In Memoriam - Walter Eugene Mitchell (1921-)

My uncle, Walter Eugene Mitchell, was born October 25, 1921 in Whitley County, Indiana and died May 30, .. at Columbia City, Whitley County, Indiana. He was the son of Clarice M. and Sarah Goldie (Killian) Mitchell.

Walt graduated from Columbia City High School with the Class of 1940 and spent his entire lifetime in Whitley County with the exception of a few years in Laporte, Indiana. He married Phyllis Elizabeth Phend on a snowy, wintry day - December 6th, 1942 - at the home of the bride's parents. Phyllis is the daughter of Hazlette Brubaker and Rolland Victor Phend.
Phyllis and Walt opened a bait and tackle store in their home in Columbia City in 1946. They kept the store for 23 years closing it down in 1969. Walt was also one of Columbia City's top bowlers between 1954 and 1974. In 1964 Walt was employed as a machinist and store keeper for Monsanto Plastic Company in Ligonier, Indiana. The company produced numerous plastic products, including mud flaps for trucks. Walt retired from Monsanto in 1984.
Walt also collected post cards and vintage bottles. His postcard collection started in 1928 when he was 7 years old. He purchased two cards at Trier's Park in Fort Wayne. One card was of Tom Mix and the other was of "Our Gang". In the mid-eighties his collection of post cards numbered between 25-30 thousand cards. They were everywhere! He continued to collect post cards and after his retirement the collection reached 50,000 cards. It was then that Phyllis and Walt started traveling to post card and bottle shows throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio selling and buying. About 10 years ago they had several auctions, selling most of their post cards and bottles.
In addition to his wife, Phyllis, he was survived by one daughter, three sons, eight grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren and one brother, Clarice Mitchell of Columbia City. He was preceded in death by his parents, one son, 2 year old Patrick Allen Mitchell who died in an auto accident in 1948, one grandson, Michael W. Mitchell and two sisters, Ethel Nicodemus and Naomi Trier.

- Off to a snowy start

Near record amounts of snow fell at Paradise in December and early January. The weather station there recorded over 360 inches (over 30 feet) of the white stuff so far this fall and winter. At that rate, the mountain is on track to break the previous snowfall record (93 feet in 1972)... The breakneck pace of snowfall has blanketed the entire Cascade range and has also caused a significant amount of avalanche distress and accidents. The thick unstable snowpack brought a series of severe avalanche cycles that have claimed nine lives in the region. Almost another record, yet very grim, for avalanche fatalities.

At Paradise on Mount Rainier, a snowshoer was caught in a snow-slide on December 18th. It took 3 and 1/2 days to find 22 year old Kirk Reiser. Though the accident occurred within 3/4 miles of the parking lot, a tremendous amount of continued snowfall made the recovery hazardous and arduous. To find him, we called upon Mountain Rescue and Crystal Mountain Ski Patrol to help. They showed up with many rescuers, search dogs and bombs (to mitigate the hazard). Left: Crystal Mountain Ski Patroller Chris Morin tossing a bomb, photo by Stefan Lofgren.

It's been over 20 years since someone has been caught and killed in a "winter" related avalanche on the Paradise side of the mountain. Climbers have certainly been caught, but those incidents happened in the spring and fall at higher elevations. The last four avalanche fatalities were in June (3) and October (1), not your traditional "avalanche season." Left: Mountain Rescue volunteers working a probe-line, photo by Stefan Lofgren.

Anyone who leaves the parking lot for a day of fun in the snow should definitely pay attention and adhere to the avalanche forecast. You'll also need to know how to evaluate the hazard and make route finding decisions that avoid hazardous areas. Another key is to carry the necessary backcountry rescue equipment (a beacon, a shovel, and a probe per person) and know how to use them efficiently during an emergency. Remember, rescue equipment is a last resort, avoiding an accident is the goal. Perhaps the best advice is to take a class and learn about snow safety. If you haven't done so, check out some of the avalanche courses offered in the area. If it's been a few years since you've had a course, take an update/refresher. A good place to start is the Level 1 AIARE or the Recreational Level 1 course from the Canadian Avalanche Association.

Over the last week, we've enjoyed mostly clear and cold weather (as attested by Chris Olson's image to the left). This allowed 3 climbers an opportunity to summit via the Gibraltar Ledges route on Jan 23rd!! During that weather window, numerous snowshoers and skiers made their way to Camp Muir. Most were reporting firm, hard snow, no one else summited (that we know of)... That said, the snow has again started to fall in Longmire and at Paradise (another 2 feet reported). Once again, things are very soft and hazardous. As a safety heads up: the emergency public radio at Camp Muir is not working (more later on when it gets fixed). As for the snow/ski conditions, check out our ski reports from Lead Climbing Ranger Chris Olson. As always, I appreciate any field reports route updates, if you send them, we'll share them...

And speaking of updates, we have a new writer on the website that you'll be meeting later this week. But to give you a quick heads up, get ready for famed writer and blogger: Rebecca Agiewich. Rebecca is a Rainier enthusiast, skier, and for the benefit of this website, a writer. She has signed on to help me with route reports and other updates so that YOU wont have to wait (sometimes 8 weeks) for the local scoop on Rainier traffic and events as I wade through NPS policy and budgets... Look for her pithy and fun posts to come. She'll spin her own Rainier press and provide added entertainment and information.

Above image is of Park Ranger Stefan Lofgren assessing the snowpack, by Mike Gauthier.

Overthinking the Pink

A couple of weeks ago I got the inexplicable urge to redo the handlebars on my Rivendellwith pink bar tape.I don't know. One day I was looking at the bike and suddenly felt that the earthtone and twine thing was getting kind of oppressive. The bike wanted to break free. Withthe streets growing more dreary with each passing day, a burst of colour was sure to break up the monotony. And that it certainly has: Now I feel as if I am riding a bike made of watermelon, or an enormous piece of tourmaline. It's nice and cheerful.



Of course, unlike other cheerful colours, pink is somewhat charged with meaning because of its associations with stereotyped femininity. So I was not entirely surprised to receive an email from a reader eager to discuss my new handlebar tape. She was disappointed that, while my choice in bicycle colours and accessories had hitherto been "the antithesis of girly," now here I wasreinforcing the industry stereotype of women wanting pink on their bikes.

Heavy stuff. And as usual I find myself disagreeing and agreeing all at the same time. On the one hand, there is Elly Blue's post about "reclaiming pink." There is also the fact that originally, pink was considered to be a colour for boys. Finally, there is the Maglia Rosa of the Giro d'Italia- shouldn't that association trump the girly one?

On the other hand, I've heard too many women express frustration at the fact that the bicycle industry slaps pink colour schemes and floral motifs on everything that is designed for female cyclists ("shrink it and pink it") - from bike frames, to panniers, to cycling jerseys. I too find this annoying. But having thought about it for a couple of years, I suspect the real frustration here is that women-specific bicycles and products are oftentimes worse in quality than those designed for men. So the pink and flowery stuff, in combination with the inferior quality, is seen as a slap in the face: "Our marketing team believes you care about pretty colours and flowers more than you do about substance, so that is what we are selling you."

Ultimately, I think that pink is a more versatile colour than we give it credit for, particularly in the context of cycling. It is really all about presentation. I will probably not keep the pink bar tape on this bike in the long run, simply because it overshadows the elaborate lugwork that really deserves the starring role here. But for now I quite like it, stereotyped or not.



What comes to mind when you think of pink bicycles or bike related products - Giroor girly? or something else entirely?

An Early Morning Visit...

An Early Morning Visit..., originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

I woke up early this morning to go check on my 'Grandpa Ott' morning glories. Look at what I found!

Today was Grandpa's Birthday

Today was Grandpa Vic's birthday. And yesterday was the anniversary of his death. Born 115 years ago, in 1893, grandpa died in 1991, the day before his 98th birthday. It's hard to believe that it has been 17 years. Taken in 1983, during his 90th birthday celebration, this is the only picture I've come across, so far, of just us.

In many (most) of the pictures of grandpa he has his arms crossed. He always wore a long-sleeved shirt, even in the summer. He seldom laughed out loud. He was a quiet man. At family gatherings he didn't say much, but he was there, watching, and enjoying himself. I think he liked the chaos that occurred when we all got together. And, even after 17 years, his presence is still missed.

You can read more about Grandpa (Rolland Victor "Vic" Phend) in his biography posted a year ago and about his candy making, which was posted last December.

Jumbo Rocks

In the northern portion of Joshua Tree National Park is an area known for its unique rock formations. It is a fascinating and fun area to explore. There were quite a few people bouldering and rock climbing, but I wasn't one of them! Although I did walk on a few of rocks, I'm just not adept or flexible enough to do the tough stuff. I'll leave that to the younger crowd and to those that know what they are doing!

Pickleball Wing Ding Tournament

Today we got up very early, so we could head over to a pickleball tournament that Rich and Donna invited us to. The tournament was at King's Point in Sun City and was called the Wing Ding Tournament. This is only the second round robin tournament we've been to, with the first being the one we hosted. It was good for me to go and play with all new people, since I tend to have this mental hangup about playing with people I don't know yet. Since we move every two to three weeks, it is not a good mental hangup to have at all.



I had fun today. I still prefer just playing with the people at Thousand Trails without the pressure of tournament play, but it was good for me in some other ways so I'm so glad I did go.



Buddy rode with us, and it gave us a chance to know him better. The people we met and played with were wonderful. I have often said the pickleball crowd has some of the nicest people we meet, and today proved that to be true.



I'm always so impressed with Austin when we go to events like this. He is so wonderful to not be intimidated about being the youngest person, the youngest player and the only one under 18. I'm not sure I'd have been able to do that at all at his age!

The weather was fabulous, which just made the day all the more wonderful. Now I'm off to ice my ankle, which is swollen since I ever so gracefully twisted it and fell. Nothing major, just enough to remind me that I'm no longer 20.Living the life in finally warm Florida!

The Birds at Myrtle Beach State Park

I couldn't share the birds at one State Park and not share the birds at the other. So here are the birds from Myrtle Beach State Park. Except most of the birds there were different than what we saw at Huntington.



I did capture this cutie pie having a joyful time chasing the birds on the beach:

Sholom Park in Ocala Florida

Today was the girls turn to do a day trip, so Donna and I headed out to find some fun things in the area to see. We were going to a botanical garden in Gainesville, until I realized last minute that it was the one that Nathan and I had already visited. So we scrambled a bit to figure out what else we could do. We ended up visiting a place listed on a website for botanical gardens in Florida, a place in Ocala named Sholom Park.



The park was built to capture a place of peace and was named Sholom to honor Sidney Colen's grandfather's name. The place was in fact very peaceful. It had many paths to walk along and everywhere we went it was peaceful.



It is the kind of place that if I lived nearby, I'd go there often to just walk to get a little bit of exercise and the chance to unwind. After visiting the park, we headed over to Chick-fil-a where Donna ate her first ever meal there. I didn't have my camera inside with me so I did not get a picture of her eating her first chicken sandwich there. We then headed out to see what else we could find to do. More on that in the next blog post!

Bird Count

This weekend is the time to count the birds in your yard or where ever you take a walk, or hike or want to do it. This website will tell you how to count and submit your findings so they can be recorded for the whole United States. There is also a group that does it for England and Canada but I don't know if it is this weekend or not. You can do it for a little as 15 minutes or as long as you want. So take the time to count a few little birdies and let everyone know. www.birdcount.org

Flying Saucer

These two images represent my longest exposure attempts to date. The one above, which I named "Flying Saucer" (thanks to my brother, who said the star circles look like the bottom of a flying saucer) is a 3 hour exposure taken from 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. The image below is a 2.5 hour exposure taken from 11:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

Go Tigers

Wilson's back to school night got off to a rough start yesterday. The doors stood open, and the auditorium was very warm- not having the benefit of air conditioning. The first speaker urged every one to move up as there was no PA system. The principal seemed to be running a few minutes late. Lights kept blinking, and if you looked up, you noticed the large areas of plaster rotting up there in the ceiling. But then, with no press, photography or fanfare, up popped our new mayor, Adrian Fenty. His voice was clear and strong, and he gave the mandatory short spiel on making school improvements. It was such a morale booster that it really didn't matter what he said. The most important thing to me was that he was there-and that it was not the first time he had been here in this auditorium. It is somewhat comforting that he is from this town-generally only people who are from here can understand here, and even we find it A Challenge.
The rest of the night went well. The teachers, for once, were not complaining about a lack of books or other glaring oversights. There was even a glimmer of optimism. The stadium and field have been renovated, and the pool is finally under reconstruction. Wilson was a brand new school back in 1935, when my dad's brother, Nick went. You can literally feel its age going up the stairs which are concave now like the steps of a Roman coliseum. It's still a beautiful building despite its age and deterioration- but it desperately needs improvement- as do the vast majority of our city schools. There is a tiny light now- maybe- just there at the end of this long dark tunnel, but it sure is amazing how fast that new baseball stadium is getting built.

It's enough to keep you guessing.

Flowers for Susan

These tiny flowers, about ¾ of an inch in diameter, some pink and some white, grow on several bushes planted in flower beds around the house. (I have no idea what kind they are.) I doubt that they were blooming in June when Susan was last here, so I thought I'd send her a virtual bouquet to say “Thank You” for her hospitality and friendship (thanks also to Don).

Happy 80th Birthday Mom!

1928 - - 1943
1945 - -1966


1970 - - 1993
1996 - - ..

Big Bend :: Lost Mine Trail

Last summer, I told my brother that I was in the best physical condition that I'd been in for many years. Like maybe more than 30 years ago when I got out of the Navy! What I didn't say was that I was still in woefully poor shape. Well, if I were really physically fit I could have hiked more trails in the Chisos Mountains but I was happy with what I was able to do.

Once piece of advice: Don't take anyone's word on whether a trail is “easy” or not! Based on the advice of one of the people working in the Visitors Center, the first trail I hiked was the Lost Mine Trail. She said it was relatively easy. Let me just say that her idea of easy and mine certainly don't coincide! It was not easy. I later read a trail guide that described it as “somewhat strenuous” which to me was more accurate, but still not quite right. Let's just say it was challenging.

In shape or out, I huffed and puffed nearly all the way on the outbound stretch. The description that I read later said that the Lost Mine Trail “rises to 1100 feet over 2.4 miles” and “provides excellent views of the surrounding mountains and desert” and what that really means is that it was uphill most of the way! Oh yeah, lots of huffing and puffing! But it was a gorgeous day. Blue skies, sunshine, and warm temperatures. Not hot. Not cold. Comfortable.

Casa Grande Peak, looking back on the trail, about a quarter of the way in. This was one of the easier stretches. Thank goodness it wasn't all uphill all of the time!

From the halfway point, looking south. Views like this is what made the trek worthwhile!

And this! The view from the top! Casa Grande on the left. The “v” shaped area is called the window, for reasons I'll explain later. The Basin is the low area in the center and is where the campground was located. The white ribbon streaking through the center is the road leading to the Basin and the Lodge. The Lost Mine Trail began about where the road disappears in the center going toward the Basin.

A zoomed-in shot of the Basin and campground.

Heading down. Again, this is one of the easier sections of the trail. Lots of switchbacks. Lots of rocks. Going down took almost as long as going up. It was also harder on the legs, but much, much easier on the heart and lungs! After 4.8 miles and 3 hours I felt tired, for sure, but also exhilerated. It was my first “long” hike, and I made it back safe and sound.

Photographs taken February 21, ...

The Fort

We also visited the museum and watched a few movies. We had a great day here!