Back in Amado

 

I forgot to show a couple of pictures in the last blog that I’d promised to show for Mom.  When we went through Nevada we started to see these beautiful purple bushes around buildings and beside the freeway.  I didn’t know what they were and asked around until I finally found out they were called “Texas Sage”.  They are absolutely the most beautiful shade of purple.  Another plant we saw a lot of was “Datura”.  It grows wild in the area around Mesquite and is really quite an interesting plant.  Some part of it does have hallucinogenic qualities and we’ve been told that the native Indians used to use it in their ceremonies.

Well, Tom has been thinking about and researching various dune buggy type machines.  Quite a few people in the RV park have them and he’s gone out with them for rides a couple times.  Anyway, he finally decided he had to get one so we went looking.  We found the “Razor” at a place in Tucson.  It is very similar to what a few other people have here and we’ve already been out in the desert with it a couple of times.  This morning we went out with Oso…he loved it too!  I knew exactly where he’d want to sit and hang half way out the side window and that’s where he does like to sit.  Tom let me drive this morning and it was sure fun.  We went way out into the desert on a trail that criss-crosses the roads that the border patrol uses to look for illegals travelling north through the desert.  I sure don’t envy those poor folks…it’s not an easy journey when it’s hot and when you have to maneuver through cholla forests.  The cholla is sometimes called “jumping cactus” because even if you just lightly brush up against it the thorns will stick into your skin or clothing as if they had jumped off the plant.   There are small ones and ones as big as trees…and tons of them around here.  The skeleton of the cholla looks like a hollow stick with criss-crossed strips of wood on the outside.  We cut some down and wrapped some tiny solar lights around it and will use it for our outdoor Christmas tree this year.  It really looks good when it’s lit up.

We came across an old cemetery out there today…was kind of interesting to walk through and see some of the headstones that actually had writing on them…most people born in the 1800’s and passed in the early 1900’s.  Some graves were unmarked or just had a worn cross or piece of wood marking them.   What a lonely place to lay to rest. 

We also saw a snake.  It was HUGE…about 60 inches long and about an inch and a half thick at the thickest point and was of all things, pink.  I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture of it because it slithered under a cement slab above one of the graves (creepy!) before I could get the camera.  Oso could definitely smell lit though and we had to hold him back.  I looked it up when we got home and found that it is called a “coachwhip” (apparently the name comes from the whips the stagecoach drivers used).  Quite an interesting snake…it eats other snakes including rattlers, and other reptiles and rodents that inhabit the desert.  I guess it’s a good snake!

The other day we went to the Pecan Festival in a little town near here called Sahuarita (sa-wha-rita).  It was fun.  We learned that this particular pecan grove is the largest in the world and that the way they harvest the pecans is quite innovative.  They have a big machine with arms on it that grabs the trees and shakes them.  At first they were afraid the shaking would damage the roots but it doesn’t seem to hurt the trees at all.  Afterward another machine that has big disk-type wheels on the front comes along and picks up the pecans.  The pecans look just like walnuts when they grow…they have a husk around them that opens when the nuts are ready for picking.  It was really interesting to see this all.  Oh and did I tell you they took us out through the pecan groves in a horse drawn wagon…it was fun!  The pecan festival was a lot like a fall fair in other ways…they had lots of food vendors, music, old vehicles and tractors, rides for the kids, petting zoo, etc. 

This old car was pretty interesting.  Tom loves to look at the old farm machinery too…he even found a Farmall tractor that was older than the one he used to plow snow with…ha, ha!

 After the pecan festival we talked about going down to Tubac, another little artsy kind of town just a few miles south of the RV park.  There was going to be a hot-air balloon festival there that night and all of the balloons would be lit up at dark…the pictures I’d seen were beautiful.   We decided against it because we’d got a fair amount of sun already that day and it kind of made us tired.  Anyway, it was a good thing we didn’t go…they were expecting between 1500-1800 people and over six thousand people turned up.  I guess traffic was absolutely horrible and they had to turn people away who had bought tickets for the event because they were simply overloaded.

We have a hummingbird living on our RV site.  There is a really bushy tree on the site and it has some sort of nut that looks like an acorn.  Anyway the hummingbird has a nest in the tree.  I’ve yet to find the nest but we hear it chattering all day long and he comes to the hummingbird feeder I bought quite regularly.  He or maybe it’s a she, is a little cutie and posed nicely for me the other morning.  The bird doesn’t have a lot of colour so maybe it’s a female.

These little brown birds are plentiful down here…they must be some sort of sparrow.  They travel in huge groups of 40 or more birds…when they land in a bush it just vibrates with them!  So cute.

I’ll leave you with another picture of our new toy.   Top speed is about 50 miles per hour though we don’t do anywhere near that even on paved roads.  It zips along on the road but is pretty noisy.  We have it licensed so we can take it on the side roads to get to the trails.  It is amazingly stable even when you’re going through some of the washes around here.  So far haven’t felt like it was tippy at all.  This picture is from when they delivered it and all the guys had to come over to check it out! I think we’re really going to enjoy playing in the desert with it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On The Road Again - Winter 2015

On the Road Again…

Boy, it’s been so long since I’ve written on the blog, I’m not quite sure where to start…at the beginning I guess!

 

We left Spray Lake in mid September and went to Cranbrook to spend a couple days with  Lindsey…on to Castlegar where we visited friends and took a quick trip down to Spokane to see Kevin, Brenda and Rachel.  Then to Abbotsford and a good visit and Thanksgiving on the farm with Wilma and Jackie and my Mom.  After getting a few things fixed on the fifth wheel, we moved on to Idaho to visit with Alyssa, Matt, Wyatt and Barrett and with Marc.  It was wonderful to see everyone and be able to spend time with each of them!  We’ll do the whole thing in reverse in the Spring!

We headed south through Nevada staying at Mesquite for a few days.  We had a nice site in a very nice little RV park…palm trees and sunshine!  From there we travelled out to the Valley of Fire, an area formed by volcanic activity many thousands of years ago.  The rock formations there are really cool.  I climbed into this little cave like hole in the rocks and only afterward thought perhaps I should have checked for scorpions or spiders before I went in.

 

The Valley of Fire was really interesting.  We saw petroglyphs and hiked into a place where they’d made a cowboy movie years ago.  The hike wasn’t very long…only a couple miles, but it was steep in places and the sand was deep making it tiring to walk through.  At one point we drove out to a lookout and stopped to take some pictures.  We were up quite high so the vista was quite stunning.  On a ridge in front of far-away mountains a big horned sheep posed for pictures.  One fellow said he’d been there almost an hour and the animal hadn’t moved…he didn’t think he was real!  I don’t think sheep have all that much to do during the day other than just stand around so I know he was real…that and he moved his head a couple times while we watched!  He sure was beautiful!

The next day we decided to go on a Jeep-Tour of Zion National Park.  It sounded really interesting and we hoped to see sights that most visitors to the park don’t get to see.  Well, we were quite disappointed.  Though the guide was knowledgeable and spoke a lot about the area, we didn’t actually go into the park.  We went out onto the mesas and saw the park from a distance.  It wasn’t what we had hoped for.  Oh well, we’ll know better next time!

We moved on south and stopped at a resort/casino called Avi just south of Laughlin Nevada.  It really was a beautiful little RV park and the casino and area had just about everything a person could need.  There was a movie theatre, swimming pool, several different restaurants, and beach along the Colorado River, not to mention the casino itself…and yes, I shouldn’t have mentioned it.  We did not win!  One old fellow told me he never loses because he doesn’t go to win money…he goes for the entertainment value.  I guess that’s one way to look at it.

One day we drove over to Oatman, a little old west town way up in the hills.  Wild burros roam the streets looking for handouts and they walk up and down the sidewalks with the tourists.  One woman was telling us that there are usually about a dozen burros in town but more and more are coming into town and now there are about 30.  She said the town council was going to round some up and take them back out into the hills but so far hadn’t got to do that.  They were sure fun to see though.  A lot of babies in the group too. 

While we were there Tom was voted in as Town Marshall…unfortunately he got shot almost immediately and put in a box on mainstreet.  The sign above his head says “He was wearin’ his boots and a star on his chest when Jackass Bill laid him to rest”…ha, ha…don’t worry…he’s not as dead as he looks!

We went into the Oatman Hotel where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard went on their honeymoon.  You’d think movie stars, even in those days could have found a fancier place for a honeymoon!  Maybe Oatman was a beautiful vacation destination in those days…who knows!

A couple days later we went out to see some more petroglyphs in the Spirit Mountains.  A short hike lead us to a place where there were hundreds of etchings on the rocks and mountainside.  So very cool!

We moved on further south toward Phoenix and stayed a night in Buckeye.  There was a big storm that was rolling through Arizona and Texas…remenants of the hurricane that went through Mexico I think.  Anyway, we had some rain and it cooled off significantly that night.  (The temperature has been in the 80’s)  The next day was still coolish with dark clouds in the distance.  We decided to head for Tucson even though we’d arrive a day or so earlier than our reservation.  It was great to get here…sort of like coming home. 

Tom went for a jog our first morning here, I cleaned up my studio (I call it mine cuz nobody else uses it…nice big room set up perfectly for drawing/painting) and today I started painting…we’ll see if any masterpieces emerge this winter…ha, ha! 

We took a walk around the park and met up with quite a few of the friends we made when we were here last year…was good to see them and we’re looking forward to our winter here at the De Anza RV Park in Amado.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mountain climbing!

Week Eighteen - Spray Lake 2015

Week Eighteen – Spray Lake, 2015

Well, we are nearing the end of our summer here at Spray Lake.  We talked with the boss the today and he’d sure like us to come back next year.  I guess we’ll wait and see what happens.  We both enjoy it here and we don’t have much else on the go so it might just work out. 

We had a few more inches of snow yesterday and I thought it might be fun to go down to Mt. Engadine and see if the moose like the snow or not.  Turns out they do!  I had a fabulous morning taking pictures of a nice big bull and then a cow and two calves.  Notice in the picture how pink the bull’s antlers are.  He’s just got rid of his velvet and the antlers look kind of raw.  Over the next few months they will toughen up and get lighter too.  He was such a beautiful big guy…healthy and strong looking.  I couldn’t help but snap a ton of pictures of him.  I love how the snow is clinging to his antlers and a bit on his nose.  So beautiful!

 

There were four other people there taking pictures of the moose…all with fancy big cameras with lenses a mile long.  I’m sure they got some wonderful pictures.  I’d love to take a course in photography to learn more about the cameras and how to use the professional models.  Until then, I’m very happy with my point and shoot.

After the bull wandered into the forest, I decided to drive back up the road a ways.  I hadn’t gone far when I saw this cow and two calves.  They were amazing.  The calves are twins though the last one in the line-up below is larger than the other.  I suspect he’s a little bull and the more dainty one is a female.  So incredibly cute!

I watched them for a long time and followed them up the road a ways.  They didn’t seem to mind people watching them and taking their pictures.  They stopped to eat here and there and at one point the calves even started to nurse.  Wow, was I excited to get a picture of that.  Not something that’s often seen in the wild.  I just can’t seem to get enough of the moose…I want to go back every morning and take more pictures.  These calves were so adorable…well for a moose anyway!

Our snow is gone now…it only lasted a couple of days.  Alberta weather is so weird.  It was 28 degrees centigrade on the weekend, then down to freezing with snow on Tuesday.  Today it’s cold and clear but we are supposed to be back up to around 22 c by the weekend again.  Don’t know whether to wear my shorts or my snow suit!

I love this picture of the moose and babies munching on leaves.  You can only see the ears of one calf and the back of the other but it’s a nice shot of mama!  On the way back from seeing the moose the other day I drove across the dam and there was a lovely big raven sitting on some of the rocks people piled up.  Lots of people are building inukshuks now or piling rocks to leave their mark…kind of fun for them. 

As I drove into our site I noticed a couple of deer in the overflow area…boy was it my morning for animals!  They were mule deer…a doe with an almost grown fawn.  We do get some white-tail deer up here as well but for the most part they are mulies.  I kind of thought the picture of the deer would make a nice Christmas card if they hadn’t been hiding behind that bush…oh well.

When we talked with the boss today I showed him some of my photos.  He asked me if I would make some of them into postcards and sell them in the store down in Bolton Creek.  That might be a good project for me for the winter…making cards and postcards.  He said he’s tried to find some with “Kananaskis” on them but most of the postcards say “Banff” or “Canmore” …might just be a good little enterprise for me!

It seems that mushrooms are popping up all over the place right now.   These shaggy manes are all over the place right now.  Supposed to be very good eating!

I’ll leave you with some of the fall colours along the campground road…amazingly beautiful when the sun shines!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week Seventeen - Spray Lake, 2015

Week Seventeen – Spray Lake, 2015

 

A chilly week at Spray Lake!  I had hoped to show you some lovely autumn pictures in this blog but winter came early!  We had snow on Saturday and that chased a lot of long-weekend campers away.  On Sunday night we only had a handful left, most of them in trailers or campers.  Only one couple stayed in their tent…hearty folks!  The snow lasted into the next day but it was more sleet/snow mix by then.  By Tuesday it had pretty well gone except for what will now stay up higher on the mountains.  There are several Inukshuks along the dam road now…I liked the one someone else had built so figured I could build a few myself.  Tom got into it too so he built a couple too.  Oso was a bit sad that there were only “people” Inukshuks so we built a dog out of stone.  First thing he did was went and peed on it!  That’s pretty typical I guess!  Lots of people have stopped to take pictures of the Inukshuks…guess it’s kind of fun to see them and they do look cool with the lake and mountains behind them.

I found this little snowman on the picnic table at the day use across the lake when I took Oso for a walk.  He’s pretty cute and deserving of having his picture taken.

We also saw these two mergansers fishing along the shore.  They didn’t seem to mind the cold water at all.  There are plenty of tiny minnows in the lake so the birds are quite well fed.

 

 

 

There was a family from France in the campground the other night and they wanted to see moose so I’d told them to go down to Engadine early in the morning and watch for them.  Talking with them made me want to go see the moose too so I got up early this morning and off I went.  I was in luck and saw two nice big bulls.  One was out in the meadow near the mud hole licking at the ground.  He was a huge bull but had small antlers so must have been fairly young.  The other was big as well but lay in the grass and never got up so I couldn’t see if he measured up to the first one.  He did have a nice big rack on him so was probably an older moose.  You’ll notice the picture of him shows the velvet on his antlers is coming off.  This time of year they are rubbing up against anything they can to work the velvet off. I talked with a conservation officer last night and he said there was a moose attacking a flexible plastic post at Engadine the other day.  Every time the moose pushed the post over, it would snap back up and the moose would attack it again.  That would have been fun to watch!  Oh, I do love the moose!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week Fifteen and Sixteen - Spray Lake, 2015

Week Fifteen – Spray Lake, 2015

Well…you certainly don’t have to go to Tennessee to see the Great Smokey Mountains…they are right here in Kananaskis Country, Alberta!  On Monday morning we woke up to what I thought was fog at first, but turned out to be smoke in the air.  It is still thick and heavy here and down in Canmore as well.  People came from as far away as Sundry and Lethbridge and said they drove through smoke all the way.  We’ve heard that it is coming from Washington State, but I’ve also seen online that there are fires near Grand Forks and Christina Lake.  Sure could do with a good rain to drench the forests throughout the Pacific Northwest!

It’s been a pretty quiet week after all the excitement of the search and rescue last week.  I think the smoke might be keeping some people at home because it sure has been quiet in the campground.  We’ve only had a dozen or so campers each night this week and we would usually be at least half full (25 campers).  We’ve managed to keep busy around our site and are planning our trip south for the winter.  We still don’t know exactly which way we’ll go but have been thinking of taking a couple weeks to go to Mexico once we get to Tucson.  Mexico is always fun!  Here’s a few pictures from our last trip there.  That’s me in a wrestling mask (popular souvenirs) and the other picture is one that Tom took of an angel statue on the boardwalk in Puerto Vallarta…he got her holding the sun in her arms…pretty good shot!  Yup….sunset in Mexico…makes me want to go for a visit!

Short blog…more next week!

Week Sixteen – Spray Lake, 2015

I mentioned in my Week Fifteen posting about the smoke in this area…it’s pretty well cleared off now and hopefully the fires in Washington and BC are well under control.  We’ve had a few rainy days so with any luck the areas with the fires have too.  Here’s a picture of our normally crystal clear view across the lake…you can hardly see the mountains!  I think Canmore and Calgary were just as bad.

Gravel trucks have been racing up and down the road across the lake.  The road needs constant maintenance and there are two graders that work the stretch from Canmore to Kananaskis every day.  For the last week the trucks have been hauling fresh gravel for the graders.  Tom and I were just talking about how the trucks go speed way past the limit to get as many loads hauled as possible and the dust they kick up is horrible.  One day last week we saw emergency vehicles racing up toward the boat launch across the lake and heard on the radio that there had been an accident.  A pick-up truck had pulled out from behind a car and had ran straight into a dump truck.   We heard the driver was hurt badly but that the two kids in back came out with only scratches.  The driver couldn’t see because of the dust.

We saw this grouse while out on a walk… they are such dumb birds…you can almost walk up and touch them before they think to fly away!

We had a company picnic on Sunday night.   Almost everyone showed up and a real treat was seeing a couple of people who retired last year but came back for the picnic.  The food was great, the people were fun to be with and everyone had a good time.  It’s so nice to spend a bit of time with other campground managers and hear their stories and tell a few of our own.

On the way home that night we came across this cow moose munching grass on the side of the road…she could care less about us stopped to take pictures and just kept on eating.  Today when Tom went down to Boulton he saw a cow and calf.  They are sure big and healthy looking this time of year!

This white-tailed buck has been hanging around our site for a while now.  Tom caught him with this funny look on his face…almost cartoonish.  He really is a beautiful animal and again so healthy looking.

My passport expires this coming January but since we plan to head down to the states in the fall, I thought I’d best get it ordered so I’ll have it before we leave.  I drove into Calgary yesterday and did that at the passport office there…should only take a couple weeks to get it.  After that I went shopping a bit and then went to see Jamie and took him out for dinner.  He’s doing well and we really had a good visit.

It’s been slow in the campground lately.  The weather has turned cool…highs around 7c and lows -2c.  We could very well have snow on the ground one morning when we wake up.  Bicyclers are still going through on a daily basis trying to beat the weather as they head south to Mexico.  They say a person should begin their trip mid-August at the latest if they want to avoid snow here and through Colorado which I think are the highest points along the divide trail.  There were four Dutch bicyclers through the other day.  They started their journey two years ago in Brazil and are heading to Jasper and then down to Vancouver where they’ll catch a plane back to Holland.  I can’t imagine being on a bike for two years…I also wonder how easy it would be to get back to everyday life after an adventure like that.   

Most of the wildflowers have now died off but the grasses are still so beautiful.    Here’s a nice shot of some of them.  The grass is tall…almost up to my hips in some spots.  Oso and I go for walks through it and he gets totally lost in it sometimes but that doesn’t stop him from sniffing out ground squirrels.  I think he still dreams about catching one, but chances of that are pretty slim!