Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Ancestors

Remembering Kate on Her Birthday

Morro Rock

We remember our Mom, Kate, on more occasions than just her birthday, but today she would have turned 101. She passed from us in September of 2013 and we still miss her.

The image above is of Morro Rock in the California town of Morro Bay. It’s a charming place to visit and the rock is where Kate wanted her cremains to be distributed. We can’t see the rock without thinking about Kate. She always told us how much she loved that place on the Pacific Coast west of San Luis Obispo, CA.

Image courtesy of Damsel taken 24 July 2009 at Morro Bay. Click on the image to enlarge.

Out of respect for our Mom, we will refrain from inserting a rant here about the liberal slimes running the show out in K-Stan these days and how we are reluctant to visit in person.

23 Apr 2021 by Ancestors California Family Notions

Flag Day 2020

Flag Day 2020

We would have our USA flag up and flying today except that the winds are forecast to be gusts to 35 which is a bit much for our little flagpole and very hard on the flags themselves (we also fly the AZ state banner). Regardless, for the Flag Day occasion, I dug out this photo of our flag (proudly flying atop the pole) which I took last month with my little SL1 Canon Rebel and the EF 100-400 telephoto lens. Click on the image to enlarge.

We take this occasion to salute the Red, White and Blue, regardless of all the turmoil being reported in the media. Our little niche of desert space and the surrounding community are mostly in normal mode save for minor COVID-19 effects on some businesses and facilities. We have no riots, no looting, no edicts handed arbitrarily down from government bureaucrats and have enjoyed a nice relaxing environment here at home and in town. We thank God Almighty for those blessings.

On a different topic, Damsel and I were tested for our DNA through Ancestry and discovered our “roots.” The results weren’t much of a surprise since our sisters had already done this and shared the results, but it was an interesting experience to locate distant DNA matched possible relatives. I have been building my family tree and the links they provide are quite helpful. In the hobby sense, it is an interesting undertaking to find some of our closet “skeletons.” I have no intent of mentioning any of that here, but the whole genealogy quest has been sort of fun and interesting. YMMV

So, to those patriotic Americans who take the Flag Day occasion to revere and celebrate our Nation as envisioned by the Founders, enjoy the day for what it is – a celebration of our heritage, our legacy and, God willing, the future greatness of America and the Flag for which it stands.

14 Jun 2020 by Ancestors Patriotism Photography

Meet Our Newest Great Granddaughter

Baby Kenna Big Sister and Baby

This weekend we’re welcoming our newest family member. She was born on Thursday, weighed in at 7lbs, 12oz. “Kenna” was born to our second eldest (of three) granddaughter, Alyssa and her life mate, Terence in Santa Rosa, CA. In the left panel above the baby is pictured sleeping on her first day. Above and right, the big three year old sister, Maci, welcomes the new baby.

I know, too much cuteness going on. Damsel and I are very proud. Click on either image to enlarge.

28 Mar 2020 by Ancestors California Family

From Ancestors to Descendants

alex.jpgToday is the fifth anniversary of the birth of our eldest Great Grandchild and the first Great Grandson, Alex. Happy Fifth Birthday to Alex and many happy returns.

That’s a recent photo of Alex at the right, nearing his fifth birthday and like all boys that age showing some maturity (his pose) and some less mature dirt on his face, typical of most normal five year old boys. Alex, his cousin Maci and brother Mikey were on a park outing when this photo was taken.

The three kids I mentioned are our three great grandchildren aged 5, 3 and 2, respectively. The kids live in the Santa Rosa area of California with their mothers, our eldest two granddaughters.

Our eldest granddaughter is the mother of the two boys aged 5 and 2. The second eldest granddaughter is the mom to our only great granddaughter (at this time).

As we watch these kids grow up at a seemingly accelerated pace, we realize that we are growing older at the same rate. We further realize that our youngest descendants are rapidly maturing to become parents themselves in years to come. We can only hope that we might still be around to see the beginning of that next generation.

19 Sep 2019 by Ancestors Family Notions

Family Memorial Day

Pike’s Peak

Our travel today took us from Limon, CO to Pueblo South KOA near Colorado City. As we passed Colorado Springs, Damsel took this photo of the famous Pike’s Peak (named for Brigadeer General Zebulon Pike). General Pike was ordered to explore and discover the headwaters of the Arkansas River, which brought him and his regiment to Colorado. The rest of it is a long story – click the link to learn more about Pike.

Our main stop along the route was Mountain View Cemetery in Pueblo, where several of my relatives are buried. These include (on my Dad’s side), my Grandmother and Grandfather, an Uncle and Aunt, another Uncle who died in infancy, my Great Grandparents and several other same surname as me relatives who I did not know, but we honor them anyhow. Damsel and I placed eleven wreaths and a couple of American Flags in their honor today.

Family Plot in Pueblo

After the cemetery, we drove some 20 miles down I-25 to the campground where we are currently parked and will be until Saturday. As of this stop, we have met our visitation objectives by virtue of today’s decorations and those of last Saturday in Montrose. The rest of the trip is relaxing and sightseeing all the way back to Arizona.

22 Aug 2019 by Ancestors Nostalgia Retirement Wanderlust

Visiting The Ancestors

Great Grandma Spencer

Today is the day we visited Cedar Cemetery in Montrose. Cedar is the resting place of my Great Grandmother and her mother (my G2). G1’s youngest brother, one of my Great Uncles is also buried here. Damsel and I placed wreaths on their graves today and took some photos.

Of special interest to us was the headstone pictured above. We were here two years ago and found that there was no monument for my Great Grandmother who passed in 1960. For over five and a half decades, she was in an unmarked grave.

Last year, Damsel and I contracted with a monument company in Delta, CO, about 20 miles north of Montrose, to place the marker shown above. We had seen photos of it before, but now that we’re here we know the monument company did a great job. We left the cemetery with a feeling of great satisfaction.

17 Aug 2019 by Ancestors Notions Wanderlust

Montrose, CO

Colorado River

I’m sure that one of the little known scenic treasures in Utah is the route from Moab alongside the Colorado River going on Utah 128 to the northeast. In places, it rivals the scenic views of the towering canyon walls of Grand Canyon, the rock formations of Monument Valley and some of the most scenic rivers of America. We once again have limited upload bandwidth, so this is just a single image of the river at one of he bends in the canyon (courtesy Damsel). More images may be posted later.

Tonight, we’re here in Montrose, CO almost two years to the date since we were camped here before. We visited a nearby cemetery where my Great Grandmother is buried then and discovered that after nearly 50 years, she still had no headstone. We corrected that last year by working with a local Colorado monument company to place a marker. We will be heading over there tomorrow to observe the new stone and to decorate the grave and another one where my Great-Great Grandmother lies.

Here is a photo of our campsite I took this afternoon . . .

Montrose Campsite

16 Aug 2019 by Ancestors Photography Retirement Wanderlust

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