The amazing alpine photos of John Scurlock!

All Images Copyright 2004/, John Scurlock, Photographer & Pilot.



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Cool Cloud

Autumn Sunset, Grand Portage Bay

A recent sunset over Lake Superior. The clouds lately for our sunsets have been spectacular. Nice variety in the clouds and some amazing colors. Definitely better than August's sunsets, which most of the time didn't have a single cloud in the sky!

How The Cokinos Brothers Came To America One At A Time

The Cokinos Brothers came to America one at a time, one after another. The eldest, Adam, came first and let me tell you, the town they came from was tiny-a one donkey burg-way over the Peloponese Mountains a long way from Athens. Farming and the sea were the top two industries-and still are. Then there is the monastery - the one my father always threatened to send me to if I didn't straighten up. They could have used me. When we went to visit in 2005-only three nuns were left, and they weren't spring chickens. (They call it a monastery;we would say convent) Anyway, it just boggles my mind that my Papou and his brothers ever got out of Dodge way back at the turn of the century over those mountains and down to a port. My grandfather, Panos (Peter) Kokinos came on a steam ship called the Georgia and arrived in America on October 7, 1905. It took him thirty days to get here. The eldest brother, Adam had already arrived and opened a candy store on K Street. They worked together making candy and icecream by hand in the basement until there was enough money for Peter to open his own store at 1103 H Street NE. In 1909, another brother, Dionisios arrived, but he decided not to stay. Then after WWI, they sent for their brother, Alec who lived with his brother, Peter until he got married.

Meanwhile back in Greece, somewhere in the countryside near Sparta, a man walked out to his yard, and a bullet mowed him down. No one knows why. He left behind a daughter, Panyiota, my Yiya, who was soon shipped off to America to live with her brother, Tom and his wife, Christina in New Jersey. Fortunately someone knew a lonely Greek bachelor in Washington who had a candy shop, and no one to share it with. Peter got on a train and went to looK her over. He was a much older man, but a handsome one. In later years, with every story, he would always get older, and Paniyota much younger. The Greeks never put much weight on actual birthdays. At any rate, at age 30, 35 or 40, Peter wasn’t getting any younger back then. They were married at 3 p.m. on July 30, 1914, and took the 6 p.m. train back to Washington.

My father, George, was born at home -919 11th Street NE-right around the corner from the candy shop. He wasn’t allowed to sample so he took to wearing a big overcoat with lots of pockets-winter and summer-and soon lost all his baby teeth to his sugar habit. He didn’t speak English until he got to kindergarten at Wheatley Elementary. The candy stores did great, but then Woolworth’s moved into the neighborhood around the mid 1920s. Adam had bought a farm way out in Rockville, and Peter had bought property at the end of the trolley line - where the street car turned off Wisconsin Avenue at Macomb Street and went on to American University. Peter built almost a block's worth of storefronts that he rented with apartments upstairs. It was going to be his retirement. You can see this building today - it has big fake cactuses out front and is mostly occupied by the restaurant Cactus Cantina.

Adam also had a retirement plan of living in the country. He bought a farm near Tuckerman Lane in Rockville. Unfortunately, his caretaker smoked in bed, and that was the end of that plan. Uncle Adam sold his candy store to the Vilanos family and ended up moving up to Philadelphia, where his wife came from. He started a coffee company up there.

Peter opened another candy shop on Macomb Street, but this time there were no customers. No people lived out there. The workmen building the cathedral would come by though, asking for lunch, so Panyiota ran upstairs and made them soup. Soon the Macomb Cafeteria was born, and they were in business again.

Alec moved uptown with them. Meanwhile, the Haramkapolos brothers had just brought their sister, Koula over from Greece where according to legend, she couldn’t find a man that was good enough to be her husband. Then she met Alec, and when she shook hands with him, she decided he was the one. Koula and Alec were married in 1926 and lived in the apartment over Burka’s liquor.
So that is how the Cokinos Brothers came to America... and stayed.

The Three-Year-Old Amaryllis That Bloomed

Red Amaryllis, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

After purchasing this amaryllis bulb 3 years ago, I never figured it would bloom again.

Well, this spring, it did!

Salty Lemonade for Cycling

A few people have asked about the "salty lemonade" I mentioned in the previous post, and it's really very simple: When I fill my water bottles before a long ride, I add a pinch of salt and also some lemon juice to the water. In conjunction with snacks containing potassium, magnesium, calcium and sugar (i.e. bananas and milk), this mixture helps replenish electrolytes lost during cycling, especially in hot weather - which in turn can help prevent leg muscle cramps and lightheadedness that some experience on long and strenuous rides. Several cyclists I know prefer this method to consuming commercial sports drinks and gels, and it works for us.



Some points to consider about the Salty Lemonade:



. Do not overdo it on the salt. What I call a "pinch" I have seen defined as 1/8 of a teaspoon, which seems about right.



. The reason for adding lemon juice is mostly to balance out the salty taste. The sourness of it adds a nice refreshing element as well.



. Some like to fill one bottle with a weaker concentration of the mix than the other, alternating between them depending on how much they are sweating. Having bottles that look different from one another helps if you're going to do this.



. On long trips where you know you'll be able to refill your water bottle, you can also carry single-use salt packets to add to the fresh water.



. If you have been advised against a high-sodium diet, obviously consult with your physician prior to consuming anything like this (including commercially available sports drinks).



. As mentioned earlier, salty water alone is not enough to restore electrolytes, so make sure to supplement with appropriate snack foods. Bananas work best for me in this regard, and they are easy to eat while on the bike.



While many cyclists thrive on commercial sports drinks, others prefer more natural, home-made solutions and this can be one of them. Please feel free to share your own.

The Copper Falls Trail

Monday, August 8th - - For some reason, I was quite ambitious today and went on a second hike. This was a 1.7 mile loop through the forest, along the river, with a few stair-steps involved as well as some other downhill/uphill sections where there were some handrails to help provide support. I'm not ashamed to admit that I made ample use of the handrails!



The trail would also cross two rivers in three places on very sturdy foot bridges and we'd see several waterfalls along the way. The pictures I took really do not do it justice. To fully appreciate the area you have to be there – feel the spray from the water and hear the roar of the river as it drops over the ledges and through the narrow passageways that it has carved out over many years. This was one hike that was definitely worth the effort!





A small portion of Copper Falls, which drops about 12 feet, on the Mad River. Like the Tahquamenon Falls, the copper color comes from tannin in the water.





A slightly better angle, but still showing only a small part of the falls.



This view shows it a little better – how the river has carved two paths around and through the stone walls of the canyon - but I think the only way you could get a really good shot of this falls would be by being suspended over the river in front of the falls, with a wide angle lens on the camera!



Flowing in a northeasterly direction, the Mad River essentially “runs into” a stone wall, making an abrupt left turn to the west. Coming in from the east is Tyler Forks. Visualize a rather crooked “T” with Mad River being the long upright part as well as the left hand part. Tyler Forks would be the right hand side of the “T” with a bit of a zig and zag just before and after it meets up with the Mad River.





Brownstone Falls is created when Tyler Forks plunges down 30 feet to join the Mad River. The name Brownstone comes from the color of the rocks surrounding it. They were formed eons ago from lava flows that contained small quantities of iron. Tyler Forks curves off to the right, eastward, above Brownstone Falls.





This picture provides no perspective whatsoever! But, there is the Mad River coming in at the top of the picture. The “whitewater” at the bottom of the image is actually Brownstone Falls dropping over the edge of a 30 foot cliff, plunging down and meeting up with the Mad River. Together they continue their journey as Mad River, veering off to the right (where the white foam is in the center of the photo). The sound was incredible. Not nearly as loud as Niagara Falls by any means or even Upper Tahquamenon Falls, but the sound reverberated around the canyon.





Okay, maybe this is a little better. But it still appears as though the water is flowing in from the right and the bottom and going out the top. You'll have to trust me, it isn't.





Adding to the sound of falling water was Tyler Cascades, which is a set of four smaller waterfalls just above and to the east of Brownstone Falls. Simply Gorgeous!



The trail followed Tyler Forks to the east a little ways then crossed at a point just above the cascades. By then the roar of Brownstone Falls was muted and the sound of the water tumbling over the rocks was quite soothing.



Oh, yes! This was one hike that was definitely worth the effort! And I savored every minute of it...