I think that I shall never see...

This morning I had some errands to run in Columbia City. Afterwards, it being such a nice day, I didn't feel like going home - so I went to visit Grandma Jones as well as Grandma and Grandpa Dunfee. Elizabeth Helms Jones is my 4th great grandmother. She died in 1883 and is buried in the Masonic Section of Greenhill Cemetery in Columbia City. Not far from her grave is that of her daughter and son-in-law, Catherine and William H. Dunfee, my 3rd great grandparents. Catherine died in 1903 and William in 1888.

I love going to cemeteries, especially when no one else is around. They are among the most peaceful places on earth. Greenhill is a large cemetery and is usually busy with visitors. But today I was lucky, there wasn't another living soul around.

The graves of Catherine and William lie in the shadows of two large conifer trees. The trees are dying, but they are still magnificent. This first picture was taken in October .. and shows the convoluted branches of the larger tree. As you can see it was very much alive, still green. The rest of these pictures were taken today between 2 and 3 p.m. The larger tree no longer has any green needles left. The smaller, taller, straighter tree still has quite a bit of green showing. Please, click on the images to view a larger version. . .





And yes, I know this picture is weird, but I like it! Even if it does make me look bigger than I am. LOL.
Of course, I can't end this without including the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer.
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
From Toucan Radio I learned that Joyce Kilmer was born in 1886, and lived most of his short life in New Jersey. He was killed in 1918 in France, in the second battle of the Marne. Before he enlisted in the army, he was on staff at the New York Times, and as a Catholic convert, wrote religious inspired poetry. He wrote Trees in 1913.

Blue Dawn, Sunset on Magnet Island

Roger (www.rogernordstromphoto.com) was up again this weekend for some more shooting. I first met Roger last October when he contacted me asking if I would be willing to take him down to the Spirit Tree to shoot a sunrise. We did just that, but the morning that we went there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Ever since then Roger has been wanting to get back to the tree for another sunrise, hopefully with clouds this time. Well, we went down to the tree this morning and this time we had some beautiful clouds!





We arrived well before sunrise so we could make plenty of images in the low light before the sun broke the horizon. My favorite image of the morning is the one at the beginning of this entry, which I call "Blue Dawn". This image is a 90 second exposure, and the streaks in the sky are from clouds that were being pushed across the sky rather quickly by the wind.





After shooting the sunrise I had to go to work for the day, but Roger and I made plans to meet up again after work. I told him if the lake was calm that evening, we would head out to the Susie Islands to shoot the sunset. As luck would have it, the lake was nice and calm that evening so we loaded our gear into the boat and I headed for Magnet Island, which is probably my favorite place in Grand Portage to shoot the sunset. This was Roger's first trip to the Susie Islands, and after our evening of shooting he said "I decided that anytime you want to head out to Magnet Island, I'm game!" I guess that means he liked it :-)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is only about an hour from Almont so we stop over for a night before reporting to duty.





We find a nice campsite.






There are maybe only a half dozen campers in the park.






We were walking the loop to the pay stationand Gary heard a rustle in the shrubs next to us, turns out there were a couple of deer in them. Tucson wanted to play - but they seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere.






We got settled in and decided to do the East Portal Drive down the Canyon to the Gorge and the Gunnison River. Oh boy! Extreme 18 percent grades andsharp curves- haven't seen that in awhile - Gary might forget how to drive on a straight road!











Run Squirrel Run!





We make it to the bottom and the river.The narrowest section of the canyon at the river is 40 ft.







TheGunnison Diversion Dam is on one end.





Here is a model depicting the East Portal Road into the Gorge.





The Rim Rock trail went out of the campground and goes along the ridge of the Canyon to the Visitor's Center.







The Canyonwas never seen by Spanish Explorers, Capt. John Gunnison bypassed the gorge in his search for a river crossing. The first written record was by the Hayen Expedition of 1873-1874 they deemed it inaccessible. In the 1900's people settled in the Uncompahgre Valley wanted river water for irrigation. In 1901 Abraham Lincoln Fellows and William Torrence floated 33 miles on a rubber mattress in 9 days and decided an irrigation tunnel was possible. The 5.8 mile Gunnison Diversion Tunnel began in 1905 was completed in 1909 and still provides river water for irrigation.






Like the Grand Canyon, you can get right to the edge.





Boy Dad, it's a long way down!






It got the name black because its so deep and narrow that very little sunlight can penetrate it.









Some of the Canyon reminds me of the Grand Canyon but this was formed in a completely different manner. The Grand Canyon is soft river-carved rock sculpted by erosion. Black Canyon is hard rock uplifted then cut through by fast moving water. Up until the Gunnison River was damned up, it was carving the canyon at a rate of 1 inch every 100 years, or the width of a hair per year.








It never ceases to amaze me how a tree can grow just about anywhere.






The South Rim scenic road runs 7 miles and has 12 overlooks. The trails to the overlooks vary from a few hundred feet to 1/2 mile. We probably put in a good 6 or 7 miles this day.










The river drops and average of 96 feet / mile in the park. It drops 480 feet in one 2 mile stretch. In 48 miles it loses more elevation than the Mississippi River does in over 1500 miles from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.





The landscape up top is mostlypinyon pine, juniper and scrub oak.






The Painted Wall is the tallest vertical wall in the state of Colorado with a height of 2,250 ft. The deepest section of the Canyon is 2,722 ft. This look-out point is called Dragon View.






At the end of the Scenic drive is the Warner Point trail. Aspectacular view of farmland with snow covered mountain peaks in the background.






You don't see me!





Felt like we were on top of the world!






We'll definitely be back over the summer to do the north rim.




Till Later!




Meanwhile, we keep on Trek'n




Melissa, Gary & Tucson

OBX From My Window

It's been a bit since I took pictures while we are driving somewhere, so I decided to do it yesterday while we drove up to Nags Head. I am so in love with the scenery here. When Austin was here with us, he wasn't impressed in the least with it. BORING is what he said. I can see why it would seem kind of monotonous to some. I never tire of it though.

I normally hate driving with the windows down. I didn't even like riding with the top down when Nathan had a convertible. Here, I want to not only roll the windows down, I want to hang my head out the window like a carefree dog.

It's just soothing to me for some reason.

There was quite a bit of smoke up that way, and it really triggered my allergies. Still, it was worth it. Once we arrived in Nags Head, we did a bit of shopping and scored some greatly needed beach shoes and new shirts for a great price. As we were leaving the store, we ran into Jack and Ruth, a couple that I work with. We ended up eating dinner with them at the Mexican restaurant Azteca and it was very good. It was a nice bonus to have good company too.



Ok, back to the scenery. It's postcard perfect, isn't it?

Raleigh DL-1 Restoration!

In the excitement of describing the A.N.T. Open House, I forgot to mention that on the same weekend I picked up my Raleigh DL1 Lady's Tourist from the shop.

Here she is, in her restored glory. See this post for the "before" shots.

The DL1 had an extensive tune up that included bottom bracket replacement, rod brake adjustment, and lowered gearing (22 tooth rear cog) to make climbing hills easier.

Then of course there are the aesthetic changes: The old tires have been replace with the gorgeous cream Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, a full chaincase and vintage-style rope dressguards have been installed, and a frame pump has been added.

The rope dressguard is something I had envisioned on this bicycle from the very start, and hunting one down was not an easy task. Finally, a very kind gentleman found these for me in Portugal, and I am eternally grateful!

In the earlier days of the loop frames, this was probably the most common style of dressguards. There were simple versions like this one, as well as elaborate crochet versions. The dressguards attach with hooks directly to holes drilled into the fender.

On the bottom, the cords are gathered onto a hook-like contraption that attaches to the bolt that holds the rear stays together.

Close-up of the rod brakes, curved top tube and frame pump. I find it surprising that the frame pump was intended to fit between the tubes and I don't think it looks very good there - disrupting the flow of the frame's curvature. So I may remove it and just leave the braze-ons empty. Still, I wonder why they didn't place the attachment behind the seat tube?

Close-up of the Raleigh headlight mount. The heron on this one seems to be smiling.

Today I took the DL1 out for her first ride. She is extremely comfortable: stable, smooth, relaxed. The seat-tube angle is much slacker than either on the Lady's Sports or on the Pashley Princess, and it was a pleasant surprise to ride in that position. One interesting thing, is that this bicycle is absolutely silent - both pedaling and coasting. Neither of our other vintage bikes are like that, and I wonder what accounts for the DL1's quiet demeanor. In any case, I am not complaining, and I am thankful to Adam Rankin at Harris Cyclery for all the work he did to make it such a nice ride!

The first ride was meant to be just a short one, because the rod brakes still need some adjustment - But the bicycle was so easy-going, that I ended up cycling all over the neighborhood. Here she is locked up at the grocery store. During the time I was out, four people stopped to talk to me about the bike, being especially interested in the dressguards. Everyone loves beautiful vintage bicycles, and the Raleigh DL1 is one of the most iconic.