Five-Spot

The interesting flowers of baby five-spot, Nemophilia maculata.

Painted Sky

This evening as I was finishing mowing my lawn I could see the sky was shaping up for a pretty fantastic sunset. After putting the mower away I grabbed my camera and went back outside just as things were starting to get interesting. These images were all taken from within my yard and from the beach in front of my house. Some of the clouds looked like brush strokes, which is why I chose to call this journal entry "Painted Sky".

Ingalls Lake

If you are looking for some awesome scenery close to home, Ingalls Lake is the place to go. Dave, Dani, Wendy, Mark (and Doug) taking a break on the way up to Ingalls Pass.

We saw a lot of mountain goats on this trip.It was a warm day and people were cooling off in the lake.Mt. Stuart and Ingalls Lake. What a view!

REI Fall Glove..a best buy.

In the climbing pictures on the last two blog posts I am using REIs "Fall" glove. It is an well insulated, light weight soft shell, with a combo synthetic and leather palm and fingers. Easy to place screws and rap with. Even though I generally prefer a full leather palm on my climbing gloves. And a bit less bulk. These are a bit bulky in my Nomic grip until usedsomeand the insulation in the palm is compacted...which took a couple of days. And hopefully they will compact just a tiny bit more. My guess is they will and end up being a "perfect fit". And one of my first choices when I need a little extra warmth.



So far they have stayeddry and exceptionally warm which I really appreciate in a high dagger on alpine snice with cold drysnow over it. The cuff isn't very long or very tight but worked well over both a hard shell and alone with asoft shell while on everything from wet grade 3 to 4+ water and then cold snow over alpine ice. I was impressed as I had my gloves on and off at least a hundred times taking photos and sorting gear over the weekend. Perfect way generally to soak your gloves quite quickly.









I shook the Fall out every time before putting them back on. That helpedprotect them from adding unwanted moisture internally by getting the snow and ice out early. So did the gloves ability to dry with just my hand's body heat while I was wearing them.



They cost me $40 on sale. $60 retail, which I would likely pay if I really had to. No refund on the coop dividend with that $40 price. But I feel like they have already paid for themselves with warm and dry hands every minute I used them so far. That is never an easy job no matter the glove's price point. I have other gloves that are more (some a lot more) than twice the price of the REI "FALL", that I know wouldn't have kept me as warm or as dry in the same circumstances.



REI sez:



Soft-shell REI Fall gloves

• Waterproof, windproof and breathable REI Elements® inserts help keep hands dry and warm on snowy days


• Polyfill synthetic insulation provides extra warmth


• Soft-shell exteriors offer good dexterity; polyurethane palms with leather patches grip well


• REI Fall gloves have a slim wrist design that fits under jacket cuffs to seal out cold air (and it is much better than it sounds)

Monument Rocks aka Chalk Pyramids

Monday, May 9th - - Today was a very short driving day. Still heading west, I stopped in Scott City and spent about four hours at the library getting blog posts scheduled and checking weather forecasts for points west. By the time I left the library the temperature was a scorching 95 degrees and the van was like an oven. Driving westward, with the sun beating down on you, and with those high temperatures is not fun. At the library, I had also checked to see where the nearest Dodge dealer was – too far away. Instead, I went about 10 miles north to Scott Lake State Park and got a campsite for the night. In hindsight, I should have just stayed at the library for a few more hours!



Anyway, looking at the map I saw that a “point of interest” was about 25 miles northeast of the campground. Wanting to “do something” I drove on out to Monument Rocks, also known as Chalk Pyramids. They are visible from US-83, just barely, and if you know where to look. They are on private range land but the owners have made them open to the public and accessible via a 6-mile dirt/gravel road.



Designated as a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the 70-foot tall sedimentary formations were created 80 million years ago when this area was part of a vast inland sea. In .., the Kansas Sampler Foundation selected Monument Rocks as one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas. Wish I had found this website sooner- It looks like I missed out on many of the Wonders of Kansas!





There are two “groups” of rocks. These on the east side of the dirt access road and the ones below, on the west side of the road.







The “backside” of the hole in the wall, from the west side group.



For some reason, I found the eastern group to be more interesting.



As you walked around the formations, their character changed. The tall fellow on the left is the same formation that is on the right side of the previous photo.





Part of the eastern group as seen from the south side.



Am I imagining the smiling faces that I see in this group?



My camping site at Scott Lake State Park. Blessed shade and a wonderful breeze that was sometimes way too strong – it kicked up dust devils every now and then! There was a beautiful sunset - I watched the sky change colors as the sun descended below the horizon from the comfort of my campsite – I would have had to have driven outside the park to get a view clear of the trees. But it was a lovely sunset. You'll have to trust me on that!

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.

Finally Free

After a VERY long winter with lots of late spring snow and cold temperatures, the rivers are finally opening up! This was the scene today at High Falls of the Pigeon River in Grand Portage State Park. The ice on the river has completely opened up over the past few days and the river is raging! With plenty of snow cover still on the ground up around the headwaters of the river, the water level should stay high for quite some time. This has got to be one of the latest ice-out dates on record.







































Below: Iceberg stuck in the Pigeon River