Saturday, June 30, 2012

Cottonwood Tree


This is the biggest cottonwood tree that survived the fire in this little area. Paseo del Norte highway is to the left of it. The pathway runs to the right of it. You can see the dead cottonwood trunk that has the sandhill crane on top of it. The Rio Grande River is farther on beyond the tree and park.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Pristine, Pink, Breathless

That's what it was like on the mountain this weekend. I made it to Camp Muir Saturday, my first opportunity in over two months. Finally, time to survey the camp and search for possible storm damage (and test the snow conditions on the Muir Snowfield).

Things looked normal for early December. There was access to the public shelter, but the toilets were drifted in with deep snow. As for obvious signs of rain and wind damage, it seems that only the NPS suffered. We lost two storage boxes. The weather telemetry equipment for the NWAC appears to be working. It's my hope that once the power resumes at Paradise, the weather data will come back up online.

I was a bit surprised that there wasn't more snow cover between 7-11k. Everything looked wind scoured, i.e, lots of exposed rocks along the eastern edge of the Muir Snowfield, Cowlitz Cleaver, Muir Rock, etc. As for the upper mountain, the Nisqually Glacier looked very, very good. And while we're talking, so did the Nisqually Cleaver and Gib Ledges. Plenty of snow and ice in those rocky steep sections

After surveying the camp, it was time to confirm the conditions on the Muir Snowfield. And it was just as I thought it would be: 4,500 feet of untracked packed powder, with a few rocky areas around McClure. As you can see, the mountain turned pink for our descent. Top photo by Ethan McKinley

JUST IN: The Camp Muir and Paradise weather telemetry data are back up. I hope they last! I know that they ran the generator at Paradise today.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Happy Dance Moments :: Making Connections

When I selected the topic of "The Happy Dance. The Joy of Genealogy." for this edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I did so thinking it would be an easy topic for me to write about. But here it is, just a few hours before the deadline, and I'm still not sure what I'm going to write! The problem is that it really doesn't take much for me to do the "happy dance" and in 25+ years of research, I'm pleased to say, there have been quite a few of those joyous moments. Sure, there have been some disappointments too, but it's the moments of unadulterated joy that make it all worthwhile.

In the early years of research, after manually cranking through rolls of microfilm for hours on end, finding an ancestor in the census records was just cause for a mini-celebration. Most of the time the celebrations were quiet ones with my brain shouting out with joy, but not a peep escaping from my mouth. After all I was in a library. Occasionally though, I just couldn't help myself and the little squeal of delight would also bring smiles to the faces of other researchers who were also cranking the microfilm readers.

Okay, I see a "theme" developing in the random thoughts I just wrote down, so I've decided that the happy-dance moments I'm going to share will be some of those that involved making connections (kinexxions) with distant relatives and the results of those incredible experiences. These are just a few such moments.

In the spring of 1984, I began my quest to find the descendants of my 2nd great-grandparents Jacob and Louisa (Fisher) Phend by writing lots and lots of letters to anyone with the surname Phend. As replies came back, they led to more letter writing with those contacts leading to even more contacts and information. And photographs. And documents. Virtually every reply brought on a mini-celebration. But a major celebration in the journey to publish a book came about on August 18, 1985 when the first reunion since 1942 was held that included descendants from nearly all of the children of Jacob and Louisa.

I can't even begin to describe the feelings of joy that overwhelmed me that day. My grandfather, who was 92 years old at the time, met his first cousins Jacob Phend and Elizabeth Phend Young for the first time! Jacob was 65 years old at the time and Elizabeth was 63. It would be a few more years before I finished the book, which was published in July 1991, and there would be many more of those special moments during that time. The joy of finally getting the book published was tempered somewhat with disappointment in the final product that came from the printers (someday I might write about that!), but even with its printing problems, the book was a huge success, and it was all due to the wonderful responses received from previously unknown relatives.

One of my "most favorite" genea-happy-dance moments came in June .. when I was contacted by Beth who turned out to be my 5th cousin once removed. Our common ancestors are my 5th great-grandparents Lewis Sisley (1765-1826) and his wife Margaret Ellis (1773-1870). A distant relationship to be sure, but her mother, Marge, had the original pages from the Sisley Family Bible! But, to top that off, they lived on the southwest side of Indianapolis, just a three-hour drive away. Of course, my mother and I made the trip south and spent a very pleasant and exciting day with Marge and her family. You can read more about that visit, as well as view the bible pages, in this post that was published in September .. and submitted to the Show and Tell version of the Carnival of Genealogy.

A relatively recent happy dance moment came in May .. when I was contacted by Kathy Foster. She had found my website with pages on my 3rd great-grandparents, John and Susannah (Hoffman) Berlin. Kathy was a descendant of Susannah's sister Mary (Hoffman) Walker. At that time the only information I had on Susannah was that she had been born in Columbiana County, Ohio and could be the daughter of John and Catherine (Coy) Hoffman. That info had come from another researcher in 1999 but with no documentation. Other things took up my time and I never got around to doing anything with that info. Kathy had the estate settlement papers for John Hoffman that named all eleven of his children, including Susan Berlin! In addition, she had done extensive research on the family and was able to take me back another generation on both the Hoffman and Coy sides. So not only did I now have the names of Susan's parents, I had the proof to go along with it, and the names of both sets of her grandparents!

A second happy dance was done in August that year (..) that also involved Kathy. I received an email from her that said she had just gotten an old photo album from one of her relatives which included pictures of Eli and Lovina (Berlin) Yarian, my 2nd great-grandparents! You see, Kathy's ancestor, Mary Hoffman was the second wife of Thomas Walker. Their son, James Madison Walker, was Kathy's ancestor. By his first marriage, Thomas Walker had several children, among whom was William Walker who had married Eli Yarian's sister, Susanna! Kathy and I aren't related at all through that connection, but the families obviously maintained a relationship even though her family was living in Stark County, Ohio and mine in Elkhart County, Indiana. In addition to the pictures of Eli and Lovina she sent pictures of Susanna Yarian and her husband William Walker. I had previously obtained several pictures of Lovina from the Nappanee Library but did not have any photos of Eli, so this was truly one of those amazing happy dance moments.

Eli Yarian, my 2nd great-grandfather.(1839-1895)Photo received from Kathy Foster in August ...

Friday, June 22, 2012

Elegant place to have a drink on Plaza de Armas - Havana, Cuba

During our morning DIY walking tour on Calle Obispo – Plaza Armas – Plaza Vieja – Plaza de la Catedral – Plaza de San Francisco, we came across Hotel Santa Isabel. In my previous entry I’ve mentioned about this hotel as my first choice in Old Havana. The hotel was fully booked on the dates we are staying in the city so that’s how we ended up at Florida Hotel instead.

Our table at the portico restaurant facing the plaza at the Hotel Santa Isabel.

Very curious now on what we have missed, Blondine and I went inside to check out the premises. We came out of the hotel’s doors concluding that we are much better off at Florida Hotel because of its impressive atrium courtyard.

However, Hotel Santa Isabel does not disappoint. It has a gorgeous restaurant terrace portico facing Plaza de Armas. Probably the best and most elegant place to sit down, have a drink and watch Cuban daily life in this part of Havana. The hotel has another restaurant on top as well called Condado that offers a better viewing point of the plaza.

Plaza de Armas is the main (touristy) plaza in Old Havana.

The Hotel Santa Isabel restaurant.

On Plaza de Armas there is a daily book market as well. Cubans are like the Spaniards who are crazy about books. Many may have migrated to reading books electronically but not in Cuba. They even sell hard leather bound books.

For the literature fanatic, and if you speak and read Spanish, a stop at Plaza de Armas will for sure be a delight. Locals bring their guitars here as well and serenade passers-by.

My love affair with books have ceased, unfortunately. Not sure if this is just a temporary thing or the relationship has already grown a grave with an epitaph. I just do not have the time and desire anymore.

When I was a kid, I was a fanatic though. I read the Nancy Drew series in bed late at night under the comforts of my blanket and with a flash light in hand so that my mother will not find out, haha. And I even read our ancient Colliers Encyclopaedia and randomly chose topics to feast on.

Those were the days.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Children & Tractors

It seems that children always want to ride the tractor. This is our neighbors granddaughter and in one photo she has her dad making sure she doesn't do anything she shouldn't. She even had to inspect the bucket.















Tuesday, June 19, 2012

More Pickleball and Another Covered Bridge

Tonight we went all went back to Cortland to play pickleball again. I had a chance to talk to the ladies more this time and I really enjoyed getting to know them better. There is just something about pickleball players that is really special. They just seem to have a zest for life. Many of these players spend time at The Villages in Florida and it showed in how they played. They were a tough crowd. We had a great time with them. I felt a bit sad saying goodbye, not knowing if we'd see them again or not.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Off to these countries!

Bags have been packed and all ready to go!



As a tradition in this blog, I always post the picture of the flag of the country that I am going to visit, and in this case, flags of the countries. So here they are ladies and gents:







United Arab Emirates (Dubai night and a whole day layover)







Singapore (2 trips)







Philippines (Cebu)







Hong Kong SAR







Macau SAR







Malaysia (Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands)



I mentioned this trip earlier. Read here: Smorgasbord of upcoming trips to the Middle and Far East



Naturally I will continue to blog if there is internet, so do follow me. See you at the other side of the world! Tot zo!




Sunday, June 17, 2012

Labor Day Weekend and Beyond...

I swear summer just arrived in the park about a month or so ago and now it already feels like fall. Sure, it isn't fall YET, as the equinox isn't until Sept. 22, but those folks who have spent a day or two up on the mountain recently may argue that fall is in full effect. A quick check of telemetry up at Camp Muir over the past few days shows below average temperatures this week. In fact, the thermometer didn't go above 50 degrees and in addition to the cold, the wind speeds have steadily averaged 30-40 mph, with spikes reaching 63, 66 and 71. Brrr...

Average high and low temperatures for the month of August at Paradise are generally 63 and and 43 degrees respectively. These days, however, visitors on Rainier are donning fleece jackets, wool hats and even a scarf or two - one doesn’t need a thermometer to guess that the temperatures have been closer to our average lows than highs. With Labor Day Weekend ahead, let’s hope this trend doesn’t extend much longer. A look at the extended forecast provides some hope, but we'll see... Perhaps next week will be different?

Speaking of next week...The public shelter up at Camp Muir will be closed from Tuesday, September 2 thru September 9th. The closure is to complete historic renovations and repairs to the buildings. Therefore, all climbers should be prepared to camp - all parties will need to bring their own shelter. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Some pros and cons to this colder and also wetter weather:

Pros: There is new snow on the mountain, so things are looking beautiful with the fresh coat of snow. The DC is still in great shape (check out the new conditions report), unlike last year (check out our
archived 2007 DC fall route reports). Remember that climbers had to veer way out onto the Emmons Shoulder and descend below the Cleaver to climb back to Ingraham Flats.

Cons: Alpine Ascent International (AAI) guides reported that it snowed over a foot on the mountain last Tuesday and Wednesday. The drifts were as high as 3 feet too! Fresh snow on the route meant that climbers will once again have to be cautious of avalanches. AAI kicked off a small slab on their descent through Cathedral Gap BUT it wasn't large enough to wipe out a person... Still, we have concern and want you to know.

So everyone, be prepared for cooler temps, rain at lower elevations and snow on the upper mountain. This shouldn't be a problem for those Pacific Northwest souls accustom to this sort of climate, but those visiting from other places (that actually still enjoy summer temps well into September) should be prepared for the wintry conditions.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Boom, LOUD... Road closed...

The bombing operation referred to last week went by without a hitch (i.e. no one was blown up). However, it didn't solve all of the threats to the road. Unlike a typical ski patrol operation where they mitigate the hazard regularly, the snowpack above the road to Paradise grew so large that it required larger amounts of bomb making material to blast the heck out of the slopes. Good thing too, because those bombs released a substantial amount of snow that was more than ready to slide... And as for the entire day, avalanche control with the use of bombs made for a really unique NPS experience!


The explosive activity took place in an area called "Washington Cascades." That's about 1.5 miles below Paradise and just above the "Canyon Wye" (where you turn right to visit Stevens Canyon, Box Canyon, and Ohanapecosh.) As you can see to the right, Chris Olson is strapping some blasting caps to a 50 lb. bag of ammonium nitrate. This is something of a new operation for most of us (not so new to Chris). Anyway, this explosive was lowered on a plastic sled (the type your kids slide upon) into avalanche terrain where they were ignited with a "shock tube." All in all, it was impressive and really effective. Last Friday, those bombs released a number of large slides in "Washington Cascades." The slides buried the road with debris and took care of the looming avalanche hazard that threatened the road crew operators.

At this time, the road to Paradise remains closed. But that's largely due to the frequent and thunderous slides that have occurred lower on the road (i.e. well below Paradise). The rain and warmer temps activated a number of avalanche slopes. In one area, the "Christine Hairpin", located just below the Comet Falls trailhead, a slide covered both lanes of the road with over 20 feet of deposition! As far as we recall, nobody has seen this sort of debris at Christine Hairpin in the almost 20 years. Above the Glacier Bridge, there are four other significant slide paths in what we call "Glacier Hill". Slides in that area also produced similar piles of wet, heavy snow. The NPS road crew is now scratching, digging, and plowing away at the massive mounds, but it's considered that the road to Paradise may not open for another 4-7 days. As you can see in this image to the left, the road is gone/buried. Nobody has ventured above Ricksecker Point, roughly 5 miles below Paradise since Monday. Hopefully, we will be able to ski up to Paradise tomorrow, dig out the telemetry site, and see what's going on.

When thinking about the avalanche threat, we are somewhat fortunate. Warm weather has started to consolidate the snowpack and things appear a little safer this week. There is some rain in the forecast for the next 24 hours, but probably not enough to produce the large slides that observed so far. The NWAC has dropped the hazard level from Extreme to Considerable/Moderate (below 7000 feet). Stay tuned, we'll keep you up to date on what's shaking. For now, don't rely on being able to visit Paradise over the President's Day weekend. Top image by Stefan Lofgren, second by Chris Olson "The snowcovered road above Glacier Bridge."

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Assateague Island :: More Wild Ponies

Stopped traffic was a common sight whenever ponies were spotted along the roadside. I wasn't immune to their allure either, almost always stopping when I saw a group. This day I was riding my bicycle out to the bridge, which was a little over 3 miles from my campsite. This is at the intersection to the main road out to the Island.




Tuesday, June 12, 2012

What a View!

Tuesday, June 7th - - Man joined us for lunch again – this time we went to The Pantry at The Lions House. We all selected the “Coca Cola Roast Pork” and were not disappointed. It was so tender you could cut it with a fork and it was scrumptious. The food here in Salt Lake City has been excellent!



After lunch, and even though it was my next-to-last day of research, Man insisted that we take in the view from the 27th floor of the Church Office Building. It was definitely well worth the time. The weather couldn't have been much better.





Looking west and a little south with The Temple in the foreground and the Tabernacle (oblong , shiney building) behind it. And behind the Tabernacle is the Family History Library. The tall building south of the Library is the Plaza Hotel.





Looking west along North Temple Street. The building to the right of the Tabernacle is the North Visitors Center. Off in the distance is the Great Salt Lake. If you look closely in the pictures below, it appears as a narrow strip of light blue running along the base of the mountains.





Looking west and a little north. The building on the right, with the trees on the roof, is the Conference Center.





Looking toward the northwest.



Looking north toward the Capital Building.



The view to the east. North Temple Street on the left and South Temple Street on the right. The campus of the University of Utah stretches along the foot of the mountains.





And, finally, a view to the southeast.

Arlington :: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Changing of the Guard.
Impressive. Meticulous. Solemn. Ceremonial.
Photos taken Sunday October 11, ..