above and the Raleigh Lady's Sport on the first photo.

Here are some views of the bag. The zipper closure with two separate zippers is very convenient, as it allows you to open and close the bag from any side while remaining seated on the bicycle.

The leather flaps hide the zippers from view and prevent rain from entering.

3/4 view. The colour of the leather flap is an exact match for Brooks "honey" (pictured ont he 1st photo of the Raleigh here) and a shade lighter than the Brooks "brown" (above). The reflective strip is an extra benefit.

Rear view. The leather strap in the back is positioned perfectly for mounting a light, providing a great solution for rear lighting (if you recall, this was my only criticism of the Carradice Barley).

Close-up of the light attachment. Very secure; no wobbling or slanting even during very bumpy rides.

The complete lack of wobble is one of the biggest benefits of the Sackville Trunksack. This is achieved by the tight and precise attachment system: leather straps with snap closure.

The brass hardware is rather attractive.

Inside, the Trunksack is like a large box or chest: There are no compartments. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good in the sense that you need only to open it once, and all of your stuff is immediately accessible. And it is bad in the sense that, especially if you are messy, your things will soon become jumbled due to the lack of compartments. For me, the benefits of the ease of access outweigh the drawbacks of the lack of compartments - but this is a personal preference.

My one complaint about the Sackville Trunksack, is that it has no structural support and therefore does not retain its form unless it is full. You can see that almost all the photos show various degrees of sagging. We are trying to make a support for it either out of wire or plexiglass, but it is not yet complete. In the meantime, I try to keep it maximally filled.

To sum up what I love about the Sackville Trunksack:
. It fits my rear rack perfectly, securely and free of wobble
. The box shape and the colour scheme are aesthetically appealing
. It is very roomy
. The single zip closure provides easy access
. It is waterproof
. The rear light attachment is excellently designed

And what could use improvement, is the sagging issue.

Edited to add: As of April , I no longer own this bag - having traded it to a fellow collector for another bicycle-related item. I liked the bag, but ultimately prefer Carradice-style saddlebags.

Finishing What You Started

"The hardest part of this for beginners is usually the cleanup," Mike said at the start. "It's a lot of filing. That's what breaks people."




"Oh," I said. "Well, that shouldn't be a problem. I've done filing."




Going into this, I was worried about many things. The measuring, the cutting, the alignment, the brazing. But filing I could handle. I thought back to my days of intaglio printmaking (etching on metal plates). The person who taught me insisted that everything had to be done from scratch and manually - from cutting sheets of metal to preparing the plates. The latter involved beveling the edges at just the right angle, then endlessly filing, sanding and buffing them until the bevels were perfectly even and smooth, polished to a mirror finish. His insistence on this level of prep work had more than a few students in tears before we even touched ink or got anywhere near the press. But for some reason I stuck with it, eventually got the hang of it, and continued to use this method after I began to work independently. It just didn't feel right to do it any other way. Now whenever I see an etching, I can't help but look at the edges in search for file marks. All of this is to say, the prospect of filing for hours did not frighten me.






So how do I explain what happened a week ago? I don't want to exaggerate it into some dramatic melt down, but it was certainly a low point. A very long day, throughout the course of which I grew increasingly quieter and less bouncy than I had been up to that point. This was supposed to be the last day. So maybe it was the discrepancy between having believed I was almost done, and discovering more and more little things needing to be finished. All these little things added up, and taken together amounted to a lot of work. Bridges, bottle cage mounts, eyelets, braze-ons for cable routing.I had been awake since 5:30am. By 5:30pm, I was so tired that I had a hard time focusing. By the time we mocked the whole thing up to make sure the wheels, tires, rack and brakes all worked together,I was no longer fully present. At this stage we decided that the frame was finished - "good enough." But the feeling of satisfaction or at least catharsis that I had expected at the end did not come.




At home later that evening I did nothing and thought of nothing, feeling utterly dejected. It wasn't until the following day that I could even get myself to look at my pictures of the finished frame. And then I finally felt something: panic. "Good Lord, how could I leave it like this? This is notfinished!" I could see smears of brass and silver. If I zoomed in closely enough, I could make out uneven surfaces. I had filed away at these areas, but apparently not enough. Mike had been right: like most first timers, I had flaked out on the cleanup. With horror, I imagined him powdercoating the frame as it was, uneven shorelines and all. Or, worse yet, putting the finishing touches on it himself, whilst chuckling "I knew the finishing would get her!" So I phoned him, trying to stay calm. He had not powdercoated the frame yet. And yes, fine, I could come over to continue working on cleanup. This put me in a fine mood.I showed up bright and early on a Friday morning full of energy.



Somehow I maintained that energy for an entire day of using nothing but some files and emory cloth strips. All I did from 9:30am until 5:30pm, with a break for lunch, was file and sand, and it was tremendously satisfying. I guess having reached that low point my previous time at the shop, there was nowhere to go but up.




Mike had to go out for much of the day, and I was mostly on my own working on this. Not being able to seek feedback (Does this part look even? Did I file too much in this spot?) added a new layer of excitement to the process. When he returned, I think he was pretty amused by how cheerful I was after being at this for hours.






One of the trickiest parts to clean up was the area around the Grand Bois fork crown. Those curly-cues make it difficult to get the file into that little space and chisel away at the extra filler material without gouging the crown or blades in the process. It took me longer to get it to this state from this state, than it did to do the initial post-brazing cleanup. The trick is to dig into the shoreline build-up with the tip of a file, then angle the file just so to lightly and gingerly clean up the rest.






But the most challenging part of all was the seat cluster. My beautiful seat cluster! We made the seat stay caps from scratch to look exactly the way I wanted; it was the coolest thing ever. But during brazing I got a bunch of silver all over the caps, and was now terrified that in cleaning them up I would ruin their perfect concave surfaces. So ever so lightly, I dug into the tiny bulges with the tip of a file, using the most delicate micro-movements I was capable of to remove the filler material but not the steel underneath, then polished with an emory cloth until I got the stuff off. This took a while!




And so it went.The pictures here show the frame close to the point where I stopped, but not quite there.I didn't have the energy for pictures by the time I was done.






If you are wondering about the uneven looking surface from the sanding marks, they disappear after the frame gets sandblasted. The headlugs started out looking like this after brazing, then this, and eventually ended up as you see them above.




Don't get me wrong: The finishing on my frame still isn't "good" by real builders' standards. In fact I would not mind continuing to work on it, but unfortunately we are out of time. But at least now I can live with the state I left it in. And no matter how the bike turns out, I got the feeling of catharsis and closure I wanted out of the process. I learned how to build a bicycle frame (and fork!), from start to finish.

Arizona Sunset

I hesitated to post two sunset pictures in a row, but you take what Mother Nature gives you – the good along with the bad...







Benson, Arizona. Sunday, January 8th ...

The Dunfee Family :: George and Nancy

This is the second installment on the children of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee.



George Dunfee was presumed to be a son of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee due to the fact that he resided in the same area of Dekalb County, Indiana as Sophia (Dunfee) McNabb who was known to be a daughter of James and Sophia. Additional information has been found confirming that he is indeed their son. George could have been named after his (presumed) grandfather, George Dunfee (see The Hazlett-Dunfee Connection :: On to Pennsylvania).



Cemetery transcriptions posted on the Dekalb County GenWeb site show that George Dunfee is buried in Corunna Cemetery in Fairfield Township and that he died November 3, 1871 at the age of 56 years 11 months and 12 days, which puts his date of birth at November 22, 1814. The 1850 and 1860 census records for Dekalb County, Indiana show that he was born in Pennsylvania while the 1870 census shows he was born in Ohio. It is highly likely that he was born in Pennsylvania. His age in those census records was 34, 45, and 55, respectively, which is in the right time frame for a late 1814 birth.



Since the two oldest children of George Dunfee were born in Ohio, is seems most likely that he was married in Ohio. However, I have not yet found a record of his marriage to “Nancy” who is listed in census records (1850-1870) as his wife. In the FamilySearch database of Ohio County Marriages I did find a George B. Dunfee who married Nancy Tipton on April 22, 1837 in Athens County, Ohio. However, the location did not seem to fit in with what was known of the Dunfee family. A search of Ohio Death Records, also on FamilySearch, came up with two records of children of George B. Dunfee that showed that he was born in New Jersey. So he is not the George Dunfee in Dekalb County, Indiana.



A possible clue to Nancy's maiden name came from another FamilySearch database (Indiana Marriages, 1811-1859) with the September 29, 1887 marriage record of their son, David Dunfee in Dekalb County. This record (referencing image 00161 on film 4476455) gives his mother's maiden name as “McKnobb” and his father as Geo. Dunfee. It also states that David was born in Ashland County, Ohio. It is possible that Nancy is related in some way to David McNabb who married Sophia Dunfee. I haven't done the research but McKnobb and McNabb are very close in pronunciation.



In my search for the marriage record of George Dunfee, I did find a more positive, though still indirect, link for George Dunfee to James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee.... Shown below in the marriage record for Sophia Dunfee and David McNabb! How cool is that?





Reference Number 208, page 46, FamilySearch image 532 and film number 388736. Richland County, Ohio Marriage Records.

No. 208 David McNabb to Sophia Dunfee

I David McNabb being duly sworn upon and say that I am over the age of 21 years and unmarried at this time. Also George Dunfee being duly sworn depose and say that I am the Brother of Sophia Dunfee and know her to be over the age of eighteen years and unmarried at this time.



Sworn to & Subscribed before me this 25th day of Oct. 1842.

B. Burns Dept Clk.

Signed by George Dunfee and David McNabb.

The other record that provides a link between George and the family of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee is a land record dated February 21, 1848 in which Jonathan S. Dunfee of the county of Holmes, State of Ohio, sold 160 acres of land in Dekalb county, Indiana to George Dunfee of the county of Ashland, State of Ohio for $600. (NW ¼ S24 T35 R12) recorded in Dekalb County, Indiana Deed Book E page 38. This land is in the same section as that purchased by David and Sophia Dunfee McNabb in April 1855. Jonathan S. Dunfee is known to be a son of James and Sophia (Hazlett) Dunfee.



In the 1850 census of Fairfield Township, Dekalb County, Indiana (page 466), George Dunfee is a 34 year old farmer who was born in Pennsylvania. He has real estate valued at $800. Listed with him was Nancy, age 33, born in Pennsylvania; John, age 9, and David, age 1, both born in Ohio.



George Dunphey resided in Fairfield Township, Dekalb County, Indiana (page 29) in 1860. He was 45 years old and born in Pennsylvania. He was a farmer with real estate valued at $600 and a personal estate of $300. In his household were Nancy, age 44, born in Pennsylvania; David, age 11 and James, 10, both born in Ohio, William, age 6, and Almira, age 2, both born in Indiana.



1870 finds the family still in Dekalb County but now residing in Richland Township (page 346). George Dunfee is 55 and born in Ohio. He is a farmer with real estate valued at $8000 and a personal estate valued at $670. Residing with him were Nancy, age 52, born in Pennsylvania; James, 19, born in Ohio; and William, age 15, born in Indiana.



George Dunfee passed away on November 3, 1871. He is buried in Corunna Cemetery, Fairfield Township, Dekalb County, Indiana along with two of his children, Almira and John.



George and Nancy (McKnobb /McNabb ?) Dunfee were the parents of five known children. There is a nine year gap between the first and second child so it is highly likely that there may have been other children that, perhaps, died before the family came to Indiana.

• John Dunfee. Cemetery transcriptions show that John died Sept. 23, 1855, age 15y, 1m, 15d - son of G. & N. He is buried in Corunna Cemetery, Dekalb County, Indiana. His date of birth calculates to August 8, 1840.

• David M. Dunfee was born about 1849 in Ashland County, Ohio. He married Clara Currant on July 15, 1873 in Dekalb County, Indiana. By 1880 they were divorced and David was living with his brother James and his wife Sarah in Richland township. On September 29, 1887 David was married to Mary E Tod in Dekalb County. (This is the record that gives his fathers name as Geo. Dunfee and his mother as McKnobb.) I have not found David in census records after 1880. However, the Indiana Marriages database on FamilySearch includes records for two of his children, which gives their parents as David Dunfee and Clara Current . If their place of birth is correct, it means that David moved around a bit. There could also be other children.

1. George Clifford Dunfee born December 16, 1875 in Monticello, Indiana (White County). He was married to Sarah (Hudson) McDaniel on October 5, 1923 in Warren County, Indiana.


2. Lillian Claude Dunfee born 1877 in Michigan. She married Raleigh Muir on August 22, 1898 in Marion, Indiana. For whatever reason, it was apparently a marriage of short duration! On May 1, 1899 Lillian C. Muir was married to Martin Kiplinger in White County, Indiana.

• James E. Dunfee was born about 1850/51 in either Ohio or Indiana. He was married on July 3, 1870 in Dekalb County, Indiana to Sarah J. Finch. The 1880 census for Richland Township shows that he had two children: a daughter, Mickey, born about 1872 and a son, John W. born about 1878. Both children were born in Indiana. James and Sarah may have had other children. I have not found them in 1900 or later census records.

• William C. Dunfee was born about 1854 in Indiana. On January 23, 1872 William Dunfee was listed as a minor heir of Geo. Dunfee who “died intestate more than 15 days prior to this time.” Nancy Dunfee was appointed guardian of William. (Dekalb County, Indiana Probate Order Book "C" page 321.) On October 2, 1875 he was declared of full age (Probate Order Book D). A deed record, dated December 5, 1878 provides the name of William's wife. It shows that Nancy Dunfee and William C. Dunfee and Saphronia Dunfee, his wife, all of Dekalb County sold land to Robert Shippy for $3050. (Dekalb County Deed Book DD page 550.) The 1870 census is the last census record I've found for William and I have not found his marriage record.

• Almira Dunfee. Cemetery transcriptions show that Allmira died March 3, 1864, age 6y, 1m, 19d - daughter of G. & N. She is buried in Corunna Cemetery, Dekalb County, Indiana. Her date of birth calculates to January 12, 1858.

In reviewing notes from the early days (1980s) of my “research” I discovered that my deed abstracts were done rather poorly. In some cases I didn't record as much information as I should have. Also, I don't have the records for when George purchased this land. That will, hopefully, be remedied on my next excursion to the Family History Library in February. The following deed records are from Dekalb County, Indiana.

• January 27, 1872 David M. Dunfee released and Quit claim to James E. Dunfee and Sarah J. Dunfee, his wife for $1,000 the E ½ SE ¼ S5 T34 R12 (vol. W p85)

• May 13, 1873 Nancy Dunfee sold to David M. Dunfee for $500 the W ½ SE ¼ S5 T34 R12 (vol. W p444)

• June 29, 1876 Nancy Dunfee sold to James E. Dunfee for $1000 E ½ SE ¼ S5 T34 R12. (vol. BB p531)

• February 2, 1877 David M. Dunfee and Clara Dunfee, his wife, sold to Lafayette J. Miller the W ½ SE ¼ S5 T34 R12 for $1400 (vol. CC p110)

• February 6, 1877 Nancy Dunfee sold to William C. Dunfee W ½ SE ¼ S6 T34 R12 for $800 (vol CC p114)

• December 5, 1878 William C. Dunfee and Saphronia Dunfee, his wife, and Nancy Dunfee of Dekalb County sold land to Robert Shippy for $3050. (Deed Book DD page 550)

• March 21, 1883 James E. Dunfee and Sarah Ann Dunfee, his wife, and Nancy Dunfee sold land to Lafayette J. Miller for $4000 (Deed Book JJ page 104)

I have not found Nancy, widow of George Dunfee, or their son William in the 1880 census records for Dekalb County. Their sons David M. and James E. were not found in Dekalb County census records after 1880.



If anyone has information on the George Dunfee family, I'd appreciate hearing from you! Leave a comment below or send me an email at kinexxions “at” gmail “dot” com.



See Dunfee Family :: Index to Posts for more information on the Dunfee family.

Oh! Canada...

This post is being brought to you from the Tourist Information Center in Grande Cache, Alberta, Canada! (Refer to the Map to see where that is... north of Route 16, about halfway to Grande Prairie on the road not shown.) I'm now into my third full day in this beautiful country and have managed to travel a little over 500 miles. It is a gorgeous day. Sunshine and blue skies, though a bit hazy but with no clouds.

When I arrived at the Roosville Port of Entry (north of Kalispell, Montana on US 93) at 4:20 pm on July 28th, there were a dozen vehicles and two motorcycles in line ahead of me. Fortunately the wait wasn't long. Fifteen minutes and a few questions later I was in British Columbia, Canada. The questions? Was I carrying: any firearms, anything I was going to leave behind in Canada, currency of any type valued at more than $10,000 Canadian, any alcoholic beverages? He also asked where I was going and what route I was taking to get there – it's a good thing I finally got around to figuring that out before I crossed the border!

According to the map I have, there were several Provincial Campgrounds within the first hundred miles. I stopped at the first one, called Kikomun Creek, about 20 miles from the border. It looked to be more like a resort since many of the RVs had decks or patios alongside them. I was quite relieved when the nice lady camp host said she had a spot for me. It was a nice place with friendly people. The sun was shining and it was in the upper 80s but there was a nice breeze and my camp site was in the shade. Ya can't ask for anything better!

It started raining just after sunset along with some thunder and lightening and then it rained most of the night, but I didn't care since I wasn't out in it! However, there were scattered showers along the 200+ miles I drove on Thursday. Cloudy skies with intermittent rain and a bit of sunshine. The scenery more than made up for the weather!

Upon entering Kootenay National Park at Radium Hot Springs, the sun was shining once again. This view of the Kootenay Valley is about half-way through the park. (Please, double-click on the images to view a larger version.)

This is half of Two Jack Lake, near Banff, taken between rain showers. I think it is the west half but my sense of direction got totally confused with the drive up there! At Two Jack Lake there is a lakeside campground and then there is the other one. The former was full but there was plenty of sites available at the other one, which is where I spent my second night in Canada.

Shortly after leaving Kikomun Creek Campground I saw a moose with her calf crossing the highway. There were a lot of deer grazing alongside the road. In Kootenay Park there were a group of about a dozen mountain goats, several quite small, near one of the pullouts on the other side of the road.

The drive through Banff and Jasper National Parks was amazing. I'll have some more pictures later (very slow internet connection) but they aren't all that great since the weather wasn't cooperating. It was cloudy and overcast most of the two days I spent there.

Photographs taken on July 29, ...

Past its Prime

Saw this Old School at the intersection of U.S. 160 and 1300 Road, in western Montgomery County, Kansas as I was zipping by at 70 mph. Just had to turn around and go back to take some pictures. There were large rolled "bales" of straw along the fenceline near the road, fencing all around, and a locked gate so I couldn't get too close. Love that 15x zoom on the new camera for "close up" shots! © .. Rebeckah R. Wiseman. Photos taken November 26th.

Camp Patriot

The LA Times interviewed Incident Commander, David Gottlieb, regarding the most recent tragedy on the Muir Snowfield. The details are heart wrenching.

On a much more positive note, wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are aiming for Rainier's summit. Backpacker Magazine did a story (Shock and Awe) about last year's achievement. That extraordinary effort put a blinded Army Captain on the summit. Look for the team from Camp Patriot on the Disappointment Cleaver later this July.

Speaking of routes, folks are climbing them. We've updated the route conditions page, and posted information about successful attempts on the Emmons and Gibraltar Ledges. Have a great weekend.

A Visit to Moultrie Creek

As I waited in the dark parking lot I wondered if we would get along, if we would like each other, if we would have anything to talk about... I shouldn't have been the least bit anxious though. When Denise stepped out of her car to greet me with a hug and a big smile it was like being reunited with an old friend rather than meeting someone for the first time. In a way we had come to know each other, through our blogs (she at Moultrie Creek and Family Matters), but now we have actually met, face-to-face, and I'm delighted and honored to say that we are truly friends.

It was Friday evening (December 11th) when I met Denise and her husband for supper. It's hard to believe it was 10 days ago. Good golly, how the time does fly!

Saturday morning (12/12) Denise and I attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Cemetery in St. Augustine. It was impressive, especially with the Florida Patriot Guard Riders in attendance. It had been raining all morning but as the ceremony was about to begin the skies opened up and it just poured. Denise had loaned me her umbrella since she had worn a jacket with a hood and the sound of the rain on the umbrella pretty much drowned out the voices of the speakers.

After the official ceremony was over, Denise and I were honored to lay a wreath at the grave of Emily Kennedy – the only female veteran buried in that cemetery. Emily served in the Army Nurse Corp from 1905-1907 and in the Navy 1909-1912. She also enlisted in 1917 the Army Nurse Corp, when in her 30s, serving during WWI. On facebook, Denise linked to the online article but here's the link for those who missed it or don't “do” facebook...

Since it was raining, we just “hung out” at Denise's place Saturday afternoon. Talking. Army, Navy, National Guard, Travel. Family. With a little bit of internet, checking email and reading blogs. But mostly talking. After a supper of Denise's own chili and rice, which was quite good, I departed for the night (I stayed at Anastasia State Park).

Sunday morning saw warmer weather and sunshine! And that meant sightseeing in St. Augustine and the Historic District. Denise was the best tour guide, ever. Very knowledgeable about the history of the area, the buildings, and the various ethnic groups who have lived in St. Augustine. It was, quite simply, delightful. It was a beautiful day, weather and otherwise.

We got together again for a “farewell” supper Tuesday evening at the neighborhood Mexican restaurant, about two blocks from Denise's house. I certainly enjoyed the time I spent at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine but the time I spent with Denise and her husband was enjoyable as well, but moreso. Their friendliness and hospitality was greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Denise Olson and Becky Wiseman - December 15, ..

Moonrise Magic

If you've never stayed up and watched a moonrise in the middle of the night, you need to do it sometime. Put it at the top of your list! When its dark out and the moon comes up, it is soooo orange, you won't believe your eyes. Couple that warm light with calm waters and some nice clouds and you're in for a treat you won't soon forget!



My friend Roger was up for another visit, and we were getting in some more night-time shooting experience with our cameras. We waited for the moonrise on both friday and saturday nights. Both nights were equally spectacular. We made exposures anywhere from 30 seconds to half an hour in length. The clouds made for some very special images for the both of us. These two nights were some of the most fun that I've had shooting the moonrise.

Off to the French Alps

We are leaving in a few hours. We will be going to the same ski area we went to last year but will be staying in a different village. Dutchman and I loved the slopes here because they are a kilometre wide!







This is the ski village. Just look at how wide the slopes here are.



We have visited this village last year, Dutchman several times, while I, I think twice in the afternoon. It was a rather quick visit as it is located at the other side of the mountain range where we were staying. The ski lifts connecting both mountain villages closes at 4PM sharp, so we were always in a hurry.



Nevertheless, I will be blogging during the holidays, internet connection permitting.



On other news, this weekend the whole Netherlands will be ice skating on the frozen lakes. Here is a Volkskrant article (Dutch) about the ice skating tours this weekend all over the country starting today Friday: Schaatstochten trekken 50.000 recreaten(Ice skating tours attracts 50,000 holidaymakers)



See you in the French Alps!

The Snow is Melting...Already!

One thing that fascinated me when we lived in Virginia was how quickly snow melts here.



I lived much of my life in Michigan and snows melts at the end of spring. If it is a warm year.



Otherwise, snow falls on the ground. More snow falls on the ground on top of that snow and the cycle continues all winter long. At some point the ground is covered with dirty snow. Not real appealing at all to look at and it gets slick to walk on.



Here it stays nice and clean until it melts and then it is just a memory. I can handle snow like that! It will probably be all melted by tomorrow at this rate!



Living the life in fickle VA!