Horseshoe Bend

A mile or so south of Page, Arizona the Colorado River navigates around a horseshoe bend. There is a 3/4 mile trek through the sand, up and down a hill, to get to the overlook, but it is well worth the effort. I went there twice.

The first visit was late in the evening before the sun set. The overlook faces west so the sun was directly behind the bend.

The river and the rocks, highlighted by the lowering sun.

The early morning light gives it a completely different look.

As the kayaks and canoes were preparing to leave a beach on the bend a big motorboat passed by.

These photos were taken on June 3rd and June 4th. I left Page on the morning of the 4th for Southern California to visit my cousin and to attend the Genealogy Jamboree. After Jamboree I spent two days on the coast near Point Mugu and Ventura (no photos, gloomy, foggy, but still nice) then ventured into the central part of the state...

Spring Training

Arlington Ashby attends to a mock patient

The climbing ranger team has been busy this spring with a number of trainings. We kicked it off with a highly productive week of rope rescue instruction led by Leo Loyd of Rigging for Rescue. The following week we focused on EMS ( emergency medical services ) skills, with one day of instruction from Remote Medical International followed by a day of training with Pearce County Fire EMS. Returning lead climbing ranger Glenn Kessler who gave us a day of rescue training geared towards professional avalanche rescue. Tucked into this busy schedule was a highly enlightening half day presentation by Mike Moore of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center on mountain weather. We are all looking forward to getting out of the classroom and climbing on the upper mountain with the first available weather window. Training is great but climbing is better.

DG

Exploring by Land

While we were having fun on the boat, we came across this place that we just so happened to hit the tide right so we could get out and explore by land some. This had the kids very excited! The boys hopped out and pulled us as close to shore as possible. Austin carried Lauren so she didn't have to deal with water creatures.

After walking across some very, very slimy water and dodging jelly fish, we hit the land. Once we hit land, we were all super excited about this venture.

The kids rushed ahead to see what exactly was here. They liked the bird blind. Josh filled us in on what he thought this place was all about. Josh knows everything about everything, so we learned a lot!

We all liked the nature we found there. Can't you just smell the sand and sea salt?

Sometimes we approach learning differently in our households. Sometimes it looks very similar. Today was an example of where we approach learning in the same way. In both our homes, it is a daily thing where learning looks just like what you see here. Someone finds something interesting and eventually you find the whole gang gathered around discussing it.

Well, except for Josh...who has his own path to explore at the moment!

I love how we will all roll up into the learning and enjoy it together, each adding something to the experience. It's one of the things I most enjoy about traveling with Daryl and Diana. So what kinds of goodies did we find?

Pretty cool, huh? Diana graciously took a picture of us, and right after that my battery died so I did not get one of them.

This place ended up being so awesome, I'm putting it down as one of my faves. It's been a long time since I did that, so I guess we were due one! Thanks, Daryl and Diana for making our day so great.



Living the life in beautiful Virginia!

500 Summits!

It has been in the works since 1975 and last week early on a Saturday morning, mountain guide George Dunn reached the top of Mount Rainier for the 500th time! He climbed with his wife Nancy, son Jeremy along with friends Phil Ershler and Eric Simonson.

On the way up they had to fight through some tough wind and lightning, but were able to push on to the summit, helping George break his previous record of 499 summits! This is by far the most anyone has ever climbed Mount Rainier and he doesn't seem like he will be slowing down anytime soon.

George has been guiding for the past 35 years and has led many climbing trips throughout the world. His knowledge of climbing and of Mount Rainier specifically is a great asset to all of us here. He is currently a co-owner of International Mountain Guides, one of three guide services that operate full time here on Rainier. Our congrats go out to George and his family on this terrific achievement.

For more information about guided trips on Rainier check out these links, and for more information on Georges climb, including photos and videos click here.

Cousins, all dressed up!

Even though none of my ancestors are included, this is one of my favorite family photographs. I love the hats and the dresses. And just look how small their waists are!

Hazlette Wise, Grace Zinsmeister, and Ethel Wise.
Not dated but I'd guess about 1905-1910.

Hazlette Wise (1885-1977), daughter of William P. and Sophia (Dunfee) Wise, married Harlo Burns on October 10, 1911 in Whitley County, Indiana. They had two sons: Maurice Wise Burns who was born on July 31, 1912 and died on October 2, 1912. The other son, Thagrus Burns, was born in 1917 and recently celebrated his 91st birthday. My grandmother, Hazlette Brubaker, was named after Aunt Hazlette, who was in turn named after her great-grandmother Sophia Elizabeth Hazlett Dunfee.

Grace Zinsmeister (1888-1983) was the daughter of Rosilla "Rose" Wise and John Zinsmeister. Rose was the sister of William P. Wise. The Zinsmeister's moved to Lorain, Ohio just prior to 1900 and lived there the remainder of their lives though, apparently, they made several visits to the folks back in Indiana. Grace was a school teacher in Lorain for many years.

Ethel Wise (1882-1966) was the daughter of James Roscoe and Miriam Minerva (Blain) Wise. Ethel married George Weick in 1919, when she was 36 years old. They owned and operated a shoe store in Columbia City.

The parents of the girls (William, Rose, and James) were the children of Jacob and Malissa (Stem) Wise.

California :: Moving On

My stay with Kathryn Doyle was a very pleasant and much needed “break” and I am indebted to her and her husband for their hospitality. I was also able to finally view the television series “American Faces” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” and thought that they were both well done and quite interesting. Thank you very much, Kathryn!

Leaving Oakland, I took the much despised Interstates south, heading for a rendezvous with my friends Sue and Fred at the Grand Canyon. Sue also happens to be my 3rd cousin once removed. Her great-grandfather, Luther Marion Joslin (1852-1930) was a brother of my great-great-grandmother Malissa Mariah Joslin Brubaker Bower (1849-1937). They were the children of Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin. Sue's uncle, Irwin Joslin, was the first to make contact with our branch of the family (in 1968).

I allowed several days for the drive from Oakland to the Grand Canyon – it was much further than I had thought, about 850 miles. I didn't make any sightseeing stops along the way except for a slight detour to the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve, however I didn't take the time to walk any of the trails. It was almost impossible to get a good close-up shot of the poppies because of the wind, but they were absolutely gorgeous!






Photographs taken on April 8, ...

Trees & the vines that love them

I believe that this is one of the Viburnums, probably Viburnum prunifolium a.k.a. Blackhaw. (The blooms are from a couple of weeks ago.)

Edited to add: So, not a Viburnum! I'm a rank tree-identification amateur and got it wrong. Thanks so much to the Ontario Wanderer who pointed out that this is actually a type of Dogwood. (I'm thinking it's a Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum), but the ID requires more examination of the tree than I have time for this morning so will have to look over the weekend.

Edited for a second time to add: My husband had to call to tell me, "I told you that was a dogwood!" Now that I think about it, he did. I just wasn't paying attention to him. (He would say, "as usual".)

The flowers up close.


Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) tries to take over the world.


Often mistaken for Poison Ivy (which has three leaves instead of five).

Some tree links:

Trees of Alabama and the Southeast

100 Trees of Alabama

Some southeastern U.S. trees and woody plants
(Takes a while to load even with zippy DSL. They have other regions too.)

Key to the Gymnosperms of the Southeastern U.S.