Ancient Giants

Northern California is home to one of the most amazing natural sights that I have ever seen: the Redwood Forest. It is truly awe-inspiring to stand in the shadows of these gigantic trees. This photo was made in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park just outside of Crescent City, California.

Plate Ice Paradise

Tonight's sunset was AWESOME! We drove a few miles down the shore to see if there was any ice left after today's insane winds (which continue to blow as I write this). Yesterday there was ice going out across the lake as far as the eye could see. Today that ice is gone, but there remain pockets of ice that had already been built up along the shoreline. We found one such amazing stretch of shoreline by driving slowly along the shoulder of the highway and peering down through the trees at the beach. This spot looked pretty good from the highway, but it looked AMAZING when we got down to the beach! Large mounds of plate ice had been sort of mashed/fused together by the wave action from the lake. Some of the plates were sticking up at all different angles. In other areas the plates were all laying more or less flat, like you see in the lower right of this photo. The plates that were laying flat were reflecting the light from the sky, making for one of the most eye-catching ice scenes that I've ever seen. Topping off this incredible ice was this majestic cloud which, despite the high winds, was hardly moving at all. We watched the cloud turn from grey to orange to pink and back to grey again as the sun went down. This is a sunset that will live forever in my memory as one of the most glorious sunsets of my life. What made it absolutely perfect is that I got to share the whole experience with the woman I love, who in exactly one month will be my wife :-)

New Paint

The paint on the siding on the house had been sand blasted until it was back to the orginal gray color so we painted it.

Santa Fe Beaches, Bantayan Island

The road to Bantayan Island is long, and I mean really loooooooooooong. Unfortunately, it’s not one of the easiest islands in the Philippine archipelago to get to, perhaps, the reason why it appeals, well sometimes, to adventurous travellers like me.


There are a few ways to get to Bantayan Island but they only come by land and sea. Bantayan Island actually has a small airfield and the reason why it is left to rot is, well, you can surmise, that certain individuals want some grease but helaas are not getting it. If the airport in Bantayan Island is further developed and opened commercially to the public, I am sure this is going to be the next Boracay. It has lots of potential.

Anyway, we chose the land and sea combi option, which is the best choice as you get there faster. I think the drive from Cebu City to Hagnaya, San Remigio took about 4 hours. It’s amazing to see how traffic has developed in Cebu when back then there were very few vehicles on the streets, this was some 25 to 30 years ago when we regularly go on road trips to the north. And on the way we saw 2 accidents! A big lorry truck went down the ravine and a small truck carrying water jugs drove straight to a tree. The roads are good but the more north you drive, the more crisscrossed the roads are which is dangerous when you drive too fast. Some drivers never learn at all.

So we finally arrived at Hagnaya port where we bought our boat tickets and in the process gotten bombarded by aggressive porters (baggage helpers) which I thought was unnecessary as we have 3 abled men who can more than handle all our baggage but I guess these people need to earn a living as well. The boat trip to Santa Fe, Bantayan Island took an hour, it was uneventful and luckily the waves were calm.

We stayed in Santa Fe. The town is probably the most developed area in Bantayan for tourism. Aside from the pier which is very handy as it is nearby, you can find several modest accommodations, facilities, restaurants and shops in town. Here is a quick map reference of Santa Fe (click) on resorts, restaurants and entertainment. For more information on holidaying in Bantayan Island, go here: wowBantayan.com (its a personal/commercial site but it has the best information on the island so far where the department of tourism has failed to deliver)

All fotos were taken on different days so some have blue skies while others have cloudy skies. Top to bottom: A surfer patiently waiting for that little wave to come; two fishermen fishing on the shores, that was a first for me to see something like this; and some beach shore and boat scenes.

More beach scenes here:

Top to bottom: Fisherman tinkering on his boat and I just like the idea of the colourful laundry hanging beside his boat tent; more beach shore line fotos and moi in a restaurant on the beach; on the last foto on the right you can see an islet called Hilataga-an Island.

I am sure the beaches are lovelier, clearer, bluer during the summer season. We were there in July, not really the best time to go as it is rainy season in the tropics.

And here are more of the barrio scenes:

Top to bottom: Typical scene in the barrio, a trike driver taking a nap; sari-sari store; more trike drivers waiting for customers, sometimes they pester you to great lengths; barbecue scenes on the corner street of the main road; fresh coconut drink; pawnshops thrive in the provinces in the Philippines and the island have implemented their green environment program.

Top to bottom: Historical Spanish pre-war house that badly needs a face lift; 2 girls climbing to get some biyatilis/ipil-ipil fruit; house with pretty patchwork, banana tree with a banana cluster and banana heart/inflorescence hanging at the tip; Philippine flag; schoolgirl in the tricycle; vendors outside the school and school girls cleaning the street; halo-halo iced snack and chili crab; proud rooster; fresh catch of the day - take your pick and they will cook it for you; and us chilling the night with San Miguel beer.

Delicate Wonder

On our days off this week one of the places we visited was Cascade River State Park, where each year there are several stemless lady's slippers in bloom. These flowers are so beautiful and are an iconic subject of the north woods. We noticed that it is interesting how the "slipper" part of the flower hangs differently from the yellow lady's slipper. On the yellow slipper, the slipper sticks almost straight out and on the stemless slipper, it hangs almost straight down. Both flowers are incredibly beautiful and are a joy to find when you are out on the trail. We spent quite a while observing and taking photos of these flowers. Most photos I've seen show the flowers from the front but my favorite view of them was this angle from the side. I also love the blurry yellow clintonia in the background :-)

Lake Dorothy ..

The lake

Jennifer and I went for a mellow hike to Lake Dorothy. This is a highly maintained trail. (Lots of stairs.) It has an elevation gain of perhaps 1000' depending on how far you go and it is only about a mile and a half to the lake. Once at the lake there are numerous campsites and toilets for staying overnight.

Stairs and large downed tree.

Lake Dorothy is one of the larger lakes in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and is nearly a mile and a half long. We walked to the halfway point where Jennifer got a swim in, while I rested on shore. Then we continued to the far end of the lake before turning around and heading home. You could continue on the trail generally south until you reach the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River as well. But at that point you would need a car shuttle.

Jennifer was looking for a nice mellow trip to start hiking again and this proved good for that. Although we both wound up tired at the end and had to stop at the Sultan Bakery for a snack to make it home.

Fungus on tree stump

Also, it was quite crowded for a Monday. I presume it is a mad house on weekends.

Greetings from... Iowa

Tuesday, May 3rd - - Continuing west after my brief stop at the Round Barn near Colchester, Illinois I crossed the mighty Mississippi River into Keokuk, Iowa. It's a pretty little city with some beautiful houses on the bluff overlooking the river. My route briefly took me on into Missouri then north to Fairfield, the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa.



Shortly after her marriage to William Klingaman in Whitley County, Indiana on October 12, 1865 Anna Eliza Joslin moved to Jefferson County, Iowa where they settled north of Fairfield in Black Hawk Township. Anna Eliza was the daughter of my 3rd great-grandparents, Lysander and Lydia (Robison) Joslin. In October 1866, Lysander sold his land in Whitley County, Indiana and removed to Black Hawk Township settling near his daughter Anna Eliza. Another daughter, Mandella, was born in December 1866 in Indiana so the family probably didn't go to Iowa until the spring of 1867.



On June 4, 1868 Lydia Joslin gave birth to the last of her 15 children. They were twins named Elmer and Elmus. Elmer died on June 30th and is presumably buried somewhere in Black Hawk Township although he is not listed on the cemetery transcriptions. In August of that same year, Lysander reclaimed his land in Whitley County, Indiana due to mortgage foreclosure on the man who had purchased it in 1866. Lysander moved his family back to Indiana – except for Anna Eliza who remained in Iowa with her husband. There they lived for the remainder of their lives, raising their family of three sons (Charles Sherman, Olen Valerus, and Frank Ellsworth) on their farm in Black Hawk Township.



At the Public Library I obtained obituary notices for some of their children and grandchildren but none for Anna Eliza or her husband William Klingaman. Oddly enough, an obituary for Anna Eliza was published in the Columbia City Commercial in Whitley County, Indiana announcing her death on July 28, 1885 at the age of 40 years, 9 months and 20 days after a long and painful illness with Brights disease.



If you have people in Jefferson County, Iowa your first stop should be the library in Fairfield. It is a wonderful resource with a tremendous amount of information gathered over the years by several volunteers. Their cemetery books include maps and directions to each of the cemeteries so I was easily able to locate McDowell Cemetery where Anna Eliza, her husband, and several children are buried.





McDowell Cemetery sits atop a hill on Mahogony Road at the junction of 115th street.





A small cemetery, it was easy to spot the large brown marker designating the Klingaman family plot. I'll have more on this family in later posts – someday!



On my way to the cemetery, I spotted this old barn and couldn't resist the impulse to take pictures. The photos have been manipulated a little to warm up the hues of the barn. Reality was actually a little garish what with the bright green grass, blue sky, and white clouds. The colors didn't look real, so now they have a bit of that “old-timey” feel to them!









The night was spent at a pretty little campground in Jefferson County Park just south of Fairfield. There were several trails meandering through the forest and meadows of the area. I got brave and ventured down one. It was a good walk on a fairly smooth path part of which was gravel and other parts were grass. It did have a few large hills with steep ups and downs but the legs held up just fine. I'm soooo glad they are feeling better!