Lee & Tuffee

Lee and Tuffee with Albuquerque down below them.

Oh! Canada...

This post is being brought to you from the Tourist Information Center in Grande Cache, Alberta, Canada! (Refer to the Map to see where that is... north of Route 16, about halfway to Grande Prairie on the road not shown.) I'm now into my third full day in this beautiful country and have managed to travel a little over 500 miles. It is a gorgeous day. Sunshine and blue skies, though a bit hazy but with no clouds.

When I arrived at the Roosville Port of Entry (north of Kalispell, Montana on US 93) at 4:20 pm on July 28th, there were a dozen vehicles and two motorcycles in line ahead of me. Fortunately the wait wasn't long. Fifteen minutes and a few questions later I was in British Columbia, Canada. The questions? Was I carrying: any firearms, anything I was going to leave behind in Canada, currency of any type valued at more than $10,000 Canadian, any alcoholic beverages? He also asked where I was going and what route I was taking to get there – it's a good thing I finally got around to figuring that out before I crossed the border!

According to the map I have, there were several Provincial Campgrounds within the first hundred miles. I stopped at the first one, called Kikomun Creek, about 20 miles from the border. It looked to be more like a resort since many of the RVs had decks or patios alongside them. I was quite relieved when the nice lady camp host said she had a spot for me. It was a nice place with friendly people. The sun was shining and it was in the upper 80s but there was a nice breeze and my camp site was in the shade. Ya can't ask for anything better!

It started raining just after sunset along with some thunder and lightening and then it rained most of the night, but I didn't care since I wasn't out in it! However, there were scattered showers along the 200+ miles I drove on Thursday. Cloudy skies with intermittent rain and a bit of sunshine. The scenery more than made up for the weather!

Upon entering Kootenay National Park at Radium Hot Springs, the sun was shining once again. This view of the Kootenay Valley is about half-way through the park. (Please, double-click on the images to view a larger version.)

This is half of Two Jack Lake, near Banff, taken between rain showers. I think it is the west half but my sense of direction got totally confused with the drive up there! At Two Jack Lake there is a lakeside campground and then there is the other one. The former was full but there was plenty of sites available at the other one, which is where I spent my second night in Canada.

Shortly after leaving Kikomun Creek Campground I saw a moose with her calf crossing the highway. There were a lot of deer grazing alongside the road. In Kootenay Park there were a group of about a dozen mountain goats, several quite small, near one of the pullouts on the other side of the road.

The drive through Banff and Jasper National Parks was amazing. I'll have some more pictures later (very slow internet connection) but they aren't all that great since the weather wasn't cooperating. It was cloudy and overcast most of the two days I spent there.

Photographs taken on July 29, ...

The Veterans in my Family

Vietnam Era/pre-Korea

• Charles Douglas Wiseman (brother). US Navy 1964-1968. Doug served as a Hospital Corpsman and was stationed with the Marines at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.


• Jack Lynn Wiseman (brother). A Hospital Corpsman in the US Navy 1969-1973, Jack was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station and with the Marines in San Diego, California.


• Gary Wiseman (cousin). US Navy 1969-1973. Enlisted at the same time as my brother, Jack, on the "buddy" program, which meant they got to go through boot camp together. Gary saw shipboard duty.


• Rebeckah R. Wiseman (that would be me). US Navy 1969-1979. Photographer's Mate stationed in Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Iceland, California and Japan. I hesitated to include my name in the list, but what the heck, I am a vet! Read the letters from Boot Camp that I sent to my mother.


• William Roland Conrad (cousin). US Navy Radioman. Served four years in the late 50's and early 60's. He was stationed in Alaska in January 1959 when it became our 49th state.


• Kenneth Eugene Fawley (distant cousin and husband of first cousin). Enlisted in the Army in June of 1957, right after high school. After Basic Training at Ft. Polk, Louisiana Kenny attended camera repair school at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. In December 1957, he was assigned to the 97th Signal Battalion, Photo Platoon, in Boblingen , Germany where they had two camera repairmen, 7 or 8 photographers, and some lab fellows. Kenny spent 30 months in Germany and attained the rank of Spec 5. He was discharged in June of 1960. The 97th Signal Battalion has a reunion group, which meets once a year at different locations. [Added December 4, ..]

Korea

• William Henry Phend (uncle). Bill joined the Army in March 1951. After basic training he was sent to Camp Stewart, Georgia. There he received training as a Combat MP (Military Police). Three times his name was put on the list of those who were to go to Korea, but for some unknown reason he was never sent. He was honorably discharged in March 1953.

World War II



Emery, Perry, and Jack Wiseman - WWII

• Jack William Wiseman (father). Enlisted February 19, 1943. 511th Parachute Infantry, 11th Airborne Division. He saw combat duty in the Pacific and would have been part of the invasion forces in Japan but instead, thankfully, was a member of the occupation forces. Born in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana on January 29, 1924 to Elsie Shuder and Charles Wilson Wiseman he died December 18, 1995 at Warsaw, Indiana. I have my father's discharge papers and have found some information on the 511th on the internet but sadly do not have any information on the World War II service of my uncles.


• Perry Martin Comfort Wiseman (uncle). Enlisted April 14, 1942. Perry was born August 3, 1906 and died July 9, 1968. On February 6, 1954 he was married to Retha Juanita Rindfusz Wallace. They did not have any children.


• Emery Emerson Wiseman (uncle). Enlisted in the Navy. Emery was born August 1, 1922 and died November 23, 1971. He lived in Kosciusko County, Indiana all his life. On February 24, 1946 he married Jean Ruth Bailey. They had three children.


• Robert Glen Reiff (uncle). Enlisted in the Army on February 27, 1943. Bob was born March 10, 1924 and died February 17, ... He was married on June 17, 1945 to Patricia Eileen Phend. They had four children.


• Carl Emmert Conrad (uncle). Carl was born December 4, 1917 at Nappanee, Elkhart County, Indiana and died October 15, 1970. He was married to Fern Louise Wiseman on September 22, 1939. They had one daughter.


• Glenn Roland Conrad (uncle, and brother to Carl Emmert Conrad) was born March 2, 1913 at Nappanee, Elkhart County, Indiana and died October 30, 1949 in Elkhart County. Glenn went into the Army on November 29, 1944. After basic training at Ft McClellan, Alabama, he was went to Fort Ord, California. On May 17, 1945 he went to Manilla leaving there on July 9, 1945 for Luzon where he started driving a 1 1/2 ton Dodge and also a Jeep. In October 1945 he was involved in the occupation of Japan, in the town of Tachigi where they destroyed war equipment. He was discharged April 4, 1946 and landed in Seattle, Washington. He was T/5 in the 158th Infantry, 1st Batallion. Glenn married Jessie Dell Wiseman (sister of Fern who married his brother Carl) on April 1, 1938 in Kosciusko County. They had two children: son, William is mentioned above and Caroline - the cousin who has done a lot of the research on the Wiseman lineage. (Added November 24, ..).
  
  

World War I

• Rolland Victor "Vic" Phend (grandfather). Enlisted Sept. 19, 1917 and discharged June 19, 1919. Served in France.


• Charles Romain Brubaker (great grandfather). Enlisted but dates of service not known. He was 48 years old in 1919 and was not required to register for the draft. I have not yet found record of his service but his gravemarker and his obituary both state that he was a veteran of WWI.

Spanish American War

• Charles Romain Brubaker (great grandfather). Enlisted in Company K, 160th Indiana Volunteer Infantry in June 1898 in Huntington County. He served in Cuba as a Mess Sergeant.

Civil War

• William Brubaker (2nd great grandfather). Enlisted April 21, 1861, in Company E, 17th Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving three years and two months in Wilder's Brigade, Army of the Cumberland. In a skirmish he was wounded in the thigh, being disabled for several months and sent to the hospital. After discharge he veteranized in Company I, 152nd Regiment, was made sergeant of his company and served until the close of the war. Pension Claim 69407. On April 28, .. William was inducted as a part of the Charter Member Class into the Society of Civil War Families of Indiana, a program sponsored by the Indiana Genealogical Society.


• Jacob Wise (3rd great grandfather). Was drafted and mustered in on October 5th 1864, at Kendallville, Indiana. He served as a Private in Company "C" of the 30th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. His widow's pension application states "and having served Honestly and Faithfully with his Company to the present date, is now entitled to a Discharge by reason of Death in Hospital at Nashville, Tenn. on May 17, 1865 of chronic diarrhea." Widow's Pension Application 101.119. On April 28, .. Jacob was inducted as a part of the Charter Member Class into the Society of Civil War Families of Indiana, a program sponsored by the Indiana Genealogical Society.


• Eli Yarian (2nd great grandfather). Enlisted January 28, 1862 and served as a private in Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery. Mustered out July 15, 1865. His brother, Benjamin Yarian also served in Battery D and was mustered out at the same time as Eli. Another brother, David Yarian enlisted with Battery A, 1st Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery on August 11, 1862 and was discharged with the regiment in 1865. Yet another brother, Jonathan Yarian. Served with Company A of the 35th Indiana Regiment of Infantry. Jonathan enlisted in September 1864 while living in Noble County, Indiana. On December 16, 1864, during the second days battle at Nashville, he was severely wounded and taken to Cumberland Hospital, where his left leg was amputated. He was honorably discharged on May 26, 1865.


• Jacob Berlin (2nd great granduncle). Enlisted in Company C, Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry on September 5, 1861. He was killed on April 7th, 1862, during the second day's fighting of the Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee). The Nappanee G.A.R. Post was named in his honor.


• Henry Robison, Jr. (3rd great granduncle). Enlisted in Company I of the 30th Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Wounded on April 7, 1862 at Pittsburgh Landing. Served through the end of the war.


• William Klingaman (husband of 2nd great grandaunt). Served in Company F of the 142nd Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Moved to Jefferson County, Iowa in 1867.

War of 1812

• Conrad Yarian (4th great grandfather). Served as a Lieutenant in Martin Sittler's Company, from Columbiana County, Ohio along with his brother Mathias.


• Bela Goodrich (5th great grandfather). Served from August 24, 1812 until October 4, 1812 and from May 4, 1813 until May 27, 1813 in Israel P. Case's Company from Franklin County, Ohio. In 1855, applied for Bounty Land. File 143.039.

Revolutionary War

• William Alexander (4th great grandfather). Lived in the area of Cecil County, Maryland and Chester County, Pennsylvania. Enlisted July 24, 1776. By March of 1777, he was a 1st Lieutenant of the 7th Battalion of the Maryland Regulars Regiment. He served in the 5th Company. He was killed on Aug 27, 1777 on the 2nd day of battle at "Landing Head of Elk" Maryland.


• James Ball (4th great grandfather). At age 27, enlisted on August 20, 1776 at Hampshire, Virginia in Captain William Voss' company, 12th Virginia Regiment. Served for three years. He was in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Stoney Point. Received two wounds at the battle of Brandywine. Pension claim W8336.


• Henry Bray (5th great grandfather). Signed "Patriot's Oaths of Fidelity and Support" on March 16, 1778 in Washington County, Maryland. Accepted as DAR patriot. File number 3185877.


• John Bray (4th great grandfather, son of Henry Bray). At age 16, enlisted in September 1777 at Romney, Hampshire County, Virginia. Served as a Private in Captain William Voss' Company, 12th Virginia Regiment. Was wounded during the battle of Brandywine (Delaware) and fought at Monmouth and Stoney Point. Discharged in 1780 in Yorktown, Pennsylvania. Pension claim W4145.


• Andrew Brinker (5th great grandfather). He served as a Private in Lieutenant Colonel Cochin's 4th Company, 4th Battalion, of the Northampton County, Pennyslvania Militia. He moved to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania between 1785-1790 then to Columbiana County, Ohio about 1806 where he died in 1828. [Added November 10, ..]


• Johann Heinrich "Henry" Coy/Kau/Cow/Cowe (5th great grandfather). Served from Washington County, Maryland and Franklin County, Pennsylvania along with his brothers Jacob and Frederick.


• John Goodrich (6th great grandfather). Marched for the relief of Boston in the Lexington Alarm April 1775. Served as a Private in Capt. Hezekiah Wells' Company, Colonel Erastus Wollcotts' Regiment January-March 1776. DAR No. 592151 through Juanita (Mrs. Eugene) Beard.


• Joseph Joslin (6th great grandfather). On page 125 of the "The Jocelyn-Joslin-Joslyn-Josselyn Family" (1961), Edith Wessler says that Joseph was a Lieutenant in the Revolution. On page 106 in "Blackman and Allied Families" author Alfred L. Holman says that Joseph was a Sergeant in the Revolution. Joseph's tombstone says "In memory of Lieut. Joseph Joslin..." I've not done any further research to prove or disprove these claims so if he served during the revolution, I don't know where or when or in what capacity.


• Thomas Sprague (4th great grandfather). He resided at Union, Tolland County, Connecticut and Mt. Vernon, Knox County, Ohio. Served as a private in Capt. Christopher Banister's Company, Col. Ezra May's Regiment; enlisted September 20, 1777; discharged October 5, 1777, service 21 days on expedition to Stillwater and Saratoga.


• Jacob Van Keuren (6th great grandfather). Served in the Fourth Regiment from Ulster County, New York.

I'm pretty sure I've listed all of my ancestors and their siblings that have served in the military from the present day through the Revolutionary War.



Other relatives who have served:

• Veterans in my Family :: the War of 1812 and the Civil War


• Veterans in my Family :: Spanish American War and World War I


• Veterans in my Family :: World War II, Korea, and Vietnam

Wordless Wednesday :: Nearly Ready for Liftoff

The Great Forest Park Balloon RaceSt. Louis, Missouri September 1994Copyright © 1994/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

The Feel of a Smaller Wheel

This spring I've been test riding a 26" wheel Sogreni city bike, and some readers have asked what I think of the 26" wheels - specifically, do I find the handling sluggish and do I think the frame could fit a 700C wheelset. The answer is that I do not find it sluggish at all, and believe that the 26" wheels were a good choice for this frame - allowing for aggressive front end geometry with no toe overlap. The bike is pretty fast and maneuverable, and I do not notice the wheel size at all.




Back when I was riding a Pashley Princess and describing the handling as slower than several similar bikes I'd tried, many expressed the opinion that this was due to differences in wheel size. The Princess is fitted with 26" wheels, whereas the other bikes I compared it to were fitted with 28" wheels. Despite a few contradicting voices (most notably that of Jan Heine), it is commonly believed that larger wheels are faster, and that it is always better to use 28" or 700C rather than 26" or 650B, unless the builder/manufacturer is trying to achieve something specific with sizing or clearances.






While I cannot contribute scientific evidence to the wheel size debate, personally I am comparatively indifferent at this stage. I've ridden fast bikes with 28" wheels, 700C wheels, 650B wheels, 26" wheels. I've ridden slow bikes with 28" wheels, 700C wheels, 650B wheels, 26" wheels. Recently I tried a very cool 26" wheel roadbike, made by Richard Sachs for a local cyclist. I would need to put it through a real road test to really comment about it, but around the neighborhood I could not discern any difference in handling, any hesitation in accelerating, compared to a 700C roadbike. And the proportions work so nicely for a cyclist of shorter stature, maybe even for someone my height. I am surprised that shorter women getting custom frames don't go for 26" more often.






Folding bikes and mini-bikes suffer even more from the small wheel bias. Just the other night a friend was telling me that he finds the idea of a folding bike convenient, but cannot imagine the small wheels being adequate. Having ridden Bromptons on a number of occasions now, I disagree as does the Co-Habitant. While I am sure that some folding bikes are slow, it probably has more to do with how the bike itself is designed than with the small wheel size. To me, the 16" wheels on a Brompton feel no slower than full size wheels. I have also spoken to cyclists who ride Moultons and Bike Fridays with dropbars as their main roadbikes, finding them more than adequate for club rides and pacelines.




I am not saying there are no discernible differences between wheel sizes, all else remaining equal. But in the scheme of things, there are so many other factors affecting speed and handling, that I feel the importance of wheel size is disproportionally stressed. It seems to me that getting the tubing, geometry and positioning just right for a cyclist of a given size should be the primary goal, and the wheel size should be a function of that - not the other way around. I am open-minded about smaller wheels and would like to try more bikes with them.

The Cats

Honeyman State Park

A short walk from the campground and through the forest leads to this beautiful little lake surrounded by the forest and sand dunes. Double-click on the image to see a larger version... it is a portion of a panoramic view that doesn't quite capture the full beauty and serenity of the place, but does a pretty good job of it!





I sat up on top of this sand dune for several hours, listening to the quiet. The only other people around were those two youngsters at the edge of the water, far below. Optical illusion? After looking at this image for awhile, it is hard to tell whether you are looking down toward water, or up toward sky, either way, it was a long way up/down.





As the sun lowered toward the horizon I left my gorgeous viewpoint and ventured down to the small lake.





Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State ParkSouth of Florence, OregonSeptember 29, ..

Fashion Friday - It's a pants off!

The last week sawprobably the most exceptional pants wearingThe Cave has ever seen.









Frey Yulepulled off a stunning hibiscus board pant in bluewith a simple lemon chalk bag by Black Diamond and a translucent green denture brush.

jjobrienclimbing votes this look: Flawless





















Matt Walpole went all out Acid with awildPsy-Macaw Board Pant,

Dippers chalk bag in Acid Fluff with a deep pink plush lining (Aussie made too, that's nice)

framed in a Wild Country Syncro (way too many gear loops for practical sport climbing, but the added colour and structure works super, don't you think?)













Remember jjobrienclimbing says:Fashion iswhat separates climbers from monkeys.

They Think You're Eccentric

"I don't want to go around in a car all the time. I don't think it's healthy. But if they see you walking on a road out there, they think you're eccentric."



These words were uttered by "Little Edie" Beale, the reclusive cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy, as an explanation for why she finally decided to sell the dilapidated Long Island estate Grey Gardens where she'd been holed up for decades with several dozen cats.The irony of this statement coming from her aside, there is undoubtedly a truth to it.



As a teenager in a New England suburb in the 1990s, I was among the very few students in my high school who did not drive. My boyfriend was another such anomaly. We walked home from school together almost every day and it was just under 3 miles, taking us down the main street that stretched through the center of town and then along a woodsy park road that wound around a lake. I remember these walks vividly, because together with the scenery and the endless deep conversations there was always a degree of dread mixed into it. Everything would be wonderful until someone would drive by and shout something nasty at us. It could be students from the school or it could be adults from town, and the harassment usually varied from random hooting to things like "Whatsamatta kid, too poor to drive your girl to the woods?" On occasion, even a police car would slow down to make sure we weren't up to no good - just because we were walking.



While mostly we were okay with all of this and even found it funny, it would be a lie to pretend it did not get to us on some level. One Valentine's Day we got into an argument, because we wanted to go for ice cream, but both secretly dreaded the idea of walking or riding our bikes there - kind of difficult to maintain a romantic mood while getting harassed. When I think back on this, the absurdity of it overwhelms me. But that's really how it was in our town, at least in the 90s.



In the American suburbs getting around other than in a car is not normal, and I think we underestimate the extent to which this social element is an obstacle to walking and cycling. The majority of people do not wish to be perceived as poor, eccentric, or even "different" as they go out for ice cream on Valentine's Day.

Nick Sutter

So I'm reading the "Find other climbers" forum on http://www.qurank.com/

And here's this casual sort of, "anyone keen to climb at Coolum on Friday, contact Nick 555 *****" type of thing.

Nick? Nick who? Nah.

The equivalent of reading on a muso's forum "anyone keen for a jam on the weekend, Keith"





































SoI get there on Saturday to hear Nick Sutter was here yesterday. W H A T !!!???

New rule: When someone gives their first name on qurank - ask their second.























Don't panic readers, he turns up again on Saturday and jjobrienclimbing is there to get some shots.

Nick sent the Matt Eaton (co-Kiwi) cave problem "4 Metres of Madness" 8a

Thing is, his knees never touched the rock. I don't think the locals knew what they were seeing.



He made some kind of remark about the first bolt being in a weird position. Nick, mate, no one has ever climbed to the first bolt without stick clipping.





Have you ever had that dream? All climbers have had it. The one where you are almost weightless, just pulling effortlessly across a roof. It was like watching that. I love that dream.





















Then it's everyone back to doing what they were doing.

Badlands :: A Prairie Dog Town

Wednesday, August 24th - - After the bison had moved along, so too did I. Traveling a short distance on the gravel road, I stopped at the Prairie Dog Town and watched the little critters for a while. Some were rather close to the road but as soon as I opened the door and stood up they all scurried off to their burrows. So I got back inside Van Dora and waited a few minutes until they decided to come back out. All of these photos are cropped, some more so than others.





Youngsters. Not sure they should go down into the safety of their burrow or stay outside. A second later and they had disappeared.





Oftentimes you see more with the camera (thank you, whomever invented the zoom lens!) than you do with the naked eye. This little fellow, and the ones below, were quite a distance from a burrow and fairly close to the road, sampling the morsels provided by Mother Nature.











It was so much fun watching these little guys. They were quick to scurry off in every direction at the lightest noise – a cough, a clearing of the throat, even sometimes the sounds of the camera.

The Surest Sign of Spring

Although Friday surprised us with a fresh foot of snow, it was nonetheless a glorious weekend. The plows made their rounds, the sun shone in a clear blue sky, the temperatures rose, and the scarves were distinctly loosened. Navigating through the still snow-covered streets, I could feel something new and fresh in the air - unmistakable signs of Spring.






There was the wet snow, softening under the sun's warm rays.





There were the delicate buds, with their promise of new leaves in the weeks to come.





There were the fences in need of mending, having unburdened themselves of heavy snow banks.






There was a fresher, younger quality of the afternoon sun's glow.





There were the pothole lakes cheerfully reflecting cerulean skies.






There were the colourful chairs on the lawns of local college campuses.





There were the freshly liberated bike lanes.






And perhaps the most noticeable change of all, were the dozens upon dozens of bikes. They emerged out of hibernationen masse, heralding the official start of Spring.






Some of the bikes I had seen in the neighbourhood before, but not since November.





Oh hello again, slate blue Mercier mixte. You look positively radiant!






Long time no see, copper Raleigh Lady Sports. Warming those old bones?





New handlebar tape this season, Bianchi Nuovo Racing?






Oh, but what's this here? You are new this year, aren't you, oh teal Dutch Gazelle with full chaincase?






And you, Babboe cargo trike? I haven't seen you around before. Have you moved to this neighbourhood over the winter? Welcome, welcome.






A local university recently installed bicycle racks along the entire length of their rather expansive Science Center. After sitting largely empty since their installation, on Saturday the racks were suddenly 3/4th full - snow storm of the previous day notwithstanding.






It was not a coordinated effort, but it surely felt like one. The neighbourhood bikes have had their say. And they've declared it the official start of Spring.