Almost Wordless Wednesday :: Anticipation

Monday morning as I walked out to the mailbox I noticed that the daffodils were starting to pop up through the mulch in my little flower garden. They sure do grow quickly! The first ones that came through are now about 3" high and more are coming up. These pictures were taken this morning, Wednesday March 18th. Winter is nearly over, Spring is only two days away!!

Scenic Highways

When I left Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park on the morning of May 12th it was downright cold. I stopped at a roadside rest area on US 89 about 40 miles north (and somewhat higher in elevation) and saw a few trees and plants with tiny icicles hanging off of them!


About 11 am I arrived at the visitor center at Bryce Canyon National Park. There were campsites available, but the temperature was a “brisk” 35º and I opted to continue on my way, knowing that I could return later. I also wanted to stop at Kodachrome Basin State Park, which was nearby, but not when it was so cold.

Utah Route 12, which is the highway that passes by Bryce Canyon and goes north towards Capitol Reef National Park, is a Scenic Byway. And it is quite beautiful. The little bit that I saw of it anyway. It started out rather nicely. But the sky was strange looking. The clouds were blue!

The canyons near Escalante, looking westward. The midway point between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef parks.

Another view of the canyons, taken 10 minutes later, looking west.

The canyons near Escalante, looking to the north. Uh, oh.

I drove into the clouds and saw no more pretty views for the next hour. It snowed. Quite heavily in some places, but the roads were clear. It snowed all the way through the Boulder Mountains.

Near the summit (9600 feet high) of Boulder Mountain the sky started to clear. Steam was rising from the road surface. It felt quite warm when I stepped out of the van to take the picture. But alas, it was just a temporary clearing. It snowed, and sleeted, and slushed most of the way to Torrey, the turnoff to Capitol Reef.

Once again, I stopped at the visitor center. The campground was full. There was BLM land nearby where I could spend the night if I wished. But it was early afternoon, the weather was lousy and more of the same was predicted for the next day. I opted to continue on my way, knowing that I could return later. At least I glimpsed portions of the scenery as the highway meandered through the park.

A check of the map showed that Goblin Valley State Park was an hours drive to the north on Utah Route 24 so I set my sights on spending the night there, which is what I did.

Shortly after I arrived at Goblin Valley, hail fell. Then it thundered and rained. Along about sunset time I glanced out the window and saw the tail end of a rainbow! Ah, Mother Nature in all her glory!

Yes, the photo is slightly out of focus, but it was such an unexpected and glorious sight that lasted only a few moments. It was there. Then it was gone.

You may think that I “complain” a lot about the weather. It's cold. It's hot. The rain. The snow. But I also frequently mention the beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Mother Nature can be fickle and even cruel at times, but you can be assured of just one thing – she is constantly changing. When you are living “on the road” the conditions “outside” are everything, you become more aware of them. The conditions affect your mood. They affect what you do and when you do it. So, yeah, I talk a lot about the weather. It's all I can do. Can't change it, though sometimes I wish I could.

Sitting Still

When we landed in Florida last year, I had a family member that kept asking me if we were going to put up for awhile. Although I'm not familiar with the phrase "put up", I took it that it meant to stay put somewhere rather than moving around every two to three weeks. I could only say I have no idea at the time. Because we didn't know what was going to happen.



We did end up sitting in one place for what seemed to us a very long time. Seven months to be exact. To say I got restless is a huge understatement. The only other time I've felt that restless is when we lived in VA years ago. Nathan was concerned that I might get restless here because it is kind of remote, like where we lived in VA was. I had the teensiest concern that I might start to feel restless if we stayed in one place when we long to travel so much. I'm happy to say, neither has been an issue. At all.

I think neither is an issue because we love it here. We love it like we have no other place we've been to in fact. And I'm not sure why, when it is pretty remote. There isn't tons in the way of entertainment or places to shop.

I miss having grocery stores to select from. I miss having a bit faster internet than we get sometimes here.

Other than that, I have no complaints so far. We are very content to just be here. I'm going to try to remember to take my camera with me when we go out and about, since we are here longer than we are normally at a place. It will be fun to share more in depth things about this place than I usually can.



Living the island life in NC!

Monday Mailbox: Cycling, Clothing and Skin Sensitivity

When discussing athletic cycling clothing, or even dressing for the bike in the context of utility cycling, I will occasionally mention being sensitive to certain fabrics. Because of this I get lots of questions from readers who are in the same predicament. There are those who find themselves unable to wear cycling apparel typically available in bike shops. There are also those who find that the fabric in their ordinary, everyday clothing - which was fine for driving and walking in - begins to cause problems once they start getting around by bike. Having had both experiences, here is my perspective after some years of cycling.




Firstly we all mean something different by "sensitive." Here is what I mean by it: When I wear certain items of clothing, my skin gets easily and dramatically irritated - to the point of rashes, abrasions or even lesions forming in the course of a single bike ride - in areas where the fabric contacts my skin. This does not appear to be a chafing issue, but more like a chemical burn or allergy type of reaction.




After nearly 5 years, I still cannot pinpoint precisely what causes it in my case. In the beginning, I believed it was "artificial fabrics" on the whole, so I tried to avoid them and wore only natural fabrics (wool, silk, etc.). But over time I learned that it is not a clearcut artificial vs natural fabrics issue. For example, I now know that I can usually wear lycra and spandex directly against my skin without any problems. My earlier assumption that I could not wear lycra was based on the fact that much of the cycling clothing casually referred to as "lycra" is in fact either partly or entirely polyester. It was the polyester I was sensitive to. This theory held true for a while, as I'd try different articles of polyester clothing and inevitably develop rashes. Even those wool/poly blends I usually cannot wear directly against my skin. Then again, one time I wore a jersey that was 100% polyester to which I had no sensitivity, even after a 60 mile ridein the summer heat and humidity.




Point being, these things can be tricky to figure out, so don't jump to conclusions. If you are sensitive to an article of clothing, it could be the fabric, but it could also be the dye, or some surface treatment used on the fibers, or some other factor entirely, or a combination of everything - including how these things interact with your unique body chemistry, and in particular, sweat (the latter would also explain why you might be entirely fine with certain fabrics when sitting around at the office or walking to and from the car, but not once you start pedaling and working up a bit of a sweat).




So, what do you do if you have skin sensitivity to cycling clothing? My first suggestion would be to eliminate chafing as the culprit. If your clothing is either too loose or too tight, this could cause abrasions from chafing that might be mistaken for skin sensitivity - I have seen it lots of times with local cyclists.




Once you are certain chafing is not the issue, pay attention to the clothing labels and see whether an obvious pattern emerges. Experimenting with fabrics is expensive, but many shops' return policies now are amenable to exchanges after items have been worn. And to determine whether it is the dye or surface treatment you are sensitive to, try washing the garment before wearing it again and see what happens. I recently tried some cycling-specific trousers that gave me a rash when I first wore them, but no longer caused that reaction after I put them through the wash a couple of times based on a friend's suggestion.And finally, for what it's worth, I think avoiding artificial fabrics remains a valid tactic.




Some of us can wear anything on the bike and don't see what the problem is. Others are frustrated by wasting money on clothing that irritates. Hopefully over time we figure out what works for us and what doesn't. In the meantime, there is always the second hand market - and trading clothing with friends!

Free Rice

Increase your vocabulary and donate Free Rice at the same time.

Check out their FAQ to learn how it works.

Hat tip to Only Crook In Town (a non-genealogy blog with an occasional post on genealogy) for the link.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Rest in Peace

On the campus of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute, Indiana
Winter of 1981I didn't read the other side of the stones so don't know who is buried there.Copyright © 1981/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Brookgreen Gardens~The Lowcountry Zoo

We decided to hit the zoo as one of the first stops at Brookgreen Gardens. The first thing we noticed is how natural the environment was. It is probably the most untouched animal areas we have ever witnessed at a zoo.



Because there were so many trees, this made the animal area very cool temperature wise. We enjoyed the shade and cooler weather and I'm hoping that means the animals did too.



All of the animals here were rescued or were born in captivity. All of the animals are not able to be released back into the wild. They have animals that are native to the swamps, woods and waters of the Lowcountry. They also have domestic animals to the Plantation. We saw a great number of animals from alligators to river otters, my favorite being the bald eagle who was a bit feisty.





I can't forget a picture of an owl for Miss Aubs.



We really enjoyed this part of Brookgreen.



Living the life in SC!

What's the Difference?

Whilethe Randonneur collaboration bike was in my possession (it has now been shipped to its owner), for about a month I alternated between riding it and my own Rivendell in attempts to compare them.



When I mention the very idea of comparing these bikes I tend to get completely polarised reactions. To some they look identical: lugged frames, 650B wheels, wide tires, fenders, dynamo lighting, dropbars and classic handlebar bags. Can there possibly be significant differences in how they ride? To others, the bicycles are so obviously different in terms of geometry and tubing, that a comparison seems equally absurd: Of course they will be radically different!



So first, let me explain the two bicycles in a way that I hope does not get too technical. The green one on the left is the Rivendell Sam Hillborne. The frame has relaxed angles, long chainstays, and classic (mid/high) trail. The tubing is oversized to support heavy loads. The top tube is unusually long for the frame size and slightly sloped, for reasons to do with Rivendell's approach to bike fit. It is fundamentally a touring bike, but with some quirky qualities thrown in.



The blueish bike is a one-off collaboration between Royal H. Cycles and myself. Built as a classic randonneuring frame, it is made using skinny, somewhat flexible tubing with fairly steep angles, moderate length chainstays, and low trail. The Randonneur is supposed to be lighter, faster and more responsive than a touring bike, yet still comfortable. The low trail geometry is considered to be optimal for carrying a front load, but overall the bike is not meant to be heavily loaded.



Fully built up with similar components, the Randonneur indeed came out lighter than the Rivendell. Unfortunately I do not have a scale to weigh them - but I estimate maybe 4-5lb (when comparing with handlebar bags attached and everything else shown here). [Edited to add: The difference between these bicycles as shown is 6lb. The Randonneur weighs 26lb and the Sam Hillborne 31lb.]



The difference in tubing is immediately apparent, both when looking at the bikes in person and when picking them up by the top tubes - I can close my hand around the Randonneur's top tube much easier. This made the Randonneur easier for me to pick up, carry around when necessary, and take in and out of the house.As for how the tubing and other differences translate into ride quality, it is difficult to say. The Randonneur is a faster bike, though modestly so. It is also less fatiguing and perhaps a wee bit cushier over bumps. I can feel the frame and fork flex as I ride, but not too much. And I would certainly not attempt to do this on the Randonneur - I think the frame might bend in half.



Regarding the low trail geometry, I have yet to organise my thoughts on that topic. Suffice to say that I expected a "weirdness" in the bicycle's handling that, for me, just wasn't there (though an acquaintance who test rode the bike disagrees). Yes, it handled differently under some conditions - but the same can be said of almost every bike in comparison to almost every other bike.



And perhaps the biggest surprise of all, was that I did not feel a significant difference in the way the two bicycles behaved with a front load. Yes, the Randonneur is spectacular at carrying weight in the handlebar bag... but then so is the Rivendell. Maybe I am not as sensitive to this specific aspect of bicycle handling as others, but I am not sure I could feel a difference. I also did not think the Randonneur was at all "unridable" without a front load, as some warned me about. Again, it is possible that I simply lack the sophistication and experience to sense the difference, but there you have it.



When I initially planned to compare the low trail Randonneur to my Rivendell, I assumed that I would prefer one type of bicycle over the other. Instead, it became clear that the two bikes are simply optimised for different types of cycling. Both are versatile in that they can be ridden on and off road equally comfortably, are fully equipped, and can carry at least some of the cyclist's belongings. The Randonneur is a somewhat faster, lighter and more "precise" ride, but it would not work in a fully loaded capacity. The Rivendell can haul great quantities of stuff unflinchingly, but at the expense of that extra bit of speed and maneuverability. The Randonneur is, of course, a custom bike with all the attention to fit and craftsmanship that implies, so I am not comparing on that level. But as far as the ride quality goes both bikes are great, just for different, albeit overlapping, uses. As for what role low trail geometry plays in all of this, I am honestly still not sure. Despite my pages of elaborate notes about the Randonneur's handling, I cannot say it is "better" or "worse" than typical mid/high trail geometry. My impressions of the handling are vivid, but oddly devoid of a value judgment. Vive la différence?

A Dunfee Duo

Last December I wrote several posts regarding Aquilla and Eliza (Dunfee) Hoff and their son. In this post, I discussed the possibility that their son Jonathan H. Hoff (last found with his father in Drum Creek Township, Montgomery County, Kansas in 1880) and John Hazlett Hoff (found in Decatur County, Kansas in 1900 & 1910 and Lawrence, Douglas County in 1915, 1920, 1925, and 1930) were the same person.



Shortly after those posts were published, I contacted Cathy, the submitter of one of the most "promising" ancestry trees. We corresponded briefly at the end of December but came to no firm conclusions. In April, she ordered the marriage record for John H. Hoff that "Charlie" a kinexxions reader had located in an online index. It confirmed the names of his parents listed in the index, but didn't really bring us any closer to a conclusion.







Decatur County, Kansas Marriage Application dated March 15, 1892. Parents of Jno. H. Hoff are given as Olen Hoff and Eliza Durfee.



Part of the "issue" is that John H. Hoff is consistently 5 years younger than Jonathan H. Hoff. And there is the family tradition that John was "the only child of along-toward-middle aged parents, had a father 'mostly' German born in the United States. His mother, Irish, was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. in her seventeenth year" and John's parents reportedly died during his "early teen years" and he then went to live with an uncle.



Aquilla Hoff and Eliza Dunfee were married on September 4, 1851 in Ashland County, Ohio. He was 36 years old and she was 38. In the 1860 census, Jonathan is 6 years old. In 1870, he is 16 and in 1880 he is 26 years old - all consistent with an 1854 year of birth. So, yes, he would have been born to "late in life" parents with Aquilla being about 40 and Eliza being 42 years old. And he was an only child.



On his marriage application of March 15, 1892, Jno. H. Hoff gives his age as 33. In the 1900 census, John is listed as born in Nov 1859. In 1910 he is 51 years old. In 1915 he is 55. In 1920 he is 60. In 1925 he is 65. And in 1930 he is 70 years old. All consistent with a birth year of 1859-1860.



According to census records, Aquilla was born in Maryland and Eliza was born in Pennsylvania. My mother and grandmother always said the Dunfees were Scotch-Irish so maybe the "Irish" part in the John Hoff family tradition has some semblance of truth to it. But Eliza was not the immigrant - her parents were both born in Pennsylvania also.



Eliza died on August 6, 1876 probably in Lagrange County, Indiana. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Lagrange County. At that time, Jonathan would have been about 22 years old (i.e. not in his early teens). Aquilla died June 27, 1883 also in Lagrange County. Jonathan would have been about 29 years old. Even subtracting the five years "lost" when given the age of John H. Hoff, it means he would have been 17 and 24 years old when Eliza and Aquilla died.



Of course, I have a theory regarding the age difference between John H. Hoff and Jonathan H. Hoff, assuming that they are indeed the same person. Did vanity enter into the equation? Perhaps John "shaved" 5 years off of his age so that he would not be so much older than his wife Mary who was born in January 1868. Using their ages, she would have been about 14 years younger than Jonathan and about 9 years younger than John.



One idea that Cathy proposed was that maybe Aquilla was John's uncle and that John was adopted by Aquilla and Eliza. But if that is true, he would have been adopted as a much younger child, not one in his young teen years. And there were no other known children for Aquilla and Eliza, especially older children.



So we're back to square one, not knowing with any degree of certainty whether John is Jonathan.



But, entering into the picture is contact with another Dunfee descendant, this one through a brother of Eliza. No, Roger didn't add anything to the information we have, but he did have a photo that really got my attention when I saw it. Roger's ancestor is Jonathan Smith Dunfee who is a brother to Eliza and to my 3rd great-grandfather, William Hamilton Dunfee.



You see, Cathy has a photograph of her great-grandfather John Hazlett Hoff. And Roger has a photo of his great-great-grandfather Jonathan Smith Dunfee. And they both gave me permission to use those photos here on kinexxions.



When I first saw the photo of Jonathan S. Dunfee it immediately called to mind the one of John H. Hoff. I kept clicking between the two and finally got them displayed side by side as shown in the composite below. The resemblance is striking. At least it is to me.







On the left is John Hazlett Hoff and on the right is Jonathan Smith Dunfee. Possibly nephew and uncle. Photos used courtesy of Cathy Hansen and Roger Waller.



But a really neat thing that I was able to do, with Roger's permission, was to give a print of the picture of Jonathan Smith Dunfee to one of his great-grandsons that lives here in Columbia City. Cal is my 3rd cousin twice removed and I've known him for a very long time. Mom and her siblings "always" knew their Dunfee cousins, which I think is pretty cool. I spent yesterday afternoon with Cal and his wife, Ardilla, talking about the Dunfee family, genealogy and numerous other topics. We had a wonderful visit! (As a side note, Ardilla is a grand-aunt of my brother's two oldest boys. Their grandfather is Ardilla's brother.)



A hearty "Thank You" goes out to Cathy and Roger for willingly sharing their research and their wonderful family photographs.



I must say, these last few months have been absolutely fantastic for me in terms of genealogy and family history research! It's been amazing and I can't wait to see what comes along next!



For more information on the Dunfee family, see theIndex to Posts, which is a compilation of all the posts that have been published here at kinexxions on the family.

Detroit Zoo and Nieces

We left the two boys with their Aunt Traci and Ashleigh, so they could have some additional family time. I brought two of our nieces back with us: Sherae and Kyanna. Sherae is special to me, not only because she is a sweetheart but also because she shares my middle name. I've always had a soft spot for Rae Rae. Ky is just adorable. When she was younger she'd introduce herself as "Hi, I Ky". Total cuteness! Kyanna is the youngest of the nieces right now, so she is pretty spoiled by all the aunts in the family. Since I live in the land of testosterone lately, I was tickled pink to have GIRLS around. Both of them are true girlie girls to boot. I am surrounded by pink, pink and more pink!



Yesterday we hung out at the campground and did some boring things like grocery shopping. Then we went swimming and played Wii. Today we took the girls to the Detroit Zoo. We have not been here for years and they've changed it around quite a bit.

As cool as the zoo was, the girls made it a hundred times better. I forgot how fun non-teen kids are to take to the zoo! Some of my favorite moments were:

When Kyanna fed the peacocks:

When she showed us how the "mingoes" stand:

When Sherae tried to get the kangaroo to box with her:

And when this beautiful guy let me pet him:

and then told me a story complete with teeth baring and head bobbing:

And last but not least...years ago Nathan and I took our girls to this very same zoo. Ashleigh was three and Ambir was two. Ambir was addicted to her "binky" at the time. (We sent her to Binkies Anonymous at some point, so she's fine now) We got to the zoo and she lost her binky. We didn't have a back-up binky. Soooo...she screamed "I want my binky" the entire time we were at the zoo. It was awful. She had some fierce lungs on her and when she screamed, the whole world knew it. I think this was the main reason we have not visited this zoo since in fact.



Today Kyanna picked something up and when we saw what it was, we cracked up. It was the exact same kind of "binky" that Ambir lost there almost 20 years ago. Ambs, we found your binky!

Living the life in Pinkville, even if temporary, in beautiful family-filled Michigan!

A Special Concert at Peace River!

I have had an exceptionally busy week this past week. Actually the past two weeks have been unusually hectic for us. So I have tons of things to blog about, but I've been so busy that I haven't had the time to blog about them. Hopefully I will get caught up over the next several days or during my next few days off.



This was one of my favorite did but didn't blog about it things: a concert given to the park performed by pickleball friends. Not just any pickleball friends though. Super talented and musically gifted friends. I met Todd Hallawell and Garth Matthews both this year.



I heard about Todd long before I knew him though because Austin is a huge fan of Todd's musical talent and has shared numerous YouTube videos of him with me. He is an incredible musician. What I did not know was that his wife is also.



We were so impressed with Garth's playing also. They played beautifully together! Such a treat to hear all three of them play together and judging by the crowd's response, we were not the only ones that felt honored to hear them play.





Just a few short clips of them to give you some idea of their talent.

Ah, the joys of winter!

Of all of the family pictures in Mom's albums, this is the only one I found that was taken outside during the winter. It was the winter of 1964 and shows me and my little sister. It looks like I lost my foot, or at the very least, my boot! The houses in the background belong to the neighbors.

Winter used to be fun! Really, it was. Tromping in the wind-sculpted snow drifts. Going sledding down the big hill. Ice skating on the river. Building snow forts with my brothers. Snow-ball fights. Playing outside for so long that it took hours to get warmed up again. Hot chocolate, with marshmallows. Ah, the joys of youth and playing in a winter wonderland!

An early spring snowfall at our house at Karen Kove, north of Columbia City, March ...

My front porch. December ... It almost looks like this today. New fallen snow is pretty, even, dare I say, beautiful. That is, unless, like today, I had to go somewhere. Yesterday we got about 8" of the fluffy white stuff, which, considering conditions elsewhere, isn't all that much. But the wind was blowing too. I certainly didn't enjoy driving this morning on the slippery, snow-packed roads in below zero temperatures (with a -25°F wind chill). Brr.

For me, the best thing about winter? Spring is not all that far away...

The old crabapple tree at Karen Kove, spring of 1999.

Icy Canopy

Ice-encrusted trees bend over and touch the ground, unable to bear the weight of ice that has accumulated from the freezing spray of Lake Superior. Taken at Tettegouche State Park near Silver Bay, MN.

Minnehaha Saddlebag: a Splendid Bargain

Riled up by the discussion in the comments section of this post, we caved in and bought a Minnehaha medium saddlebag from that place where it is on clearance [link removed since the item is no longer sold there].



The Co-Habitant attached it to his Raleigh DL-1 Roadster and it is a perfect match. Black canvas with tan leather straps - a simple, classic design. Those light strips are our own CatEye lights; they do not come with the bag.



We do not have pictures of the bag before the lights were attached, but above you can see it on our friend somervillain's beautiful Shogun (which I will be writing about soon). The Minnehaha looks as good on a stately 3-speed as it does on a regal randonneur.



The bag originally came with two reflective strips of fabric, attached to the leather straps via cords that resemble hair elastics (these are pictured above). The Co-Habitant removed these when he attached the lights, and now I will use them as actual reflective hair elastics when I cycle at night.



Side view of the Minnehaha on the Roadster. As you can see, the leather straps attach to the two saddle loops and to the seat post. If you prefer, the strap around the seat post could instead be secured to a rear rack, placing the bag at an upright angle.



The bag is voluminous. Dimensions are 11"W x 9"D x 9"H and it has a 10L capacity. A wooden support (visible inside, along the top) ensures that it will keep its shape. There is only one large compartment, which can be loosened or tightened via the cord shown in the picture.



The design is not complicated. It is basically a large, versatile bag that can be stuffed to the brim and will still look good. We have filled it with clothing, food, purchases, bottles of water, etc., and it has behaved very well. Attached in the manner shown, the bag is extremely stable and does not dangle. It also keeps its form even when empty.



One aspect of this bag worth noting, is that both the canvas and the leather come "unfinished", which some who purchase it may not realise. When treated with a water-repellent conditioner, the leather will turn a dark chestnut brown. So if you prefer that look over the black and tan, keep in mind that the bag will look that way once you treat it. We will probably do this eventually, but haven't had time yet.



As others have noted, the main drawback of the Minnehaha medium saddlebag is the location of its closure - which is so low that it's almost underneath the bag. One must either lean over or kneel in order to access it, and it's hard to see the buckles from either of those positions. The Co-Habitant also reports that he found it difficult to fasten the buckles at first, as the fit wasn't perfect - but over time everything stretched out and softened up and this difficulty subsided.



The final verdict on the Minnehaha medium saddlebag: We are very glad that we got it at the bargain price, and I highly doubt that anybody would regret that purchase. As for the retail price? Well, I still think it is a good value - simply because all bicycle bags are expensive nowadays, regardless of looks or quality, and even at full retail it is still less expensive than most. The Minnehaha bag is large, classic, and matches practically any bike. You can learn more about their full line-up here.