Pigeon River Otters

Jessica and I were kayaking on the Pigeon River the other day when we had an incredibly fun experience with an Otter family! We were exploring the small islands in the wide part of the river just downstream from the rapids below High Falls. Jessica was paddling ahead of me and I was looking down a channel between two of the islands when I heard Jessica say in a loud whisper "There's otters right over there!" I looked and sure enough, not more than 25 feet off the bow of her kayak, a family of otters wasswimming around against the bank along the side of the river. I slowly paddled over to get a closer look. They didn't seem bothered by us at all, probably because they are used to boats in this section of the river (it is a popular area for local fishermen). We watched them for a minute or two then realized that there was one otter that was a lot smaller than the others. The little one was adorable as he/she bobbed up and down in the water, trying to get a better look at us. We enjoyed their company for about another 10 minutes then they all swam off down one of the channels in between the islands. We were glowing from the experience as we paddled back to the boat landing :-)

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger - 1914

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. 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.

June 25, 1914
the sixth reunion.

The Fisher reunion was held at McNaughton park in Elkhart. in which their were about 40 present. dinner was served on tables under the trees, near the river. their being no program.

Officers were elected as follows
C. D. Phend. Nappanee Pres[ident]
J. J. Phend Bremen Vice [President]
Mr and Mrs Frank Wehrly Nap[panee] Secrethry

No Births.

Katherine Phend and Rueben Pletcher
Surelda Phend and Barton Thornton
Evelyn Fuller and Walter Shaw.
married.

Samuel Fisher died.
Mrs John Ringenberger died

Tropical Flavor

The bright colors of this Heliconia can surely cure the winter blues.

Olov Isaksson's trip report

I have a few blogs I follow. Everyone of them from guys climbing much harder than I ever have. Some I've met, some I will yet, hopefully. Either way I stole the picture and wanted to add the link to some great climbing in my own haunts. Nice trip guys and some great sends! Nice Nomic hammers as

well ;-)






photo courtesy of olov isaksson's web site










Day 1 - The
Replicant
"We wanted to
warm up by climbing the Professor falls but before we knew it we were breaking
trail up to the Trophy wall. With no rock gear the only feasible route seemed to
be the Replicant"





http://olovisaksson.blogspot.com//01/canada-ice-trip-part-1.html



http://olovisaksson.blogspot.com//01/canada-ice-trip-part-2.html

Intruder alert

Jasmine alerted us to the presence of an intruder last night in her usual manner (by barking like a crazy dog).



Just on the other side of the tree line we found a possum. A.k.a. a Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), a.k.a. North America's only native marsupial.

He didn't roll over and play dead, but he sure did a good job at playing frozen.

Winter Trees

Cottonwood trees near Jemez Creek.

Logan Barber

Climbers, you know some memories, even recent, can seem unreal as if they could never have really happened in a world as busy and complicated as this. Jet travel creates sudden disconnections.

I find myself reliving the holds, move by move, on the magical red sandstone of Kalbarri Gorge Western Australia.

Simon Carter, Monique Forestier, Lee and Sam Cujes, Coco Carter and I spent a few days there.

Days from another thread of a different story. This story is not about that.

But being in W.A. got me thinking about the indomitable West Aussie climber Logan Barber.











Logan answered my plea to the internet for an accomplice in China for Easter .

We had about a day and a half cross over in China. That's worth a trip. Lee had told me this guy was someone I should go out of my way to meet. I think his words were "He's another me from W.A."








Logan leaves a trail of drill dust behind as he sends his latest new route on the fresh walls of Dragon City crag.
He gave it 27 (Aus). Sandbag alert!

I've got a good advantage of reach on Logan, but I couldn't find anything useable within reach through the upper sequence. The guy can lock down hard on rubbish small holds.


















Lock down!!!















I was just grateful to the climbing gods for getting me through the run outs on the lower section when it was my go. Balance and guesswork.
























Looking across the valley from dragon City crag, I have to keep reminding myself where I am.

A country that remained so mysterious to so many of us for so long. So vast, so different.







The next morning we head to super crag Lei Pi Shan where Logan has put so much heart and soul into his long project Storm Born. It's his last day in Yangshuo. Like so many Yangshuo routes now, it extends from the ground to the last useable rock.

I jug the 40M to the top for a photoshoot, plans change, Logan and David Kaszlikowski send the nails-hard arete route on the right end of the crag (see below).

I swap out Logan's draws on Storm Born, I still can't remember how I did that, I know I thought I was pretty clever at the time. I put up local legend Abond's shiny new green draws.

Logan resigns himself to the fact that projects don't stay exclusive round here.

They were still there on my last visit.




















Acclaimed Polish photographer and world climber David Kaszlikowski.




















Logan is back in China as we speak. He'll be lugging that drill through the muddy fields and dusty villages on the good quest.




Logan beneath the towering Lei Pi Shan.



Photo: jjobrien iPhone

Find him on Facebook: Logan Barber

He won't answer, he's in China.




jj




ps. this post lost all it's photo links and I've reconstructed it as good as I can.

If anyone knows why google albums would undo it's own links let me know.

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1922)

[page 1]
The thirteenth Annual reunion of the Phend and Fisher families was held at the home of Henry Phend at Columbia City Ind., on the first Sunday in September 1922.

There were 40 members and 7 friends present. The forenoon was spent in a social way. Songs were sung and games were played.

Blessing was offered by Jacob Phend after which a basket dinner was served. After dinner a short business session was held, Will Phend acting as president in Henry Phend's place. The secretary's report was read and approved and the following officers were elected for the following year.
Will Phend - President.
Ralph Ernest - V. President
Christ Phend - Treasurer
Fred Ernest - Secretary.

After the election of officers several short talks were given in which special emphasis was laid upon

[page 2]
the true Christain [sic] spirit which has always predominated in the Phend - Fisher reunions. Younger members of the reunion were urged to take a special interest and help to perpetuate the feeling of good - will and fellowship.

It was decided by vote that the next annual reunion would be held at the home of Jacob Phend, north-west of Elkhart on the first Sunday in September 1923.

Ice cream was served after the business session. Every body reported a good time and expressed their intention to be present at the next annual reunion.

Fred ErnestSec'y.


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. 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.

Cotton

Cotton is a major crop in southern New Mexico. But the drought didn't do the cotton crop any good this year. 1st photo is of cotton still on the plants that were dead at this time of the year. Most of the fields had already been harvested.

Big Bucket

For what ever reason (only the kittens know) our 2 new kittens prefer to drink water out of the larger water bucket that the dogs and older cats use. They will do this even though I put a smaller bowl down for them to use. At first they could just barely reach the water when it was at the top of the bucket. And yes, it is a Easter kids bucket.

Access, Openings, and the U.S. Army

Opportunity knocks with the park virtually closed. Over the past three weeks, I attended an emergency medical course with the U.S. Army at Ft. Lewis. Beyond the obvious benefit of training, it was a privilege to spend time with our soldiers. The training also explains why there have been few updates to the blog...

I continue to get questions about the best way to access the mountain (i.e. Paradise). For all practical purposes, getting to Paradise is almost impossible. Why? Because there is NO public access allowed along the road corridor above Longmire. That means if you have a trip to Paradise planned for later this winter or early spring, scale back your access expectations and consider other locations.

Access to White River isn't that bad, if you have a snow machine. One party rode into the campground, parked, and then snowshoed up to the Inter Glacier. To the right, a snowboarder breaks trail through Glacier Basin (image by Don Boutry). Perhaps some climbers will follow suit? And while we're discussing access to White River and Sunrise... the current thought is that the projected road openings will go as planned next spring. This is welcome news considering the delayed openings on HWY 123; it was totally severed and may not be fully repaired and re-opened until next fall!

Last week, NPS rangers discovered more facility damage to a few of the fire lookouts. Here is Fremont Lookout from the air. Note that the roof is missing. Similar damage was found at Gobblers Knob (the roof blew off and a wall collasped) but Tolmie and Shriner (the other lookouts in the park) survived OK.

The current talk points to an April 1st road re-opening to Longmire. That would make access to the Westside Road easier and more reliable. As for Paradise, they are cautiously predicting May 1st...

As for repairs, they just paved the road at Sunshine Point. Meanwhile, the road crew is installing more culverts at Kautz Creek. Another engineering obstacle remains at milepost 5, where the uphill lane is slumping towards the river. It may not look like much in this photo, but the embankment below is severely eroded by the Nisqually River.

You may have noticed that I am now managing the photos on Flickr and have finally started posting images in the flood folder. But using blogger for this purpose isn't that easy, so we'll see how much I can do with it...

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, ...

New Year

As we go into this New Year, please, remember that Nature is our greatest resource. May your year be filled with peace and beauty.

Who's Got the Pony Watch?

Ziva and Tuffee watching the ponies.

cat owners?

Jo left a comment "I have found it to be true that you can never own a cat...they own you." And this is so very, very true. Here is a photo of Murphy, on the left and Jade, on the right. It is a rare sight to see them together but they do it once in a while. Right now Jade is in my lap helping me type.

Please, Do Your Family a Favor...

My Mother passed away last week (Tuesday, February 15th) and due to her foresight and thoughtfulness, the days following her death were somewhat less stressful than they might have been.



You see, back in January of 1999 Mom planned her own funeral, decided where she was going to be buried, selected the grave marker – and paid for it all!



She purchased the cemetery plot and grave marker outright and got an “insurance policy” to pay for the funeral services. Premiums were paid for three years and guaranteed the cost. She also discussed those arrangements with me, so I knew what she wanted.



She had selected only one song for the service so we chose several more that we knew she liked. The only things that were left to decide and pay for were the flowers for the casket, the funeral cards, thank you notes, and the obituary notices.



The other thing that Mom did that made our decision for us when the time came, was that she discussed her wishes in regards to “heroic measures” or life support in the event that she became terminally ill. It was a heart-wrenching decision that was by no means easy, but essentially one that she had made and we were bound to honor that decision.



Last November, Apple wrote about the process she went through in pre-planning her Mother's funeral as well as selecting a burial site and grave marker. Tough decisions were made and it was stressful, but imagine having to make those decisions in a very short period of time and under even more stressful conditions.



It is definitely not an easy task, but one which your family will forever be grateful. So, if you can, get your funeral planned. At the very least, discuss your wishes with your family. And, if at all possible get it paid for. Now.



Thank you, Mom, for this gift that you gave us.





Mom was cremated and the cremains were buried in the plot shared with her sister at Lakeview Cemetery, Larwill, Indiana. Mom selected a bench marker so that we might have a place to sit when visiting her.

Smile for the Camera, 3rd Edition

footnoteMaven has posted the 3rd edition Smile for the Camera whose topic this time is "Celebrate Home" over at Shades of the Departed. Interesting stories and pictures were contributed which capture the essence of "Home." I'm sure you'll enjoy them, I know I did.

And, the topic for the next edition of Smile for the Camera is "My Favorite Photograph": "Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that is your favorite family photo or that photograph you've collected and wouldn't give up for a King's ransom."

Read more about the topic and find out how you can participate (scroll to the bottom of this post) where you will also find links to the two previous carnivals.

Oh boy, this one is going to be a challenge for me... I don't know how I'm going to pick "just one" favorite!

Images courtesy of footnoteMaven.

Frontenac Galaxy

I found another cool tree to photograph against the night sky. The only problem is that it's over 300 miles away from where I live! Located in Frontenac State Park just south of Red Wing, MN, this tree makes a phenomenal foreground for a shot of the night sky. Jessica noticed the tree and pointed it out as we were heading to dinner in Red Wing after setting up our campsite in the park. I made a mental note to stop on the way back and see what it looked like with a star-filled sky above it. As we made our way back to the park after dinner, I found myself getting anxious in anticipation of what the scene would look like. As soon as I saw the stars above and behind the tree I knew I had to photograph it.



It was a bit of a scramble to get beneath the tree as it is situated on top of a rather steep hill on the side of the road as you drive into the state park. Once I made it up the hill and had my camera set up I started making exposures and right away got frustrated by the number of airplanes moving across the sky! Airplanes streaking through your night shots are rarely a problem in northern Minnesota. I had to wait about 5 minutes before there wasn't a single airplane in my shot, then wait anxiously while the 30 second exposure recorded, hoping all the while that another plane would not fly into the shot. After about 10 tries, I finally got one without an airplane :-)

It is a dead horse... (more on stainless crampons)

but do you really want to be riding it?



OK, this got my attention. In less than 10 days counting back from todayI got reports of 3 pairs of bent, broken or crackedBlack Diamond Stainlesscrampons.



Call me cynical but it was exactly this time last year that the same thing happened...actually within days of each other one year apart. Over a dozen cracked or broken pairs of Black Diamond stainless crampons poppedup over the last year. But 3 in a row, in mid Feb ! Again?!



edit for an update: Same scenario again in Feb. of . More reported BD stainless failures.

It is mid season for ice climbing world wide. Check your crampons. If you are on stainless, check them twice!






This one bent while climbing ice. It isn't trick photography. The front point simply straightened out under body weight,




"The one front point flattened out when he was 5' off the deck. He fellto snow."






cracked using a rigid soled boot









Crack here is circled in red.



And these are crampons I really liked initially, BD's Sabertooth and Serac. Crampons I climbed and soloed in. And the most recent faulty crampons are all the reinforced 2nd gen. versions.



I could care less about Black Diamond. They made it clearlast winter that they have littleconcernabout yoursafety while using thisproduct. The sales samples and prototypes excuses are really long in tooth a full year later. These cracks and failures are all in the same place. Make damn sure you inspect yours closely prior to EVERY use. Thefront point collapsing under body weight is a new one for me.



Check your gear, be attentive and pay ATTENTION if you are still climbingin any of the BD stainless horizontal front pointcrampons. When thesedo come apart, make no mistake, it is a catastrophic failure. Falling off an ice climb because of gear failure can very easily get you dead.



So one more time...



Since Black Diamond won't tell you this, I will.



You all be careful out there on Black Diamond stainless 'pons!Friends don't let their friends climb on stainless horizontals.



More here if you want the enterainment:

http://rafalandronowski.wordpress.com//02/15/broke-my-crampons/



http://www.gravsports-ice.com/icethreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8972&page=all



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//02/soft-shoe-shuffle.html



http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1004766/Broke_my_crampons



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//08/crampon-durability-stainless-or.html

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1934)

25th Anual Reunion of Phend & Fisher Familys Sunday Aug 26, 1934

A fair cowd [crowd] gathered at the Nappannee park for the 25th Phend & Fisher reunion.

Prayer was offerd by John Earnest and the [then] every body enjoyed a good feed after which time was spent in a social visit.

The business meeting was called to order. Pres. Henry Phend. A song by the group after which Barton Thornton led in Prayer.

The Entertainment program as follows
Piano Solo Richard Thornton
Encore number "Honey"
Piano Duet Mrs Cecil Phend & Daughter Madylyn

Buisness meeting
Sec Report Read & approved
Officers elected for following year
Henry Phend Pres
Ruben Pletcher Vice Pres
Cecil Phend Sec & Treasure

[page 2]
Treasure Report
$2.17 Balance
1.60 Expences
.57 left in treasure

Entertainment Committee
Mrs Evelyn Werely Bechtold elected chairman

Moved that we have meeting held in building in Nappannee Park

Death report
Mrs Claude Poole - Mishawaka
Mrs Jacob Phend - Granger

Birth report
Shirley Ann Phend daughter of Mr. & Mrs Victor Phend


The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Northern Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. The events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book. 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.

Another view on alpine clothing?

"Getting the right alpine winter clothing system is a nightmare of trial, effort ... and money, because you go through just about every kind of environment. First you have a walk or ski in, often conducted in sunshine, which makes things incredibly hot. Then you gear up at the base in the shade feeling a little cold and clammy, and follow this with some simul climbing up a big snow couloir to reach the base of the difficulties, where you'll start either getting cold on a belay or want to shed as much clothing as possible to increase your mobility when leading the pitch."



More here:



http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3533



and here:



http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/chamonix-conditions/3369432-alaska--photos-west-buttress-denali-and-the-cassin-ridge

It's a Parade!

Saturday, August 20th - - There were numerous activities in Mellette County, South Dakota this week for their Centennial Celebration and annual Pioneer Days but today was the “big parade” in White River, the county seat, population 580 or thereabouts.





The Parade began with the American Legion Color Guard and the Community Band (on the float behind them) playing the National Anthem.





Of course, Horses were a big part of the parade. A little “artistic license” taken here with selective focus and sepia toning...





This four-horse team was quite impressive.



The “Centennial Christmas Tree” was decorated with sunflowers, amongst other things. The fields of Sunflowers in the area were so pretty and colorful.





Of course, there was some clowning around.



This gal was having way too much fun! I tried hard to get a full face photo of her but she was just moving around too quickly.





Quite the colorful character!

The parade was enjoyed by all. The threat of rain in the morning did not dampen spirits - the voice over the loudspeaker announced that we were part of the largest crowd ever in White River!