Grand Canyon ...

March 8, 2017

Here we are at Pima Point ...

Oma and Mike checking out some of the plants ...

along the path to the lookout point ...

We could see the Colorado River down below ...

the water is quite dirty due to the run off ...

It was really interesting ... reading the information boards ...

We boarded the bus and made our way ...

to the last point on this journey ...

We reached Hermits Nest ...

where we could have a break ... the little building was amazing ...

inside there were souveniers and a snack bar ... 

The building was constructed out of rocks ...

The tour bus took us back to the starting point ...

We then located the car and drove thru the park area on our way ...

to Sedona and back to Mesa ...

The scenery was spectacular ... so different the whole way ...

We saw a pink Jeep ... this company will take you touring thru the area ...

four wheeling around the canyon rim ...

The terrain continued to change ... driving thru Tuba City ...

and down into Sedona ...

The sun was starting to set ... the colour on the red rock ...

was breath taking ...

We stopped to enjoy the setting sun ... 

it didn't take long before we were in dark ...

We continues on our way back to Mesa ...

What an amazing day we had at the Grand Canyon ... !!!

 

 

Oh My ... How Grand ...

March 8, 2017 

We were up early this morning ...

excited for this journey to the Grand Canyon ...

It took us just over an hour to reach our destination ... 

It was going to be a once in a lifetime adventure ...

One that Oma could strike off her bucket list ...

A map showing the area ...

We decided to take the bus tour ... taking us to all the stops ... 

What a magnificent view ... on our first stop of the Inner Canyon ...

We were able to see the snow on the mountain top ...

in the distance ...

Loved seeing this bluebird at one of the stops ...

It was difficult to watch some of the tourists ... taking chances just to get a picture ...

Two people losts theirs lives the week we were there  ... so sad ...

Oma taking in the view ... a perfect photo opportunity as well ...

at Hopi Point ...

Everywhere you looked ... the view was breathtaking ...

There was always someone to take a family picture of us ... 

and in turn we would take pictures of families as well ...

A beautiful keepsake of our time together ...

When we first arrived at the park ... there was snow on the ground ... apparently it had been cold and windy here ... We were fortunate to see the sunshine ...  blue sky ... and by noon time ... it was already quite warm ... We were waiting for the bus ...  to take us to the next point of interest ...

 

On The Road ...

March 7, 2017 

We were on our way ... on an excellent adventure ...

travelling along the highway ... 

Making our way to our first stop of the trip ...

the famous Montezuma Castle National Monument ...

Eric & Sharon had told us about this unique place ...

and that we should definately stop at ... 

Oh my goodnes ... we were astonished by the sight of this Castle ...

how in the world did they create this wonder ...

This National Monument near the town of Camp Verde, Arizona ...

protects a set of preserved Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings ...

for more information click ...

 

HERE ...

 

It was a wonderful sight ... to see all the birds' nests ... 

way up in the cliffs ...

 

We walked around the area ...

stopping at all the information spots along the way ...

reading the history ... 

We were also amazed at the size of the Sycamore trees...

 

 

At the end of the path ...

there was a voice interprative centre ... 

with a small replica of the Montezuma Castle behind glass ...

showing you how they lived ... 

with all the activites on each of the floors ...

This place is well worth visiting ... !!!

 

 

Visiting Friends ...

March 6, 2017

We had a great time ...

visiting our BC neighbours home in Sunlakes, AZ ...

It was a lovely day to sit outside ...

and enjoy the view and activities on the golf course ...

Eric and the guys went on a tour of the area ...

and Sharon took us ladies for a tour ...

We all met up at the Palo Verde Dinning Restaurant ...

at the golf course for lunch ...

It was so beautiful ...

We were lucky to enjoy our lunch outdoors ...

 

 

 All of us toasting to good friends ... good food ...

and good times ... !!!

Some pictures of cacti and flowers ...

in the neighbourhood ...

 

Thank you Linda and Dave ...

for driving us to the Chandler area ...

to visit our friends ...

   

Vacation Begins ...

March 2 & 3, 2017 

Today was the day we were heading south to the sunshine ...

Leaving the Cranbrook airport for Calgary ...

then flying to our destination in Phoenix ...

to spend the week with Linda (Mike's sister) & Dave ...

along with some of our friends from Sarnia, Ontario ...

Linda and Dave picked us up from the airport ...

then drove to Towerpoint RV Resort in Mesa ... 

It was a long day and it felt good to sit back and relax ...

We then needed to get our sleeping arrangements done ... 

The trailer was a little tight ...

for 3 extra people sleeping in the front room ...

Oma and I would share the bed and Mike had an inflatable bed ...

Mike figured it would be too crowded ...

and too warm for him to sleep inside ...

He had scouted out the storage shed outside ...

and decided to make this ...

his accommodation for the duration of our holiday ...

He was quite comfortable in his room ... ha ha ...

He had shelving for all his items ... and all the tools ...

just in case he needed them ...

The next morning ... after a good nights rest ...

we decided to join our friends at the resort complex ...

for a couple hours of Line Dancing exercise ...

Oma joined in as well ... for a few of the dancing ...

 then sitting out when the moves became a little more difficult ...

After our workout ... we walked to Joan's residence...

for a lovely luncheon and cool fruity slushes ...

We had a great time ... 

_______________________

Oh yes ... Mike slept well also ... although he woke up on the floor ...

in a flattened air bed ...

Apparently the brand new mattress had a hole in it ... 

Mike and Dave went to exchange the damaged mattress ...

and got things back into the shed ...

The guys came and joined us at the complex ...

and we all had our loungers reserved by the poolside ... 

Enjoying our time visiting with everyone ...

 

After dinner ... the gang from Sarnia came over ...

for an evening of reminiscing about our schooldays ...

and telling stories ... oh my we laughed so hard at some of the memories ...

Of course after a few sociables ... Mike thought he better get his CPAP ... (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)

set up for the night ...

A few of our friends were interested in how this device works ...

Sooooo ... naturally Mike would put on a demonstration ...

It was hilarious ... even though the gang was asking questions ...

they couldn't stop laughing ... as Mike was talking with the mask on 

...

Now our friends know how it works ...

We had a lovely evening with all our friends ...

and they loved having Oma there ...

 

 

 

 

 

   

Enjoying The Day ...

October 5, 2016

Mike & Mark were going to spend most of the day out on the golf course ...

Sandy & I decided to drive up to Invermere ... and so some sight seeing ... and shopping ...

It was a beautiful warm day ...

we ended up stopping at a well known Cafe ... and discovered that they had homemade Gelati ...

We couldn't resist and had to have one ... it was nice to sit outside ...enjoying the sunshine ...

and our treat as well ...

 

We had gotten together again after the guys were finished with there golf game ...

and decided to drive to Radium ...

to a special Bavarian restaurant ... called Citadella ... situated high up on the mountain ...

It was a beautiful place and the food was delicious ...

of course i had to have Schnitzel with spatzle ...

 

Here are a few pictures of the guys with their golf cart ...

I'm not sure what happened ... no other pictures were taken ...

guess they didn't want anyone to see pictures of them golfing ...

We spent another night visiting at Fairmont ... going in the hot tub ...

then heading back to Mark & Sandy's room ...

to play a few games of Eucher ...

A game that seems to be mainly in the eastern provinces ...

It had been a long time since we played this game ...

The next morning ... we had breakfast together before we left for home ...

We had a lovely visit with them ... it was great to get together ...

and we hoped to do this again next year ...

 

 

 

Meeting Friends ...

October 4, 2016

There are still plums left ... 

it seemed like a good morning to make "Zwetschen Knödel" ... plum dumplings ...

There were enough cooked potatoes to make the dough ...

so I proceeded to get busy and make them ...

A few were cooked ... for me to taste ...  they were covered in a toasted breadcrumb sugar mix ...

the rest of them were frozen in sealer bags ...

to be placed in the freezer to enjoy during the winter months ...

 

Mike and I were going to meet ... Mark & Sandy later this afternoon ... arriving from Castlegar ...

We had arranged to get together early this summer ... to meet at Fairmont Hot Springs ... 

to spend a few days relaxing ...

and for Mike & Mark to go golfing ... 

Mark had wanted to do this for along time ... and finally taking the steps to make it work ...

It has been many years since we have gotten together ...

Mark & Sandy lived in Sarnia and moved out west in 1976 ... Mike went to school with Mark ... 

and I went to school with Sandy ...

We moved out west in 1977 and lived with them ... in Cranbrook until we moved to Castlegar ...

where Mike went to college ...

We had a lovely afternoon catching up on old times ... and our lives today ...

We then went to the Hoodoos restaurant for dinner ...

 

After we went back to Fairmont ...

we all ended up going into the hot pools ...

and continued talking and reminiscing ...

 

It was so relaxing ... 

Our Last Days Fishing ...

September 14, 2016

Our last day for fishing ...

the water seemed to be calm ... and the skies were clear ...

but ...

oh my goodness ... did the weather change ... we were in rough water ...

huge waves ... and hitting a bank of fog ...

the conditions were too dangerous to for fishing today ...

It was time to turn around and head back to shore ...

 

Mike and Ron decided they might as well ...

haul the boat in ...

hose it down and clean it for storage ...

We would all be heading home the next day ...

We enjoyed a lovely evening together with other friends that we met ...

and just took it easy ...

 

September 15, 2016

 

We were up early this morning ...

had a hardy breakfast ... and finished packing up to head home ...

Mike and Ron ...

were busy packing up the fish into the insulated boxes ...

for transportation of the plane ...

We would be brining home over 80lbs of Halibut and Salmon ...

One last picture of the three of us ...

and we were all on our way ...

Mike and I were going to have lunch with Rob & Cindy ...

in Nanaimo ... for one last visit ...

and then we made our way to the airport ...

 

We had a great flight from Vancouver to Cranbrook ...

grateful that our boxes of frozen Halibut and Salmon made it ...

The challenge ... once we were home ...

was to find room in the freezer ...

as you can see ... it was stuffed full ...

Yipeeeee ... lots of fish ...

should be enough until next years' fishing season ... !!!

Love our fishing ...!!!

 

2nd Day of Fishing ...

September 13, 2016

Looks like it was going to be another beautiful day ...

watching the sunrise ... as we're pulling out of the harbour ...

The plan was to fish for Halibut again ... putting the anchor down ...

then setting up the gear ...

Unfortunatley ... the Halibut were not biting ... it's been a slow season for all ...

Anchor was lifted ... switched out the fishing gear ...

and we were fishing for salmon ...

Mike landed a beauty ... the guys were so excited ...

Here he is ... with his prize fish ... a 32lb (15kg) Spring (Chinook) Salmon ...

Mike also caught a Ratfish ... that's one ugly fish ... !!!

We continued fishing and were happy to bring in a few more fish ...

a mixture of Spring ... Coho Salmon ...

Back at the cleaning station ... with our catch for this day ...

The guys were thrilled ... it was awesome seeing the smiles on their faces ...

We were surprised with one of the salmon ...

it was a white meat salmon ... apparently a rare specimen ...

So back at the Inn ... to cut up the fish ... package in vacuum sealer bags ...

then put into the freezer ...

We decided to order in dinner ...

of fresh Halibut and chips ... ha ha ... perfect and so delicious ... !!!

We took it easy for the evening ... hanging out and visiting ...

We planned to get up early and head out to try and catch ...

a few more Halibut ...

All in all it was a great day ... !!!

 

Wishing my dear friend ... Dagmar ...

a Happy Birthday ...

Hope you have a wonderful day ... !!!

Sending love and light ...