Travels with Dennie

Wednesday - pedicures, lunch out , flowers and gone with the wind

2011-11-24T04:08:00.000-08:00

I went to the coffee shop early . Howard and Jim were there. Howard mentioned that the Arizona trail was just around the Boyce Thompson park and Jim said what do you want to go out there for just a bunch of weeds. He likes to play the crusty old codger, but we all see through him. Then to the store to pick up some water and goat cheese. Back home I worked on the blog about our wonderful walk in Boyce Thompson. I had the leftover pizza for breakfast. at 1030 we started to head out to the salon for our pedicures. we got there at 10 after eleven. it always amazes me how long it takes older people to get anywhere.If I get Aunt Mary into the car on time, Uncle Ron still needs to run around and do something. Uncle Ron went to the store in Apache junction to get some tools so that the next time the sliding door lock jams open it will be easier for him to fix. I fixed it last time. He picked us up at noon and we went to leo and Graces for lunch. Leo's sister, Patricia, and her husband Larry are down visiting. Leo and Grace bought a house down here too. a lovely lunch and then chatted until three . when we went to leave Uncle Ron could not find the keys to the car. after much searching, we told him to check his hat and there they were. Home again to music and the jigsaw puzzle. Flowers from Nancy, Gerry and Jo were delivered so phone calls were made. I asked Uncle Ron if he would mind if I kind of worked on the puzzle. He said that was what he was waiting for. A very light supper as lunch with two desserts was very filling. then Gone with the Wind. after the first go around ( they were repeatingthe movie all day) I went upstairs to read but ended up channel surfing. I think I was asleep by 930.

Tuesday - the Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park

2011-11-22T19:42:00.000-08:00

Woke up at 6 and watched Ramseys kitchen Nightmares. Had a granola breakkie at 730 and back up to continue watching RKN.

Came down at about 930 and M&R were just starting their breakfast.

We decided to to go the Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park just 30 miles east of here on Hwy 60.

We left here about 11 and got there abut 1130.

Uncle Ron renewed their membership and Aunt Mary and I stayed outside in the shade.

When he came out they decided to have thier lunch and I went for a quick walk around the main trail and I loved it. I could certainly have spent about a day there but I made it back in about 45 minutes.

highlites:

the lake

the trails were nice and wide and well marked

the house on the cliff

the canyon with a stream

the walkways around the rock outcrops of the canyon walls

the little three room house built onto the canyon wall

with the lizard on the outside that skittered all along but would not leave the house. very cute

where the squirrel dropped walnuts on

me.

the bridge over the stream that swayed when you walked over it

the fall colours that were gorgeous!

the giant red gum eucalyptus trees are soooooo cool

Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron had finished

their lunch and had gone for a little walk down the main trail by the time I got back so I picked up a few postcards and gifts and then went to find them. It did not take long as they were coming back.

I saw some butterflys

and got a few nice shots.

Monday - rainy in the morning- guests in the afternoon

2011-11-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

woke up at 6 and watched some twilight zone.

had a shower and came downstairs to finish up the green bean supreme casserole.

Realized that it had rained last night as the skies were still very grey and there were puddles everywhere.

Made some onion and cream cheese bagels for breakfast.

M&R were up at 830 and we went for a walk to the bridge where Uncle Ron went and saw the new house that is being built by the wash there.

Aunt Mary and I strolled and sang our way back with a few stops to sit for Mary.

when we got back I put the casserole into the oven and Aunt Mary and I started the crossword puzzle in the paper. We have been doing the easier ones in the puzzle book that I bought before we came down. The paper puzzles seem to have names of people we don't know. we had lunch. it was good.

We got a phone call from Leo and Grace who are staying at the colorado house. they came over for coffee at three so Mary and I made figs rolls with figs and puff pastry. they turned OK.

The weather cleared a bit as the day went on and the sun came out.

Sunday 20 nov - church , chinese and tea kettles

2011-11-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

Woke up early and didn't go for a walk.

Read,

blogged,

made a nice breakfast of mushroom and cheese omelet.

Went to church after breakfast.

went for chinese at the Eastern Super Buffet after church.

went to Kohls and Uncle Ron bought a new kettle while Aunt Mary and I drove around outside the store and tried to find a parking spot where I could see the doors to the store.

came home and had tea.

Went for a walk and

Aunt Mary said to say hi and wish you were all here when we went around the circle.

Listened to music.

Had supper of Spaghetti squash, salad, chicken and broccoli.

Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron cleaned up after dinner while I blogged.

finished the jigsaw.

Uncle Ron gets to do the next one

telephone calls from Nancy home.

bed at nine.

I watched a bit of twilight.

Saturday 19 nov - The Long Bike Ride.

2011-11-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

Woke up early and did not go for a walk. I read my Kobo and updated the blog. I loaded movies onto face book. The morning was nice. We went to the Walkingstick way house and I loved it. Maureen had told me it was her favorite down here. I agree with her. It is very cozy with lots of patios and a southwestern flavoured decor. I left there at about 1145 and rode a bike back to the superstition house. I went down, kings ranch road to the post office and mailed Aunt Doris's jigsaw puzzle to her along with a couple more postcards.I then proceeded to ride around walgreens to see what was there. Not much. I went down to the highway 60 and followed a bike/4 wheeled track along the side of the highway.The trail is a little rocky in some places but pretty good overall. it follows the highway and dips below the road in a few places. occasionally where there is a wash, there are large culverts under the highway for storm runoff that are big enough for me to walk through without bending over. I carried on to the gas station to fill the tires with air. did you know that you have to pay 25 cents for air.I did not. I did not have even a penny cash on me. so I continued on hoping that there was enough air in the tires to handle the rocky trail.I found a pizza place where I had a lovely pizza and brought half of it away in a carry out bag. I continued on to Bashaws along the same trail beside the highway and went through a wash pushing /pulling the bike up the side and onto the back drive of the mall. I went in and got some cash and a can of cream of celery soup. the Salvation Army folks were at the door so I gave them some money, mostly for letting me park the bike right close to them to keep an eye on it.I then bought some homemade cookies form some kids whose father was actually rather annoying interrupting their little sales spiel about 50 cents a pack or three for a dollar.They were raising money to go on a trip. there was a craft fair going on at the mall, in the parking lot and along the walkway. lots of christmasy things.My friend Diane is doing the same thing right now in Alberta. She sells jewelry made from sea glass. Up the superstition mountain drive to Don Donnelly and it came to me that it might be quicker and easier to follow Don Donnely to the wash and scoot through that way. well... it was quicker and easier than riding up the hill to the house.I did get a little scratched up going through the wash and pushing/ pulling the bike along. I came to the fence and pushed the bike through underneath where some kind soul had made an opening in the barbed wire. I was home in no time after that. just around the corner.I thought that Sara, the lady who cleans the houses and who had been at the walkingstick way house, would be there but she was not. It was 240 in the afternoon. a good workout for me as I am not in shape at all. Uncle on and Aunt Mary got into the dune buggy and then Uncle Ron swept out the bougainvillea petals that had accumulated under the garage doors. We are so busy here. Sara came and Aunt Mary and I went out to the patio and did the crossword. Uncle Ron came out and I went in to work on the jigsaw puzzle that we had sorted out earlier. a picture of a river with fall trees in the background. tougher than the last one.Supper was roast chicken with mashed potatoes and broccolli for R&M and leftover Pizza for me. yumm . a bit more puzzle and then off to bed for me at around 9

Friday the 18 Nov - A Howl and The Mask Concert

2011-11-19T05:13:00.000-08:00

Woke up early again so went up the hill to see the big house. I don't think it is a house. I think that they are building an hotel. It is massive and seems to be made up of lots of suites. there is a giant pool with hot tubs, notice the plural. While I was up there I heard some coyote calling to each other. I made it to a spot where I could see one of them and got some terrific video, I think, of him/her howling.On the way down, found some more of those white, quartzy rocks that I am thinking of making jewelry with. The sunrise was lovely, all warm and golden.

Came home and made a lovely mushroom, spinach and cheese omelet. Cleaned up and then started my spanish lessons. Well I had the spanish lessons going on my computer but I was so busy typing in info so that they would show up where I wanted them to in my ITunes, that I don't think that I really absorbed too much. Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron were up around 845 and sitting for breakfast around 9.

we had a lovely morning. Back into our routine. Aunt Mary and I cleaned out the spaghetti squash and put it into the oven for lunch. Aunt Mary and I went onto the patio to listen to music and enjoy the sun in the shade.

Uncle Ron opened up a jigsaw puzzle. We had picked up a box of five 500 peice puzzles at Walgreens. After that every chance I got I would be over there fitting the pieces together.

Lunch was veggie meatless balls with broccoli and carrots, salad and baked potatoes. yummy. Aunt Mary and I then took a walk around the circle, blazingly fast and we didn't even stop once. Uncle Ron stayed home and did the dishes. After lunch they called Aunt Nancy. She is fine although cold, 30 below in Edmonton. brrrrr.

Uncle Ron went to the golf course and hit a few balls while Aunt Mary and I listened to Jane Austen's pride and prejudice (Audio Book) at home. while we listened and talked about the story, I fit jigsaw puzzles together. When Uncle Ron got home he realized that we had a concert to go to tonight and that we missed Aunt Mary's hair appointment at 11. I will have to start checking the calendar to make sure we don't forget appointments.

We had scrambled eggs, wild rice with mushroom soup sauce, veggies and the spaghetti squash for supper, so nummy. Then we got ready to go to the show at the church . the Gold Canyon arts council does 4 or 5 shows a year. this night it was something very different from thier regular menu of differnt styles of music. It was a one man show of

called Faust's Mask Messenger. He was very good but poor Aunt Mary, most of his show was all body language and no speaking. When he did speak it was interesting but for most of the show we tried to explain to Aunt Mary what was going on and a lot of it did not translate well. We got home by 9 and I was in bed by 930 with the jigsaw puzzle finished. A nice lake with reeds and reflections of a farm, trees and sky in the water.

Thursday - Lunch at the Red Sage and a Hawk before supper

2011-11-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Woke up stupidly early and read some "Under the Tuscan Sun' on my Kobo.

Uploaded photos to facebook.

Jo came down and made a statement and went back upstairs.

Charlotte came down and we chatted and laughed about my photos that I had uploaded.

Jo came down later and joined in the fun.

Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron got up at 810 and Jim pulled in at 815.

Said good bye to Charlotte - Hugs and Jo - Handshake.

Chatted with Margie on facebook and made plans to go to the new twilight movie when I get back.

Walked around the circle with Aunt Mary and saw my first wild praying mantis! it was on the road and I am not even sure how I saw it as it almost blended in with the pavement.

I got a photo and then took a stick and moved it to a bush. Poor thing did not look to good.

Speaking of which I found a bird skewered onto a cactus. I have a picture but am not putting it on the blog as it is too sad. It must have been blown there during the last bad wind storm we had. Euwwww. there was what looked like the beginnings of a nest in the cactus so maybe it was trying to build a nest when it got blown into the spines?

A little further around the circle we met Laurie and

Sophie. We had met them last time we were here. Sophie was a much smaller puppy then and she has grown into a lovely vishla(?)

Went for lunch at the Red Sage where, again or still, there was lots of food. Stopped of at Walgreens for batteries and chapstick and then Bashaws for bananas.

Forgot to mail the parcel for Aunt Doris.

Tomorrow morning.

Did the crossword with Aunt Mary while Uncle Ron took a break on the computer. Then we sang songs, oldies but goodies.

Tea and cookies at 330 but I had water. I had already had my two big cups of tea this morning.

The weather is gorgeous but it is supposed to start cooling off for the weekend by 10 degrees.

Went for a walk up the hill tonight to look over that big house on the hill.

I saw some birds and got some good shots and on the way back thought that I had missed getting a shot of two very large hawks but then heard and saw on on the chimney of the neighbours house. I think it is a harrier but I will have to look it up. very large.

Wednesday 16 Nov - Breakfast at the Cafe.

2011-11-16T15:14:00.000-08:00

I slept in till 730..... shocking! of course I didn't get to sleep until after 11 which is probably why I slept in. Got up and walked over to the new house being built by the bridge. A nice little three bedroom with great views from the living room and two bedrooms. A good size too, not too big.

I got back and Charlotte was up so we chatted until Uncle Ron and Aunt Mary got up. We treated them to breakfast at the Gold Canyon Cafe which serves a real nice breakfast. I still owe Charlotte for my half of the treat. Jo had gone out for a bike ride / hike with her friend Cindy.

While Uncle Ron went to Rotary, Charlotte, Aunt Mary and I went for a walk around the circle, admiring all the flowers, then we hung out on the patio and read some poetry drinking lots of water. Uncle Ron got back and we all had a cup of tea and a cookie. Jo returned about then and joined us adding lots of whipped cream to the treat.

we had lentil soup with bread for supper then we chatted and talked about bucket lists and things that we still want to do.

I still want to go white water rafting and walk around a volcano. Probably more things as well but couldn't think of them right then.

Tuesday - Manicures and the Old Opry

2011-11-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

Woke up early and worked on the blog getting much closer to being caught up. Jo came down and after a bit of a discussion we went to the coffee shop where I mailed about 30 postcards and we split a giant sticky bun. Chatted with Howard for a bit then we came back and guess what,...I worked on the blog.

I took gilbert out for some exercise and got a few shots of him playing and cavorting. After breakfast, at around 10, we, Aunt Mary and I, got started on lunch and when it was in the oven, we , Aunt Mary ,Charlotte and I went for a walk over to the bridge where we found that they are building a new house. We had eggplant parmesan for lunch with green beans and mushrooms. salad, carrots and polenta.

Made reservations to have our nails done at three. Aunt Mary and I listened to music while Charlotte sat in the sun. Jo went for a walk.

Uncle Ron dropped us off at the manicurists for our three oclock appointments and went to the golf course to putt a bit. I got a french manicure, Aunt Mary got tutti frutti and Charlotte got a pedicure, turquoise blue to match her sandals.

He picked us up promptly at 4 and we went to the Arizona Opry at 6. Always fun that. I picked up a few more trinket gifts for people and a couple of CDs. Yea caught up!

Monday - Hike up to Hieroglyph Trail.

2011-11-15T12:25:00.000-08:00

Woke up early and worked on the blog then went for coffee and came home for breakfast. Jo and I went for a hike up the Hieroglyphic trail. I am out of shape. It was nice though. I brought a bit of mom and dad to drop off in the canyon.I had thought to leave them at the Grand Canyon but I forgot them in the hotel room I was so excited to see the canyon.I don't think mom would have liked it anyway, too steep and scary. So then I thought I would take them to the dam on the colorado river but it was way too windy and mom would not have liked that at all. So I brought them back to the superstitions and left a bit of them in the canyon. They have a nice view with water, shade and hieroglyphics to amuse them. I almost got a picture of a squirrel in the canyon but missed him. I almost got a picture of a lizard but he went into a crack. Jo played mountain goat and climbed up to the top of a rock prominence and tanned.I almost got a bird but the twigs were in his face. I did get the balancing rock which is still balancing.I headed down knowing that Jo would have no problem catching up to me as she is in such good shape.

I didn't see the gecko that Jo saw as she was pretty much walking and wandering on her own.

When we got home I worked on the blog then went for a walk around the circle with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron.

We had leftovers for lunch.

Charlotte and Mary did the crossword while I blogged.

Jo was upstairs.

For supper I made salad and bagels with cream cheese and salmon,

(plain cream cheese for me) but Jo and Uncle Ron made their own.

I guess Uncle Ron doesn't eat fish at night and Jo doesn't eat farmed salmon or only eats wild salmon.

I worked on the blog after supper.

The next thing after catching up with the blog and facebook will be to delete all the photos off of my camera once I have them saved to a memory stick.

I am almost caught up.

last picture is where the squirrel was.

Sunday - the western semifinal

2011-11-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

Woke early and went to the coffee shop, came home and worked on getting all those photos onto facebook and this blog. Had breakfast and went to church with Charlotte Mary and Ron. Got gas and headed home. Jo had lunch already for us and it was good. Aunt Mary and I did the crossword and finished it.

We went for a walk and I got a few photos of flowers.

We tried to get the western semifinal game on the computer, live stream but did not succeed. I worked on the blog and face-booked.

I put the movies that we had taken on a walk with Jo up into the desert yesterday. Wrong date but it took awhile for the movies to upload so I am going to leave them here. it was a gorgeous evening.

Saturday 7 nov - Bye Bye Versa and the market

2011-11-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

Woke up early and took the car to the coffee shop for the first and last time. Got back to the house and Uncle Ron followed me into Mesa and only lost me at the last turn to the rental place . Turned the car in with no problem and I drove the flex home. It seems quite large after the little compact.

We had breakfast with everyone else and made plans for the day. We went to the market for an hour where I picked up a couple of more things and then we headed home again.

A crossword puzzle and some songs and it was supper time. A walk in the desert with Jo up to a new gate that we couldn't get open at first ( see video below) started to log the last weeks adventures. and upload photos to facebook.

Friday - Nov 6 - Back to Superstition

2011-11-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

I actually slept in till 7... shocking I know.

Had a nice tea and breakfast with Aunt Doris, packed up the car and was on the road by 8.am. The weather was perfect for driving. overcast with no rain.

Hwy 95 south, the old Rte 66, was my traveling companion

again , with not too much traffic and so I made good time to Needles where the hwy goes into California.

In eastern California the scenery is pretty much the same as western Arizona except maybe a little more

hilly with lots of dips in the hwy. I saw cotton fields, my first ever and was very tempted to stop and pick some but did not. I remembered the movie with Sally Fields where they picked cotton and cut their hands all up. From the heart?

It was a good movie even if I can't remember the name.

I pulled over twice to get photos and to let some very fast people go past me I was going 70 mph on the 60 mph road. But I would rather have people in front of me than behind me so I pulled over and got some shots of the scenery. The little inspection station, where you turn onto hwy 10 was very little . I got gas and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't pump. i guess it is an older style pump as you had to lift the lever that the nozzle was resting in to get the pump to work.Now I know
.When I got to Tonopah, I had my choice of the new burrito place with the gas station or the older looking bar / restaurant.

I chose the older and was not disappointed with the food. The decor was a little shaky though, but the locals were all there so I knew that it must be fine. Ihad lunch, a nice little pizza.

back on the hihway. I went through quartzite where Aunt Doris gets her gold in the desert. the road was good and not too crowded.

Coming into phoenix was a little bit concerning as I wanted to go straight through to Mesa and didn't want to get lost but I had no problem and found my way with ease.

I went to the Superstition Springs shopping mall and bought a few things at sears. I found a game store and picked up a jigsaw puzzle for Aunt Doris. a Daschund puppy in the shape of the dog. real cute. I got my hair cut and thought about staying in mesa for the night but then thought I would probably be close enough to Gold canyon to make it back tonight. I drove on. I stopped at the mall in gold canyon for dinner, the mexican place, and it was good then up to the gate and home.

I stopped by the new house on the hill to get a photo of the sunset and met the general contractor, Peter? who says it will take another year to finish the house. It is huge, footprint wise not height wise. 2 lots with a large central courtyard and views to die for.

then back to Mary and Ron's and greetings and telling of all the stories of my adventures on the road.

Thursday - Aunt Doris - Buffets, Gambling and Gold Mining

2011-11-14T19:14:00.001-08:00

Woke up early and had coffee with Aunt Doris. We decided to go to Laughlin for lunch as we heard the night before from one of the ladies at card bingo that they had a good buffet.

We thought that we would check out the casino first so around 10 we headed off to Laughlin. I quess they have been working on the road for about three years which I find hard to believe as it isn't really that long of a street. We got to Harrahs which is at the far end of Laughlin and found the parking garage. Then we had to find our way into the casino. Luckily for us an employee was also going in to the casino and so we asked if we could tag along until we got in the door. She was very nice and took us through the maze of bridges and elevators to the front door. Checked out the gift shop and got some postcards. We gambled on some penny and nickel and quarter slots. they are confusing as to how much one is actually betting or how many lines you are betting or how many numbers you are betting. I blew almost all my winnings from the bingo night. I played about 7 penny machines and lost 99 cents. Aunt Doris was braver and lost 5 bucks at one machine. She says you gotta bet big to win big. Then we had a nice buffet lunch. It was nothing to write home about but the dessert section was pretty good.

After lunch we found our way back out of the casino, back out of Laughlin and went home to get the gold panning equipment. A couple of buckets, a small shovel and a small pick axe. Off we went again with a small stop at Wallmart to check on her prescriptions. She is having a heck of a time getting them transfered from Alaska to down here. Then on down to the Oatman Hwy (the nice west side) and up it.

We found a wash, Aunt Doris showed me where to look for the best results, we dug a little here and a little there and went home again. Before we got home we went exploring a little. We found a big wash right behind her place with a concrete canal to gather the water. She did not know it was there so now she might not have to go so far for gold. Back to the house. Then came the sorting, sifting and panning. Aunt Doris said that we could have sifted in the desert but she forgot the sieves to take out the bigger rocks and pebbles. They usually do that in the desert to save time. After about 30 minutes of panning I found gold. About the size of the pin prick end of a needle, not the head of the needle, the other end. But it is gold! The wind was getting cold so we went inside for a nice big salad with boiled egg for supper and then that jigsaw puzzle. I did not get it done but I did manage to get a corner finished.

wednesday - Aunt Doris - Dams, Lakes and Card Bingo

2011-11-14T17:45:00.000-08:00

Woke up early and Aunt Doris was up too.

she is an early riser also. we enjoyed the sunrise together.

We talked and chatted about family over tea and coffee and later had a lovely breakfast of eggs and waffles.

Decided to go to the dam and the lake and then come home for lunch.

Plans made we chatted some more.

Some of her favorite things.

Gold and mines and small gold mines.

She found this wonderful little miniature mine at a flea market

or garage sale and it is great.

Jigsaw puzzles are fun and keep her busy besides all of the other things that she does to keep herself busy.

Concrete garden statues of all sizes.

Her sister Elaine drove to crazy places and got them into a few horrible situations like the Oatman Hwy.

We laughed about that. I still can't believe that they did the hwy with a camper!!!

The park that she lives in is very nice with three mountain ranges and hills all around . I liked the Piute mountains more than the dead mountains. There are two pools, a warm

one and a cool one,

three hot tubs,

a card room,

a library,

craft rooms,

tool rooms,

a dance hall,

and lots

of planned activities in the park. Something to do every afternoon and night of the week if one wants. Aunt Doris does Bingo on tuesdays, card bingo on wednesdays, penuckle on mondays and something else on fridays. she take thursday off for herself so she can get something done at home.

There is always a jigsaw puzzle on the go on the table as they have a huge collection in the library or is it the games room?

she was working on one when I got there and couldn't help myself and

did a

little for her. it is a nice picture of a house on a hill with a bridge in the foreground. We chatted about puzzles.

then we did the tour of the house and the fun things around it.

then we did the tour of the compound, checked the mail,

and went to the Davis

dam. Aunt Doris thought that we couldn't go down to the dam but you just can't drive all the way across to the other side. We wandered around on the dam for about 20 minutes. the water was a gorgeous colour of blue with what appeared to be white sandy beaches in lots of little coves.

It was extremely windy but we persevered and it was interesting.

We then went into the park and went to Katherine Landing and looked at the boats. It is a pretty big marina with a large boat launching area. but we found out that every cove had a big boat launching area.

Then off to Princess cove which is very pretty but it was so windy I got sand blown in my face.

there was a crazy wind surfer out on the water at telephone cove.

We passed an odd flow which Doris thought might have something to do with gold mining.

The area was all surrounded by a fence with barbed wire on the top as an additional deterent to trespassers.

I asked at the gate and she said that is was the old Katherine mine. There were starting to be collapsing tunnels so they closed the area indefinitely.

Smart Aunt Doris.

Home for some nice grilled cheese sandwiches and then just chatted and did the puzzle a little we made eggplant

parmesan for supper which turned out quite nice. after dinner we went to the hall and played card bingo.

4 people to a table, all cards dealt out. Someone in the hall has another deck of cards which they call out one card at a time and the first person to dispose of all their cards wins card bingo.

It is actually quite fun.

I did not win but I did have fun. back to bed and trying to get online. couldn't do it so just figured I would wait until I got back to Mary and Ron's.

Tuesday Route 66- the Oatman Hwy and Aunt Doris.

2011-11-14T07:35:00.001-08:00

After the Caverns I scooted out to the Rte 66 and was on my way to Aunt Doris's. I figured it would probably take less time just to follow Rte 66 around toKingman than to go back to 40 and then to Kingman. Rte 66 is actually a real nice road,two lane Hwy, older of course , but gentle curves and not steep anywhere. The weather held and was sunny clear. I went through part of a reservation and Peach springs which was the little town that the disney movie 'Cars' was modeled after. I got to Kingman and pulled over to take a look at the map and decided that the shortOatman Hwy, a continuation of Rte 66, with the little green dots might be quicker than staying on the freeway and going straight west and then south to Bull head.The Oatman was already going SW and Rte 66 had been so pleasant to drive thus far.It started out lovely with the little mountains in the distance and the gently rolling hills.One could see where at the bottom of the 'Dips' the washes had gone over the road in more inclement weather. The mountains got closer and I thought there was probably a valley that the road would go through.We started to climb and the road started to get a little bit curvier and slower. The signs were more frequently telling me to slow down to 30 curve ahead, then 25, then 20 but when the signs starting telling me a hairpinturn was coming up and recommended 10 mph and the cliffs were getting higher and we were still climbing I knew I was in for it. My nightmare road. Just as narrow as an Irish road in the country with two lanes marked but not really wide enough for two vehicles to pass comfortably, no shoulder to speak of and not nearly enough guard rails on the corners. I pulled out a one point to make a final video in case I died on this hwy from hell. I did have quite a few heart stopping moments when vehicles of a larger size would come whipping around a corner (I was on the outside lane). But I did survive as this blog is testament. Went past a working gold mine and the small tourist trap town of Oatman where wild burrows come right into town and walk around looking forcarrots or other treats from the townsfolk.I kept on going to Aunt Doris's and a nice quiet cup of tea.

Rte 66 calmed down after Oatman into the nice comfortable road that it had been before that horrendous last section. I found Hwy 95 with no trouble and proceeded to locate Aunt Doris with almost no problem what so ever. She laughed out loud when she heard which route I took.

Her Sister, Elaine, and herself had done that hwy with a camper! I believe that that is actually, physically impossible, but she also lives to tell the tale.

She lives in a real nice RV park where most of the spots are actually double wide and single wide trailers. there are some RV's but not that many. we had a lovely visit and went out for chinese at the chinese buffet down the road.

then as it was tuesday we went to the community hall and played bingo. I won a dollar. Aunt doris won the big prize, $16.50. a wonderful day all in all

Tuesday - The Grand Canyon, Rte 66 and the Caverns

2011-11-13T10:37:00.000-08:00

Woke up early and decided to go to the canyon first and check out later. Filled the car with gas after I figured out where the release was for the little gas door. Picked up a winter hat and some gloves as it was freezing.The Attendant asked where I was from and when he learned I was from Canada said 'oh this must be nice for you' I said 'no it was cold... it hadn't even snowed inEdmonton yet' and he was quite shocked. Told me that this was their second snowfall so far this year! Drove through the dark to get to the canyon for sunrise just hoping that it would be clear. I figured that as the stars were shining the odds were good of a nice clear view today. Went up to the village and drove around looking for a parking spot. I felt a little pressure as I wanted to get a real sunrise shot and figured I might miss it if I couldn't find a spot to park. Finally found one nice and close to the lookout. Left my purse in the trunk as I didn't think that I would be needing it to take pictures and left in a hurry to get some great shots.

The sun was just coming up and it was spectacular!

I have seen many pictures of of the grand canyon , in movies and magazines, books and pictures but , I can tell you, nothing is better than real life. There were quite a few early risers out taking photos. Some Japanese tourists asked me to take their photo. I asked a young couple to take my video after they had asked me to take their photo.

Everyone was very happy and excited to see the canyon as most had been there the afternoon before when you couldn't see anything.

One poor woman was sad as her batteries had just died.

I walked around for about an hour and decided to grab a cup of tea. the bright Angel hotel has a restaurant and I popped in there.

after having ordered some tea and a light breakfast I remembered that my purse was still in the car!

I asked where the washroom was and walked as quickly as I could safely do so( it was very slippery in parts) back to the car, drove it to the restaurant, parked about a half block away and rushed back in where they had been keeping by breakfast warm for me.

I don't know what they thought I was doing in the bathroom for that long.

It was a very nice breakfast. had a nice conversation with a some folks a t the next table and found out that the Bright Angel trail was right outside the restaurant. I did not go down the trail as I was concerned about slipping on the snow and ice.

I headed back to the hotel to check out. My plans were to go to Aunt Doris's but as I left the canyon I saw a sign for the Grand Canyon Caverns, depending on where they might be , I thought maybe I could squeeze them in to my trip.

the sun was shining, the roads were clear and pretty much empty of traffic. it was a lovely day. At 9 am I left the hills and went out onto the flat lands.

Turned west at hwy 40 and

through this little hamlet of Rte

66 motels and cafes including, I believe, the original Road Kill Cafe!

Some of the shops? were decorated in odd ways.

I did not stop but proceeded to go to the Seligman turnoff

There was a cafe/gas/gift shop where the lady behind the counter of the rather full little gift shop told me that Rte 66 was a lovely drive and the Caverns were only 17 miles up the road. So off I went along Rte 66 with thoughts of cookie and corvettes and 77 sunset strip running through my head.

That was when I saw the first of the old Burma shave signs.

I laughed out loud. and kept an eye out for the next set so that i could get a pic. Found the turnoff for the caverns easily and after about 10 minutes of not a great road came into a parking area with another turnoff for the stables which were closed and a restaurant which was not.

I proceeded into the nearly empty building , found the gift shop with its three customers and enquired about the cavern tours.

They started at 12 noon so I had half an hour to wait. I bought my token and went outside to see what I could see. I saw old cars and bikes and a flash of blue.

what was that? it was my first ever in person blue bird and after a little bit of following him around he posed for me so prettily.

Very exciting!

I went back inside and picked up a Rte 66 T-shirt (I couldn't find one with a car so had to settle for one with a bike) and hat and a few other souvenirs and brought them out to the car. then went in for the tour. I wasn't sure if I could go down into the cavern as I have never been in a cave in my life.

but my concerns were allayed when upon entering the elevator and going down 200 feet my heart rate and breathing remained calm and I did not have an anxiety attack like Mom did when she tried to go into the carlsbad caverns.

The tour took about 50 minutes and we walked all through the cavern with our guide Jerry giving us lots of information all the way.

He never stopped talking I swear. Most of the information was good but he included some rather bad jokes about caves, wind tunnels and dogs called rocky.

Interesting things were the beginning as of the caverns as a tourist attraction.

Seems the first owner of the cavern thought that he had found gold and bought a whole lot of land surrounding the cavern.

His luck was not with him though but to recoup some of his costs he started charging people 25 cents to get lowered down 120 feet by rope! if that had been the tour I would not have gone. But he survived the depression and the cave has always been in private hands with only three owners.

The cavern is a shelter setup during the cuban missile crisis with all of the stores from then still there. they say that because the cavern is so dry with a constant temperature of about 67 degrees the stores will last indefinitely but I don't think that I could eat them.

He showed us the bedroom that you can stay overnight in for only $700 a night, the bobcat that had fallen into the cavern so long ago that it mummified. Nothing lives in the cavern as it is dry.

There are lots of caves where bats live but only a few dry caverns in the US. they found out that the air which was surprisingly fresh comes all the way from the grand canyon through underground crevices.

There was the extinct giant ground sloth which surprised me all to death, not expecting that at all but still very cool to see.

It was a model of the real one that they found in the cave when they first explored it. some local university came and got the bones and made the model for the cave.

We went down tunnels into large open caverns and up tunnels to more large caverns.

It was very interesting and through it all Jerry talked. We all realized that if we had any questions he would answer them at the end of the tour so we stopped trying to ask them. It was worth the price of the ticket. the best part of the tour though, was when we got off the elevator at ground level.

Monday - Trip to Sedona and the Grand Canyon

2011-11-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

I woke up early and went through the room twice to make sure I did not forget anything. A nice waffle for breakfast and the hotel shuttle dropped me off at the Hertz rent a car place beside the airport. It was a huge building with a couple of levels of cars. I rented a Nissan versa and was on the road by 9:15 headed north to Sedona and the Grand canyon. The weather report was for snow and they had actually closed the hi-way to Flagstaff

( on my way) as they had received 9 inches of the white stuff. I stopped in Anthem to try and find the Big Dog store for Shauna but they were no longer there.

On to camp Verde where I bought a watch and some postcards.

Trying to get back onto the 17, I had to turn around and went into what I thought was a shortcut across a lot (it looked like a road) turned out to be for trucks not cars so did a little 4 wheeling and got a little muddy. I drove around a Taco time restaurant a few times getting the dirt off the wheels as I figured that if I went onto the freeway with that much dirt flying off of them I would be a hazard.

I was hoping to find a puddle as it was trying to rain but had no luck. I stopped in to the visitor information and asked about directions to Sedona. The man who was there asked me if I was single, married or widowed and I said goodbye, I would get directions elsewhere. I had no idea that a person’s marital status was important when getting directions.

He tried to say that they had a time-share in Sedona but the damage was done and I was out of there. Very weird. The signs to Sedona are very good so got there with no trouble.Big red, red rocks everywhere, absolutely gorgeous, and the sun even came out for a little while. The town is kind of odd as it is long and narrow and has about 10 little traffic circles.

I don’t think I actually got downtown or up town but I did see a lot of the galleries that Will had told me about.

Had a nice quiche for lunch at the Hillside restaurant which has a great view when it is not raining/snowing. I stopped a few times at the raodside turnouts on the way back to 17 to get some pics of the great rocks. as it is in a park one needs to have a parking pass or you can get a fine so the pictures cost me 5 bucks but are worth every penny.

The weather pretty much deteriorated as the afternoon progressed. I went into snow as the road went higher. I thought when we hit 6000 ft that we must be at the top but no, 7335 feet at the top of the Arizona divide. Lots of times the traffic slowed right down to 40 mph , a long line of cars following a big truck. No one went faster or used the other lane, but we did get through to Flagstaff who was indeed under a blanket of snow.

It is a beautiful drive with lots of different scenery. Big ponerosa like trees or flat mesas, sage rolling hills. Very nice. I went through Red lake, Valle and Tusayan and got into the grand canyon about 4 in the afternoon. I was not surprised and laughed out loud when I finally got to the edge and couldn’t really see the canyon for the snow. I took some photos and videos. I even got over being fearful of falling over the edge, as I could not see how deep and scary it really was, and got some shots looking down into the canyon.

It was cold and I did not have any gloves or a hat. I wore my scarf as a hat but a 5 when it was getting dark I headed back to the hotel in Tusayan just outside the park.

The park attendant had told me where to find the hotel as it is not visible from the road. you have to go behind the Imax. I never would have found it well maybe I would have. The room was very cold and I could see the thermostat so I called the front desk.

oh yes they had one on the wall right beside the sliding doors. Turned out it was the actual heater which I cranked up till the room was toasty. had a great sleep dreaming of snowy roads and non existent cliff edges.

The Last Day in Osoyoos,- Golden Sunrise, Golden hills and Golden Eagles

2011-08-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 4 and blogged until 6. Considered not going for a hike but thought better of it. Decided to go for a short walk to see the southern side the area that I had not covered when I had been hiking previously.

There was a good breeze so did not wear my hat as I was pretty sure that I would not be out too long and fighting the giant hat in the wind would be a deterrent to the enjoyment of the moment.

Went through the barbed wire fence at the end of the street instead of going around and went up the trail past the old refrigerator units that the grads of the area had painted with many names over the years.A nice trail led up the hill to a large field with little hills scattered around it.

I was not too sure how far I could go as the border was only 2 kilometers away and I may have already gone 1 and a half km. I decided to play it safe and not go too much farther south.

There was what I thought was a sign on a post so I went to it thinking that It might have something to say about the border.

No, it was some kind of an electrical box ,

all shot up and not connected to anything. there was another box just like it only in worse shape on the ground not to far away.

judging by the number of empty shotgun casings laying around someone came out there pretty regular to shoot at the metal Box.

I continued on to look at more butterflys, flowers and tracks.

there lots of tracks. deer, horses, cattle dogs, people and the little tiny ones that I could not identify.

I met an older German? guy walking along the trail . We were doing the same route only in reverse of each other.

Then I spotted a small beetle bug crossing the trail and leaving wonderful little tracks in the dirt that was like talcum powder. The mystery of the lovely tiny tracks was solved.

up on the hill were some flowers that looked like little brides bouquets. an old hole that could have been the start of some prospectors hunt for gold.

I saw some funny tufts of little flower stems.

An old old sage brush tree all twisted and gnarled.

I tramped down the hill across country and was on the first road to go back home when I spotted

a very cool moth on someone's window sill. I had to kind of go into their yard to get close enough. It was very cool. When I got back to edmonton I submitted it for identification and I got this back - Your sighting has been accepted, and your regional coordinator has verified your submission as _Arctia caja_. Your sighting is now represented on the map on the species page: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Arctia-caja The sighting details page is available here: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sighting_details/550197 ) It is a garden Tiger moth

As I was considering going down the hill to go home I happened to glance back up the hill and saw two very large dark birds flying around in the distance over the hill that I had walked around this morning.

At first I thought maybe they were vultures. I climbed back up as quickly and quietly as I could. I tried zooming in as much as I could and hoped that I could get a clear shot, clear enough to identify them.

Then they started to come closer to me and they landed across the valley in the rocks so I zoomed in and took a bunch of shots just hoping that they were in focus.

I lost them in the hills.

That was when I noticed the cattle were all gathered into a little heard of about 10 cows at the bottom of the valley. The white face was there. I keep seeing that cow? Steer?

When I got home I immediately put the pictures into the computer and by cropping and enlarging them found out what the very large birds were.

Golden eagles!

a pair of them.

How exciting! and what a great way to end the trip.

A lovely breakfast of fruit salad and bagels with jam.

moving the suitcases and fruit into the car and we were off to Kelowna via Penticton to pickup sandwiches from the best sancwhich shop in the Okanogan valley.

The roads were actually quite busy with tourists, big rvs and motorcycles. we went the back way into Penticton which is very picturesque along the lake. picked up the sandwiches in a blink as Nancy had called ahead so they were all ready when we got there.

Onto the second leg of the journey and it was a lot better as the highway was four lanes, divided two in each direction for quite awhile. Kelowna was busy and we had to cross the lake and go through town to get to the airport. we got there with more than enough time to eat half of our sandwiches and get on the plane.

The flight was smooth and quick and we were at home before we knew it. Maureen picked us up which was very nice. Home sweet home.

Our Last Supper in Osoyoos (for this trip)

2011-08-05T04:42:00.000-07:00

After a lovely breakfast Aunt Mary and Nancy did a crossword while I blogged. then Aunt Mary and I listened to a little Music while Gerry prepped and painted the shelf in the new entry way and Uncle Ron and Nancy went putting.

we had a scrumptious lunch of pizza and greek salad followed by a quiet time for everyone. Uncle Ron got on the computer and got our boarding passes, Nancy assisted.

Then Nancy and I went to the fruit stand and picked out lovely fruit to take with us back to Edmonton tomorrow. Maria the proprietress is a Portuguese lady and very nice.

Raspberries,

Blueberries,

Peaches

Apricots

and

Cherries.

Nummy.

Home again to sort and pack them for the airplane.

Supper consisted of leftovers. a feast of them with a showing

to familyfrom almost every meal for the last week. the conversation went from:

cattle farming

to napoleon

to Japan

to meals we had eaten all week

to decadent deserts

which is what Nancy made for us with one of her three pound cakes,

a fresh raspberry sauce with brandy and chocolate gelato with chocolate shavings to top it all off.

We were all licking the plates.

The guys cleaned up after while we ladies retired to the balcony.

It was a nice cool 30 C. There was a horse on the track , not running just a light working out and a trail ride off to the south had just started. About 40 RVs had gathered in the infield of the track, we think in preparation for a music festival this weekend.

A little fun for the girls once I figured out the automatic settings on my camera and then the gentlemen joined us. We still had fun. Mary and Ron's first date and then the second date. cameras and gardens. i hit the sack around 930 as I was bushed.

Thursday - 3 Aug - cows, Dirt bikers and little wrens

2011-08-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Woke at 530 and was out the door at 6.

I wanted to find the mine that Jo had told me about so I headed up. At the gate that said no entry there were cattle and I entered. I was surprised to see three cattle there, as I didn’t think that they came down this far. I sang a song and bravely went past them.

Following the road around the base of the hill to the trees that Jo said the mine was hiding behind. I started in. I found the old cement support bases covered with grass and sage.

I went up and found more cement blocks, I went up and found the road that I had left earlier and the mine that Jo had told me about. If I had stayed on the road the trip might have been a little easier but not nearly so challenging. The old mine was barred off and cemented in. someone at one time had lit a large fire right in front of the bars and there was a small wasp nest on the ground about 12 feet in front of it which I avoided. The inside was cool and there was a breeze.

Next I thought I would try to find the trail that Jerry had mentioned that followed the ridgeline half way up the mountain. It was a good workout and I was the only person out there. I reached a crossroads and decided to see how far I could get if I stayed on the road and did not do any cross country .So off I went up again. I did hear a wren, the one with the cascading song.

I did hear chickadees. There were lots of birds out but I do not know all their calls.

The walk was wonderful. I passed the area where Jo and I crossed the road on way up on Tuesday. I saw where we came down and where we went up. We had left the road.

I did not. It continued on and went up. There was a sign . the park boundary and an old water trough. I wasn’t sure if I was leaving the park or entering it. The road continued on. UP. My Heart was getting a great workout with this walk. What great views. Lots of butterfly’s unless it was the same three of four following me up the mountain.

I heard dirt bikes in the distance. I came to a fork in the road and a sign. The sign was for the fork to the left and said ‘No Unauthorized motorized vehicles’. It went up. I took it.

It was another workout of a walk though. When I was halfway up the dirt bike noise increased greatly and I realized that they were coming up my trail.

What nerve, I really hoped they were authorized but I doubted it. The first came by making quite a racket. I stepped over to the side to let them have all the room they would need.

I continued up. Just as I was getting to the top portion of the incline the second biker came up. I asked them how much farther to the top and they said about 20 minutes hiking. They continued on.

I thought about it. The last portion of the trail had taken me 15 minutes. It was 720 am. My legs were still OK but I went down.

The walk down was lovely, much more relaxing. . The portion that had taken me 15 minutes going up took me 5 minutes going down. I took a new road down to see where it went. I rolled up my sleeves to get the morning sun on my upper arms and I rolled up my t shirt to get some sun on my tummy which has not seen the sun in years I don’t think.

What a beautiful morning with my giant sun hat, a bottle of water, quiet and solitude (as the dirt bikers were quite now) and the perfect weather. I tried to figure out which road would take me up to a portion of the mountain I had not been to yet. I think I have a route planned for tomorrow’s hike. there are lots of grasshoppers out there.

Got back to the house around 830 and after my shower had a lovely breakfast with all around 9 then this blog while listening to music with Aunt Mary.

Later we will go to the fruit stand to get some fruit to take home with us tomorrow. We don’t have to cook today either as there are lots of leftovers from the restaurant yesterday.

the winery for lunch

2011-08-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

I got a video of Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron using the elevator. breakfast was nice. I did not go for a walk as my legs told me that they wanted a break.

we had lunch reservations at the Hester Creek winery Restaurant for 1 we started getting ready at noon and left by 1235. I drove the car with uncle Ron, Aunt Mary and Nancy. We arrived at the winery by 110. it was very good. veggie Pizza for me duck and mushroom pizzas for the others, with two appetizers, one the same as our tomato salad (to compare) ours was better, and the other a roasted artichoke and squash salad. nummy. A little wine. a little tour of the winery tasting room where I picked up a poster of winery doors of the Okanogan.

A nice drive home as the high way was not too busy. we each went our own way . Nancy and Gerry lying down, Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron reading about cowboys and I was into the Spain research.

we had a very light late supper around 7 and hit the balcony around 8. Nice conversations. a little family history By nine which is ten in alberta I hit the sack.

Tuesday Afternoon - Maybe we Should leave this Field

2011-08-03T05:15:00.000-07:00

We made a video with all the gang in it but me. I was the director, camera woman, sound guy and best girl. Might get an Oscar.

After Jo left we each did our own little different thing. Had a very nice lunch of slices of garden fresh tomatoes and bolocheti cheese with basil, olive oil and lemon. Also little cheese or roast beef open face sandwiches with homemade mayo and dijon mustard. After lunch everyone went in different directions again.

Nancy took Aunt Mary for a massage and then She and Uncle Ron went into town to pick up some gelato. Jerry drove me up to the kettle lakes on top of mount Krouger. It was not a long drive. We went up this small and sometimes scary road. It started out paved with small hobby farms on each side, some of which were for sale. It then became much smaller and gravel.

Parts of the trip were a little hair raising for me as I do not care for precipices, but luckily they did not last that long. ( the length of time we were driving along the precipice that is) We did have to shoo some cattle off the road at one point, but we did it from the inside of the VW van.

It is very pretty up there.

We did not see another vehicle, for which I personally was rather happy as the road is quite narrow.

we passed some cattle with long horns, two smaller very picturesque lakes, some more cattle with no horns and went over 3 different cattle guards in the road. I got the impression it was cattle country.

We came to the lake and Jerry commented that it was way down from the last he had seen it but that he usually only came up in the spring and fall. This was the first time he had been there in August. A kettle lake gets all its water from snow melt and rain.

We heard the killdeer before we saw it. It played its wounded tricks on us trying to lure us away from its babies that we spotted in the tall foxtails along the shore. Quite a good show really.

It started to rain a little but I had on my big hat so was not too worried. It is like an umbrella really. There was a plant growing in the lake along the shore and Jerry thought it might be milfoil. Will have to check it out. There was a small group of cattle down at the far end of the lake resting.

Butterflies everywhere. A beautiful bowl of a valley with the lake in the center. A nice variety of trees too.

Some very old poplar and pine, sage and grasses and flowers. there was a house at the entry end of the lake but it didn't look like anyone was home. It must have already been built before the area became a provincial park.

Two cattle came running down the hill towards the lake about 200 yards away so I tried to get them on film. At first we thought they were going for the water but one of them seemed more interested in the other cattle and so we thought maybe it was a bull and maybe we should leave the field.

On our leisurely walk back to the van, with occasional glances over our shoulder to check out the location of the cows/bull?, I spotted some outhouses.

A pair of them and went to check them out, but not too closely. they each had a quarter moon cut into them. One with the moon facing right and the other facing left. So the question is, which would be the guys and which the girls?

Let me know if you find out.

Lots of wild flowers, real native wildflowers not the invasives.

We headed back.

Jerry said we had time to go and see something I had probably never seen before. The spotted lakes. I was game.

We stopped at the middle lake and I got some nice shots of a duck, a wax wing and some damsel flies.

This lake was very different from the top lake. It was more protected with hills and trees coming right to the lake and the water reflected the green of the trees. We past the smallest lake and met our first vehicle, a big red truck but Jerry was calm and said that there was lots of room.

I was not totally disbelieving, just a little skeptical. Luckily I kept my thoughts on the matter to myself as it turned out that Jerry was correct. We continued on and met with the small herd of cattle, two moms and four babies. Well, there were four babies and 2 bigger cows so I was assuming they were the moms.

The narrow gravel road continued and suddenly a woman driving too fast for my liking, came around the corner.

With quick reactions Jerry pulled as far over to the right as was humanely possible, making me a lot more nervous as I am sure we had only two inches of road left before we tumbled over the edge.

The other driver did in fact slow down enough to pass us safely and we continued on, Jerry unruffled, me ruffled. More cows, the crossing guards and onto the pavement. We went up the highway for 5 minutes and pulled onto one of the smallest pullouts I think I have ever seen. Room for one vehicle only.

The sign with the gate locking us out and keeping us from walking down to see the spotted lakes said that in the future there would be a larger pullout ( that would not be difficult ) with a parking lot, wheelchair access and a boardwalk to tour the lake below. I look forward to that very much.

The lake was the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. It seems there are minerals in the water and when the lake dries up, the minerals form large round dots on the surface which reflect the sky or terrain depending on your angle of view. They were so cool. A spiritual place for the native tribe and a natural wonder. (I don't believe the spot with the beer? can in the middle was one of the spiritual spots unless it was an offering)

We headed back to the house where Jerry began the preparations for supper, (a tunisian themed pasta dish which was very nummy) Nancy, Mary and I went into the loom room to check out the looms and threads (Nancy is going to make me a strap for my camera) and Uncle Ron got caught up with the news. I really think he was taking a well deserved nap.

Supper was great followed by sitting on the balcony in the near perfect temperature. We have been very lucky in that it has not been so hot as it usually is at this time of year.

Tuesday - 2 aug - mine, cows and great Mullein

2011-08-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 5.

I thought about not going for a walk this morning and then thought, 'we pass this way but once' and was gone by 530.

Jo was still sleeping and as I knew she was heading to Van today I let her sleep. I would just do a short walk and be back in plenty of time to chat with her before she left.

I headed up to the end of the street to check out the southern route. It started out going south but ended up following a fence going northwest.

As I walked along I kept hearing something moving in the sweet clover which grew both along the borders and the middle of the road. When I stopped to see what it was it stopped too. Very odd.

I moved very slowly and realized that it was the small grasshoppers jumping off of the sweet clover as I brushed against it. too funny.

I checked out the construction zone. looks like they are digging for rocks. and the equipment that was up there was all very old. well it was rusty.

I decided to find the mine which Jo and I had missed the day before. I was across the little valley and would make for a complete knowledge of the area. I followed the road around to where I could head up the hill. the whole area is crisscrossed with roads for vehicles and quads.

The sky was beautifully clear as I watched the sun come up. There was no wind . It was very quiet. The only thing on the hill watching the sun come up was me as far as I could tell. the sun pops over the hill very quickly here and casts lovely long shadows.

I climbed the hill that we had climbed the day before. someone has placed large rocks around the top of the hill in a circular kind of pattern. maybe to keep out quads? do not know. but one of the rocks has a hole drilled very neatly right through it. something from the Mine maybe? Jo and I had been here yesterday but I still walked and scouted around the top. No Mine.

I then discovered the very small path that went around the hill going in the right direction so followed that. It led down just past where Brian and a few others were staying. I said good morning to Brian and asked him if this was the trail to the mine. He said yes.

I found the Dividend mine.

It had been an active gold mine for almost one hundred years. It was sealed now with a concrete plug and fencing to keep crazy cavers out of the honeycomb of shafts still inside.

Just past the mine was a few more shafts that had not been sealed but they were fenced off. It was kind of scary as the precipice along the path was quite steep and high.

I followed the little path back to the plateau and as I was coming around the corner I ran right into a small herd of cattle. We startled each other slightly. two of us stood our ground and no hostilities occurred.

I had not seen them as I was wearing my new big hat and as everyone knows when one is walking up a hill on rocky terrain one usually looks down. Well, I was looking at the trail and my field of vision was very reduced due to the size of my hat.

We all survived. I went down to find Brian and Dana. They helped me over some very big rocks and we chatted for a bit. about the cows and the bull. the dogs and more prospecting talk. $25 a year to live for free. Sounds good. Not in the winter though too cold.

continued along and got a couple of shots of a brown butterfly

Your sighting has been accepted, and your regional coordinator has verified your submission as _Cercyonis sthenele_. Your sighting is now represented on the map on the species page: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Cercyonis-sthenele The sighting details page is available here: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sighting_details/550198

and a yellow butterfly and then I found some Great Mullein and made a small movie. Great mullein makes one feel like a pixie. very tall flowers.

Took a couple of shots of the hills that Jo and I had climbed yesterday. We did way more than 4 plateaus. I saw the herd again across the valley.

I stole some lavender from a yard on the way back to Nancy's and was back by about 730.

Jo had gotten up and was gone for a walk by the time I got back. Nancy and Jerry were up and busy. A wonderful fruit salad including the biggest apricots I have ever seen. everything fresh. Jerry made bread.

Monday Afternoon Osoyoos

2011-08-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

Jerry worked in the garden and took the roast beef out of the window ( He was thawing it).

He has tomato plants that are over six feet tall! Amazing.

Cantelope! What a country!

It is 25 in the shade.

On the other side of the wall in the garden is a drop off of about 30' , including the wall, terraced down to the next level of houses. It is pretty and private.

the garden includes Jerry's 6 ft tomato's, beans green and borlotti, zuchinni, black cabbage, chard and cauliflower among other things.

the neighbors have peach trees.

Gerry smoked his beef,

Nancy made a great greek salad and showed me the secrets of a great tomato bocochinni and basil salad.

Jo entertained.

We all chipped in and helped to get the table ready for dinner.

Very nice smoked Roast beef(cheese for me), tomato, bocochinni and basil salad with fresh olive bread and a real nice greek salad without any bite.

Osoyoos - Aug 1

2011-08-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Kelowna Yesterday and Jerry was

there to pick us up and bring us to Osoyoos. A nice drive with lots of cars on the road and kids on inner tubes floating down the river in Penticton and Summerland.

Nancy had a lovley supper ready for us and after we all got settled in we mowed down.

Jo called and let us know that whe was coming that night . I was too tired to stay up much past 10 so I hit the sack and went to sleep so soundly that I didn't hear a thing all night.

Up at 330 to use the facilities but way too early to go out, so back to sleep and up at 530 and out the door by 6 with Jo. We went up, up, up.

We saw campers tenting on a nice open grassy plateau where we could follow many different trails in three different directions.

We saw the cattle guard crossing thing and we crossed it.

Sage everywhere. What a lovley, lovely aroma. A small trail brought us to the base of a cliff which we followed around till we could climb up.

I was, at one point, on my hands and knees, up a particularly steep incline, till I got to the top, probably only about 30 feet. but it seemed much longer.

Jo was already there sitting and resting and looking very relaxed when I finally got there. We rested at the top. Realizing that there was another top to go up to, we continued on.

The sun was just coming over the mountain when we met Brian at the crossroads.

He is the prospecting, long bearded window washer of Osoyoos, who filled us in on the ins and outs of being a prospector in BC.

He also told us that if we went two kilometers along this road we would be in the US of A and we could get picked up by the border patrol and taken to jail as trespassers. that the second road would take us to the water treatment plant and the third would take us somewhere we did not want to go.

We opted for the US of A and went up this ridiculously steep road for quads or four wheel drives toward the US of A border hoping for some action.

Some blazing star cactus pulled us off of the trail to investigate. Never have seen those before and they were very pretty.

Sage everywhere smelled great. Another cattle crossing guard and crossed it. Up, up, up. We stopped at the top and there was another mountain top to go up to so we continued on.

We :passed tall, tall ponderosa pine.(three needles in a bundle 5 to 6 inches long),

heard the woodpecker before we saw him, walked across a grassy knoll, admired the lake and stopped at the top and there was another top to go up to.

We did continued on, but, we were beginning to be very suspicious of ever reaching the actual top of this mountain.

A very small goat or a rabbit trail brought us half way up to next plateau, after that we were picking our way carefully up the side of a scree covered slope.

hanging on to dead twigs for balance knowing that if you actually applied any pressure to the twig or dead branch that it would break off your already false sense of security would evaporate with the sound of the snap.

A large fallen tree, well into the final stages of decay provided a safe moment to rest so we sat down and made a movie. I found a prickly pear cactus, right beside where I was sitting.

Well, actually, I kind of sat on it, just a little bit but enough to get a pear stuck to my upper back leg. ouch. We continued on , It was not as bad as the previous leg of the journey. We reached the top and there was another top so we decided not to continue on.

We took a break, admired the numerous patches of prickly pear cactus and tried to figure out how we could get down.

Only one direction seemed to be the way we could go, as on one side was a cliff, the second side was continuing up and the third side was the way we came up and we were not going to go back down the way we had come up.

Needless to say we made a decision and moved out. After pulling another prickly pear out of my shoe( it almost went right through my runner)we wended our way going down through trees and grasses.

It was nice and shady.

Traversing rocky, sandy and pine-coney slopes, finding roads and barbed wire fences, fields with loads of grasshoppers and crickets, we made it back to Nancy and Gerry's by 930 and they had a great breakfast of fresh fruit salad and toasted bagels waiting for us.

Yummmy! A very nice morning, chatting about the state of the world at large, Italy and trips to it and recipes.Jo went and practiced her guitar.

On her way up to lunch I noticed that she was moving a little gingerly and asked if she was a little stiff from our hike. she was and I was glad that i was not alone.

A lovely shower to wash away the salt of my exertions and then to this blog.

Took a break for lunch which was nummy too, Nancy's world famous potato salad, variety of olives, cheese for me , chicken for them, olive bread and green beans, fresh from the garden and so tender.

Aunt Mary and I left Nancy to clean up, we are naughty, and went out to the balcony to sit in the shade and enjoy the view.

A crossword puzzle and then Jo and Uncle Ron came home from putting on the golf course. Jo brought out her guitar to entertain us all.

Adventures with Diane

2011-06-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

weekend in june

a drive towards scary clouds rain and lightning

rain

beer

woke early

walk

path

shower

moss

birds

lake

wet

plastic on feet

Evansburg

garage sale

market

coffee

gas

store

lunch

Pembina park

people floating in the river

rubber rafts, inner tubes, blow up boats.

lots of families having picnics

walk along the river

carriganas

hill

butterflys

drive home

beer

stuffed peppers

wren?

movie

julia and julie

slept well but robin woke me up at 345 am

Vesuvius, Crofton cabs and buses

2011-03-28T09:49:00.001-07:00

Woke up almost every hour and at 530 I gave up and got up. I was outside on the road waiting for the taxi at 630. it said would be there at 630. It wasn’t.I do keep my watch a little fast so that I am not late for things so I did not worry. Much. He came in about 5 minutes and we chatted as we went to Vesuvius. Nice fellow, didn’t catch his name,lives in the Spanish arches house and is from Quebec.We made it to the ferry with lots of time and as it was my first time walking onto a ferry I was anticipating great things.

Took a few photos of the lovely little hamlet of Vesuvius. The morning was perfect, clear calm and quiet, not cold or rainy as predicted by the weather forecast that I had seen before I came. Thank you, thank you Mother Nature.

The ferry was already there (it may have spent the night there I do not know) and so I went and stood at the appointed place and waited. The young fellow in charge told me that you do not have to pay in no time they let me on and i proceeded u

to the lounge to do the passage. It is so cute. The Queen, very effectively, reigns over the recycling bins and there are at least two doors to enter and exit from onto the platform to continue up to the deck which I proceeded to do. The sunrise was splendid. the passage was without incident and I went to the front of the little ferry to wait my departure.

Got to talking to the crew and asked them what would happen if I did not get off and just rode the ferry back. they laughed and said that sometimes older couples will do just that, go for a ride for something to do.

cab in the other parking lot.

chemainus

subway

wandered

highway at wrong bus stop

courtneynanaimo

Bob

barb

bug

flowers

pruning

dinner

deer

cat

camera

games till midnight

breakfast

frank

coffee

bob

bus

nanaimo

chemainus

crofton

snack

ferry

maureen

Monday 14th March - Going home

2011-03-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 6 this morning.

Decided to get caught up on this blog and face book so did that with a my Red Rose cup of tea . ( I bring down my own as they do not sell it down here).

I am watching a rabbit in the courtyard right now at 830.

It is about the size of your fist with ears. Very cute.

Uncle Ron just came in and is going to make us a tasty breakfast of oatmeal.

Another lovely day in paradise.

Todays project is to get all things collected, gathered in and packed up, as Jim is coming to get us at 4 to take us to the airport.

Sunday 13th Mar. - The coffee shop opens at 630 on Sundays

2011-03-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 5.

Left the house by 530 and went down to the shop by way of the golf course path as far as the club house this morning. I will not do that again. I thought that maybe it would be faster than the road but it was very dark and my little light on the bike was not enough to light up the little path far enough in advance to get any good speed . Also there are lots of turns, sharp turns on the path that I has not noticed when I was walking it. I did get onto the road again safely and made it down to the coffee shop by 6.am.

The only problem with that is that the coffee shop doesn't open till 630 on a Sunday. It was very nice outside so I set up at one of the tables outside and read my book. Charlie came out and advised me that they did not open till 630, "I know that now" I told him as I pointed at the hours posted on the door.

It was not long before I was joined by Dwight and Annie. Dwight was looking for his paper too that had not been delivered yet and Annie was not staying long as she was going to go for a walk with her daughter but needed her morning coffee to take along. we chatted about the fair and how next year Annie will get me some tickets to go, I was not aware that one needed tickets to go so am quite thrilled. Turns out Dwight knows Uncle Ron and my cousin Dave. small world.

the shop opened and we all got our drink of choice. they left and I stayed to see who would turn up. talked to Charlie about his career. Larry came in and went out. I had met him the first morning I think as I was early that morning too. I chatted with him for a bit about cameras again. He is going on a hike this morning which sounds like fun.

then off to the cafe for a bit of breakfast where I was informed by Joel the cook that his alarm set itself to daylight savings time and his alarm woke him up at 230 am, an hour early this morning. That sucks. i was joined by Jim from milwaukee. We had almost the same breakfast. Two eggs with potatoes. his were sunny with hash browns, mine were basted with country potatoes. Anyway, he is feeling a little stiff in the joints this morning and still not happy about his washer and dryer situation. We exchanged emails so that we could stay in touch and we headed off in different directions.

My ride home was not too eventful I did see an Audobon's warbler but only got a bad shot of it, a flicker, a hummingbird and the obligatory quail.

Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron had a nice breakfast of oatmeal but with no bananas today as we are leaving tomorrow so don't want to by any more food.

Off to church where we dropped off the newspaper to recycle and then the priest told a couple of great stories about Adam and eve and the garden of Eden. Did you know that they were vegans or was it fruitarians? That wasn't part of the story he told I just picked up on that.

After church we went to the gold canyon golf course to sit on the patio for a lunch el fresco. I was real glad for the shade coverings but I had to move my chair a couple of times to avoid sitting in the sun. nice lunch.

On the way home we noticed that there was on open house up the street so we went to see. I love that house. Long but very nice with a great view. of course they were asking a lot for it. Architect was Jeff Burgess.

Home again to sit and drink water. lots of water. it is about 85 F here. a light supper of left overs and then a little I love Lucy.

I actually enjoy driving the Flex

Saturday 12 Mar - A climbing milkweed and 8 golf balls

2011-03-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

Slept in till 7 because I woke up at 230? do not know why. Probably coyotes or an owl outside the window. My window was open so I closed it but didn't fall back to sleep till around 5.

The day was lovely.

Did not go down to the shop, just for a little walk over to the wall behind the social club.

I did see a new thing .

A Climbing Milkweed which has very pretty flowers.

I looked it up when I got back. It seems to be considered a weed as it is poisonous to livestock.

Lots of old things too.

An Aberts Towhee,

that darn flicker,

lots of cactus wrens

and the mocking bird.

Rabbits and quail are a given on any hike or walk.

Every once in a while there are odd things to see too.

Just appearing out there as if dropped from the sky.

Had a nice breakfast of oatmeal with dates.

We went for a leisurely walk around the circle.

Back home to a crossword and some lunch of vegetarian sheppards pie.

(not bad but needed some spices I thought).

finished the crossword Aunt Mary and I listened to music and sang along with the old time songs.

she knows almost all the words to songs and poetry too.

She can recite all kinds of poems by heart.

That is what comes of being from an era wigh no TV and only radio and books to entertain. What a great memory. Uncle Ron kept us posted on the nuclear meltdown in Japan while also keeping a close eye on the golf channel. He is a very busy man.

I went for a walk before supper today on the hill across the was to the east.

Looking for snakes but I didn't see even one.

I did find 8 golf balls.

Every time I go for a walk along the sides of the golf course I pickup abandoned and lost golf balls .

I am collecting them into a basket to leave on the table for Dave and Colleen , like a bouquet to welcome them back.

there are now 32 golf balls.

All in all a pretty exciting day don't you think

Friday Morning - Tsunami - 11 mar

2011-03-11T07:48:00.000-08:00

Woke up at 5 and realized that I had fallen asleep with the window open.

The temperature was perfect, I wasn't even cold.

Turned on the weather channel to see how hot it was going to get today and discovered there had been a terrible earthquake in Japan.

that caused a tsunami which after wreaking havoc and destruction in Japan was heading across the ocean to the pacific coast of North America.

Headed for the cafe at around 540.

The sky was lightening and it was a nice ride.

Jim (from Milwaukee) and Harold were there, but no Annie.

I bought a souvenir visor and a tea and joined the table.

Power stations, solar power, the friends of superstition and appliances were the topics of conversations.

When Jim and Howard left, I went for breaky at the gold canyon cafe.

Laurie is I believe the only waitress, on the early shift anyway, as she is the only one that I have seen there.

Had nice ride home with a few shots gotten and a few shots missed.

I saw the flickers again but missed the clear shots. I have figured out that they are Gilded Flickers. the underside of their wing is a very pretty golden colour.

I saw a great golden digger wasp but was riding my bike so missed the shot.

I did see a new bird and have to figure out what it is. Very pretty song. it seemed to know quite a few songs actually.

I looked it up and it is a Northern mocking bird so it knowing lots of songs makes sense.

The temperature was already getting warm so headed back to the house by 830.

Uncle Ron and Aunt Mary came out all dressed and raring to go at around 930.

After breakfast we watched the news about the Tsunami.

We went for walk and I saw a strange looking bird on the roof of the house across the street. my method is to take a picture, take a few steps closer get another shot , take a few steps closer.

well, finally realized that it was a roadrunner with a lizard in his mouth and it was a big lizard.

who says all the dinosaurs are dead, roadrunners are like velociraptors.

I also got a nice photo of a cactus wren and his nest

a starling with its iridescent feathers.

Had a quiet afternoon.

Played a bit of civilization.

Later Aunt mary and I listened to poetry and music while Uncle Ron went to the golf course and hit a few balls.

a late supper and then a wander on the golf course path.

found 4 golf balls,

a coyote

and watched a terrific sunset.

I will hit the sack early tonight as waking up early takes its toll.

Thursday 10th Mar - 87 degrees and red lobster.

2011-03-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

Woke at 5 and slow-poked my way to the gecko arriving at 630.

Annie was there with her daughter Bethany.

Harold was talking to the go

lf guy and Bob was busy with his study.

Annies daughter Bethany is an artist, a carver of bone .

She makes beautiful jewelry, knife handles, actually, she can make anything out of bone, tusk or wood. very beautiful.

we chatted for a bit about cottages, outhouses, Ereaders and proffessions. then I met Annies puppy, Jyoti. very cute.

they went to walk the dogs. Annie has two and Bethany has 1.

I went for a nice breaky while reading my Ebook

Rode on the path home hoping to get a photo of something new.

I did get the house finches.

I did find a lemon tree.

I did see some kildeer.

I did see some flickers but missed the shots.

I also so a slug leaving a nice heart shaped slime trail and ;figured that if it didn't get out of the sun pretty quick it would be cooked.

got back to the house around 9 and after breakfast we went for a quick walk.

We drove to the Red Lobster in Mesa and met Wayne and Marleen for lunch. I showed them my favorite photos and showed Wayne how to edit his photos.

A bicycle adventure in the desert - Wednesday 9 mar.

2011-03-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

Up at 5

Brought my computer with my today to share my best photos with everyone.

Arrived at the guard house by 530 in time for shift change

They said I should get a photo of the young bunnies tha live under a bush there, but it was so dark I could not focus on them and the photo turned out like the bunnies from hell.

Showed them my 55 top pictures which they were quite appreciative of.

I rode down the paved sidewalk most of the way down to the mall. A little tricky in a few places. Tight turns.

Got to the gecko by 6.

Who was there:

Annie on her computer

I showed her my photos and we chatted about being vegetarian, she was for 25 years, about work and computers, and facebook

Jim reading his paper and eating his muffin. did not want to see the photos but that was OK as I figure he has already seen all of those animals and things that I take pictures of anyway.

Stan who wanted to see the photos but kept leaving to talk to other folks as he saw them come in or walk by.

Eventually I showed him my 55 top pictures

Became facebook friends with Annie

Met Bob who is making a study of the way the young ladies make the coffee at the shop. ( in other words he is studying the young ladies)

Had breakfast at the cafe at 700 eggs and country potatoes

Decided to take photos on the way home while riding my bike.

(But I did it safely).

I took an exploratory drive up a side road and noticed ,when coming back to the main road, that I was right in line with Silly mountain and the huff and puff path that I had taken up to the first top.

It was getting warm by the time I got home at 830.

There was a roadrunner on the patio so grabbed a shot of him.

What would I do without my camera?

After breakfast we went for a walk around the circle.

I took some photos of flowers, no surprise there eh?

I also got a nice shot of a hummingbird

Uncle Ron had Rotary so Aunt Mary and I fended for ourselves the afternoon.

The time went pretty quickly really.

A lovely lunch of artichoke and potatoe stuffing, broccolli, salad and for Mary some pork roast.

A crossword puzzle.

Some old time ling along music on the north patio

Then Uncle Ron was home again with exciting news about the talk they had at Rotary, writing your Will in Arizona.

Tuesday 8th march - Owls after supper

2011-03-08T18:39:00.001-08:00

Evening fell.

Owls

She

They

sunset

a Walk with Mary and Ron on Tuesday Morning

2011-03-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely walk although the wind was a little cool.Howard had told me about how Javelina love prickly pear cactus and thats how you can tell they have been around. They nibble on them. I saw some nibbled cactus.

I also saw two coyotes on the golf course and got a great shot of them.

After our walk a we had a scrumptious lunch of potato pancakes with apple sauce, blueberry sauce and maple syrup. Pancake Tuesday.

I worked on picking my favorite photos,

sliming them down to 57 from 125 and setting up a slide show to show some of Uncle Ron's friends when we have lunch with them on thursday. That took me quite a while.

8th mar - Shrove Tuesday Lupines

2011-03-08T09:13:00.000-08:00

Woke up at 430 am even though I didn' t want to.

Got up at 5 and was at the coffee shop by 615.

Annie, Jim and Stan were there already so joined them.

They teased me about leaving early yesterday as they saw me bicycling away when they were pulling in.

Discussions included the price of gas,

immigration, the life of batteries in computers,

blackberries vs other phones, Hunting in different states

and walmart followed.

Howard came later and cleared up the discussion about exercise and migraines.

Also snakes, bobcats and rabies in the area, things to watch out for.

Jim is having a repair man in to see his washer and dryer.

Howard is taking the day off and is not doing anything.

Annie is going to the fair. She spent the day yesterday at the mall just to get out of the wind. Don't blame her even a little.

Stan is waiting to see what the Boss (his wife)

has planned.

They all left and I went across the highway,

well actually into the meridian between the divided highway and took some lovely shots of the Lupines growing there.

Home again getting a few shots of birds along the way.

Some grackles,

a Kildeer, a Black phoebe, an ash throated flycatcher,

and a hummingbird that caught the light just right.

some flowers too.

Desert verbena which smells so nice in the afternoon and some daises hiding under a rock.

A nice breakfast and then we all went for a walk around the circle. we are having pancakes for lunch today as it is shrove tuesday.

7th mar afternoon golf and the Arizona Opry.

2011-03-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

After breakfast

we went

to watch

Uncle Ron

hit a few

golf balls

around.

It was

very windy

and there

was a lot

of dust.

We didn't

stay very

long.

Back at

home we

had a

lovely lunch

of stuffed

maple glazed

pork loin roast.

a nice afternoon of poetry and music.

At 515

we went

to the

Arizona Opry

for Dinner

and music.

Very fun.

Monday 7th - Hike on a Silly Mountain

2011-03-07T08:22:00.000-08:00

Woke up at 450 am and was out of the house by 510.

Got to the Gecko by 520 and had to wait for it to open.

Luckily there was a gentleman also waiting for the cafe to open and we got to talking about cameras so the time went very quickly.

The cafe opened and boy was it hot inside.

Charlie, who wasn't feeling real well, said that the equipment running all night always heated the little cafe up tremendously when the place was locked up.

I had my tea and read the paper.

None of the folks who I had met last time I was in were there.

I left around 6 and went to the guard house to drop off the bike.

Walked over to the trail head for Silly Mountain just east of superstition. It was about 630 am.

I quess I was on the Huff and Puff trail to start,

as by the time I got to the top, I was certainly huffing and puffing. I got to the top at about 650, so it was not a long hike just a lot of up. the weather was cloudy but very pleasant. then around 7, the wind started.

On Jack Rabbit Trail I met two gentlemen who were traveling fast and were obviously in real good shape.

The first of the gentlemen said that he had been to the top of the flat iron mountain(5000 ft) 5 times and his friend concurred saying he was in way better shape than himself.

We moved onto Coyote Loop and then onto Crest Trail.

They were both soon out of my sight

but I met a lady with her two dogs coming towards me on the narrow trail.

I was glad to see them on the leash as the trail was narrow and if they were real happy to see me and jumped on me I might fall down the hill, which at that point had quite a steep incline.

Everyone here keeps their dogs on a leash at all times.

I think it is to keep them,

the dogs, safe from all the pokey, cactusy things in the desert. The trails were all very good and with little signs at each crossing and intersection.

I thought that the first hill I climbed was the top of the mountain as it seemed to be very high, but I came across a sign that told me I had now reached the high point of the hike.

There was some lichen or moss growing on the rocks that was to me a little unusual. It was black and fluffy. odd . very exciting moment although a little anticlimactic as I thought that I had reached the high point earlier.

Idecidednot to take the Old mine trail down the south face of the mountain to the highway, following instead the Old Baldy Trail down the east side to meet up with a so far unnamed trail back to the trailhead where I had started.

I did notice that the closer I got to the "civilised' part of the walk there were more birds and flowers.

I got back to the guard house where they told me I had just missed, by moments, seeing a big bobcat.

I did see a female cardinal and a whole bunch of other birds.

I grabbed my bike and headed up the hill.

When I passed the 5 grackles sitting on the ridge of a roof I had to pull over and see what they were looking at.

They were, all five of them, looking straight up at the sky. I think it must have been some kind of courtship thing. It looked really funny.

I passed 4 ladies walking and then I passed one lady walking. Pam who lives here year round except for july and August when she goes to visit her kids in Iowa. Nice lady. got home and shared my stories with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron.

After they had their breakfast we went to the golf course where Uncle Ron hit a few balls and putted a bit.

Aunt Mary and I sat and watched. At one point the mountain disappeared due to the dust in the air. that is a lot of dust.

Home for lunch and then a quick review of the Blog with Aunt Mary.

sunday evening - a picture is worth a thousand words

2011-03-06T18:17:00.001-08:00

Went

for

walk.

Waited

the

other

side

the

hill.

could

hear

the

owl.

I saw

hang

glider

or maybe it was an ultralight?

found

the

place

where

the

owl

would

perch

cactus

but no owl.

then

saw

the

owl

cactus

the

other

side

the

wall.

got

some

shots.

was

leaving

flew

its

nest!

What

great sunset!

6 mar- Sunday Morning

2011-03-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

Up at 6

Gorgeous sunrise

Was going to listen to Bill Gates talk to governors but decided that I needed to go for a walk instead when I heard the Owl.

I never did see the owl .

I did see a one coyote on a golf green.

2 tu whitting thrashers

3 golf course maintenance people

4 grackles sitting

5 golf balls,

6 people walking

7 ash throated flycatchers

8 verdin pipping

9 bunnies hopping

10 flowers blooming ( Acacia constricta )

11 cactus jumping

12 quails a running

sounds like christmas doesn't it?

We are off to church today and then it is wide open for adventure.

the coffee shop some milkweed bugs and a Grackle

2011-03-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

Woke up a 5 and decided to go for a coffee.

Got out the bike and figured out the headlight. It was so easy I can't believe that I missed it last time.

got to the coffee shop around 545 and ordered my tea. The lady with the computer was there again and I sat at the table next to her. There are only two high tables, a counter by the window and a coffee table with some easy chairs.

I realized that I forgot my sugar so went to the condiment table and met Jim, retired fire fighter from Minnesota who joined me at my table and who knew Annie, the lady at the next table.

We chatted about dogs, hiking, snakes and the weather.

Cell phones, computers, technology and old time short cord, on the wall dial phones.

The renaissance fair just 5 miles down the road where Annie has a booth.

We were soon joined by Howard who gave me directions to the hiking trail for the back of Silly mountain. He also seems to know , quite correctly, about hawks and harriers.

A fellow from the golf course came in and sat at the easy chairs but they all knew him so talked across the aisle. it is a small coffee shop.

He has seen lots of owls and told me that road-runners hunt and eat baby quail like a tyrannosaurus.

When the gentlemen started talking guns I left with requests that I leave a Canadian flag on top of Silly mountain when I do the hike.

On the way back up the hill saw some bugs on a bush so stopped to get a few pictures.

they turned out to be large milkweed bugs very pretty but I guess they are poisonous. (there are hundreds of beetles and bugs but I persisted and found out what they were)

Checked out the directions of Howard and found the trailhead for the hike easily.

Checked with the guardhouse about leaving the bike with them when I do the hike and Jim, the guard who also rides a bike, said that it would be no problem, people do it all the time.

At the golf course bridge I saw a great tailed Grackle who sang me a song.

Uncle Ron is going out for lunch today

Aunt Mary and I are going to cook a maple glazed stuffed pork loin roast today.

Aunt Mary and I went for a walk in the morning before it got too hot . we met Sophie the Visla.

WE MET A ROADRUNNER!

we also met a ground squirrel

4th March - leaping lizards and owls in the belfry

2011-03-04T14:28:00.000-08:00

woke at 6 am and did some domestic things.

Laundry,

Dishes,

bed linen changing.

tai chi with the new Tai chi for beginners

shower

movie of "Elizabeth the golden age"

breakfast of eggs and toast for me with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron

a nice walk around the circle.

Took some pictures of

a fairy duster

a cardinal

desert milkweed

no monarchs

no larva just the milkweed

more flowers

chuparosa with a honey bee inside the

flowers

a great spider web

a sit outside in the sun

a drive into Mesa to eat at chiles

a drive to Costco

I got to drive back home.

the parking lot at costco was crazy.

nice drive.

music,

readers digest jokes,

and word power

with Aunt Mary

while uncle Ron was on the computer.

sitting outside in the patio Peter showed up and posed for a few snap shots.

he is such an actor.

supper of Bean burrito for me and veggie soup for them

Janet called

wrote blog.

got ready for a night watching movies and saw a bat outside the window catching bugs. tried for a picture but basically got a dark speck in the darkening sky.

about 715 heard the owl outside my window again and went to see if I could spot it in the tree. when I looked out and there it was on the roof right by my window.

I took 4 shots all of them out of focus and either under or over exposed before he flew away. how exciting.... a Great horned owl. My first. How can I sleep now.

Thursday 3rd March - Wandering in the Wilderness

2011-03-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Woke up early even for me.

Watched some tai chi for beginners and then at 545 went out for a hike to the mountian.

It was very dark.

No moon.

No stars so there were clouds.

I walked along the golf path to the fence where we usually get out and realized that I did not have my little flashlight so using the flash on the camera found out that they had fixed it, the whole in the fence.

So using the flash from my camera I walked down the fence line till I came to an area where I could get over the fence with the use of my jacket. (barbed Wire) when finally on the other side, I walked to where I thought I remembered following a trail up tp the mountain last year.

After 15 minutes the trail ended at the fence and there was no gate. There should have been a gate. there was no gate so I turned and headed back.

once at the road again I headed off further down until I came to another trail but it looked like it met up with the one that I was just on so I continued past it.

then a very promising and familiar trail appeared before me. I followed it up and by that time the sun was rising and I could see far better.

Came to the first fence with its gate and sign.

After much labour managed to get it open and closed after me. a very well travelled trail but very windy and curvy and lots of times taking me in what appeared to be the wrong direction from where I actually wanted to go.

Lots of birds singing and moving around by now but no other wildlife. Since it was a pasture? land I thought maybe I might see some cows, but no.

Eventually there was another fence with gate and just before the fence a marker for another trail which seemed to go west but on the outside of the Superstition Wilderness park?

Which way to go? I went through the gate in the fence and into the Superstition Wilderness. The trail that I was following was not all that clear actually and eventually it petered out.

I went west thinking that the other trail would show up and since west was the original direction that I had wanted to go it seemed logical. Through washes, and clearings. over hills and around many cacti and mesquite trees. The mountain was getting closer but there was no sign of the trail. there were flowers. Like the wire lettuce and popcorn flower, or the mexican Gold poppy that hadn't even opened up yet,

At 800 am I stopped and had refreshments. Grape juice in a wine glass. Will from the coffee shop asked me to go into the desert and have a glass of wine and think of him so I did, just not fermented. I had a lot of fun placing the glass into a variety of cactus wine glass holders.

Once I had finished playing the wino in the wilderness I headed back and finally found the fence with the path that I was looking for on the other side. No way around so I crawled under but not before spilling some of that grape juice on my camera.

Horrors. I wiped it off very quickly with the kleenex that I had in my pockets and it seemed none the worse for wear.

it was now about 830 and I thought well I will just continue down the path until 9 and see how far I get.

I got pretty far actually and if I had not gone up the wrong path and then fooled around in the wilderness with wine , I could have actually gotten quite a bit further down the trail as it was a good trail. I would like to see where it ends up. maybe tomorrow.

At 9 I turned around and headed back. I passed the cave that I would really like to get to but it doesn't look as though there any trails that go up there. I passed my own footprints in the sand and decided that if I go on Man-tracker, I have to get shoes that don't leave such a clear and visible imprint.

I got to the main road about 10 am and met a jogger. Funny how we are so ritualized. We both said good morning and how are you at the exact same moment and gave our replies at the same time as well, so I think that she is great.

Got back to my fence and climbed over with aid of jacket again. of course this time I could see the little flowers that were growing right there and so I grabbed a couple of shots. very cute little Fiddlenecks. Although when I look at the photo there seems to also be some scorpion weed and a five pointed flower of some kind.

by now the temperature must have been 75 F. I saw a roadrunner across the course who was quite intent on something in the grass. I got home about 1030 am and was glad for it too. A big glass of water with ice and a nice sit down and chat with Aunt MAry and Uncle Ron.

Wednesday 2 March - Key Lime Pie

2011-03-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

Last night I didn't get to sleep until later due to the owl. It actually scared me it was so close to my window. I heard it like it was right there but as it was night and black as black I could not see it.
Even so I woke up early and was out the door by 630 am.

Walked over to the lake along the golf path and as the sun came up got some lovely shots of the shoveler ducks and the white ring ducks.

The Geese were not there yet by the time I wandered on.

I also got a great shot of a black Phoebe just flying over the water with its very clear reflection and a song sparrow beside the water. I had never seen either of these bird before to my knowledge.

I am very pleased with them.

Came back via the off road course and found three golfballs to start the collection with.

Also got a shot of two doves and a bunny.

I got home and had breakfast of waffles with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron. we popped down to the store to get a few things

and then Aunt Mary and I went for a walk around the circle. It was lovely warm.

When we got back and were having our water in the patio I saw Peter Lorrie skitter across the patio.

Later I got this great shot of a verdin. they are nesting close to the house somewhere so are here all the time.

Aunt Mary and I made a Keylime pie from scratch today. rolled the keylimes, cut them in half and squeesed the juice out of 12 of them. you need 1/2 cup of juice.

We had lunch thinking that the hard part of the job was over.

After lunch we zested the green off of the limes which is much more difficult than it sounds;

we beat the 4 egg yolks and added the sweetened condensed milk and 1/2 the juice; blended that and added the rest of the juice and the zest ;

mixed that and poured it into the prepared graham wafer crust and baked it at 350 for 12 minutes.

While we waited for it to bake Aunt Mary and I started a crossword.

The pie smelled very good and when we took it out.... it was perfect.

Uncle Ron had gone to Rotary and he came home just in time to taste our creation warm out of the oven. It was scrumptious!

Tuesday - 1 March 2011 - Hawks, Ducks and a London fog

2011-03-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

Woke up at 5 am and was cycling down the hill by 530. It was very dark and I could not figure out how to get the little headlight on the bike to work. I will check the batteries before I go riding in the dark again.

Luckily there was no one on the road at that time of the morning so the only thing I had to fear was running over a javelina.

I got to the Gecko cafe and ordered a London fog.

Charlie was great and signed me up for their card, which means that after so many coffees I get a free one.

There were two people already in the cafe when I got there. One lady was on her computer and one gentleman who was reading his newspaper.

He said good morning, she did not. As my tea was very hot I left it with Charlie and went to Bashaws to pick up a few things.

Fruit, veggies and postcards. I was the first customer there but by the time I left about five minutes later there were already 5 or six others wandering the aisles.

I went back to the coffee shop and picked up my fog and read the now available newspaper as the gentleman had left. at around 7 I departed the cafe and headed up the hill. It is a very long, slow, soft incline up so it was actually not too difficult. Having said that, It is a very long, slow, soft incline up. At one point I saw a cardinal so stopped and took a few photos.(any excuse to stop and rest) then I saw a Gila woodpecker doing a very nice sun salute.

I was home by 730 so decided to go for a little walk and see what would happen this morning.

I thought I heard geese so followed the golf path towards the sound and low and behold there were in fact Canada geese, Ring necked ducks, some Northern Shovelers and some mallards.

Pretty exciting. I think that I shall have to go there earlier in the morning to see what else I can find at that little lake.

On the way back I saw, across the golf course, a very large bird sitting in a tree.

I could not make out what it was but grabbed a few shots hoping that they would turn out well enough for me to figure out what it was.

I think that it was either a female or young Northern Harrier. SO Exciting!

I also got a shot of a Finch? Cassins maybe? don't know for sure.

Of course I did not know any of that until I got home and loaded the pictures on to the computer.

Very good morning thus far.

We are going out to lunch at the Red Sage restaurant so will see if I can get some of those postcards filled out and mailed.

28 Feb - Monday - I slept in... kind of shocking I know

2011-02-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

I woke up at 330 am.... don't know why but am blaming the aliens.

this is a hot spot for UFOs.

The sky was very clear and there were thousands of stars shining brightly. Absolutely gorgeous.

Couldn't get back to sleep so I read a book until about 5 and then finally fell back to sleep

I woke at 6

I woke at 7

then I had this odd dream about collecting kittens. black and white ones mostly but I wanted a little calico like Patches.

It somehow very important to collect the kittens even though I have two cats already.

then I woke up and heard Uncle Ron calling me that there was an emergency call for me about my cats and how they needed to be fed.

It was eight am and I can't believe that it was that late.

Katherine was calling to find out where I kept the cat food. The Linen closet. I know an odd place to keep cat food.

She is having a great time with them and they, in turn, are loving her to pieces.

I then made myself a lovely omelet for breakfast.

Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron came out around 9 and I joined them for their breakfast.

the sun is shining and the snow is almost all gone from the top of the mountain. I give it till noon.

Uncle Ron went to the store while Aunt Mary and I did a crossword and made some lovely cheesy chicken and rice stuffed peppers for lunch.

We sat in the sun until I could not anymore.

It was too hot for me.

I am one of those people who cannot sit or lay in the sun.

I can hike forever but cannot just sit there. The sun bakes my brain.

Uncle Ron came back with lots of groceries. lets just say that we are going to be having advocado at every meal for awhile.

now we are going for a walk

I got some great shots today. a Crissal thrasher, a female black chinned hummingbird and a fence lizard we decided to call Lorrie after Perter Lorrie who wascute but also a little creepy at times .

Sunday 27 feb - Snow!

2011-02-27T13:11:00.001-08:00

We had a heck of a storm last night which woke me up at least three times.

lots of Rain and hail.

At 7 the coyotes were making a ruckus I got up.

The clouds were so low that there were no mountains to see.

I thought about going for a walk but when I went outside to get the paper it was actually quite cold.

I took a couple of pictures of odds and ends including this leaf which was holding those rain drops so beautifully.

scooted back into the house pretty quick though.

Uncle Ron and Aunt Mary got up early this morning.

We had a nice Breakfast of oatmeal, surprise.

At 930 we headed out to Church.

St George's.

Mary and I had a nice chat about St George.

He was a roman centurion and was persecuted for having christian beliefs.

vice big church and it was full to the brim.

There is a very nice statue and cactus garden at the front of the church.

Some of the cactus had odd dark things growing out of them, probably flowers, but they looked almost like odd pine cones.

Also those very tall spikey cactus and yes there is a bird in there. I think it is a mountain chickadee.

I saw license plates from all over the US and Canada.

Alberta,

BC.

Saskatchewan,

Manitoba,

and Ontario

but none from the east coast although I am sure that there are people from there here.

California,

Colorado,

Illinois,

Iowa,

Michigan,

Minnesota,

Missouri,

Nebraska,

Nevada,

New York,

North Dakota,

Ohio,

Wisconsin,

Wyoming

to name a few.

I actually took pictures of them so that I could remember them.

After church I drove home in the rain/ sleet/ snow.We had a lovely lunch of Roast chicken, (Quinoa for me) broccoli, edemame bean salad, baked potatoes and cantalope for desert.

Uncle Ron and Aunt Mary cleaned up after and then we each headed to our own amusements.

Me to the computer and Mary and Ron to the TV.

as the afternoon wore on the snow disappeared pretty quickly even though it still quite cold .

tonight the Oscars are on and that seems to be the thing to look forward to tonight.

Friday Morning Silhouettes Feb 25th

2011-02-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

6 am out the door. Venus

bunny good morning

cactus wren- what a way to wake up

flowers with Superstition as a backdrop

More flowers

more flowers

Say's Phoebe

flowers dark

Breakfast then a nice walk with Mary and Ron

a finch looking quite comfortable on top of a 25 ft tall sajaro cactus

more flowers

a quail, the token quail picture of the day

Lunch

hair for Mary and Ron and nails with Johnny from Vietnam for Me

tea with Anna and Mike, Regina and Jan

crossword puzzle

a phone call from Mo, Janet, and Orial who say that home is minus 34 C

waffles for dinner and a cardinal

a violin concert

Wednesday morning Feb 24- Verdin

2011-02-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

Was out of the house by 7 am.

Walked up the hill behind the house by the road and saw an owl flying away but couldn't get a

shot....

maybe tomorrow.

The house that they are building up there is going to be

very nice.

Really great views of the whole valley and the mountains.

of course the driveway is a little steep.

Met Susan, her husband

and their two wineriemers? out for a walk.

They were woken up by the coyotes

too.

They are from Wyoming and say they've have a heck of a winter up there with lots of snow and wind and

cold. Sounds like they had our winter so far.

The morning was cool but not too bad as there was no wind to speak of.

A nice sunrise this morning.

It was a pretty quite walk really, just me

and the coyote,

the rabbits,

the dogs,

the birds,

like the phainopepla,

the wren

and the starling,

each on their own perch.

a cactus wren sitting on a jumping cactus

the flowers looking very bright and happy,

the people

and the golf course maintenance folks

I got a couple of really good shots of birds.

The

verdin was second to last and they are so little and so cute.

Met Murphy the golden retriever and his folks Don

and Doneca?.

there is going to be a block party on the. 20th but we will be gone.

too bad as it would have been nice to go.

Today Uncle Ron has plans to go shopping and get some more flannel sheets so sounds like a very exciting day in Arizona

Arizona in February - 2011-The First Three Days.

2011-02-23T14:07:00.001-08:00

Out of the cold white north and into the land of sunshine and flowers. It was only right that the the plane ride was a little rougher than usual and at one point I even felt very faint. Maybe it was something I ate? On the way off the aircraft there were a few ladies who were still sitting as they felt faint too. Odd. Stopped by a shop in the phoenix airport to pickup some postcards then down to baggage and out to the shuttle. He had to drop off one couple in Mesa but we accomplished that quickly and then I gave him directions to the house.

We saw a Javelina crossing the road in front of us on the way to Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron's. It was very exciting! and of course I couldn't get my camera out quick enough to get a picture and it was very dark so even if I had of gotten in a couple of shots the likelyhood of getting a good shot was slim at best.

Judy was there along with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron and we all chatted until 10 when Uncle Ron said he had to get some sleep so Judy and I continued until about 1100. then I said I had to get some sleep.

The next morning, Tuesday, I slept in till 715 so did not go for a walk. After breakfast Uncle Ron and I went down to the store and picked up some groceries. After lunch Judy and Uncle Ron went into town to get the new vehicle so that Aunt Mary won't have to literally climb into the van when we go places. Aunt Mary and I went for a nice walk around the circle, listened to music, finished off a crossword puzzle and then made supper. Judy and Uncle Ron spent the whole afternoon at the dealership. The new Flex is actually quite nice and Aunt Mary has no problem getting in or out of it.

After supper Judy packed and got her boarding passes all printed off. She will be leaving at 530 in the morning so wants to be ready to go. Aunt Mary and I listened to an old radio program, Charlie Chan. Uncle Ron was on the computer.

We all hit the sack pretty early.

I got woken up at 330 by Coyotes outside my window so stayed up to say goodbye to Judy which turned out to be a good thing as her alarm clock did not go off. The shuttle called at 5 to say that he couldn't find the place so she gave him directions and after that everything went well. She did get away just fine and on time. I went back to sleep until about 715 when the doves started in just outside my window. Who knew that they were that loud.

Watched the Castaway with Tom Hanks and then went down to breakfast with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron. He is going to rotary so Aunt Mary and I are on our own for the afternoon.

We had a lovely walk around the circle where we met Sophie the 5 month old visla and her owner whose name I can't remember, a yummy lunch of Edamame salad and Pasta, a crossword in the sun on the patio and then Uncle Ron got home with groceries to put away. before supper Aunt Mary and I listed to bits and pieces of old radio shows while I wrote out postcards and then we read poetry.

We all put flannel sheets on the King size bed and tomorrow we will be going to get some more if they are comfortable.

I saw this odd blue green centipede about 2 and a half inches long in the hall so took a picture of it and looked it up. Green Centipede - Hemiscolopendra marginata

they live from california all the way to Tennessee. I put it in a glass with a piece of paper, it had big pincher things on its backside, and took it outside. It was actually quite pretty but centipedes still give me the creeps.

We had a nice supper of soup, lentil for me, clam chowder for them.

Going to go to bed early tonight as I am fading quickly. funny how only 5 1/2 hours sleep doesn't go that far.

Tuesday 30th Nov - Last day

2010-11-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

Woke up at three and couldn't walk to the bathroom.

Well I could walk but I had to hang onto the furniture as my balance was gone.

My first thought was "Oh No I've given us all food poisoning and we are going to die" but my stomach did not hurt so I ruled out food poisoning.

then tried to clear my ears and that helped so I made my way down to the kitchen and made some hot tea.

back up stairs and drank said tea and fell asleep again. When I woke up my ears were better a little.

I really do not want to fly with bad ears but today is the day so will just have to make sure to clear my ears a lot.

quiet day, just packing up and double checking that I didn't leave anything.

Sarah came with Keith to cleanup for Dave and Colleen tonight.

We went for a walk this afternoon and we met Mike and Anna, the new neighbours across the street. nice people and they gave us a tour of their new house.

very impressive.

Jim will be picking us up at round 4-430 to take us to the airport.

I plan on picking up a couple odd things at the airport with the US money I have left over. stocking stuffer things.

Our plane does not leave until 8 so we will have some time to fill while we are there.

we should get into Edmonton around 11 and be home to Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron's by Midnight. I will be spending the morning with them and then I am going to ask Sharon for a ride home after lunch.

monday the second to last day of this trip

2010-11-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

Up at 5.

Very cool outside.blogged last nights adventures.

Figured out how to turn on the hot tub.

Went hot tubbing listening to Bach.

Very nice in the hot tub... very cold not inside the hot tub.

I tried to take a photo of this little bird.

I think it is a Verdin.

It was calling in very rapid 'chips'.

Made some cheese and plain crescent rolls.

Put above mentioned crescent rolls in oven.

Saw a cardinal in the tree by the house and grabbed my camera but not my jacket.

Short sleeves outside this morning not such a good idea for any great length of time.

Did manage to get a few good shots

overcooked the crescent rolls

my life so far today.

after breakfast we, Aunt Mary and I made a poem

here it is.

Twas the day of the dandylion wine they say, that little Mary did fall.

She sipped each cup a little bit, till there was none left at all.

She fell asleep on the porch, as she was only three.

her mother told each passerby, she's fallen asleep you see.

Now she yells the tale that since that day,

no wine has touched her lips.

till they toasted the bride on her wedding day, then she took a little sip.

We all went for a very short walk and ended up sitting in the sun on the south patio.

I got a few shots of Boggie and Bacall's nest and Boggie too.

Sunday evening football, rabbit statues and bobcats

2010-11-29T03:50:00.000-08:00

Greycup time.

I found the ESPN3 online live feed streaming video to watch the game. Uncle Ron's computer gets a great clear picture.

I went upstairs to get something and saw the rabbits on the tee behaving very oddly.

they were sitting up, frozen, not moving a muscle.

I thought how odd.

Then I saw it .

The little bobcat stalking them. of course I did not have my camera , it was downstairs. off i ran. by the time I got back he had moved off to another tee but the rabbits had not moved a hair (hare).

What was really odd was that he didn't seem to see them....

the little rabbit statues. he had passed right by them within a few feet.

then he saw a rabbit move on the next tee and took off, passing three little rabbit statues that I think he could have gotten quite easily.

the little rabbits remained as statues for about another 5 or ten minutes. then they were grazing like normal.

Very exciting.

The sunset was very pretty too.

Very cold out there.

rain, hail and sunshine. church and buffets sunday 28 Nov

2010-11-28T14:12:00.000-08:00

Woke up at 6 and came downstairs to check a few things out on the internet.also did laundry.

It was clear when I woke up with Venus and Saturn sparkling away in the east and Sirius in the west.

The sunrise was gorgeous as clouds started to blow in.

I found out that the rock I picked up on my hike yesterday on the Lost Goldmine Trail is a schist.

A type of metamorphic rock with lots of mica in it. Very pretty and sparkly.

Then it got even cloudier.

I went out to get a photo and surprised a small bobcat in the back but he got away before I could click the shot.

The problem with digital is that there is a time delay from when you push the button to when it takes the picture.

I had a nice cheese omlet for breakfast and listened to my mediation dharma talks while I folded my laundry.

Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron were up at 9 and so I talked with them while Uncle Ron made them Breakfast.

It started to rain and hail.

the mountains were gone behind the clouds.

then we went to the 1130 mass which is the children's mass and far less crowded than the 10.

Afterwards Uncle Ron treated us to lunch at the chinese smorgasbord. Always tasty.

We all got great fortune cookies.

a quick stop at bashaws for a few essentials and home again.

They called Nancy their daughter and listened to the messages on the phone and found out that there is an internet site we can go to to find out the score for the grey cup. so now we are on the hunt for that.

go Saskatchewan!

A hike - about 9 miles long. give or take a mile

2010-11-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

5 am - off out the door with:

3 granola bars

a bottle of water

one camera

One pair of sunglasses

One minute flashlight just in case the half moon was not bright enough.

Followed the golf path to the end of the wall

Turned East on the road on the other side of the wall.

There were owls calling to each other from opposite sides of the road.

There were coyotes singing to each other from across the valley.

there were stars in the sky in abundance.

Venus was brilliant.

There was a bunch of noises in a bush so I took a picture to see if any eyes were looking out at me, but there were none.

The half moon was indeed bright enough to walk by.

at 545 I got to the trail head for the hieroglyphic trail.

I headed up and it was actually Quite fun,

challenging,

in the moonlight ones' depth perception seems to falter a little.

I moved slowly and made it up to the superstition gate by 630am. My mind is funny in that while I walk I come up with poetry to describe whatever is happening.

Usually not good poetry but it is fun. Such as.

"I followed a trail in the moonlight,

So bright that the trail was like daylight,

the stars overhead were sparkling bright

and some noises they gave me a fright,

But I know there's no Bear here

or sasquatch to fear

so I'll trip right along

with a traveling song

and get to the top

that's where I'll stop

pictures to see written on rock

of these I will talk.

now the hike is all done and now its not dark

this hike in the moonlight was really a lark.

It was still dark but by this time the sunrise was thinking about happening.

By the time I got up to the canyon, around 7 the sun was the light that I was walking with.

The birds woke up and there were some lovely songs that I have never heard before.

I climbed over rocks as big rooms in a house.

I looked at the petroglyphs.

I climbed higher in the canyon than I ever had before.

I ate a granola bar and had some water.

There were little birds who kept me company.

I could hear those little cliff squirrels but did not see any.

I got a great shot of the balancing rock.

I really does look like it should fall.

I stayed there for quite some time just poking around.

About 8 am I headed back down.

I then started to run into folks on their way up.

The first couple was very surprised to see me.

He was a photographer and carrying his tripod and camera and she was a tag along.

The next two were joggers! are they crazy running on that rocky trail?

Yes

A couple of sisters with two kids,

two gents dressed for hiking.

a family.

Going down went a lot faster than the going up took.

They really should oil the Superstition gate as it is the squeakiest thing in the world

I got down to the directional sign s for the two trails at about 8.45.

One can choose to either go to the Lost Goldmine Trail or the Hieroglyphic trail.

Since I had just finished the H Trail, and it was only 845 I figured I had time.

I decided to try the Lost goldmine Trail, never having been down that one before

It goes East and is not as rough a trail as the hieroglyphic.

It is lovely with lots of ups and downs and twists but it is much longer.

It follows the wire fence to the Superstition Wilderness for some of the time and brings one quite close to the mountain on the other side on the H. Trail.

At about 915 I turned around and headed back thinking that I had gone about two miles by that time wasn't sure how long this trail was to start with.

When I got back to the directional signs I ran into a multi generational family, a grandfather, his married children and their three children.

They wanted to take the Lost Goldmine trail and were curious what kind of trail it was.

Got back to the trail head at about 940 and ran into a couple who were hiking the trail for the first time.

The trail was very clear and well marked. I reassured her that they could not get lost. He said , "You wanna bet". We all laughed.

I took a look at the legend and found out that the last trail is about 5 and a half miles long.

Headed back to the house. The sun was out now and it was getting warm.

I saw a Raven flying to the moon.

I got back home by 1030 and shared all my stories with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron who were just finishing their breakfast.

We went for a walk after my shower.

Then we went to the golf course and Uncle Ron hit a few balls while Aunt Mary and I did a Crossword puzzle and ordered lunch.

On the way home we toured the neighbourhood. golden eagle circle is nice.

a light supper after sitting on the patio and listening to music and Narnia.

We finished listening to the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Supper and a nice chat.

Another exciting day.

Friday, walks and rocks and gates... oh my

2010-11-26T09:48:00.000-08:00

Woke at 630 and decided at 7 to go for a walk.

It was so cold last night that the water froze.

Yes you heard me right. Froze!

In very pretty patterns.

I could see my breath as I went up the golf path.

I followed the road around the Superstition road to the other other end of the wall and went over.

There was a nice path going up towards the mountain so I followed it.

It eventually joined on to a road which I then followed to a turn where there was another path toward the mountain then followed.

There were lots of birds out this morning.

The path wound a little bit through the desert.

then there was a gate.

a new gate.

One I had never seen before which only makes sense as I was on a trail that I had never been on before.

I went through the gate and heard a shot way off to the left.

Earlier I had seen a truck parked way over across the valley and so figured that's who was doing the shooting.

I would just take care not to go to the left to much.

there was a very nice little trail going up which apparenty at one time in the recent past had horses on it.

It was a very pleasant walk just me and the birds, the cactus and the sun.

I built an Inukshuk to keep me company.

I did this very carefully turning each rock over before picking it up as one never knows what is under a rock in the desert. I was not surprised by anything at all which made me very happy.

This trail came up to a fence that was running along the mountain east west instead of the one I had been sort of following north south.

This eventually led to the gate that I had been to previously.

the superstition wilderness gate.

I followed the road down from there and since I had travelled part of this road before I knew where it would end up.

At one point I headed east on this road and found another road going south

Now when I say road I mean a Quad trail or wide path, not a paved or even gravel graded road.

This road eventually led me to another new gate and the vehicle of the person or persons who were still occasionally shooting at something way off to my left.

This gate had a road leading to the break in the wall where I scooted in and then tried to cross the golf course only to be stopped by a very deep and steep sided wash which was for me,

without gloves or boots, impassible.

(fear of poisonous snakes and spiders being my main concern not to mention the chance of slipping and falling and laying in the bottom of this large crevice, unconscious, unseen and un-findable without the aid of baying bloodhounds who would only find me after running all through the desert following my trail with their sensitive noses)

I followed it around and was just going to head south back on the golf path when a flash of red caught my eye and turned me east.

A cardinal was feeding under a bush so I attempted to get a clear shot.

I almost succeeded.

the sun was getting warmer now and I was getting thirsty having forgotten to bring a drink along, so I headed back to the house down. Canyon view Trail another new road for me. Lots of new things today and it is not even 930 am.

Thursday 25 Nov. - Happy Thanksgiving. Birds, birds birds

2010-11-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

Cold out there today, only 48 F. when I got up at 5.

Finished a few more months of WW1 Diaries.

After breakfast we went for a walk and I saw a cardinal.

Male.

Bright Red.

He was with a female.

I tried to get a clear photo of him but no luck.

I will try again this afternoon.

It is Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron's 66TH ANNIVERSARY!

today.

They have been getting phone calls all day.

Big lunch of turkey pie, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, salad, mashed potatoes and blueberry pie for dessert.

very full now.

Went back out to find the cardinal and found someone just as exciting.

A male Phainopepla.

related to the waxwings

with the little hat of feathers.

so cool

lots of other birds as well

A thrasher

purple house finch

doves

cactus wren.

and a cool cactus

with many arms

that seemed to be hugging each other.

Had a light dinner and am now updating the blog.

going to watch a movie tonight

and go for a hike tomorrow.

do not know where yet.

maybe the hieroglyphic trail or part of it.

Wednesday 24 november - a wee hike

2010-11-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke a 4 am so typed WW1 Diaries until 630 then got ready to go out for a hike to the mountain.

The sunrise was gorgeous .

The air was freezing.

I swear I could see my breath.

I followed the golf path to the break in the wall and headed up.

Up past the wire fence to keep the cows in.

the sun was just coming out and kissed the tops of the mountains.

I did not see any cows this morning.

The Mountains cast a long shadow over the neighbouring mountains across the valley.

I continued up past the end of the road and the path.

Up past where I had never gone before.

I ate a granola bar as I walked along and thought of snakes and cougars and havelina.

I cut over west, following the easiest and most open areas and found another road.

I walked up it up for a while and when it twisted back down the hill I set off again into the wilderness, only to find,

possiby the same road again about 5 minutes later.

It must have twisted back towards the mountain later on.

Again I followed the small rocky trail until it came to an opening and there was another wire fence.

The gate to Superstiton wilderness.

Now I was really going where I had never been before.

There was a trail of sorts which led

north into thick brush in low arroyos so that I could not even see the valley below.

I could of course still see the mountain and just kept going that direction.

The trail disappeared and I ended up weaving my way through brush and cactus, over rocks and around trees.

Sometimes I felt like I was going back downhill in order to find a way uphill.

I saw an openish kind of area and headed for that

and then wound my way up the hill until I could go no further without actually climbing some rocks or going off to one side or the other to find a path up.

I had decided that actually climbing in piles of rocks would probably not be the safest thing for a loan hiker to do.

Since it was then 8:15ish I thought well maybe now is a good time to turn around.

I had succeeded in my mission and had reached the part of the hill that I wanted too.

About 1 third up from the bottom of the ridge that then goes up the mountain.

So I looked for a place to put the camera to film my success and managed to poke my finger with a jumping cactus.

They do not make very good stands for cameras.

I ended up just filming myself.

Going down was not as difficult as I thought it would be .

There was, at one point, something poking me in the leg.

and when I checked to see what it was discovered a large cactus spine had somehow gone through my jeans and was sticking into my leg.

After I pulled the needle out of my leg, I poked it back through my jeans poking my finger in the process.

I took a shot of those misty mountains through my sunglasses. I think the photo is other worldly.

I found a wire fence running up and down the hill instead of across and thought I was on the wrong side so slid under it carefully and followed the trail along the fence for quite awhile.

When I thought that I had gone far enough down that I should be able to cut over to the road I ventured away from the fence and headed west.

It was not too long and I was indeed on a road of sorts. A trail really for Atvs that was not the road that I thought it would be. How many roads are there out here?

I followed this road down until it came to the wall that surrounds the subdivision.

I followed the wall back to the opening and came home.

the golf maintenance guys were still out so I followed the golf path.

It seems so funny to see them bundled up in toques and coats when they are cutting the grass on a golf course. The rest of the day was quiet. a breakfast , a crossword, a lunch, a nap, a few laughs with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron. Tomorrow is their 66th anniversary.

Tuesday 22 Nov - Hair cut and Pizza

2010-11-24T09:20:00.000-08:00

today we all got our hair cut and went out for launch at Bashaw's.

I finished typing Nov and Dec. WW1 Diaries.

Monday - kittens

2010-11-24T08:52:00.000-08:00

a bob kitten walked right into the courtyard

of the house this afternoon. I saw it .... no camera..... ran to get my camera. When I went to get a photo the batteries were dead.... grabbed some new batteries...... he was still there and I got some shots. He was not as big as the first one I saw so we think that it was a young one. It was very exciting!

Sunday Evening - Thunder and lightning

2010-11-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

It rained a little and then the sun came out.

We thought... OK... the worst is over.

There was even two rainbows in the sky.

After dinner it started.

Rain

Lightning and Thunder.

A desert storm.... very cool.

Sunday 21 November - speed and wind and reflections of the moon.

2010-11-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

We went to church this morning after a phone call from Jo. The children's service and it was very nice. Then we went to Power road and Cocos bakery and restaurant. Very lovely and bought 2 pies, a blueberry and an apple.

off to costco but Uncle Ron went in alone and Aunt Mary and I stayed in the van. He said it was the shortest trip he has ever made into costco.

On the way home Today I drove 75 mi. p hour = 120.700 km. just keeping up with the rest of those folks on the freeway.

It was windy gusty and rainy. The flags were all standing straight out. (W at 14 mph Gusts: 29 mph... that converts to 23 Km and 47 Km respectivley)

Last night i took some shots of the moon which was full and then I got a brain storm, went out to the pool and took some photos of the moonsreflection. They turned out awesome!

Saturday. 20th Nov. - lunch and groceries.

2010-11-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

Quiet day.

WW1 Diaries,

Breakfast. Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron slept in and I actually checked on them at 930 to make sure they were Ok. They were.

Breakfast.

Dishes.

crossword puzzle.

laundry.

lunch at the cafe.

Groceries.

Phoned Maureen. Happy Birthday. Phoned Janet. Phoned Jo.

patio

supper.

Lawrence Welk

WW1 Diaries

blogging.

bed.

Friday Jo flys home. and Giant Golden Digger wasps

2010-11-20T18:43:00.000-08:00

We all woke up early as Jo was flying home today.

She gave me some Jojoba oil and so I looked it up and found out that it is from a native plant fight here in Arizona. It has replaced whale oil and is being cultivated around the world now. Very cool.

She left about 8 with Jim and his wife.

We had breakfast and then changed the sheets on all the beds.

I changed bedrooms as I have never stayed in the other bedroom and it has a nice view of the mountain from the bed.

We went for a walk and I found the cutest little lizard,

only about 2 1/2 inches long.

It was in a water tube in the ground and looked like it wanted out so I very carefully took it out with my hand and let it go. I watched it skittle under a bush and so now I know that all those little bushes out in the desert that I see are probably home to tiny lizards. to let you see how small it is the lizard is just above the rock that my foot is beside just about center of the picture.

When we got back I saw a large golden bug out 0n the patio and grabbed my camera and tried to get a picture of it .

It looked like a large golden wasp with long back legs.

At one point it flew right towards me and I ran. I never did get a picture.

I looked it up on the internet and found it right away with the description' large golden wasp like insect'. The Giant Golden Digger Wasp. They are friendly mostly and I need not have run but how was I to know.

the rest of the day was quiet with a crossword being started and finished, supper and a movie the bucket list.

a real full moon makes it like day outside.

Thursday - A mad cow?

2010-11-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

Went for a walk this morning up to the mountain.Took pause at the wire gate as there was a cow about 25 yards away under a tree.I was not sure if it was a bull or a cow.Now some of you out there might think it is easy to tell the difference between a cow and a bull but there was a bush in the way and so I could not tell.

I did not relish the idea of being charged if it was a bull but figured that I could run pretty fast if need be so bravley entered the area.

Giving the creature in question a wide birth continued my very picturesque but rather uneventful walk

up towards the mountain.

The walk toward the mountain is nice with high saquaro cactus and of course the mountain.

the veiw coming back was really pretty with smokey

layers of mountains in the distance.

there is a hill that is a great landmark to follow.

You can see it from just about anywhere coming back down the mountain.

Got home and typed WW1 diaries.

Had Breakfast of porridge with Mary and Ron and then I got a great shot of a roadrunner.

Just before lunch Aunt Mary

had a fainting spell and lay down for about 2 hours.

I got a bit more WW1 Diaries done.

The evening was nice Jo played the guitar and we read jokes and stories out of a little paper we picked up the cafe.

We sat outside for a bit and the quail were in the tree again.

wednesday 17th Nov - We tell a joke at Rotary

2010-11-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

Woke at 530 and typed three pages before Jo came down at 7.

She was going shopping at Macy's in Mesa, did I want to come along?

Sure thing.

At that hour of the Morning, 730, the real rush hour had not begun so the roads were not too busy. Jo Drove.

Off we go to Macy's as they are having a big sale. We saw a heron flying past us at Power road. I picked up a few things, gifts for christmas and Jo got some thing for Colleen and something for her gifts too.

We went to the Wallgreens on the way back, following the sherrif's van most of the way... He speeds, and then home by 930 am.

Breakfast of porridge with Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron (he had a nose bleed this morning) and then Aunt Mary and I did the crossword.

Rotary today was fun Aunt Mary and I told a joke. the little fish swimming in the river a hits something and what does it say joke. Aunt Mary hit it right on Cue. "Dam". everyone thought it was great.

swung by Bashaws to pick up a few things and then home to Juice and cookies on the patio where we saw a Gila woodpecker. They make the little yipping noises that I have been hearing all over the place.

Pasta for dinner and an early night .

As Jo is leaving on Friday we decided to go hiking early tomorrow morning up to the petroglyphs.

Tuesday 16th November- A massage

2010-11-15T15:40:00.000-08:00

Stayed up late (1 am) watching the Abyss with Jo so slept in till 7.

Typed a few more pages of the diaries.

Jo made a lovely breakfast of omelet.

We walked the circle and I managed to get a side shot of that bright yellow butterfly plus a pale butterfly too.

while sitting at the patio after our walk a big raven flew right toward and over us.

We went for lunch at the open Range deli and BBQ.

Very Country with eclectic decor and good food.

All 4 of us got a massage today.

Jo and I both had a hot rock massages.

It was my first and it was great. Really my new favorite massage.

On the way home a Coyote crossed the road right in front of us so I slowed down and the coyote just kind of sauntered across. It was larger than the ones we saw on the hill the other night. Very pretty. No Pictures though as I was driving.

When I downloaded my pictures from last night I found an odd blue ball in the sky next to the moon.

I was going for Jupiter and the moon as they are very close together right now so I was very surprized to see this blue ball. It was in all the photos I took but in different places in each photo. UFO?

The meteor shower is tonight so will try to wake up around 2 or 3 and catch some of that.

15th NOVEMBER a quiet day

2010-11-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

Up at 630 to work on the blog,

facebook

and diaries.

Breakfast with Jo, Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron.

We checked out the weather in Edmonton. Oh My... 2C. Chilly!

Jo and Uncle Ron went shopping and to pick up a parcel for Jo.

Aunt Mary and I went for an adventurous walk.

When we got back and after we got something to drink,

it was quite warm out,

we enjoyed some music,

some poetry and

three chapters of Narnia all before lunch.

LUNCH.

A crossword puzzle under our belts we retired to the sunny patio and some quiet music.

Jo came down and played the guitar for us while I played with photos that I had taken of our bossy hummingbird.

He is very pretty though.

The moon was out at 230 so got some shots of that too.

Nancy (Collins) Wilson called from BC and David called right after that.

The mountains here change colours with the different light throughout the day.

They look like different mountains from this morning and tonight they will look different again.

Marvelous!

14th Nov - 4 Coyotes on the Hill

2010-11-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

A band of Coyotes played on the hill.

their song of high notes gave us a thrill.

playing and yipping and jumping about.

we watched and enjoyed when they gave a shout.

we were quiet and waited and then took our shot

with our camera we aimed and the picture we got.

I got a film too of that little band;

can hardly wait, it will be grand.