Peppermint Stick Zinnia

We were late in planting the garden, so even the quick-starters are just starting to be productive. Last year, I wasted a lot of money on exotic seeds that never germinated. Since I couldn't be sure if it was the seeds or it was me at fault, I decided to keep the flower experiments simple until I had a clue about what I was doing.

Zinnias are easy. Zinnias truly are "Flowers for Dummies". So I bought almost every Zinnia mix that Johnny's offers.



The Peppermint Stick is supposed to be a "fully double bloom".



They're not exactly turning out like that, though. (Compare with the image in that last link.)



Maybe they need more water. I kind of like them this way, though.



One of the "small percentage of solid colors" they warn you about.



This one's trying to go for "double" I guess. Sometimes one of the petals is a solid color like this. I found that if I cut them at this point, those inner petals never unfurl. They seem to stay frozen in time at the moment of cutting.

Like all the other Zinnias, they have excellent staying power as a cut flower.

Success, failures and a happy thrashing to all!

Since my return to rock climbing this past summer, Laura and I have been very busy doing crag work and climbing as much as possible. My shoulder injury from last winters rail antics at 7 Springs seemed to take forever to heal into climbable shape. Starting slow and climbing mostly on 5.11 and under seemed to be working at improving my weak shoulder. After only a short time back and feeling a better I upped the stakes and decided to tryPinch Me I'm Dreaming a 5.12+ mixed gear line at The Knobs in Dunbar, PA. The climb went pretty well, except that I aggravated my shoulder during the ascent. Once again I eased back down to vast amounts of sub 5.10's and easing into 11's for the past several months trying to heal it more. I've since recovered enough and managed to climb a few easy 12's without more injury and am feeling OK, but definitely not 100%. I really want to get back into projecting routes and being able to push harder, but I've been nervous about further injury and destroying myself for ice season. Yesterday Laura and I decided to ride into River's End Crag and climb there for a few hours. We climbed several climbs and I decided it was time to see how healed I was. I decided to drop a rope on Sludge Factory a 5.12+ that I've yet to red point. I figured the top rope was best that way I could safely test my shoulders thresholds without over doing it due to red point determination. I've only tried the route a few days since equipping it back in late . Its seen a couple of ascents that I know of and is a solid route for the grade. To date the best I've done is one hang it. There are two very distinct cruxes on this route. One is making it past the first bolt, the second is surmounting the large overhang at the top. In past efforts the top crux has been my Kryptonite. I'm usually so pumped that hanging in for the last clip is not within my abilities and off flying I usually go waiting to hit the ledge below. Yesterday was just the opposite. The bottom crux rocked my world in every conceivable fashion and the upper went without a hitch despite needing a good brushing. I hope this is the sign of better things to come. I've been waiting patiently trying not to hurt myself, but I really miss working near my limits. I've been recently given the pleasure of watching people on our new routes and have throughly enjoyed seeing both success and failure. Not failure because I'm glad they didn't succeed, but glad in a sense that I remembered how much fun failing can be. Failing means you get to have more days perfecting sections that are "tricky" for you, which in turn makes you a more fluid climber. I haven't met a climber that doesn't like success. The more effort, the sweeter the success. Even after the greatest successes I've found that the "send high" is only a short lived moment of glory that is quickly eclipsed by the next line looking to smack you down. Yesterday was just that for me, the fun part... working the line... getting beat by it and getting to come back and try again another day. Failing just means another day of climbing!

Equipping Sludge Factory in

One of the amazing events I recently witnessed was Laura having a great break through this past week. After being dejected by the crux start ofDeliverance5.11+ at Bruner Run on many attempts, she worked out an inspiring sequence that proves that short folks CAN do this line. Using obscure stemming and showing extreme flexibility, she managed to get a clean send. It was quite funny how convinced she was that it was "impossible for her". She declared that it was a line that she'd never get due to the long reach. Only by pure determination and serious effort was she rewarded with the realization that she could send harder lines... Her display of cranking convinced me that I needed to get back to trying harder despite my shoulder. To put the plan in motion, I'm declaring war on Sludge Factory after a couple rest days. Then its on with Devil's Doorway a project route thatI put anchors on Monday. Its a hard line that repeatedly spit me off years ago when I was a stronger climber. Will I ever send it? Hopefully...or not. Getting to try it once again without injury will be reward enough for me! Happy Climbing



On another note be sure to check out the Ohiopyle climbing guide I've put together in blog form. You can find it on the menu at the top of my page! I'm also working on updating my old Breakneck information and making it available. If you find these useful, drop me a comment. I'd be happy to create guides for other SWPA crags if y'all would like them.

Glowing Clouds over McFarland Lake

After making the "Celestial Fantasy" photo I continued driving up the Arrowhead Trail until I arrived at the swimming beach on McFarland Lake, which is one of the best places in Cook County (in my opinion) to watch the northern lights. This beach has a great view to the north and the lake is often very calm at night, which means you can get great reflections of the lights in the water. Unfortunately when I arrived at the lake the sky was still completely covered with clouds. I hung around here for almost two hours hoping the sky would clear, but it never did. Several times, however, the cloud cover got thin enough that the glow from the lights could be seen even through the clouds. This particular photo is from one of those times when the clouds were thinner. It is my favorite photo made during my time at the lake waiting for the sky to clear.

Three O' Clock Rock ..

Rod and I headed out to Darrington to climb on what was one of the hottest days of the year so far. Not always a good idea for slab climbing, but it usually means Darrington will be dry.

The drive up was pleasant, and soon we were gearing up in the cool valley floor for a hike to the rock. This was Rod's first time at Three O' Clock Rock, and we were debating the routes to try and get on. I really wanted a second crack at Revolver after trying to climb it wet back in September. But I was also interested in climbing Big Tree One again to get some gear placement "practice" in since I hadn't been on rock in over a month. The harder rating of Revolver had Rod suggesting we start on Big Tree One. This made sense, as it is on the South Buttress, and would be sunnier in the afternoon. And Revolver was on the North Buttress and perhaps wouldn't be as hot during the hottest time of day.

We got to the base and geared up for Big Tree. Rod led it and took a while completing the pitch. I had to run off into the woods before following. I joined him at the top of pitch one. We swapped the rack and I headed off on pitch two. Perhaps it is coming off the couch after a month of not climbing, but I didn't remember this pitch to be as run out. I got to the top and brought Rod over and he prepared for the next lead.

Rod headed up the third (and best) pitch of the route. I had told him where I thought the crux was and he made good time heading up to it. At the crux he balked. He tried a higher gear placement and then even added a second cam. He down climbed a few steps and yo-yo'd a bit. He inspected holds and tried different options. After a long while, he confessed to me he did not have the moves in him. I lowered him down to the anchor and I switched to the sharp end to tackle the moves. The crux of the route in my opinion is a move where the lie backing ends and you have a few friction moves before picking up the lie backing again. I'm not sure it is the technical crux of the route, but it is the mental crux as you leave hand holds and counter pressure for some straight smearing.

I climbed up the crux on top rope and then rearranged the gear Rod had placed so I could have more gear above the crux. I tried the moves and was attempting to remember how I did it last time, but I was not being successful. I couldn't commit to my right foot. I down climbed a few times to a ledge to rest my feet. Was I no longer capable of doing the moves? I had tried low, I had tried midway. What if I tried high? I started back up and instead of forcing my moves rightward I just followed the natural rhythm of the rock and found myself going up a bit more before rightward moves commenced. It felt good. The small tree that I had previously slung appeared bigger, but not as lively. I slung it again and headed off to finish the pitch.

Rod joined me and commented that he still didn't like the moves, even on top rope. I presented him with an option to lead the final pitch as I wanted to move onto other things. He didn't feel the need to, so we started rapping the route.

Once back at the packs we huddled in the shade and ate lunch. With my need to be back in Seattle by 5pm, it was too late to start a 6+ pitch route like Revolver. We had to come up with other options. I suggested Dirt Circus, a route I had not previously done. The first pitch was bolted 5.9 and the second was a bolted 5.9+. I offered the easier first pitch to Rod and we hiked over to the base.

There must be a good reason for this route to be called dirt circus. The first 10' of stone were filthy. We joked about how we should have power washed it before climbing in the morning and that it would have been ready to go by the afternoon. Rod tied in and made several attempts to place a cam so he could continue. After a period of time he said it wasn't going to happen and I offered another route for us to climb.

Rod got the lead on Under the Bored Walk. A route I suggest to anyone who is climbing at Darrington for the first time. I had him lead it to the top in one pitch. I followed, experimenting with my approach shoes. This was quite scary at first, but as the difficulty eased and I got used to the feeling of chicken heads under my feet, it was not too bad. Afterward, Rod said the route was a good one to bring people new to rock climbing as it was fun and easy.

I love Three O' Clock Rock for the ease of approach and so many good climbs in a range that I can climb. It was great being out on the rock. I feel I needed this to prep me for Squamish in two weeks. We'll see how things go.

Starring Nobody

I took on a touch too much this weekend. Huge group at work, cooking for 150 hungry black belts, rush out for a lap on the project with Lee and Sam, dash to Brissy for photos with The Red Phoenix Style team (AKA my twin daughters), back to work for Ethical Pickles production team (Yaana and Sandra) and more.

Let's just say corners were cut. Things were compromised. Mistakes were made.

But the results were fab.

Celebrity blogger "Starring Nobody" AKA Kirsten Morrison modeled some stunning threads by some totally important designers.

But this is not one of them. Lotus picked up this sparkly number in the op shop for 10 bucks. That's immersion quality clothing. And in she went.











The whole shoot was for the client "The French Peg" a sweet little Paddington boutique.

But this is not that.








Climbers, it's possible you are getting a pre-release peek at The Red Phoenix Emporium collection of necklaces and earrings "Nature in Neon"

This cowboy blogger never checks permissions. No time.








Adrift.































The style team at jjobrienclimbing are totally and utterly impressed with the new collection, seriously I don't know how those girls keep hitting the trend bang on.








Kirsten looks superb in this rig, confirming the fact that an RPE necklace will make a $10 dress look a million. That's a fact.








Snapped between shivering bouts. Kirsten is die hard dedicated to style.






Is the collection online yet? Keep checking Red Phoenix Emporium or drop into The French Peg


2/237 Given Tce, Paddington Brisbane.








There is nothing this girl has not covered in style on her blog starring-nobody.blogspot.com

Thank you Kirsten, Lotus, Willow and all for another amazing shoot.




jj

H Street Revisited

Now that H Street is coming back into its own, I wanted to pick my father’s brain about what it was like back in his day, in the 1920s. I decided we ought to take a tour, and see what was left, so we climbed into my pollen laden car and went back in time.

Our first hurdle was driving down H Street from Northwest to Northeast Everywhere we went the streets are being ripped up or there is new construction. Plus Dad couldn’t see through all the green funk on the windshield so that was a handicap, but we finally found the block where my grandfather, Peter Cokinos, had his candy shop at 1103 H Street. There’s a convenience store and an empty space there now, but back then he used to make candy and ice-cream in the basement. He made a very good living at it, too, and retired in about 1926.

I asked Dad if there were any other Greeks around back then, and it sounds like you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a half dozen families - including branches of our own clan. Jim Cokinos, a first cousin, to Papou, had a deli at 10th and K, and the Kendros family lived nearby. There was the Kavakos Grill at 8th and H which became a nightclub during World War II, plus The Rendezvous which the Kalevas family ran. The Chaconas Bar and Grill was at 10th and H, and the Bacchus Grill was at H and 15th ( owned by the Bachhus family not the god)
He also remembers the Paramount Grill was run by two Greek brothers. It was "a blue collar sort of breakfast place". (Imagine that.)

Besides all the Greeks ,there was also Whall's Department Store which was 2 stories high and carried everything. There were three movie theaters- the Apollo, the Empire and the Princess - all of them gone now. (The Atlas which is now a performing arts center
didn’t open until the late thirties.) There were lots of beauty shops and barbershops- altogether a thriving business community.

Our next stop was 919 11th Street, the house Dad and his older sister, Catherine were born in. Peter Cokinos bought this house brand new probably in 1914. The block is a little worn down now, the fluted columns on the houses have been replaced, but it's still standing. Our family moved from here to Macomb Street around 1927.



We nabbed a mail person and continued down memory lane.
A few blocks away, at the corner of Montello and Neal, we found
Samuel Wheatley Elementary. Dad didn't recognize it at first as it had gained two large additions since he went there, but the whole school is empty now. This is where Dad and Aunt Catherine walked to school,
and where they learned to speak English for the first time.

Next it was over to the DC Farmer's Market. ( not to be confused with Eastern Market) A lot of the stalls are boarded up now. Of course, Dad remembers when it was all going full force, though it took us a while to find Litteri's Italian market. The paint has faded, but little else has. changed, and Mom thought she even recognized one of the countermen. After waiting a couple of years for a couple of sandwiches which were actually worth the wait, we picnicked with the carpenter bees at my son Kit’s school, Hardy which is being housed in a building that was the Hamilton School. The school is located on Brentwood Parkway just off Florida Avenue, within walking distance of his grandfather's childhood.

Big Bend Revisited :: Torrey Yucca

Thursday, February 28th - - As I was driving from one place to another, I kept seeing this strange looking plant. It stood anywhere from four to six feet in height. Usually the bottom half was still brown and dry looking, but on the upper portion were long green spikes and a huge flowering head. There are quite a few pull-outs along the park roads but it seemed there weren't any of these plants in those areas. I finally found a pull-out with several of them somewhat near the road, while on my way to Boquillas Canyon.




This is the Torrey Yucca... The University of Texas at Austin website has some information about the plant as well as some pretty neat photos.







Many of the specimens I saw had only one flowering clump adorning the top, but this one, as well as others, are sporting two.







What appears at first glance to be one
huge flower turns out to be a clump of many small flowers, in varying
stages of development.

Yucca Blossoms

Close up of some yucca blossoms.

Embracing Wrinkles

One question I am often asked about cycling to work, is how to avoid wrinkles on business and formal attire. I don't have many pictures of myself dressed up, but I do cycle in suits and dresses that fall into the business/ formal category. And rather than avoid wrinkles, I tend to choose clothing that either doesn't wrinkle easily, or that is meant to look wrinkled. This habit is a hold-over from a life of constant travel combined with a hatred of dry-cleaning and ironing boards, and it lends itself well to cycling. Here are some suggestions I can make from personal experience.

My go-to fabric for looking presentable in the warmer months is linen (shown above). I own several linen skirt and pant suits, and I mix and match them to create a variety of outfits. People tend to think of linen as a limited, "afternoon tea at a resort" sort of fabric, but in fact it comes in many weights and textures. A dark, crisply tailored linen suit can look formal, while a pastelgauzy linen dress can look whimsical. But what all linens have in common is that they actually look good wrinkled; wrinkles are part of their "personality." That's what makes them great for tossing into a suitcase, and it's also what allows me to get on and off the bike as many times as I want without worrying whether my skirt needs to be frantically smoothed out before a meeting.

I am also a fan of "twist-dried" designs. There may be a formal name for this process that escapes me, so someone please help me out. But what I mean is that there is a style of shirts, skirts, even evening dresses where the wrinkles are part of the garment's very design. This is achieved by drying the article of clothing in a wrung-out, or twisted manner. The resulting wrinkles are clearly intentional. They add a sense of structure and the illusion of subtle colour variation to the fabric once it is dry. Typically, the twist-dried effect is produced by the manufacturer, but you can create it on your own by simply drying any shirt, skirt, or dress (crisp cottons and silks with no pockets work best) in this fashion. Having wrinkles as an inherent design element of your outfit eliminates the need to worry about them.



To some extent, the same idea can be generalised to textured fabrics. Tweed, seersucker, lace, embroidery - the texture both disguises wrinkles and somewhat prevents them from forming.



If your dress code limits you to more conventional suiting, I have found that wool skirts and trousers tend to be more forgiving as far as wrinkling goes than other fabrics. They still wrinkle, just less so. Not getting on and off the bicycle saddle every time I stop (but leaning the bike and putting a toe down instead) has been helpful in preventing wrinkles from forming as well.

Of course for dresses there is wool jersey, though it has become increasingly more difficult to find ready-made. I've been working with a designer to help create a cycling-specific dress with a couple of interesting features, and one reason we chose jersey is for its non-wrinkling properties. While I prefer wool or bamboo jersey, cotton jersey and various artificial blends work well in this respect also and are easier to find in stores.IbexandIcebreakerhave begun to make wool jersey dresses, and while theirs tend to lean toward the more casual, it's a promising sign. The nice thing about jersey fabrics, is that they not only resist wrinkling, but also have some give to them, allowing you to move easier on the bike.



One last suggestion I can make for those whose clothing is wrinkle-prone, is to try throwing a coat on over the outfit. Granted, this works best in cooler weather, with stiff wool coats. But in warmer weather even a thin trenchcoat can be helpful.

While cycling to work is easy if your typical wardrobe already lends itself to it, I think it's important to address the concerns of those who would like to ride in their regular clothing but, for whatever reason, find it impractical. Sometimes it is a matter of having the right bike or accessories, other times it's a matter of making minor alterations to your wardrobe without inherently changing the way you dress. What are yours strategies for dealing with wrinkles and other forms of dishevelment that cycling may impose on your clothing? If it were crucial in your line of work to always look crisp and impeccably groomed, would you still ride to work?

It's Looking Better...

One day this past week was spent at the Allen County Public Library attempting to determine the validity of the statement made in an article by Carrie Bray in 1949 that her great-grandfather (my 3rd great-grandfather) John Bray had arrived in Indiana on March 5, 1816.



An affidavit by Daniel Bray in the Revolutionary War pension file of his father John Bray, stated that “Some time in the early part of the year 1816, he went to the land office of Cincinnati to enter the North East quarter of Section No 25, town No 2, range 3 West. That owing to some mistake in the land office he could not effect an entry and he was obliged to return home and that his father John Bray, then went to the office and entered the said quarter...”



So the “problem” was: When was the land actually purchased and why did Daniel state that it was in Range 3?



The book “Indiana Land Entries Volume I” by Margaret R. Waters, published in 1948, contains the records for Indiana that are from the Cincinnati Land Office. It covers the area known as the “wedge” in the southeast corner of the state.







The map above shows the status of the Indiana Territory in 1810 with the four counties in existence at the time: of Knox (Kn), Harrison (Har), Clark (Clk), and Dearborn (Dea). The “wedge” mentioned in the Waters book was the area known as Dearborn county in 1810 as well as neighboring portions of Clark County.







By 1814 there were a few more counties in the Indiana Territory. Franklin and Wayne counties were created in 1811 while Switzerland was created in 1814 from that Dearborn “wedge” area as well as from portions of other counties. The two maps above are from the Genealogy Inc. website.



In the introduction of her book, Margaret R. Waters states that the records were copied solely for genealogical purposes to enable a searcher to learn if an ancestor located in Indiana and if so, where and when. To save time and space the acreage and final certificate numbers were omitted. A minimum amount of information is given (name, property description, date of entry) but enough to determine if the person of interest entered land in what would become the state of Indiana.







At the top of page 79 was the entry for John Bray showing that he entered the “NE 1/4 of S25 on 3-5-1816”. The line just below John, includes the name of Edward Ray who may be the same person who married Jane Bray, daughter of John. The previous page (78) showed that the land was in Switzerland County in T2N, R4W of the 1st PM (Township 2 North, Range 4 West of the 1st Principal Meridian).







The map above (from the Waters book) shows the “wedge” area of land from the Cincinnati Land Office included in the book “Indiana Land Entries Volume I”.







This enlarged portion of the previous map shows the townships that comprise Switzerland County. The dotted lines show the boundaries of Switzerland and Ohio Counties. (Ohio County was created in 1844 from Dearborn.) The land that John Bray purchased was in T2N R4W, which is in that tiny red triangle bordering Range 3 West.







Portion of a Switzerland County Map from the My Indiana Home website showing the location of Braytown in Craig Township.



Luckily for me, the Allen County Public Library has a series of microfilms called “Ohio Land Records” which includes the records of the Cincinnati Land Office. Film OLR-110 contained “Cincinnati Land Office Entries, 1814-1829” and it was even indexed by page number. Most of the page numbers were missing or illegible but it didn't take long to find his entry since I had the date he entered the land.







Cropped portion of the page showing the entry for John Bray (last entry on the image). The date at the top shows the transaction was made on March 5th 1816. The text in the column on the right states “John Bray of Franklin County applied to enter the North East quarter of Section 25 Town 2 Range 4 West - Containing 159 44/100 acres and produces the Receiver's Receipt No 30668 dated this day for $79 72/100 amt [?] being the one fourth part of the purchase money of said quarter Section of Land.”



So it seems that the date of March 5, 1816 as given by Carrie Bray in her 1949 article correlates to the date of purchase of the land. It also confirms the statement made by Daniel Bray in his affidavit that he went to the land office in Cincinnati “some time in the early part of the year 1816”.



But there was a surprise in the land entry document - the statement that John Bray was “of Franklin County”.



In searching the web for information, I came across the site Cincinnati Land Office Records, which appears to be a part of the Ohio Memory project even though those records are not included in their list of collections. The site contains images of the original land patents issued to the purchasers. There are only a little over 300 documents currently online but it is going to be an awesome site when they get more documents published. Anyway, at the bottom of the second paragraph of “About this collection” it states

“In certain instances it has been impossible to determine the correct state of origin of the purchaser; generally this is due to the fact that both Indiana and Ohio have identically-named counties, such as Franklin County. In these cases, both Ohio and Indiana have been listed as the state of origin.”

So that might present a little problem. However, Franklin County, Indiana is so very close to Switzerland County while Franklin County, Ohio is further north and east, closer to the central part of Ohio. Since we don't know the whereabouts of John Bray between 1805 and 1816 (as mentioned in The Evidence at Hand) it is possible that he could have ventured further north, but I don't think so. Perhaps that is just wishful thinking on my part. If he was “of Franklin County, Indiana Territory” then that would be evidence that he was actually residing in the area and would definitely be eligible for membership in the Territorial Guard Society of Indiana.



We have the record of the land entry on March 5, 1816 and the statement by Daniel Bray that he, then his father John, went to the Cincinnati Land Office in the early part of 1816. Does that constitute enough evidence to be able to say that they were then residing in the Indiana Territory?



What other records exist during that time period that can be used to help substantiate the claim that John Bray resided in the Indiana Territory in 1816?

The Keweenaw Peninsula :: Fort Wilkins

Sunday, August 7th - - It was an extremely cloudy and overcast day on Saturday with a forecast of rain in the afternoon. The rain didn't materialize until Sunday morning but I spent a leisurely day Saturday getting caught up with everyday tasks – grocery shopping, laundry, etc. And, of course, working on the computer and writing blog posts. You not only learn to take advantage of the “good” days (the pretty ones with blue skies and sunshine) but also the “bad” days that are somewhat dreary and sometimes a little depressing.



Sunday morning I headed northwest, catching US 41 and following it all the way to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and stopped at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park for the night. The further north I drove, the nicer the weather got. The rain stopped and the sun came out. Blue skies returned.



In the 1840s when the copper rush took place the US Government built Fort Wilkins due to a concern with possible disorder and violence amongst the miners and local natives. The Army built 27 structures, including a guardhouse, powder magazine, seven officer's quarters, two barracks, two mess halls, a hospital, storehouse, sutler's store, quartermaster's store, bakery, blacksmith's shop, carpenter's shop, icehouse, four quarters for married enlisted men, stables, and a slaughter house – all to house the operations of two full-strength infantry companies. Several of the original structures still survive while others have been reconstructed following archaeological excavations.



It was an interesting self-guided tour. Apparently they have costumed interpreters on-site during some periods of the summer, but not while I was there! However, there are plenty of informative displays all around that provide a good deal of information.





The Officer's Quarters and another building reflected in the old glass windows of another building.





I thought it was interesting that the four buildings housing the married enlisted men and their families were outside the gates of the fort!





One of the other things that I thought was really interesting is that they displayed copies of original documents – some census records, muster rolls, etc. and they have documented the lives of most of the men who served at Fort Wilkins!



This graphic, with reflections abounding, tells the tale of the soldiers stationed at Fort Wilkins. Wouldn't it be neat if one of your ancestors had served there?



In total, two hundred seventy-one enlisted men served at Fort Wilkins between 1844 and 1870. Records for all but ten have been found. What became of these soldiers after they left here?

• One of every twelve died in the army – half of them from natural causes.


• One of every ten serving here in the 1840s was a battlefield casualty in the Mexican War.


• One of every nine enlisted men to serve here left the army by desertion.


• Less than 4% (one of every twenty-six) re-enlisted.

More photos of Fort Wilkins via Google Images.

Blue Skies and Sunshine!

Tuesday morning (August 17th) I left Sue and Fred at the campground in Seward under cloudy, overcast skies and drizzling rain. They will be going to Haines, about 900 miles away, with a short visit to Juneau and Skagway before heading back through Canada to the Lower 48.

We had hoped to pay a visit to Exit Glacier but, due to all of the rain, the road to the glacier was closed on the day we arrived in Seward. It is one of the few glaciers in Alaska that is accessible by road and you can walk a short trail from the parking area up to the face of the glacier. That is, you can if the road is open! On Sunday (the 15th) they were evacuating everyone from the area.

I spent most of Tuesday at the Library getting blog posts written and scheduled and reading a few other blogs. I did take several walks around Seward in between the downpours. It was rather nice walking in a drizzling rain but a chill would set in and I'd head back to the Library! I also stopped in at Kenai Fjords Visitor Center to see if the road to Exit Glacier was open, it wasn't. That night I stayed at the Forest View Campground again. About 8 o'clock I noticed that patches of blue were peeking through the clouds.

Wednesday morning I awoke to sunshine and blue skies!! The road to Exit Glacier was only a few miles from the campground so I drove on out. There are several pullouts where you get a nice view of the glacier.

Exit Glacier. So close, yet so far away.

Two miles from the glacier the road was barricaded and a Ranger was directing traffic to the nearby trail parking lot. She said that there had been a tremendous amount of rain the past month over the glacier. It had gotten over 12 inches of rain on each of two different days! The glacier deposits silt in the river and as water comes down it carves new channels to get through that silt.

A new channel had been made and it was undercutting the road. Water was still flowing over the road so they could not determine the extent of the damage yet.

I could have walked the two miles to the parking lot and then another half mile to the face of the glacier. However, I would have had to ford the water streaming over the road and there was no guarantee that I'd actually be able to get to its face. I was happy that I had at least been able to view it, albeit from a distance, and decided to continue on my journey.

Later that afternoon I stopped at Bird Creek Campground in Chugach State Park along Turnagain Arm about 25 miles south of Anchorage. It is nice, for a primitive campground (pit toilets and no water). There were quite a few fishermen getting their lines wet at Bird Creek, which flows into Turnagain Arm.

The Alaska Railroad runs between the highway and Turnagain Arm.
The sunset Wednesday night was incredible. Clouds had moved in and the sun was having a great time in lighting them up!

To the Southeast.
And the Southwest.
And the West.
Fantastic!