I'd like to see these two get married!

I know, hard to visualisebut I would really like to see these two boots have mutant off spring in a size 45.















How about a real climbing boot you can actually ski in that istech binding compatible @ about 900g per boot?

"The truth is that LaSportiva's original heritage business was leather ski boots and when it all went to plastic in the 70's La Sportiva abandoned the category because they couldn't afford the plastic injection mold investment costs and that is when they really started focusing on climbing and mountaineering"Colin Lantz, La SportivaThe brain trust is there, who better to combine the two technologies?

Something similar in volumeto the TLT and a price aroundthe TLT Performance's retail? Doublethe retail price of the Spantik and still save money?!





Photo courtesy of Krister Jonsson

http://www.alpinemadness.se/Mountainguide/Home.html



The technology is obviously there now. Not like we are looking back to the future or anything. Galiber's "Rigid Rand" fromthe '70s.





Scott Super Lights from the '70s as well.





With the current technology this would be easy. Would you want a pair?

Driving As a Cyclist

Until last week I had not been behind the wheel of a car since 2007. ButI knew this day would come - the day I would want to drive again.




Over my years as a driver, the cars I've owned have always had automatic transmission - I never learned how to drive manual. When I mention this to an Irish friend, he shakes his head and roars with laughter. "Automatic!"He says it as if the word itself, used in relation to cars, is amusing in its absurdity."Automatic?! Okay, so you never learned to drive properly in the first place. Well come on - I'll learn ya!"




And just like that, I am in the driver's seat. I feel ready for this, looking forward not only to being behind the wheel after such a long time, but specifically to trying the manual gear-shifting. And the funny thing is - this enthusiasm comesfrombeing a cyclist, not in spite of it.





The 8 mile stretch of Benone Beach is like an unpaved extension of the road. Cautiously I maneuver the rickety Saab along the sand, my left hand on the gear shift knob, my senses heightened, trying to listen to the engine's sounds and feel the give in the clutch.



Things do not go as badly as I thought they might. I am not stalling out. I press the correct pedals. My hand is getting used to the positions of the gears, so that I can shift without looking. Operating the gear box makes sense, having gotten used to the concept and feel of gears on the bike. When the gear is too high, the car makes a straining noise - not unlike a cyclist grinding along at a painfully low cadence. When the gear is too low, the car feels as if it is spinning out, unable to pick up speed efficiently. It is not a perfect analogy by any means, but it is just enough to make sense. And I can feel that with some practice this will become intuitive.



I think of driving now differently than I did 5 years ago. Cycling is a very physical activity, and it has made me more viscerally aware of the mechanics involved in operating a vehicle. I think of driving as a serious skill, rather than a perfunctory action. When in the passenger's seatI now find myself more aware of the driver's technique and degree of control under different road surface conditions and speeds.Having worked so hard to learn how to handle my bike on winding mountain roads, I appreciate the handling skills involved in operating all vehicles - be they motorcycles, tractors or cars.Some of the people I know here are extremely skilled drivers, and I must admit that riding with them is exciting. I am impressed with the smoothness and precision with which they operate their complicated, heavy 4-wheel motorised vehicles. And if I do drive myself, I aspire to aim for the same degree of proficiency.

Mt. Baker

The other guys had to head home after Shuksan, but Dave and Doug stayed to climb Baker the next day. As the forest thinned out, we came to a staircase of flat rocks.





We see a lot of awesome flowers on our climbs.





Sulfur gas and clouds high on Baker. We climbed the Easton Glacier.





An icefall area low on the Easton.




Baker is known for it's numerous huge crevasses!






Dave taking in the view.



Climbers on the edge of Sherman Crater. Sulfur gas is rising behind them.







Sherman Crater as seen from the summit.







Sulfur gas is constantly hissing out of fumaroles in Sherman Crater.













Dave and Doug on the summit.







Doug looking down at the Easton and Deming Glaciers.

Re-emergence

I almost spoke too soon... after another marathon DSL fix-it session (two guys for 6 hours this time, and they didn't show up until Thursday), we thought all was well. Oh, the relief! The zippy page loading!

But that comfy, fluffy feeling was missing again the next morning, along with the DSL.

Yesterday it only took two fix-it hours (times two guys) to restore sanity. And so far, so good. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Johannes Fendt 1782 Christening Record

The christening record for Johannes shows that he was christened 18 January 1782, the illegitimate son of Catharina Fendt from Aarmuehle. The witnesses were Johannes Seiler from Boenigen; Johannes Wilhelm from Matten, and Anna ab Buehl. The entry is #8, the second from the top.

Copy of microfilm record received in January .. from Sonja Reid (my 4th cousin 5 generations removed - or something like that).

• Title: Gsteig bei Interlaken Kirchenbuch, 1593-1875
• Author: Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche
• Publication: Microfilmed Staatsarchive des Kantons Bern, 1991
• Call Number: ..438 - ..447
• Page: FHL Film ..439, Christenings 1782, Page 231, Entry #8

Sonja noted that "the interesting thing about the name is the inconsistency in the way it was spelled. It is spelled B'hend, Bhend, Phend, and Fendt. It is often dependent on the time frame in which the information was recorded. Often at the birth of the child it is spelled one way and subsequent entries for the same person or for other children born to the same couple are spelled a different way."

Johannes Fendt, aka Jean B'hend, aka Johannes Phend, was my 3rd Great Grandfather and emigrated to the United States in 1832.

Christmas notes

Mom's tree


Mom made some horsies for the grandkids. One she had a pattern for, but the other she drew out herself, from a picture in Better Homes and Gardens magazine.


Some cute neices and a handsome nephew, from hubby's side of the family. (Technically not from Christmas, but close enough.) This is before his sister's cats started trying to eat the tree, and it had to be put up much higher.

Fury

In the late 1950's there was a TV show about a little boy and his big black horse called Fury. I saw a model of him and of course wanted it. Both my sister and I got one for Christmas that year. This is mine.

Mt Rainier Storm & Flood Damage Photos - Carbon/Ipsut

The NW corner of the park usually has its own share of flood related damage each year. And though it's not unusual for there to be Carbon River inspired washouts, this rainstorm brought substantially more destruction to the area. For example, here is the idyllic Ipsut Creek Cabin. It suffered heavily during the flood. Is it me, or does this place remind you of Yoda's house on Dagoba?

This creek diversion gives literal meaning to the name, Ipsut Creek Cabin. If Yoda did live here, he'd have to use quite a bit of "the force" to fix things.

As for the Carbon River Road, more than two miles of it washed away in at least four separate spots. In some places, the river flowed down the middle of the road (like here). For climbers, this could spell delay in early season attempts of Liberty Ridge.

AND another washout closer to Ipsut Creek Campground.

As for the Wonderland and other park trails, here's a brief run down on the storm damage. Keep in mind, the full extent may not be known till next spring, as these assessments were made from the air. For now, backpackers should probably expect things (bridges) to open up later than normal next summer. There are at least 10 bridges out around the Wonderland Trail. New trail needs to constructed in four other places. That includes a half mile reroute between Lake James and Cataract Creek and another 750 foot section in Stevens Canyon. NPS Photos

Photo Studio - Light Tent

Earlier this week Nikki-Ann purchased a mini photo studio for taking pictures of some of her collectibles. She has a couple of nice examples of the results. The "studio" she mentions sells for about $80 here in the states.

We all have things we'd like to photograph but maybe the cost doesn't quite fit into your budget, can't be justified or perhaps you only have a few things to photograph. The alternative to buying a mini studio is to make one yourself!

Sure. Well, I found two versions of a photo studio/light box you can build yourself and both seem do-able. One is of a temporary nature and is created from a cardboard box while the other is more permanent and uses a frame constructed with PVC pipe. Both sites provide excellent directions. With a little ingenuity, I think these could even be used for taking pictures of photographs that can't be scanned, such as those pasted in albums that would be destroyed if scanned or those too large for the scanner. The light boxes should help eliminate hot spots usually caused by harsh, direct lighting.

I think I might give the cardboard box a try next week. A box, a little tape, and some tissue paper. What could be easier? We'll see.



The photos above show the studio that can be purchased, one that is made from a cardboard box, and one made with PVC pipe. The pictures were obtained from the following sites:

commercial site: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=312182
from a box: http://strobist.blogspot.com/../07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html
from PVC pipe: http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent

Hartington to Dovedale ,via Thorpe Cloud

With Maureen, Barry and Gordon. Eddie, in spite of his back, climbed Thorpe Cloud, but not via the path. Glorious weather. 8.5 miles for the whole thing.



The start of the walk is in Hartington, at the side of the public toilets, on the Hulme End side of, and across the road from, the Charles Cotton Hotel.





The walk is clearly marked at the start, and once you arrive in Beresford Dale it is simply a matter of walking the well-worn path beside the river.

You go through a section of youngish woodland, Morson Wood, which was planted by Les Morson and family in 1994. The plaque with this information was presented by the 1998 Hartington Sports Committee in memory of Les. My photo was out of focus, hence this paragraph.



As we walked along there were several footbridges over the Dove, some leading to footpaths, some to private land. Wonderful names like " Frank-i-th-rocks bridge" and "Gipsy Bank bridge". Scenery delightful - mainly wooded slopes and grassland.



Just before the villlage of Milldale we came to a bridge over the river - the road to Alstonfield goes uphill to the right and the Milldale road carries straight on.







We took the Milldale road, which has a footpath alongside, and goes closer to the river for a short time. We decided to take a break at Milldale and support the local shop - always a welcome oasis for hungry and thirsty walkers. Even after last night's meal, a couple of cheese and onion sandwiches went down rather well. Okay, we had had breakfast as well, but we had walked almost five miles and there were more ahead.



After Milldale, Dovedale begins to show its "little Switzerland" side, with the limestone rocks and more dramatic scenery. The Dove Holes caves, Ilam Rock, Tissington Spires, Lion's Head Rock, Reynard's Cave, up a bit to Lovers Leap and down and onward to the Stepping Stones.

A heron perched very high above the river

Decision time - who's up for Thorpe Cloud? A trickier ascent than I remember, and worse going down. A dreadful path but worth it for the sense of achievement and the views.

We conquer the Cloud

All that remained was an essential dipping of my bare feet into the river, a welcome cereal bar provided by Maureen, and the half mile or so saunter to the car park. One last ice-cream and we headed for home.

This poster is in fact of Millers Dale (not Dovedale or Milldale).

- the elevation profile of this walk is interesting. Compare to yesterday's walk as well. Even Thorpe Cloud summit is lower than the walk we did along the Tissington and High Peak Trails!



Dry stone Walls in Derbyshire- a brief history of the walls and enclosures in the county.

Mt. Rainier, Emmons Glacier

After postponing the climb for a couple of weeks, the weatherman finally gave us a green light to climb Rainier. We have seen bears up here before, but not this close! This encounter was the best part of the climb.



Our team high up on the Emmons Glacier just after sunrise. Steamboat Prow and Camp Schurman are way below us.



Doug, Ron, Spencer and Jim on the summit. The wind was blowing 50-60 mph. We did not stay there very long.



This is one of the reasons that we rope up! It was Spencer's turn to cross the dicey snow bridge. This was the second best part of the climb.

Climbing would not be nearly as fun or rewarding, if it wasn't difficult and a little scary now and then.

This 'n That and 21.3%

This... I guess it's about time I checked in with y'all. Yep, I'm still alive and kicking but those Hoffman folk have taken over my research... I now have a pretty good idea of the meaning behind that ancestry.com slogan "You don't even have to know what you're looking for... you just have to start looking." Of course, it does help to have a few "clues" to start with. But in the past three months I've added nearly 500 descendants of John and Catharine (Coy) Hoffman to my Legacy database! And yes, they are sourced... but not necessarily in the "ESM" style.



It had been quite a while since I had gone looking for "more recent" relatives and I do love how ancestry.com gives those hints along the right side of the screen after you've found someone in a census or other record. Sometimes there are lots of those hints and other times not so many. Of course, you still need to be able to determine if the hints are really for the person for whom you are looking. But, my goodness, it's so much easier now than it was, oh, 20 years ago!



'n That... Research is on hold for now. I left Indiana last week to come to Huntsville, Alabama to help out my friend/distant cousin (3rd cousin once removed in the Joslin line) while she is recovering from cancer surgery. Recovery from the surgery has been very good but she's had a terribly painful flare-up of rheumatoid arthritis in her hands and shoulders. Then her left knee started swelling up and has been quite painful - that's been diagnosed as osteoarthritis. After visits to several doctors yesterday and today, medication has been prescribed that will, hopefully, ease the pain. After she recovers from the surgery she will have 5-6 more rounds of chemo to blast away the remaining cancer. So, if you'd care to add Babs to your prayer list, I'm sure she would appreciate it.



and 21.3%... I'm a little behind on blog reading but I saw Judy Russell's post More Lost Than Found and Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge and, though a little late, thought I'd see how I measure up. Like Judy, I've got far more ancestors missing than I've found, but overall, not too bad. Things look good for the first four generations, but starts dropping off at the fifth.







I'd be quite pleased if I could locate the six missing 3rd Great Grandparents, but they are back in the "old country" of Switzerland or Germany and I haven't a clue really, as to which little town from whence they came.



The missing 3rd Great Grandparents:

• Parents of Charles Wiseman (1815-1895) born Switzerland, died Switzerland County, Indiana


• Parents of Michael Fisher (abt 1800-1845) born Germany, died Carroll County, Ohio


• Parents of Christena Houck, wife of Michael Fisher, (abt 1805-after 1850) born Germany, died unknown

And, if I could find the elusive parents of Ruth Dyer, Sally Church, and Abigail Price they would surely fill in some of the empty spots!

Winter Afternoon on Picnic Point

On Wednesday of this week Jessica and I took a day trip into Ontario to do a little afternoon hiking and to spend the evening at the movies. We hiked to High Falls on the Pigeon River via the trail at Pigeon River Provincial Park then went a little further up the road and hiked down to Picnic Point, a fantastic spot on the Lake Superior shoreline.



The Canadian shoreline is very different from the Minnesota shoreline. For the most part the Minnesota shore is straight with relatively few islands and bays. Once you cross the border into Canada, however, the shoreline takes on a totally different character. The islands and bays are plentiful, and both can be huge.



This view is looking east towards Thunder Bay with Pie Island sitting on the horizon behind the sunlit island, and Thompson Island running down the horizon along the right side of the photo. Our timing to this location couldn't have been better... when we arrived at the tip of the point the little island in the bay (not sure if it has a name) was bathed in sunlight. We found several fascinating pieces of ice along this shoreline as well. It was a great spot to spend some time on a mild (the temp was in the mid 30's) January afternoon.

Mountains

Would have liked to go to the mountains on this 3 day weekend, but I know they are always packed on the first holiday of the summer. Besides we can't afford the gas, and neither of us is feeling that good to take that long of a drive. So guess we will just hang out here at the house. Pet the dogs, cats, and horses, and watch the car races. I did give Sonny a bath this morning. The horses were attached yesterday by some sort of horrid bitting, bloodsucking nat (gnat). Each one I killed was full of blood. So I made a stronger fly spray and sprayed them good yesterday and today and got out the fly masks. I had bathed Nita and Star a few weeks ago but hadn't done Sonny yet this spring. He really likes his bath and to be pampered with grooming. Now to teach the ponies, Trave and Stormy that they can like it, too.

Fire in the Sky

Horsethief Lake, Columbia Hills State Park, Wishram, WashingtonSeptember 20, ..