The Real Unfinished Business at Chiricahua

At Chiricahua there are a series of trails that when combined will take you from Massai Point or Echo Canyon down to the Visitor Center 6.3 miles and 1,380 feet below. In addition, there are two spur trails of a mile each, making the trek 8.3 miles long (actually 8.5 including the half-mile trail from the Visitor Center back to the campground). And, this is why I returned to Chiricahua. When I was there in March, the thought of making such a long hike (it seemed long to me at the time) was daunting. That, and the fact that much of the trail was downhill didn't sink in until after I had left!

First, a shuttle bus takes you to the starting point, bright and early at 8:30 in the morning. It's about a 20 minute ride to Echo Canyon where I started out. From there it is a short walk to the Ed Riggs Trail, which connects to the Mushroom Rock Trail, which connects to the Big Balanced Rock Trail, which connects to the Sarah Deming Trail, which connects to the Lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail, which (finally) takes you to the Visitor Center. (Ah, the genealogy of a hike!) At the intersection of Mushroom Rock and Big Balanced Rock is the spur trail to Inspiration Point. Then midway along Big Balanced Rock Trail is the Heart of Rocks Loop.

Of course, there are some people that start this hike from the Visitor Center and go UP to Massai Point. However, I wasn't one of those people, besides why go up when you can just as readily go down? (Since there are so many images in this post, they have been made smaller. Please click on an image to view a larger version.)

The Ed Riggs Trail, which is only .7 miles long, quickly drops you into the canyon while the Mushroom Rock Trail gains 610 feet in elevation in 1.2 miles. It's a bit like a roller coaster, albeit a very slow moving one! Like most of the trails at Chiricahua, these were rocky. Very rocky.

Mushroom Rock.

Nearing the end of Mushroom Rock Trail.

The trail to Inspiration Point is mostly level, which was a welcome change after the ascension of Mushroom Rock Trail. Inspiration Point offers stunning views of the valley, providing a slightly different perspective than what is seen from Massai Point.

The incredible view from Inspiration Point.


Several of the formations along Big Balanced Rock Trail.

A sign posted beside the path says that Big Balanced Rock is 22 feet in diameter, 25 feet in height, and weighs 1,000 tons. (Wow. That's two million pounds! Wonder how they weighed it?)

A portion of the Heart of Rocks Loop. That's the trail, going through and over the rocks!

The trail guide says “The Heart of Rocks Loop has many of the most unusual rock formations to be found at Chiricahua.” It also says to “Start the loop to the left and hike clockwise for the best views and easiest walking. Lots of rock steps make this a challenging loop, but it's worth the effort.” Challenging? I'd have to say that the Heart of Rocks Loop is the most difficult, challenging, strenuous one-mile trail I've hiked. And other campers at Chiricahua that I've talked with who have done it, agree with that assessment. It is tough. But, oh, was it fun!

Camel's Head.

Duck on a Rock.

More formations in the Heart of Rocks Loop.

A short distance after returning to the Big Balanced Rock Trail you connect to the Sarah Deming Trail, which is 1.6 miles of rocks. Big rocks. Little rocks. In-between rocks. The Sarah Deming Trail rocks!

It seems like forever, but you will eventually arrive at the Lower Rhyolite Canyon Trail, which takes you (where else?) through the lower portion of the Rhyolite Canyon. There is also an Upper Rhyolite Canyon Trail that would take you up into the canyon to connect to two other trails, which would take you back up to Massai Point. But I was going down, thank goodness!

When you get within a mile or so of the Visitor Center, the trail is (literally) a walk in the woods. And oh so refreshing after hiking all day in the sun!

As you can see from these photos, the terrain is quite varied. You get up close and personal with some of the stone formations. It was a most interesting day. My feet hurt. My legs were sore. My curiosity was satisfied. I was pleased that I had returned to Chiricahua. But most of all, I was very happy when I made it back to my campsite!

Honoring Those Who Served

Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas May 6, ..

Today is Memorial Day, The Day in which we honor those Veterans who have given their Lives for our Freedom.



Thankfully, I've had only a few ancestors who actually died while serving their country, but (also thankfully) I've had a lot of ancestors and family members who have served in the military.



I've written a bit about them before so here are the links to those previous posts:



The Veterans in my Family ~ Immediate family members and ancestors who have served from before Vietnam to the Revolution.



More Veterans in my Family - Part One~ Siblings of ancestors who were Veterans of the War of 1812 and the Civil War



More Veterans in my Family - Part Two~ Spanish American War and World War I Veterans who are related to me in some way.



More Veterans in my Family - Part Three~ Veterans from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. A few of these I actually have met!



To all of the men and women now serving in the United States and around the World to protect our Freedom, I say Thank You! And to all those young men and women who have given their lives while serving our country, Thank You is not enough, but I say it anyway! Thank You.

The Flying Tigers and The Tampa Rays

In our attempt to find interesting things to do while staying in one location for a year, we have been visiting the stadium where the Detroit Tigers do their spring training. During the summer, the farm league named The Flying Tigers plays here. The prices can't be beat for a game and food combo. One night a week they offer tickets for $1.00 and you can buy hot dogs, peanuts, and a drink for $1 each. Another night they do a ticket and all you can eat food combo price. Both nights make for a cheap date night and we get to mingle with the locals. Well, the somewhat locals since Lakeland is not exactly local to Wauchula. We've had a lot of fun listening in on the conversations of those who obviously are devoted fans to the team, and their ease in sharing the rest of their lives too. Since we have not lived in "only one place" for some time now, it is a fascinating thing to us to remember how the rest of our society lives!



We were also lucky enough to see a Tampa Rays game thanks to Nick and Tonyia. We were spoiled at this game, getting to sit in the section down near the field, with tons of great food and drinks. We owe them something special after this nice treat!



Living the life in HOT FL!

I'm not in Kansas anymore!

Ah, there's no place like home. An old cliché but oh, so true. As much as I enjoyed the brief sojourn in Springfield and roaming around the countryside in eastern Kansas, and even though I was gone only ten days, it sure feels good to be home.

I decided not to go to Iowa. Mixed results and a bit of frustration in Kansas, combined with realizing that there really just wasn't enough time to do full justice to the search, and the fact that I was just plain tired, lead to the decision to head home yesterday. I got home at about 6 p.m. this evening.

On Monday, from Baxter Springs I drove west on US 160 towards Grenola, in southwestern Elk County. I stopped at the library in Moline, but it was closed. I was hoping they had a diagram of the layout of the cemetery in Grenola. On Sunday (11/18) I had found the transcriptions online for Rachel (Fisher) and John Harvey in Greenlawn Cemetery in Grenola, Greenfield Township, along with several of their children, in section "B". Rachel is the sister of my 2nd Great Grandmother, Louisa Fisher Phend. Rachel died February 18, 1899 and John died in September 1899.

Moline is a small town but Grenola is even smaller. It was about 3 p.m. as I drove down Main Street and I felt as though I was in a ghost town. Not a soul was stirring, not an open store in sight. At the end of Main Street was a sign pointing left that said "cemetery" so I turned. It was a narrow road and seemed like miles, but was probably only about one. The cemetery was on the left, on top of a hill. I turned into the cemetery on the first lane. It was huge. The sections weren't marked. I thought there was no way I'd find them. I drove down each lane, slowly, hoping I'd see their stones.

There have been several times when searching for ancestors that I've gone to a cemetery knowing they were buried there but not knowing where and walking directly to their gravesites. But alas, no such luck this time. I stopped and walked around for a while then gave up and drove on to Winfield, county seat of Cowley County. Rachel and John had moved to Harvey Township in Cowley County sometime between 1870 and 1880. Harvey Township is bordered by Greenfield Township, Elk County on the east, which is probably why they are buried in Elk County.

Tuesday morning I went to the Courthouse in Winfield. Their original marriage record books have been moved to the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum in Arkansas City, about 12 miles south of Winfield. The Probate office has the records digitized on CD Rom discs and they charge $12 for a lookup if you don't have the exact date of marriage. Which of course, I didn't have. Just have an approximate year, and several names to lookup. I asked about Guardianship or Probate records since Homer, the youngest son of Rachel and John, was only 16 years old when they died. The index books didn't list them. The clerk didn't seem to know what the transcribed information online for Homer meant.

Next stop was the Winfield Library. They have a nice little local history section but I didn't find anything helpful there. I then went to the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum. If you have ancestors or relatives that lived in the Winfield and Arkansas City areas then this place should definitely be on your list of places to visit. In addition to the Original Marriage Record Books, they have cemetery records, obituary notices, miscellaneous newspaper clippings, etc., etc. for COWLEY county, and lots of neat things on exhibit. I didn't find anything helpful in my search for the Harvey family except that it appears that none of their children were married in Cowley County!

Since it was "sort of" in the direction of my next destination (Iola, Allen County) I decided to go back to the cemetery at Grenola thinking maybe I'd get lucky this time. Nope. I walked through each section, up and down the rows, for about two hours. It was a gorgeous day. Sun shining, blue sky, not cold, just a little windy. Maybe John and Rachel and some of their family are buried there, but I sure didn't find them! Did get some exercise though.


One of Rachel and John's children, Lillian, and her husband Orlando Sellers are buried in Moline Cemetery so I stopped by there on the way to Howard, the county seat of Elk County. I found the cemetery but when I saw how big it was, bigger than Greenlawn, I turned into the first drive to turn around and leave. As I glanced to the right to check traffic, there they were, right up front, next to the road. Now, why couldn't that have happened with John and Rachel?

By the time I got to Howard the courthouse was closed so I went on to Iola. My intent was to spend Tuesday night in Iola then go to the cemetery and library, etc. to see what I could find on William and Minerva (Joslin) Knight. Minerva is a sister of my 2nd Great Grandmother, Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower. William died in 1902. Minerva then married a J.N. Storey and reportedly died May 12, 1905 in a wheelchair on the street in Hot Springs, Arkansas. William and Minerva are buried in the Iola Cemetery.

It was dark when I got to Iola so I went to find a motel room, but there was no room at the inn. Three motels in town and they were all full. Nothing available in the nearby towns, according to the innkeeper. It was 50 miles or more north to I-35 and Ottawa, which was near my next destination of Lyndon. . . to be continued.

The Incredible Journey :: Favorite Places

September 1, .. through December 19, ... One year, 3 months, and 18 days. 58, 727 miles. 38 States and 4 Canadian Provinces. 23 National Parks-Monuments-Seashores.



It has been an amazing ride! “What's your favorite place?” is the question I've been asked the most. It is a difficult question to answer but some places and “adventures” do, for various reasons, stand out from the rest. But I can honestly say that there hasn't been anyplace that I haven't enjoyed. Sure, the weather is sometimes uncooperative, the facilities might not be the greatest, and weird things that you have no control over do happen. But it is all part of the adventure! Even if I could, I wouldn't change any part of it!!





Niagara Falls. New York. I played the part of the perfect tourist by going to The Cave of the Winds and riding on The Maid of the Mist. And I had great fun doing it!











Maine. Visiting my cousin whom I hadn't seen in over 15 years. Kayaking. Acadia National Park. Driving along the beautiful coast.











Assateague Island. Maryland. The horses. The Sunrise. Quite simply, a most wonderful and relaxing place.











Big Bend National Park. Texas. It was here that I got my first taste of “real” hiking. And it was here that I discovered I was physically capable of more than I thought. And it was here that Mother Nature really turned it on – 80 degree temperatures one day and snow the next! I loved the range and diversity of the landscape. The mountains and the desert.



Chiricahua National Monument. Arizona. A delightful surprise with challenging trails. I was so enchanted by this place that I visited it twice! The first time was in the second week of March with a return visit six weeks later.









Death Valley National Park. California. Beautiful wildflowers. Sand dunes. Desert. Mountains. And a surprising up-close encounter with a coyote.









Grand Canyon National Park. Arizona. Specifically The Bright Angel Trail. I met my friends Sue and Fred for an unforgettable journey into the Grand Canyon. It was my first night sleeping out in the open, beneath the stars. And my first overnight backpacking hike. It was challenging and at times I wasn't sure I would make it back up to the rim!









Zion National Park. Utah. Angels Landing Trail. I surprised even myself with this little hike! Challenging. Frightening. Thrilling.













Hovenweep National Monument. Utah. There was a mystical quality about this place that captured my imagination. Thought provoking.









Mesa Verde National Park. Colorado. The cliff dwellings were indescribable. Not far from Hovenweep, they too had a mystical quality about them. At times I felt that the Ancient People were walking alongside me.







Montana. After ten months on the road, I was in need of a break. Thank goodness for friends! Susan and Don allowed me to rest and relax in their vacation home in southwest Montana for almost the entire month of July! Then it was north to Glacier National Park before heading even further north.







Alaska! The culmination of a long-awaited dream. The Big Adventure. A seemingly never-ending drive through Canada. Soggy weather. Denali. Kayaking. Glaciers. Whales. Bears. Unforgettable.







A special highlight of the Journey was being able to meet other Genealogy Bloggers in person: Apple in Snowville. Denise in St. Augustine in .. and again in ... Carol in Pensacola. Kathryn, Steve, Sheri, and Craig in California. Sheri for a second time in Stockton. A bunch of bloggers at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree and at the Family History Expo in Pleasanton. And, last but not least, Miriam in Spokane. There was one other blogger that I met with but for some reason it never got posted and for that I apologize – you know who you are!





left photo: Miriam, footnoteMaven, Becky, Kathryn, Cheryl, Denise, Elyseright photo: Thomas, Joan, Becky, Randy, Miriam, Craig, and Susan



A "Page" for "The Journey ..-.." has been created that lists the States and some of the places I've visited. It can be accessed directly from the tab at the top of the blog.



I know that a lot of you - my readers - have come along with me on this journey across our marvelous country and I'd like to know if YOU have a favorite place, adventure, or photograph that I've posted. What did you like the most? Was there something specific that didn't you like? Tell me about it!

We are lazy!

It occurs to me that most of us are lazy. I certainly am. I hate breaking trail. Not all that excited about blowing out my arms on a hard lead.



I want short approaches and am willing to drive 18 hrs straight or fly to another continent to keep them short.



I've climbed in most of the major ranges in the northern hemisphereand a couple in the southern . And it occurs to me that some of the
most fun alpine ice and mixed I've been on is local. 45 minutes to
the parking lot and a hr or so uphill walk for me. Of course when
I lived just 200 miles away from what is now my "local" crags I'd
drive 700 miles one way to avoid the 1 or 2 hr walk and the abysmal
conditions or generally lack of conditions.



I'm not alone. Even when the Ice/mixed is great locally the biggest
weekend turnouts are the local SAR teams when someone gets lost
or is just over due a few hrs. That might make 20 people on the
the local hills and only 1/3 of them actual climbers.



I figure it is Volcano Apathy here in the NW. You know, wait till summer, blue sky and warm weather. Go climb Rainier, Hood, Adams, St. Helens or Baker. Nothing wrong with that mind you.

But then I look around the Cascades, even close to my house! Literally 100s of unclimbed lines, dozens of major climbs. And I'm about to get in the truck and drive 700 miles one way again....yep, sadly I'm lazy.

Jacqueline in the Light of Day

Hopefully these daylight pictures of Jacqueline will do her more justice than the blurry ones from the previous night. These were taken yesterday in my courtyard. I rode her around Vienna all day in a state of disbelief. She rides wonderfully and the folding basket-panniers are amazingly functional. It does not matter what I am wearing, what I am carrying, and where I need to go - this bicycle is ready for anything.

As mentioned previously, Jacqueline is a lady's Steyr Waffenrad - which is one of the oldest (if not the oldest?) Austrian bicycle manufacturers. In my previous post someone commented that this is "the Austrian version of a Dutch bike", but while it's true that these are generally referred to as "Hollandrads", I do not think that is really the case. Waffenrad was established in 1895, and was influenced by the British roadster manufacturer BSA rather than by anything from the Netherlands. It later became a generic name used to describe a certain kind of bike, and the most popular manufacturer of these was Steyr. I have been told that at one point Austria had over 180 bicycle manufacturers. Sadly, most are no longer in business.

Jacqueline is a 1980s model, though its components are from a variety of time periods. The frame design is a "swan frame": The downtube curves around the front wheel and the top tube forms a complimentary curve. Put together, they form a "swan's neck" shape.

To my eye, the lugwork on the headtube resembles swan as well, though I may be imagining things.

Lugged connector between the downtube and the toptube.

Is the bicycle equivalent of "hood ornament" a "fender ornament"? This bike has one in the shape of a wing-like art deco "W" - appropriated from a German Wanderer bicycle.
Both the headlight and tail light are dynamo powered. I have never ridden a bike with a bottle dynamo (only hub), and based on what I'd heard about old dynamo bottles I expected it to be pretty bad. In fact it works splendidly. There is a distinct hissing sound of the bottle rubbing the tire, but it does not feel any harder to pedal. To de-activate the light during daytime, simply push the bottle sideways away from the tire. To activate it at night, press the release switch and it pops back into place. Easiest lighting system I've ever used, and the bottle feels extremely durable.

The beautiful tear-drop tail light. I very much want one of these for one of my bikes. You can see the little wire coming out from under the fender and running along the rusty stay, zip tied to it. The winged "W" logo is once again from a Wanderer, though the fender itself is native. Notice the holes that have been drilled into the fender for the original dressguards. You can also see the double kickstand (I prefer this one to the Pletscher) and the rear coaster brake hub. It is not a Sturmey Archer; in fact I saw no markings on it at all.

The coaster brake functions extremely well, but the front (hub) brake is mostly decorative - It works when you're stopped at an intersection and want to prevent the bicycle from rolling forward, but doesn't really make an impact when the bicycle is in motion. The coaster brake is plenty though, and I quickly got into the habit of simply ignoring the front brake lever. The hub gears are operated via the "Torpedo" shifter. The gears are widely spaced, similar to the Sturmey Archer AW hub on my Raleigh. Parts of Vienna are quite hilly and I anticipated using the 1st gear a lot - if not getting off the bike altogether in some areas. But to my surprise, I have mostly been using the 3rd and 2nd gears. I by no means have legs of steel, but old 3-speed hubs seem to be magically versatile.

The handlebars are what people today usually refer to as "Porteur" style, but actually they are similar to the version of North Roads that are put on Raleighs with rod brakes. The bar is mostly flat, with the grip areas curving sharpishly upwards and towards the rider. I prefer these to the classic North Road/Albatross bars, which are curvier and more flared to the sides. The plain grips are also surprisingly comfortable. That stuff in front of the handlebars is a folded-up front rack, with a beefy cable lock hanging off it. It all looks like a tangled mess here, but I find it a very comfortable set-up.

Here is the view from the front, with the rack unfolded. The rack is bolted to the stem and strapped to the handlebars with aged leather belts. It is not supported enough to carry heavy loads, but it is a convenient place for things like extra layers of clothing that might be removed and then put back on during a ride.

The rear basket panniers, on the other hand, can pretty much take anything you want to put in them. My large work bag fits into these perfectly, as do grocery bags (2 in each). The ride quality is hardly effected when the basket panniers are loaded. I think I need to install these on one of my bikes. The tires are 28" cream Schwalbe Delta Cruisers, just like on my Raleigh at home. They roll fabulously and swallow cobblestones without a peep - wonderful.

The one thing I would change about this bicycle is the saddle (just looking at these plush Selle Royals is painful!), but that of course is an easy fix (if only I'd brought one of my vintage Brooks from home!). Ideally, I would also like a full chaincase - but the chainguard here has been effective so far.

Overall, I feel that every part of this beautifully rusty bicycle has been extremely well thought out by its owner Wolfgang. Everything from the puncture resistant tires, to the super-stable kickstand, to the self-sustaining lighting set-up, to the roomy collapsible panniers, has a feel of perfectly functional design to it. I love Jacqueline. How will I give her back?

Mt. Olympus, Blue Glacier

We made the long drive up to the northwest corner of the state to climb Mt. Olympus. It is located deep in the Hoh Rain Forest. The climb involves a round trip hike of 45 miles with an elevation gain of 8,000'.



There were huge, moss covered Douglas Fir, Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock trees everywhere.



Elk Lake at the 15 mile mark.





This cable ladder was put in place to help climbers cross an avalanche chute just before the camp at Glacier Meadows.





The Blue Glacier as seen from the lateral moraine. The true summit is the farthest peak in the middle of the picture. Snow Dome is on the right.





Doug and Dave on the summit in our rain gear. It rained for about an hour when we first started up the glacier. We had traveled and hiked way to far to turn around because of rain! The sun even came out later that morning.



The view from the summit looking down on Snow Dome and the Blue Glacier.






The lower part of the glacier is a square mile of hard ice. It is covered with hundreds of small icy streams. They usually disappear into a hole or crevasse on the glacier.



It would have been easy to spend an entire day there exploring that part of the mountain. We had to walk on the high spots to stay dry.




We made our way back down the moraine to Glacier Meadows where the biting flies convinced us to start the hike out to the car. The next day, we stopped at the beach for a while and then started the long drive home. It was nice to accomplish another climb that had been on our "to do" list for a while.