Greetings from Arizona!

Thursday, December 1st - - The drive through Las Vegas was mostly uneventful. There was some rain and considerable wind, with gusts up to 40 mph. I'm not a fan of Las Vegas so had no intentions of spending time there. I really just wanted to get south to where I thought it would be warmer. But you know Mother Nature! Always changing things... I spent the night at Cattail Cove State Park south of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The winds had dropped considerably and the sun was trying to come out from behind the heavy layer of clouds. It was rather cool but at least it wasn't raining!

Friday, December 2nd - - It seems that the winds that came through on Wednesday night also brought cooler temperatures with them. Daytime highs hadn't made it into the 50s and the lows were well into the 30s. A check of the weather on the internet for several places indicated that it was about the same all over southern Arizona. So much for finding a warm place to stay!

I continued south and stopped at Picacho Peak State Park for the night. I had been there at least twice before in my travels through Arizona and knew that it was a nice spot. They had made improvements to the campgrounds and all sites now had electricity. I arrived just before sunset and the clouds had broken up a bit so I decided to go for a walk with camera in hand. And I'm glad that I did!

The Destination :: GeneaMecca

Friday, May 20th – I know, I'm just a little behind on posting, but there is a good reason. I've been spending some time preparing for the “ultimate destination” for any genealogist! Yes, that's right – I'm in Salt Lake City!! And spending some time with my friend Carol Stevens from Reflections From the Fence.





Here we are with our “stuff” heading out to the library this morning. Photo taken by Carol's husband “Man”.





You'll have to excuse the black and white, I was so excited that I didn't check the setting on my camera! We're at the entrance to THE Library!





Here's Carol. We go to the “great” library and what do we do? Take pictures of the pretty flowers outside the entrance! They were gorgeous. Of course, this was after a short lunch break.



Oh, and just as we were leaving for lunch, I ran into Kathryn Doyle! She does the blog for CaliforniaAncestors. What a pleasant surprise!

Leavenworth Fish Wall ..

I finally got the opportunity to go out for the first time since Mirabelle was born. There were multiple people coming, but in the end it was just Sabrina, Justin and myself.

On the way out we all decided on Fish Wall and the Duty Dome area as a place to be for the day. We were looking for moderate single pitch routes with the possibility of doing some multi pitch endeavours. When we arrived in the Icicle around 9am, we missed the pull out for Duty Dome and parked at Icicle Buttress and walked the short distance back down the road to the trail. It was still quite cold, although it was 50° out according to the car. In what seemed like no time, we were already at Fish Wall and figuring out what to climb.

We set our gear down by the far left route and looked around. I peeked at the book and announced that I would lead the far left route. (Sardine Routine) Justin and Sabrina poked around a bit and eventually Sabrina started belaying Justin up a bolted route, Crab Cakes 5.8+. The sun had not yet crept around the crag, and we were all quite chilly. Especially Justin who had to hold the cold rock while on lead. After his lead, Sabrina and I followed. I found the route to awkward, but I am not sure if that was the cold temps or because I was on rock for the first time in six months. The sun did finally start making an appearance when I topped out, although the last few cracks on the pitch were quite cold.

Justin, two clips up on Crab Cakes

We left the anchor up, so we could top rope the next route over, Virgin Sturgeon 5.8+. This route has two stars, and Justin wanted to get a feel for it on top rope before tackling it on lead. He was the first up and had some minor difficulties near the crux when climbing it. Sabrina went next and took a more direct line at the crux which appeared easier. I followed and found the route much nicer and more enjoyable than the previous. It was a route worth doing again. I guess that is the difference between one and two star routes. Justin and Sabrina then both led the route before Sabrina pulled the anchor.

Justin leading Virgin Sturgeon

I then geared up to lead Sardine Routine. A shorter route than the previous two with a combination of bolts and gear protecting it. It was enjoyable and had thin moves on the steepest section for the crux. Justin followed and Sabrina cleaned the anchor after her climb. We then started scouting the book for our next objective.

Yours truly starting up Sardine Routine (photo by Sabrina)

We opted to head to the right side slabs of Duty Dome. Justin was interested in climbing Kitty Corner 5.9+. We hiked up a few minutes to get to the route where we encountered another party gearing up for Straight Street, a three star route next to Kitty Corner, at only two stars. Justin geared up and I belayed him for the route. He warned me when he left the ground that he may need to take on a piece. This happened two or three times on his way up. The last piece he took on and then started to climb above it. He was a bit above it when I saw his feet scrambling for traction. I prepared to catch his fall and he started falling, yelling it as he finally broke from the rock. In what seemed immediate, he was on his back on the rock, with his head pointing toward the bottom of the slab. We asked if he was OK, and responded affirmatively. He stood up and collected himself while hanging for a bit.

Justin nearing his high point of Kitty Corner (photo by Sabrina)

He started to climb again, but I promptly stopped him because I could not take the rope in. I told him I thought the rope was stuck, and sure enough it was. He opted to build and anchor and tie into it while Sabrina and I started a rescue. Once in his anchor, I took him off belay, and Sabrina tied the it off to a tree as an added precaution while I got ready to lead the adjacent route. Then Sabrina belayed me up Straight Street so that we could get Justin down. When I arrived at the height Justin was at we worked out a plan for me to continue to the top anchor on Kitty Corner and then have Sabrina follow me. Sabrina would clean Straight Street and then I would lower her to Justin so she could clean Kitty Corner. I continued to the top of Straight Street. Possibly due to the now lack of sun on the route and the heightened adrenaline, I did not find Straight Street too enjoyable. Also, I was expecting it to be more friction, but it was more of an edging on slabs route.

I got to the top and Sabrina followed. She stopped half way to deliver Justin his down jacket so he could stay warmer. Once at the top, I explained to her what we would do and I prepared to lower her. She cleaned the route and was soon on the ground. Justin pulled up the rope and tied into the end and then I prepared to lower him. Once he was on the ground, I set up a rappel and took out the remaining high cam that he fell on, and proceeded to extricate the rope. This took a few pulls outward and a couple of different stances. I was a bit nervous because I felt that when it popped from the crack that I would spiral out of control even though I had done a leg wrap and autoblock to backup my rappel. Once freed, I threw the rope down and continued to the ground where we all decided that we had had enough for the day.

I was really happy to be out, and I felt I climbed pretty well for my first time on real rock in months. Our mini rescue training was nice practice and it was fortunate that we had brought a second rope along. After dropping Justin off Sabrina and I discussed some other options that we did not pursue in the rescue. I told her since Justin was conscious and communicating, that I was going to do whatever made him feel most comfortable. And I think that worked out pretty well for all of us.

The Estate of Jacob Switzer :: Notes Due the Estate

There were three men (actually four, another has been found) with the name of Jacob Switzer who resided in Columbiana County, Ohio during the 1805-1860 time period. This estate file is for the Jacob Switzer who is my 4th great-grandfather and who married first Catherine Brinker (in 1811, the mother of his children) and second Leathy Bricker (in 1853). Jacob died on November 2, 1859.



The data in this document goes across two pages. Rather than transcribe the full document I'm listing the name of the debtor, how the debt was secured, and appraised value. In addition to this information, the document includes the date the debt was incurred and the original amount of the debt. There are also some comments in the wide column in the second page. The appraisers were Simon Orter, David Bricker, and John Stewart



Text within square brackets [ ] has been added to indicate words that were difficult to read.



=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

name of the debtor Thomas McCoy & Son Barbary Manaweck Daniel Deemer Jacob Manaweck Jacob Yarian John Crawl Samuel Sweitzer Daniel Deemer J. B. Preston Daniel Deemer Jacob Manaweck Samuel Betz George W. Axel James Miller Samuel Switzer Henry & John Roose Simon Seachrist Samuel Hardman Ann Worman -	how secured Note Note Note Note Note Note [????] bill Note Note Note Note Note & Mortgage Note & Mortgage Note & Mortgage Note & Mortgage Note & Mortgage Book a/c Note Book a/c [Total]	appraised value39.14112.001000.00113.62100.0028.8059.95129.3741.77109.52109.50123.68933.1559.82621.90578.4210.00Worthless8.00$4178.64

Notes Due the Estate of Jacob Switzer. Nov. 11th 1859.Probate Packet 4962. Columbiana County, Ohio.



Notes Due the Estate of Jacob Switzer. Nov. 11th 1859.Probate Packet 4962. Columbiana County, Ohio.

Visitors Center

There was a visitors center at the end of the road to the top of the mountain. It has tons of information about Hurricane Ridge. We spent time in the gift shop buying souvenirs, and gifts for others, as well as myself. They were having a sale and it was a big hit with the customers. We had lunch at the snack bar. Then spent a goodly amount of time just enjoying the view from all angles. The parking lot was packed and there were a lot of people there, especially sense it was a Sunday, but it didn't seem that crowded as so many parks can get on weekends. And everyone there was enjoying themselves as much as we were. You would find yourself uuing and awing, and exclaiming over the view, the flowers, the grass, the mountains, the glaciers, the sky, or a passing deer with a total stranger standing next to you. I found myself watching a small child about 2 years old and his parents as they enjoyed the park. I, also, found myself sitting quietly by an elderly lady and neither of us had to say a word about how we felt at what we were seeing. I heard several languages besides my native American - Spanish, German, English, Canadian, Japanese, and others I couldn't put a country to.

Bear Creek Mountain

A bunch of us decided to get out of town and try something new, so we headed for Bear Creek Mountain. The first 3 miles are fairly flat and feature several meadows.


Most of the elevation gain is at the end of the hike. Some pikas kept running around and whistling in this rocky area.



The kids enjoyed themselves in a large deposit of Mt. Saint Helens ash that we found on the way up.


Dahlia, Lily, Bill, Daisy, Danielle, Jennifer, Doug, Tania, Tina, Bethany and Dreamer, the dog, on top. Our view was limited, since we were in a cloud. It was nice to get out, see some new sights and spend the day in a place where the high was only 60 degrees!

A day on Laganas Beach

Our first 2 days in Zakynthos was spent inside our hotel resort, we didn’t really do much except eat, sleep, Dutchman swimming while I relax by the pool, read magazines and Stieg Larsson’s book—‘Men who hate women’, eat again, drink some spirits and go back to sleep.

Lots of vendors on Laganas Beach selling fresh fruits. They really yell, albeit very loud, FRESH FRUIT! FRESH FRUIT! in Greek accent =)

On the beach I was reading a past issue of National Geographic that I picked up at Schiphol Airport, it was a discounted bunch of older issues (past few months) for 10 Euros.

On our third day we decided to go to Laganas Beach, the famous 9-kilometre stretch beach of Zakynthos. We’ve seen the beach on our first day at the island during a walk and our initial impression was—this is not the beach for us. We don’t like crowds, especially when its full of brawly teenagers who only want to party. But we don’t really have much of a choice since we didn’t have the rental mope yet. Our plan really is to go to the small beaches and coves and spend our time there.

With the given circumstance, i.e. not much choice, we decided to spend a day in Laganas Beach. Just one day!

The plus factor with Laganas Beach is that the beach is shallow, which is great if you come to Zakynthos with the family. You can walk away further from the shore into the deep and the water is still hanging on your waist. This is probably the main thing that I really liked with Laganas Beach and which pushed me to swim as well. In fact, I swam a couple of times! Dutchman was quite surprised haha. The beach has no pebbles and stones too, just sand which is smooth on the feet.

I may have mentioned this a few times in my blog: I am not a beach person nor I am a water person. Our summer holidays which usually revolve around sun and beach is a compromise for me. In a relationship you always compromise.

So when I am with the Dutchman summer holidaying ergo beaching, I normally just sit and lie on my sun bed under a parasol with a drink in hand. Eventually to kill time, I do some reading, sleeping a bit, people watching and taking pictures of course. Everything is done slowly. Time stands still. Relaxing I suppose. I’m not complaining.

Laganas Beach is also a protected marina (Greek National Marine Park) being the birthplace and habitat of the endagered ‘Caretta-Caretta’ sea turtles. If you come here and you swim further deep, you might get lucky and see these turtles.

Some of my people watching fotos:

My beach view on the left and on the right.

My frontal beach views.

Playing beach ping-pong.

Three musketeers with their three marias.

Here are the beach vendors:

You want some massage?

Fresh fruit vendors.

This guy is selling gadgets. Nice hat though.

In certain parts of the beach it can get rowdy with wild teenagers, especially after lunch when they have woken up from the deep slumber of hangover, only to do the same week-long vicious cycle again starting at the beach.

Because we have an all-inclusive accommodation for this holiday, we strolled back to our resort hotel to have lunch which is not too far away from the beach.

Buffet lunch, nothing spectacular really.

After lunch, we went back to our sun beds on Laganas Beach. I think we stayed on the beach until 6PM. During summer the sun in Greece goes down past 8PM (sometimes longer in June and July).

A Monster at Sunset...

One evening I drove up to Massai Point (6,883 feet above sea level and one of the highest points in Chiricahua National Monument) for the sunset and played with some shots of one of the stone formations...

The glowing “eye” sure made it look creepy.

But the glowing mouth was really weird.

Walking off into the sunset...

Sure doesn't look the same in the light of day!

'Twas another glorious sunset!

Quick, Healthy, Brazing-Inspired Dessert

The main thing you are taught when learning to braze a bicycle frame, is temperature control. For instance: When brazing a lugged joint, the tube, the lug, the flux (gooey stuff the joint is smeared with) and the silver you add all heat up at different rates - and what you try to do is get them to the point where they are in sync. I thought about this as I eyed the pile of fruit and berries I'd brought home from the grocery store. I wanted to make dessert for the husband, and his request was something healthy and light. I decided to keep it simple and approach it as I would brazing: First I'd heat up the thick, heavy ingredients, adding the delicate, leaky ones after the overall temperature was sufficiently hot. Here is the result:



Autumnal Fruit and Nut Medley



Ingredients:

apples

cranberries

blackberries

blueberries

walnuts

lemon

honey

bourbon



Preparation time:

7 minutes



Instructions:

In a bowl, mix a bunch of hard sliced apples with a fistful of crushed walnuts and a fistful of raw cranberries. Add a spoon of lemon juice, a spoon of honey and a shot of bourbon. Heat in microwave for 2.5 minutes or in oven (in appropriate container) until apples turn soft. Alternatively, if preparing in workshop, you could use a brazing torch (held upside down and pointed at the bottom of the bowl - as you would heat a bottom bracket). Let sit for 30 seconds. Add blackberries and blueberries. Heat for additional 1 minute or just long enough for berries to release colour onto the rest of the concoction. Remove, let cool for a bit, and serve with tea.



This dish is basically like a fruit tart, only without the dough. Tastes surprisingly good, looks festive and takes very little effort to prepare. Want to make it less healthy? Add whipped cream.



Enjoy your Sunday evening!

Thunderstorm over Wooly's Bluff

Taken last night at the end of the Arrowhead Trail at McFarland Lake. We were hoping for clear skies to try some star trail photography over the lake, but with the forecast calling for rain we knew it wasn't a good chance of clear skies. On the other hand, we knew that with the forecast being what it was there was a possibility of seeing some lightning if the thunderstorms that were forecast arrived early enough. Sure enough, not long after we arrived at the lake it was very cloudy and we saw some lightning flashes across the lake. Before long we were seeing lightning bolts coming down on the far shore. It made for a fun show for about an hour, then the rain came and we had to pack up our gear.

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger - 1911 & 1912

The 3rd reunion of the Phend - Fisher families met at Frank Wehrleys on June 24 - 1911
The A. M. was spent in a social way.
At noon a basket dinner was served under a tent, on the lawn.
There were about 45 present.
In the afternoon songs were sung and a prayer rendered by Rev. Spangler of the Evengelical church at Elkhart.
A talk by Wm Phend.
Other songs.
Remarks by Rev. Spangler then a storm prevented further pleasures.
It was decided to meet at Jacob Phends near Elkhart on June 29 - 1912.
Adjournment.Mrs. F. A. Wehrly, Secretary.= + = + = + = + = + =
There is no record of a family gathering in 1912. = + = + = + = + = + = The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Elkhart County, Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. Usually held at Nappanee, the events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book, now in my possession. Sadly, the fragile pages have turned brown, separated from the binding, and are, in effect, disintegrating. Some years more information was recorded than in others, but, for me, these pages provide a glimpse into the past. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.

Back to Williamsburg Outdoor World

We headed back to the Outdoor World in Williamsburg today. This is the first and only Outdoor World we have visited so far. We think it's a very nice park. There is not much activity in the park, but it makes for a very peaceful experience.

Gary is the manager of this park and he seems very on top of things and very nice. There was not a pickleball court here, and I guess Diane talked to him about putting one in. I can't imagine anyone saying no to Diane, so thanks to her there is one here now. On top of him putting in the court, Gary has also become a fellow player and will come join us if we are playing!

We like it here. We're hoping this is a sign that we will enjoy Outdoor World parks as much as Thousand Trails.

Summer Fog, Pete's Island

We have had some pretty interesting fog in the past couple of weeks. This photo was made from the summit of the Mt. Rose Trail in Grand Portage National Monument. It was taken during a beautiful, sunny day on land but out over the lake the fog was pretty thick. Along the edge of Grand Portage Bay, warm air from land clashes with cold air from the lake. Combined withthe frequently shifting breezes the fog comes and goes frequently. I captured this photo during one of the times when the fog was receding and the island came into view. It was visible for a short while then the wind switched and blew the fog back in, once again completely blocking the island from view. I watched it change like this several times in the 30 minutes I sat on the summit.

Old fotos of Hong Kong

Over the weekend during a family party, we talked about Hong Kong, being one of the easiest cities to travel to for a whirlwind weekend getaway—the airport is conveniently linked with the metro (MTR) to the city and within minutes you are in downtown Kowloon amidst all the shops and restaurants while Hong Kong Island is just another metro stop or a few minutes ferry ride away. And I just realized that I have not really featured Hong Kong in my blog, and that is why I am posting this now to make up for the lack.







At the Victoria Peak in Hong Kong Island looking over Central District, taken with a pre-digital camera, roll of film developed and printed, scanned and then uploaded =)



I’d really love to visit this bustling city again. Would love to saunter on the busy streets, smell smoked peking ducks hanging from each restaurant’s window and watch the cooks shout at each other in shrilly Cantonese, try one of those Hongkong style tea with milk—an inheritance from the old British colonial days, shop, shop and shop (for culinary stuff!), then trek to Victoria Peak for the panoramic sunset.



Cantonese, they say is the hardest of all Chinese languages, and this is Hong Kong’s main language of instruction. The only achievement I have from my Chinese summer lessons in the 70’s is I am able to count in Fookien (struggling a bit though) and count in Mandarin as well, but just up to 10, haha. My sister though is way better, she may not be that fluent in speaking but she can understand Mandarin and write as well.



Dutchman was in Hongkong a few months back but he didn’t bring back new fotos with him so please bear with these very old pre-digital days fotos that managed to survive many laptop tragedies and migrations, taken some 8 years ago.



































I think it is time to visit Hongkong again.