A Day in Primary Colours

Red curtains. They are there for practical purposes - welding screens to protect the eyes from the intense glare of the arc. Brazing happens on one side of the shop, welding on the other. In the middle is this vinyl semi-transparent barrier. But the red backdrop spreads an aura around the room, bathing it in a mysterious, yet energising light. I see the light flicker dimly behind it, and somehow the universe seems to make sense.





Against the vast expanse of red, five adults open long cardboard boxes with the hushed anticipation of polite children on Christmas morning. Inside the boxes are steel tubes wrapped in newspaper. The unraveling is almost formally festive.






The blue work shirt. My grandfather worked in a machine shop and wore one well into his old age. In the '90s, the boys I went to high school with wore the same shirts because it was fashionable. They played in garage bands and dressed like mechanics, never having been near a wrench,which used to annoy me. Now some of them wear blue work shirts unironically, having indeed become mechanics or machinists. So it goes.






Blue buckets full of gloves, cotton and leather. I burned myself three times building my first frame. Once by picking up a piece of scrap metal after it had just been hole-sawed off. Another time by grabbing the frame too soon after it had been torch-dried post washing. And the third time by accidentally brushing the hop tip of a filler rod against my cheek. Who knows, sometimes the gloves help. Other times they are a hazard and can get stuck in a machine.








Yellow packaging, labels, warning signs, equipment decals. It is noticeable, even in a sea of other colours. See me, read me, peel me.





Yellow booklets, dusty yellow machines. I am too easily enticed to visit the other side of the curtain.




More pictures.

Seaside Tandem

Over the weekend we wanted to take our bikes to Cape Cod and cycle on theRail Trail. Unfortunately, our lighter bikes are at the shop and the Pashleys are too heavy for the car's rear rack. Browsing the rail trail brochure, I noticed an advertisement for tandem rentals. Tandems! Within seconds, I was making a reservation.



Our tandem was a modern Fuji mountain-road hybrid, with an aluminum frame and carbon fork. With our mismatched beach attire and sunscreen-streaked faces (it was a hot day) we didn't exactly look glamorous, but it was quite an experience!



Tandem bicycles look charming and fun, which makes them seem easy to ride. I assure you that they are not! Despite Sheldon Brown's detailed description, we did not expect it to be so challenging. The tandemists must learn to coordinate their pedaling and coasting patterns, pedaling cadence, and even their body movements, so as not to disbalance the bicycle by leaning in different directions. This takes some time! Steering, shifting gears, and turning corners require considerable skill.



The person at the front of a tandem is called the Captain, and the person in the back is the Stoker. The job of the Captain is to steer and balance the bicycle, and to control the gearing. The job of the Stoker is to provide extra leg-power on the pedals and maintain the balance.If you are the Stoker, the Captain's back will be your view (inches from your face), unless you turn to the side!



The Co-Habitant was a natural captain and could even ride the tandem stretched out from the rear pedals.



I could not, but I was a good Stoker!



One of the benefits of a tandem, is that it can go very fast. Once we got the hang of operating the bicycle, we were flying on that thing, grinning with delight and leaving other cyclists in the dust. Overall, I prefer to ride an individual bicycle, simply because I like the control and independence. But on occasion, a tandem would be so much fun. It's a tandem!

Tombstone Tuesday :: Brubaker Family

The Brubaker plot at South Park Cemetery, south of Columbia City on State Road 205, in Whitley County, Indiana. Photos taken in October ... Top photo, taken 10/24, is looking east and the second one, taken 10/09, is looking to the west.

In the top photo, the marker on the left is for my 2nd great grandparents, William and Malissa Joslin Brubaker. On the right is the marker for their son, Maurice Hale, whose life was cut short at the age of 24.

On the Front: BRUBAKER / CO. E 17 REG IND VOL. INF. / WILLIAM 1843-1912 / MALISSA M. JOSLIN / HIS WIFE / 1849 - 1937. On the back: BRUBAKER / G. A. R.

Hale's stone, on the front: BRUBAKER / MAURICE HALE / SON OF Wm. & M.M. / BRUBAKER / 1886 - 1910. On the back is: 1st LIEUT Co G 3rd INFTY. / I. N. G.

Lake Superior Ice Cubes

I absolutely LOVE abstract Lake Superior ice, and I think this definitely fits that description! I don't know what causes the ice to form in such a way, but this sure is fascinating. Jessica said "it looks like someone dumped their cooler out!" It was this comment that gave me the idea for the image title. This is right along the water's edge of Lake Superior at Hollow Rock Resort in Grand Portage, MN and was taken with my Canon 100-400mm lens.

Flower in Old Town

These flowers were scattered all over Old Town and were in full bloom. The blossoms were huge being as much as 10 to 12 inches across and with big leaves. I was told they were a perennial hibiscus.

The Desert

This is out on the desert near where I sometimes ride. On this day I walking my Border Collie Tuffee. You can see the Sandia Mountains in the distance. Albuquerque is hiden between us and the mountains down along the Rio Grande valley.

Close Encounters :: Devils Tower

Friday, August 26th - - After spending a couple of hours at the Mammoth Site the trail lead northward once again.





Mother Nature put on a fantastic display of clouds, constantly changing with the wind. Several times I just “had” to pull off onto the side of the road to take a few quick shots. Shortly after this picture was taken, there was hardly a cloud to be seen in the sky!



It was just a few hours drive to my next destination – one that I had wanted to visit for quite some time - Devils Tower National Monument in northeast Wyoming. It's hard to believe that it has been more than 30 years since “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was released - I've loved the movie and Richard Dreyfus ever since!





A tantalizing southern view of Devils Tower from the drive into the campground.

It was late afternoon when I arrived and the temperature was in the low 90s. I was thankful that the campground was full of trees that provided plenty of shade, and there was a light breeze blowing. After selecting my campsite and grabbing a bite to eat, I drove up to the visitor center, which is near the foot of the Tower.





I had planned on walking the 1.3 mile trail around the base of the Tower the next morning when it would likely be cooler. But I walked a short distance up the trail and just kept going. There were few people on the trail and the only sounds you could hear were of the wind blowing through the trees, a few birds now and then, and those of your own imagination. Far above the top of the Tower there were birds floating on the airstream.





In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt designated Devils Tower as our first national monument. One of the most popular Native American legends tells of the origin of the Tower:

One day, an Indian tribe was camped beside the river and seven small girls were playing at a distance. The region had a large bear population and a bear began to chase the girls. they ran back toward their village, but the bear was about to catch them. the girls jumped upon a rock about three feet high and began to pray to the rock, “Rock, take pity on us; Rock, save us.”

The Rock heard the pleas of the young girls and began to elongate itself upwards, pushing them higher and higher out of reach of the bear. The bear clawed and jumped at the sides of the rock, and broke its claws and fell to the ground. The bear continued to jump at the rock until the girls were pushed up into the sky, where they are to this day in a group of seven little stars (the Pleiades). The marks of the bear claws are there yet.

Scientists say that the Tower is actually the core of a volcano that has been exposed after millions of years of erosion brought on by the Belle Fourche River as well as the wind and rain. The rocks and boulders around the base of the tower are actually broken pieces of columns that have fallen from the sides. Read more about Devils Tower on Wikipedia.



The light was quickly fading as I finished my hike around Devils Tower. Heavy clouds had moved in and off in the distance I could see flashes of lightning. As I walked across the parking lot to Van Dora I felt a kind of chill even though the temperature was still in the upper 80s. The wind had picked up and a strong breeze was blowing.



Returning to the campsite I watched the lightning flashing through the clouds. It wasn't your “normal” streaks of lightning, rather it caused a kind of glow in and around the clouds that made them stand out in the growing darkness. It rained for about 45 minutes and the front moved through, which cooled the air somewhat. However, it was rather eerie given the location – all we needed was the colored lights to go along with the thunder and lightning!





Saturday, August 27th - - Above, Devils Tower in the early morning light. It rises 865 feet atop the hill upon which it stands.





This sculpture titled “Circle Wind – Circle of Sacred Smoke” by Junkyu Muto stands near the entrance to the campground. Devils Tower is a sacred place to Native Americans.





Probably the most “recognizable” view, from the east side, this was taken as I left the area later in the morning.

Lilac Blossoms

Beachcombing #4

Padre Island National Seashore
Corpus Christi, Texas
February 17, ..

The 44th Regiment at Shiloh :: The Burying Ground

A signpost at the entrance to the cemetery explains “After the Battle of Shiloh, Federal details buried the dead of both sides near where they fell. The warm weather and great number of bodies made it necessary to bury the dead quickly. In 1866 the United States Government established this cemetery for the permanent burial of Union soldiers killed at Shiloh and related engagements. Bodies were recovered from the battlefield and reburied here, often in regimental groupings. The Confederate dead remain in five mass graves on the battlefield. Two-thirds of the 3,500 Civil War soldiers resting here are unknown. Many tombstones bear a number only. Others read simply: “U. S. SOLDIER.”

What the sign doesn't say is that some Union dead were also originally interred in mass graves. And that the Battle of Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War – in two days the tally of those dead, wounded or missing was 13,000 on the Union side and 10,500 on the Confederate side!

The site of the burying ground for the 44th Regiment is marked “Ind 3” at the bottom center of the diagram.

The tall post to the right marks the center of the burying ground for the 44th Indiana Infantry. The stones in the foreground belong to men from Iowa regiments.

Only eight of the stones in the half-circle for the 44th have names inscribed upon them. The remaining 16 stones simply have a number. Most likely they had originally been interred where they died during battle, in graves marked by the regiment in some manner. Those who have their names inscribed probably, like Ralph Goodrick [Goodrich], died of wounds within days of the battle.


Jno. Murray (431) Company B - Captain - died April 6, 1862Frank Launners (432) Company I - Sergeant– died April 6, 1862Ralph Goodrick (433) Company B – Private – died April 6, 1862
Note: Pension records show that Ralph was wounded on the 6th and died of those wounds on April 8th. See my previous post on this.


H. C. Rill (434) PrivateW. H. Casebeer (435) Company D – Private – died April 6, 1832Unknown Number 436

Geo. Weamer (441) Company E - Private – died April 17, 1862Jno. Diclute (445) Company I – Private – died April 6, 1862Leander Hall (446) Company A – Private – died April 6, 1862
Someday, I'd like to spend some time researching these men... a quick search of the Internets garnered this bit of information on marker 441, shown above: George Weamer enlisted while a Columbia City, Indiana resident as a Private in Company G, 44th Indiana Volunteer Infantry on November 22, 1861, mustering into service the same day. He was transferred to Company E on January 2, 1862 and was wounded April 6, 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh. He died of his wounds April 17, 1862.

The 44th Regiment was formed in Fort Wayne with many of the men coming from the northeast Indiana counties of Allen, Dekalb, Noble, LaGrange, and Whitley.

Reality check?!!

Heads up....there is incoming on target!



I try to remind readersevery couple of months that I write this blog for my own pleasure. What you read here may not be anything helpful to you or your own gear needs. The blog posts are simply my own observations on gear based on my own needs, observations and experience. Gear gets donated for reviews.I buy some of it with my own moneyon sale and I pro deal the rest. The donated and obvious excess gear gets resold, after I write a review, to help financeanothergear purchase or just gas money for the next climbing trip. Way better deal for the buyer than the seller generally. I don't review gear that doesn't interest me. So you don't see junk here. It might get a bad comment or two. But it won't be junk or I wouldn't bother writing it up.If I take the time to write about it, that means I thought enough of it up front to use it climbing, trial running or on my road bike. If it is climbing gear (and most of it is) you can bet I looked at it with a critical eye long before stuffing it into my climbing sack. Pays to remember that when I make lengthy comparisons.



The previous Julbo sun glass comments are a classic example. Took me a year before I finally decided I would pay retail for a pair at REI. Money well spent when I finally did. I like those kinds of surprises.



I have distinct tastes in gear usually developed over time and from using gear I might actually have consider shite...for a while previously. Or it might just be my climbing style and lack of committment and strength.



I've made some folks unhappy in the hard goods industry by calling an ice tool or crampon a "spade" when they were less than what I thought they could be. Better safe than sorry on gear, imo. Likely getting myself in trouble for doing similar things with boots and clothing now. If not I will eventually anyway and will again on the hard goods. I simply try to report what I see and think. What ever value that may have I am comfortable with. The blog isn't a job for me. Although it is often way too much work! I try to take what I do write, seriously. So no pulled punches but not elaborate bs either. I don't get into every detail, just what I find interesting and important to me. It is how I entertain myself. No one paying me to do this.



So feel free to disagree or ignore the blog. I disagree with reviews I read all the time.



Like it or not you always getwhat you pay for here :)

So make sure you don't take it all too seriously!

The PBR

The PBR or Professional Bull Riders is the only sport I really follow. I always said I would never get involved in a sport like some people do with football, basketball, baseball, soccer, golf (did you notice all of these are 'ball' games). The people who follow theses sports know all the players, and all the winners, and all rules, and all the big moments in the sport.

Well, I did get involved with a sport. But it is the 'roughest sport on dirt'. Most of the riders start in the minor rodeo events and work their way up to the PBR. It is a rough, hard climb to get there and most of the rodeo riders never make it. The top 35 riders in the rodeo bull riding events are allowed to compete in the PBR. They have to win points and money to qualify. Another words they have to be good at what they do and not be afraid of getting hurt. It isn't if you get hurt, it's when, 'cause it will happen.

I have been following the PBR since it was started 20 years ago and always wanted to go to the Ty Murry Event when it is held each March here in Albuquerque, NM. I finally got to go last Sunday for the last day of the 3 day event. It was fantastic.

The event might have been fantastic but my photos aren't. I'm still not that good with my new camera and in the flashing lights, spinning, whirling, bucking, bulls made for hard to take photos so I didn't get any really good photos. But here are a sample. The videos I took with the same camera did come out better but I can't get them to download.


There were a lot of noise and on the ground fireworks when it first started.



This is the cowboy and horse who's job it was to rope the bull and get it out of the arena if the bull didn't leave on his own. The area is the University of New Mexico Basketball arena. They bring in heavy tarps, then plywood, then tons and tons of dirt and the chutes for the bulls. It is the smallest arena of all the PBR events. It looks small on TV but looks even smaller when you are there.








The rider is getting onto the bull in the chute. The men with the rode are ready to open the gate when he says to.In the red shirt is Shorty, one of the 3 bull fighters that keep the bull off of the rider when he comes off. The ride is only for 8 seconds, if the rider can stay on that long, and usually they don't.







Flint Rassmussen is an ex-bull fighter turned comedian who entertains the fans while the riders are getting ready to ride.



This is Crag Hummer, a well known sports announcer, and Ty Murry, 7 time world champion all-round cowboy, who started the PBR, and announces with Crag. They are the ones that do the TV announcing but there is a different announcer that you hear if you are actually at the event. Our seat was just 6 rows from where they were sitting to do the TV part.



Got these out of order here, this is the winner of the event, Joao Ricardo Vieiro, one of the Brazilian riders, and his first event win. Since this is an International event there are riders from the US, Brazil, Canada, and Australia. And we like them all. Many people are fans of the bull more than the riders. At this event were the two most popular bulls, Bushwhacker and Asteroid, who have each won the Bull of the Year award.



Here is a view of the arena and the seats. Thats 40 very steep steps down to the bottom and we were close to the bottom. Great for seeing everything up close but climbing out was a workout.







After an event the bull riders circle the area signing anything you want them to sign. I got the autographs of 3 riders and as I was leaving the I almost ran into a retired rider that I have always admired, and whowon the PBR World Title of 1997,Michael Gaffney, who was nice enough to autographed my program.

If you want to know more go to www.pbr.com