Mount Rushmore – And a New Camera!

Thursday, August 25th - - You can't go to the Badlands and Rapid City and not stop to see Mount Rushmore, can you? I had been there with my mother back in 1976. We happened to get there on the Fourth of July and since our country was in the midst of its Bicentennial year, there was a big celebration going on with fireworks and everything. It was awesome. From that visit I knew there were some places along the highway that The Presidents could be seen, besides I refused to pay $10 for parking! Call me cheap if you will....



























I had decided to spend another night at Custer State Park and went into Rapid City to take care of some business - I needed a new camera! The one I had was putting a rather large grayish spot in the upper center of some pictures. Not all of them, usually those with a pretty blue sky. If you noticed, many of the shots taken in the Badlands and within the past few weeks were cropped to cut out some of the sky – that's why. Camera going bad. Not good. It also makes a bit of a grinding noise when the lens is extended when turning the camera on. Probably dirt or dust in the mechanism.



I had been looking around for the last couple of weeks but there wasn't a “big box” electronics store in the small towns I'd been through. Wally World had several nice cameras (Canon SX30 IS and a Nikon) on display but they were out of stock everywhere I stopped, including Rapid City. I ended up getting what was in stock and what met most of my criteria:

• A viewfinder (a must under bright light conditions as I often found that I couldn't see what I was taking a picture of!)


• Uses AA batteries (I severely dislike brands that use proprietary batteries and I love the convenience of “regular” batteries, especially rechargeable ones).


• More megapixels and greater zoom capabilities than the current camera.

What it didn't have that I wanted was aposition-ableor adjustable viewing screen (the kind you can flip up or down). But I can live without that.



I played with the idea of getting a digital SLR but I really like the convenience of a smaller camera. I hauled around bunches of lenses and camera bodies when in the Navy and for years afterward. Just didn't want to do that again.



I purchased a Fujifilm Finepix S2940 with 14 megapixels and an 18x zoom. The current camera was 12 megapixels and 12x zoom. Also would have liked a little bit more zoom capability but the 18x zoom is a nice compromise. It is about the maximum that I can effectively hand-hold and not get fuzzy photos! Anything longer would require use of a tripod, at least for me.



The first three photos were taken with the “old” camera (Canon SX120 IS) in the morning and the last three with the new Fujifilm camera in the afternoon. The image of Washington was cropped from a landscape photo only so much as to eliminate traces of the other fellows. The Lincoln image is not cropped at all.



There seems to be a bit of a “lag time” before the next picture can be taken, but overall I'm happy with the new camera and I'm loving the viewfinder! It also has a panorama setting that is pretty slick.



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Update: After using it for five days, the Fujifilm camera went back to the store. The "lag time" between photos was unacceptable. It would take anywhere for 10 to 30 seconds between shooting one picture and being able to take the next one! If I'd had this camera in White River, I never would have been able to take those action photos of the rodeo. It didn't seem to matter whether the batteries were fully charged or partially used or nearly completely used. I really liked the camera but that "feature" made it difficult for me to continue to use it. The other thing that I didn't like was that it did not have an on/off button, rather it had a sliding switch that sometimes didn't turn the camera on when it was moved to the "on" position. I would NOT recommend this camera to anyone! So, I've reverted to using the "old" camera again for a while, until I can find what I want. I'm looking at the Canon SX30 IS and the Nikon P500. Although several "big box" stores have them on display they don't have them in stock, at least in the places I've stopped! Sigh....

Chalcedon Checkerspot on Thistle

Chalcedon Checkerspot in a park circa 2006.

California :: Moving On

My stay with Kathryn Doyle was a very pleasant and much needed “break” and I am indebted to her and her husband for their hospitality. I was also able to finally view the television series “American Faces” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” and thought that they were both well done and quite interesting. Thank you very much, Kathryn!

Leaving Oakland, I took the much despised Interstates south, heading for a rendezvous with my friends Sue and Fred at the Grand Canyon. Sue also happens to be my 3rd cousin once removed. Her great-grandfather, Luther Marion Joslin (1852-1930) was a brother of my great-great-grandmother Malissa Mariah Joslin Brubaker Bower (1849-1937). They were the children of Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin. Sue's uncle, Irwin Joslin, was the first to make contact with our branch of the family (in 1968).

I allowed several days for the drive from Oakland to the Grand Canyon – it was much further than I had thought, about 850 miles. I didn't make any sightseeing stops along the way except for a slight detour to the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve, however I didn't take the time to walk any of the trails. It was almost impossible to get a good close-up shot of the poppies because of the wind, but they were absolutely gorgeous!






Photographs taken on April 8, ...

Duddington - Tixover - Wakerley and back

Just over 6 miles. Straight through Duddington to Tixover and along the path (Rutland Round mainly). I turned back when it met the road from Wakerley. Very windy, but mostly sunny.





I didn't visit Tixover church on this occasion.

Duddington church

This also marks the boundary between Northants and Rutland - in the middle of the bridge over the Welland

Looking down at the river Welland, just after walking through Welland Spinney

The view of Wakerley church and the house that was once Wakerley station

Tixover Church

Sheep's wool caught on barbed wire







A family of swans paddling in the Welland

Duddington bridge and water mill house from the Jurassic Way footpath.

Ice Mountain

Another shot of the ice piles that were lining Grand Portage Bay before last weekend's winter storm. This pile of ice was maybe 4 or 5 feet tall, and I was laying on the ground on my side to get as low of a perspective as possible in order to make the ice pile look as large as possible. It would have been nice to have a blue sky or some more interesting clouds for a background, but this is what the sky looked like on the only day the ice was there before the winter storm hit. After the storm, the ice piles were diminished considerably thanks to the pounding waves from Lake Superior.

The Wheat Fields of South-Eastern Washington

The rolling hills of south-eastern Washington, between Waitsburg and Colfax (on highways 12, 127 and 26) were fascinating. For mile after mile there is almost nothing except the wheat fields. The pictures simply don't convey the true height of those hills! The wheat had been harvested, the bales of straw had been hauled away, and the fields were being prepped for the next years crop.





As I drove further west, the weather got better!

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger - 1911 & 1912

The 3rd reunion of the Phend - Fisher families met at Frank Wehrleys on June 24 - 1911
The A. M. was spent in a social way.
At noon a basket dinner was served under a tent, on the lawn.
There were about 45 present.
In the afternoon songs were sung and a prayer rendered by Rev. Spangler of the Evengelical church at Elkhart.
A talk by Wm Phend.
Other songs.
Remarks by Rev. Spangler then a storm prevented further pleasures.
It was decided to meet at Jacob Phends near Elkhart on June 29 - 1912.
Adjournment.Mrs. F. A. Wehrly, Secretary.= + = + = + = + = + =
There is no record of a family gathering in 1912. = + = + = + = + = + = The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Elkhart County, Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. Usually held at Nappanee, the events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book, now in my possession. Sadly, the fragile pages have turned brown, separated from the binding, and are, in effect, disintegrating. Some years more information was recorded than in others, but, for me, these pages provide a glimpse into the past. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.