Bear Creek Mountain

A bunch of us decided to get out of town and try something new, so we headed for Bear Creek Mountain. The first 3 miles are fairly flat and feature several meadows.


Most of the elevation gain is at the end of the hike. Some pikas kept running around and whistling in this rocky area.



The kids enjoyed themselves in a large deposit of Mt. Saint Helens ash that we found on the way up.


Dahlia, Lily, Bill, Daisy, Danielle, Jennifer, Doug, Tania, Tina, Bethany and Dreamer, the dog, on top. Our view was limited, since we were in a cloud. It was nice to get out, see some new sights and spend the day in a place where the high was only 60 degrees!

High Wire Act

[More 'Incense' passionflowers opened on Monday afternoon. Check the previous post - Aw, Nuts - to see why the photos didn't get up until now.]

The strands of the passion vine [planted at the far right of the bed], and of the Dolichos lablab/Hyacinth vine [planted at the far left of the border] had both outgrown the fence by August, so Philo helped me tie some twine for them to grow on. The twine reaches from a board about 5-feet high at the fence across to branches at the nine-foot level on a nearby magenta crepe myrtle.



Unless you look closely, you might think a hyacinth bean is producing passionflowers - the vines and foliage have become intertwined, but only the passionflower is blooming. I hope the bean catches up so that these two rather odd flowers will be open at the same time, resembling gaudily dressed performers twirling from the high wire at Circus~Circus.

Thompson Falls, Cascade River

Above: Thompson Falls



A couple of days ago we visited Thompson Falls on the Cascade River, a waterfall I had never heard of until recently. It turned out to be a gem of a waterfall, with seemingly limitless photo possibilities. The main channel of the river is fantastic as it tumbles over the falls, but I actually had more fun photographing these little side falls on the west bank of the river. The photo belowshows two drops out of what is actually a 3-drop series of falls. The upper two falls were what really caught my eye, though, especially with these beautiful cedar branches framing the right side of the photo. I can't wait to go back and spend more time at these falls!



Below: Double Waterfall and Cedar, Cascade River

Steven's Pass Ski ..

First ski of the season. (Or about four months, ten days since my last ski.) I couldn't get a mid-week partner, but figured it would be safe enough to poach at Steven's Pass. The ski area is planning on opening on Friday, and I had seen a few trip reports reporting an adequate snow pack. The trip reports I saw for Hyak didn't appear as promising.

I left Seattle casually after 8am figuring that would give the DOT some time to clear the road. By the time I got to the pass, it was sunny and there was a bit of slush on the road, so nothing to worry about.

The scene when I arrived

I geared up in the parking lot where there were already 30+ cars! I guess many others had the same idea. I hiked up the stairs and walked in the snow a bit before putting my skis on. The snow was already fairly tracked out from previous days. (Probably Sunday.) So I went in search of fresh tracks by skinning under the Skyline Chair and eventually reaching the top of the Brooks Chair in a half hour or so. I transitioned at the top of the chair. Four months is plenty of time to get a little rusty transitioning. I then turned the skis downhill to go nowhere. The lower angle and deep unconsolidated snow was sticky. (Those factors combined with a need for a wax.) I worked my way to a slightly steeper section and mostly headed straight downhill without turning. It was the only way to keep up speed. Then I jumped back on a cat track for a bit before trying some other slope near the bottom. While I didn't fall, things were not smooth, and I wouldn't exactly say I enjoyed the run. So I decided to try something different on the next lap.

The next lap had me skinning to near the top of the Hogsback Lift. Once near the top, I decided to turn around and head down before getting into terrain I didn't want to be in. On the way up and from where I transitioned, I could see plenty of rocky areas that did not have good coverage, and I wanted to avoid those. So I ended up riding a cat track almost all the way down from my transition with a slight excursion into the powder near the bottom. Once again, the deeper untracked snow proved slow and unenjoyable. The time was now 12:30pm. I wanted to get one more run in that I really could enjoy. So I transitioned to skinning and headed up.

Dork
This time I headed up near the Big Chief Chair, skinning up the Showcase run. It was fairly tracked from early in the day as well as days earlier. (There were about 25 teenage boys with snowboards running up the slope to catch turns. They were also building kickers near the bottom of the slope.) I went up the slope for almost 30 minutes and decided to turn around at a flatter section of slope so I would not have to attempt to ski down this slower low angle area. During my transition I was joined by one of the teenage snowboarders. We had a chat about whether the ski area could kick us out or not and then he took his ride down. I followed shortly afterward on what was my favorite run of the day! Unfortunately, I was looking to get home and get my skis to the shop for a wax as I hope to get out later this week. So I headed to the car after ending on a high note.

Closing shot

Overall, I enjoyed my day out. The weather was mostly sunny, and fairly warm. (High was supposed to be 33°) I skinned in a light base layer and shell pants. I put on a shell jacket for the descents. It was nice to get back into the motion of skinning/skiing as well as working on my transitions without having others to wait for me. I tried out my new ski helmet which seemed to work as advertised and will be anticipating bringing it on other trips in the future.

Family Picnics and Reunions

The Genea-Bloggers are having a picnic hosted by Bill West over at West in New England. You can read the questions that Bill asked us to respond to in his invitation.

Picnics. Well, sure, I've been to a few ;-) and Summer Birthdays were always an excuse for a family get-together. Typical picnic food. Nothing really special. My younger brother's birthday was in July and we took a few trips to the Franke Park Zoo in Fort Wayne in my pre-teen days. My oldest nephew was born on my Mother's birthday and we'd venture to the park in Mishawaka, where my brother and his family lived. The food was pre-cooked. Fried Chicken. Ham salad sandwiches (though why it is called ham salad is beyond me because Mom makes it with bologna). Potato Salad. Cole Slaw. Chips. All the good stuff you're not supposed to eat anymore because it's bad for you. We did go semi-healthy with the deserts though - apples, grapes, watermelon, along with homemade pies and cookies.

Family Reunions have always been a "big" thing in Mom's family. This week I've been busy getting ready for the Phend Family Reunion on Saturday. I wrote about the reunion last year in The first Saturday in August. It is something that I look forward to every year with eagerness along with a bit of nervousness.

The Phend Family started a tradition of reunions in the early 1900s that is still carried on today (though there were a few years during and after WWI and WWII that were missed). In all of the Ledgers that were kept, food is mentioned only in general terms: "a basket dinner was served under a tent, on the lawn"; "dinner was served on tables under the trees, near the river"; "a splendid dinner was enjoyed by all"; "the bountiful dinner"; etc. The only mention of a specific food served was Ice Cream!

The original of the picture shown below was long and narrow and rolled up like a scroll. It was brought to one of the reunions by a descendant of Jacob and Louisa Phend. It's likely that I photographed the picture in its entirety though the only prints I have split it in two. Based on the attendance recorded in the reunion ledgers, the picture was taken in either 1910 or 1913. Based on the size of several children that are identified, I think it was taken in 1910. Only a few of the people have been positively identified. (As always, you can click on the pictures to view a larger version.)


Left half of picture: The boy in the dark suit sitting on the ground is Willard Phend (born 1899). The line going to the man and woman sitting in the first row points to Jacob J. Phend and his wife Louisa (Grimm) Phend. In the back row, I'm pretty sure that the man with the hat on is Henry Phend (my great grandfather). The young man next to him is identified as Mose Phend (born 1888). And the next fellow, between the two women, is Raymond Phend (born 1892).


Right half of picture: The third boy from the left, sitting on the ground, is Harold Phend (born 1903). The gentleman in the front row, in the dark suit with the cane, is Jacob Phend (my great grandfather). The man in the gray suit to Jacob's right is his son, John Phend. The two little girls on the far right in the front row have been identified as Helen Rhoades (born 1903) and Mary Phend (born 1904). The two ladies standing in the next row with lines going to them (on the end and 3rd one in) are Surelda Phend Thornton and Katherine Phend Pletcher. The good-looking fellow in the dark suit behind those girls is my grandfather, Vic Phend.

Link added August 3, ..: Phend Reunion .. is now History

Glen Canyon NRA - Alstrom Point

I wasn't really looking forward to today, since the forecast was calling for some pretty miserable weather all day. That's just how it started out, too. I stayed in Kanab, Utah last night and when I woke this morning it was going back and forth between rain and snow. When I got in the car and decided to head towards Page, Arizona it was hailing... actually more like kind of a slush coming down. Kanab isn't a very big town, and by the time I drove from one side of town to the other my car was covered in this hail/slush mix and I had to pull over to clear my wipers of the mess. Once I got a few miles outside of town, the clouds parted and the sun came out. It was sunny and warm (65 to 70 degrees) the rest of the day!

On my way out of town I stopped at the Kanab visitor center for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I ran into a very helpful older man with a white beard who has lived in the Page/Kanab area for the past 30 years. I told him I was interested in trying to get to Alstrom Point on Lake Powell, but wasn't sure of the way since the route is off the main roads. He gave me directions on how to get there and we visited for quite a while about other areas of interest as well. Once I had my fill of local knowledge, I thanked him and headed for Page and Lake Powell.

For those of you who might not know, Lake Powell is a man-made lake, created from the construction of the Glen Canyon dam in Page, Arizona. The dam is in Arizona, but the majority of the lake lies in Utah. Lake Powell and the surrounding land makes up what is known as the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. There are a couple of marinas on the lake, and houseboating is big business there. If you drive near the main marina you can see row after row of houseboats.

I spent a good part of the day just exploring the part of the lake that is right near Page. It certainly is a beautiful area... I could easily see myself living here. I wanted to shoot the sunset from Alstrom Point, and based on my "local knowledge", when 5:30 rolled around I figured I better get started on those backroads to get to the point. My directions told me it was about 25 miles to the point, which turned out to be spot-on. My GPS read 25.2 miles once I got there. I was told the way would be "relatively" easy so long as the clay portion of the road was dry. And it was, for the most part. There was only one section about 100 feet long that was a little bit wet but my Honda Element made it through without any problem, although not before flinging up a decent amount of mud and getting my car good and dirty.

Alstrom Point was sublime. I chose to walk the last mile and a half or "road" which went right out onto the point itself. I could have driven it, but it was easier to walk. The road at that point was more suited for a high-clearance Jeep. The sunset turned out to be the best one of the trip so far. The rocks seemed to glow as the light hit them, and the clouds were vibrant hues of pink and blue. After this amazing light show was over, I ate my Subway sandwich that I had brought along for supper, then opened the rear hatch on my car and rolled my sleeping bag out on the floor. I camped in the car for the night, since I didn't feel like driving back out on that road in the dark. It was a wonderful night and it was warm enough that I left the hatch open while I slept (no bugs here.... yay!!!!!), with the warm Arizona breeze keeping me company all night long.

Adult Medulloblastoma

It's not such a great picture.

The light level was too low and it turned out grainy, like most of my indoor pictures do.

But I love this photo, because it means that my brother's wife is a cancer survivor. And her hair is growing back!

She had a brain tumor - an adult medulloblastoma. "Adult" because it's normally a tumor that is found in children. It's rare in adults.

Luckily, she was diagnosed quickly after the onset of her symptoms. She had surgery and came through with few serious deficits. She's had a rough time of it though, especially during radiation and chemo, and I didn't want to mention it here before now. But she's doing better every day.

Even if one of her nieces did ask why her hair was growing back in a different color.

-----------

Links:

My sister-in-law said that it helped a lot to be able to speak with other people on this Yahoogroup email list for Adult Medulloblastoma.

Retrovelo Klara: Cushy, Zippy, Gorgeous

On a recent trip to New York City, I test rode a Retrovelo Klara, courtesy of Adeline Adeline. There are already test ride reports of other Retrovelo models posted here, but the last time I rode one was two years ago and I wanted to see how my impressions of the bike might have changed since. Also, while the Retrovelo I rode previously was the 7-speed Paula, I was curious how the 3-speed Klara would feel in comparison. Finally, my previous Retrovelo test rides took place in Austria and I wanted to compare how the bike handled in a North American city.





Founded in 2003, Retrovelo is a German manufacturer based in the town of Leipzig. True to the company's name, their classic line of lugged, balloon-tire city bikes in muted colours looks almost overwhelmingly nostalgic. But the "retro" reference is more nuanced than what meets the eye: Behind the facade of an elegant European city bicycle, the Retrovelo is actually a remake of an early mountain bike design. I have described an entire category of such bicycles in an earlier post aboutcity bikes with mountain bike heritage.






An interesting fact about Retrovelo, is that they were the first company to use the now very popular Schwalbe Fat Frank tires. In fact these were originally made for Retrovelo and named after its designer Frank Patitz. What made the Fat Franks special when they appeared on the market, is that they have the look and cushiness of vintage balloon tires but are impressively fast rolling - making them ideal for navigating pothole ridden city streets and unpaved trails alike.





The frame is cro-moly steel, hand-built in Taiwan and finished and assembled in Leipzig (The very first batches of Retrovelo bikes were made in Germany from scratch, but production has since been reorganised).







Fully lugged, the most fetish-worthy aspect of the frame's construction is the triple-plate fork crown.





Here is what the seat cluster looks like.





Headtube lug.





Loop and seat tube junction.





The stem and rear rack are custom made for the bike and powdercoated body colour, as are the chainguard and fenders.






The components on the lady's 3-speed Klara model are pretty straightforward: Shimano Nexus drivetrain withfront and rear roller-hub brakes and dynamo hub,wide swept-back handlebars, large Retrovelo-branded bell,






front and rear dynamo lights with standlight feature,





Brooks B67S saddle,







city pedals,




and textured rubber grips.





As a complete package, the Retrovelo Klara comes together nicely, equipped with everything necessary for transportation, other than a full chaincase and dressguards. The men's equivalent of this model is named Klaus and is basically the same except a diamond frame. The Paula and Paul models are the same as well, only built up with either a 7 or 8-speed hub instead of the 3-speed. The weight of the Klara model is listed as 38.5lb. It is available in size 52cm only and in a number of colour options. You can view all the stock colours here. The bike I test rode is ivory.





I rode the Retrovelo Klara around lower Manhattan for a total of about 5 miles. This was my first time cycling in New York City. I started out on the quiet side street where Adeline Adeline is located, then rode along the West Side Highway bicycle path for a while, then got off the path and explored the streets, making my way back to the bike shop. Probably half of my route involved riding with traffic on streets that either had no bike lane, or had the bike lane obstructed by so many vehicles that I took the car lane anyway.



Riding in a new city - and especially a city as hectic as NYC - I would not feel comfortable doing this on just any bike, but the Retrovelo's handling is confidence-inspiring. The front end is exceptionally stable: No twitchiness when starting from a stop or getting up to speed. The bicycle goes where you point it and insists on staying upright.





I would describe the Retrovelo as an intuitive bike that does not require getting used to the way a Dutch bike, or a low-trail bike, or an aggressive roadish bike might. To the typical person of my generation who grew up in North America, I think "mountain bike-ish" handling generally feels pretty intuitive: Many of us rode mountain bikes as teenagers and it's what we are used to. While I was a terrible cyclist back then, I nonetheless used my beater mountain bike to get around and probably on some level that type of handling is still engrained into my procedural memory. Of course the Retrovelo is considerably faster and more responsive than my old mountain bike ever was, as well as far more beautiful. Win/win.



Comparing the Retrovelo Klara to other bikes I have ridden in its class, I would say the handling is most similar to the Scottish Paper Bike and the Swedish Pilen. For me the Retrovelo handles considerably faster than the Pilen but a bit slower than the Paper Bike, while behaving similarly to both as far as balance and maneuverability.





As far as load capacity, the bike is equipped to carry considerable weight in front and rear, including children. Retrovelo owner K., whom I met in NYC, routinely rides with her toddler and a full load of groceries and finds it quite comfortable. She has had her stone gray Retrovelo for a couple of years now and loves it. My friend in Vienna has had her pigeon blue one for about two years as well. Retrovelo owners generally tend to have good things to say about these bikes.



As far as drawbacks, the Klara and Paula models are only available in one size - which happens to fit me perfectly but will not be suitable for everyone. At just under 40 lb, the bike is on the heavy side and could be challenging to deal with for those who plan to store it in a walk-up apartment. The missing dressguards and the lack of a full chaincase could be a deal-breaker for those who require these accessories. And some (myself included) would prefer narrower handlebars, though these can be swapped out.






Having ridden the Retrovelo around hectic NYC, my impression of the bike did not differ significantly from what it had been riding it through the Austrian countryside. Two additional years of cycling experience did not alter my impressions much either. I believe the stable handling makes the Retrovelo a good choice for beginners. The responsiveness and mountain-bikeyness make it a cool ride for more experienced cyclists. The beautiful construction makes it appealing to the vintage lovers and lugwork fetishists among us. For city riding, I felt that the 3-speed model was definitely sufficient, though others might opt for the 7/8-speed. The current retail price for a fully equipped Retrovelo Klara is $1,450 USD.




While personally I still prefer my cruddy vintage 3-speeds to anything modern I have tried in the same genre so far, when it comes to currently produced city bicycles the Retrovelo is firmly among my favourites. Many thanks to Adeline Adeline for the test ride.

There were three brothers who immigrated... Yeah, Right!

Yesterday, I was reading James Tanner's post Fact or Fiction? in which he discusses several recurring genealogy myths including 'The Three Brothers' myth. James links to two articles. One by Dick Eastman states "Genealogy newcomers often trip over the 'three brothers' story. It has been repeated thousands of times. I have yet to see one instance in which it is accurate." The other article, by Kimberly Powell said "While the 'three brothers' myth is very rarely true, there are documented cases of three brothers immigrating together." She goes on to say "While such a story in your family tree is more likely to be a myth than not, it is always worth checking out with good genealogy research."



It was back in 1986, just a few years after starting genealogy research, that I got my introduction to the 'Three Brothers' myth when I came across a small booklet titled simply "Berlin Family" which was written in 1911 by A. F. Berlin of Allentown, Pennsylvania. As it turns out, that little booklet was full of information, some of which has been proven to be true but much of it is full of errors and misinformation.



The first paragraph on the second page stated:

"I am informed that sometime before the Revolutionary War three Berlins (brothers), Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came to America from Prussia." He goes on to say "One of the three original brothers, Isaac, settled in Philadelphia."

On page three he states:

"Another of the three original brothers, Jacob, settled ultimately near Lord Fairfax Manor in Clarke County, Virginia."

And in the next paragraph:

"Another of the three original brothers, Abraham, settled on the line of York and Adams County, Pennsylvania, where the town of Berlin now stands."

During the summer of 1986, Mom and I took a trip to Pennsylvania to research the Berlin and Yarian ancestors of her 'Grandma Phend' (Susie Lula Yarian Phend). Susie's parents were Eli and Lovina (Berlin) Yarian and Lovina's parents were John D. and Susannah (Hoffman) Berlin.



From the obituaries of John D. Berlin, we learned that he had been born in Adams County, Pennsylvania. There we found Orphan's Court records from 1843 which linked Susie's grandfather, John D. Berlin, to his father, Frederick Berlin.



Since the area in Adams County (near Abbottstown) where Frederick Berlin lived had been a part of York County prior to 1800, we also visited the Historical Society of York County. That stop proved to be monumental. There we found the records providing links to Frederick's father (Frederick) and to his grandfather (Jacob - our 1738 immigrant ancestor). But the big bonanza was in the collection of Dr. Charles T. Zahn who had spent many, many, many years gathering information on the Berlin family.



It was a huge collection but we had only half a day left before we had to return home. We did make copies of selected items, hoping we were getting the all-important "good stuff" but I'm sure we must have missed a few of the important documents and information as we didn't get through the entire collection. I had always hoped to return there but haven't made it yet!



Below is a portion of a letter dated July 31, 1970 that Dr. Zahn wrote to another Berlin researcher telling of the immigration of the presumed brothers while also adding an important research tip!

"The story of the Berlin family in America begins in 1738 with the arrival at Philadelphia, on the ship Charming Nancy from Rotterdam but last from Cowes, England - - of three young men or boys (presumably brothers.)


"Hans Jacob Barlin, age 22

"George Fredk Barlin, age 18

"Abraham Barlin, age 16
"On the three lists for the ship the name was variously spelt as Barlin, Barling, or Barly. They, themselves did not sign, but just gave their mark. I have a considerable amount of information on what happened to these three boys, all obtained from existing documents and gravestones, as well as from published histories. The latter, however must always be subject to verification, since much incorrect information has been published in local histories."

Sometime after the above letter was written, Dr. Zahn apparently discovered information that led him to write to the Strasbourg Archives where he obtained confirmation that the three young Berlin men were indeed brothers.







Above is a portion of a letter written September 30, 1977 by Charles T. Zahn, in the files of the Historical Society of York County, Pennsylvania.

"They came from a spa in northwestern Alsace, France (formerly Germany); namely Niederbronn or Niederbronn-les-Bains. From the Strassbourg Archives I have obtained Xerox copies of the baptisms in German script of the three brothers who came on the ship Charming Nancy in 1738. They were the sons of George and Elisabeth Berlin, whose marriage record was not available because of a gap in the marriage records at the time in question."

I don't recall whether the documents written in German script were in the collection or not but I did get copies of the hand-written transcriptions.



Dr. Zahn's information confirmed that there were indeed three brothers who came to America together, but their names were Jacob, Frederick, and Abraham - not Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as stated by A. F. Berlin. Although two of the names he gave were the same as the immigrants, Jacob and Abraham, their places of residence show that they were actually sons of the immigrant Abraham. So, in this case the myth turned out to be true, just not quite the way A. F. Berlin thought.



The immigrants Jacob and Frederick (22 and 20 years old, respectively, in 1738) both settled in York County prior to 1752 while Abraham (16 years old in 1738) remained in eastern Pennsylvania, settling near Reading in Berks County, and later in Easton, Northampton County.



In a letter dated October 25, 1977 Dr. Zahn stated that "For some 55 years" he had been collecting material "on the descendants of the three Berlin immigrants in 1738. Now 79 years old I am beginning a genealogy of the early members of this interesting family."



Sadly, Dr. Zahn passed away on May 17, 1979 and so never fulfilled his dream of publishing a book on the Berlin family. I thought perhaps someday I would compile a book on that family but I got side-tracked working on the Phend family and wrote a book about them instead.



However, two other researchers did take up the challenge. Among the letters in the Zahn Collection were several from Terry L. Johnson-Cooney and Reginald L. Berlin. In 1992, utilizing their own research as well as that of Dr. Zahn, and others, they published the first of five books on 'The Three Brothers' and their descendants. I think Dr. Zahn would be pleased. I know I was!








The Three Brothers - Jacob, Frederick, and Abraham.



Pennsylvania German Pioneers : A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals In the Port of Philadelphia From 1727 to 1808 (Volume II Facsimile Signatures 1727-1775) by Ralph Beaver Strassburger, edited by William John Hinke published by the Pennsylvania German Society Norristown, Pennsylvania, 1934. Photographed at the Allen County Public Library April 5, ...

Reel Rock Tour

Don't miss this.The Aussie opening was in Brisbane last night, so many climbers, so much fun.Climbers, I'll make it simple for you, here's what to do:A: click on the poster below for dates in your neighbourhood.B: Get a ticket and get inside.



Or maybe get a ticket at the door.Catch up with the cream of Brizzies climbing crew.



Get yourself some Pizza.



Keep eating Damien, almost show time.

Thanks Brad and TimGet your look happening.

Get in line.

Get inside.

And be amazed. Easy.

jj