Early December in the Desert

So far, this has been a Sandy Bucket List trip. As you may recall, on the way down we stopped in Las Vegas so we could check “go to Celine Dion concert” off her list. Another item that has been on her list for quite some time, is “eat at a place featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, a programme on the Food Network. From the show’s website:  Host Guy Fieri takes a cross-country road trip to visit some of America's classic "greasy spoon" restaurants — diners, drive-ins and dives — that have been doing it right for decades.

Our friend, and former La Quinta neighbour, Pat H, had a birthday in November, so we took her out for lunch to celebrate. Since Pat was the birthday girl, she got to choose the restaurant. She picked Grill-a-Burger, just down the street from her new home. You know it is going to be a fun place when the first sign you see says that complainers will have $10 added to their bill!  

When the menus arrived, Sandy was delighted to find that the restaurant has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  Another item off her bucket list!  The menu was extensive, comprised of thirty different big burgers, a variety of mini burgers, where’s the beef burgers (chicken, turkey, fish, or veggie), as well as a selection of hotdogs, salads, and sides; all with cheeky names.

A peak at the Grill-a-Burger menu

It took quite a while to read through the menu and make our selections from all the choices ... and we just kept getting hungrier! The verdict, once we each received and devoured our burgers? Six thumbs up (two from each of us); this place does it right, all right. We will be back!

Happy Sandy checks another item off her Bucket List

The weather here is like summer to us. The first few weeks after our arrival, it was warm enough first thing in the mornings for us to enjoy breakfast outside.  As winter (or what passes for winter in the desert) approaches, the mornings are getting cooler, often with the temperatures in the single digits (Celcius) when we rise for the day. I have even had to wear long pants to walk the dogs some mornings!!! As winter settles in, we will likely have some light overnight frost that may delay the golfers’ morning tee times, and may even cause some damage to the cold sensitive desert plants. But it still gets warm enough for shorts most days, even then.

Kate enjoying breakfast outside

The lemons on our tree are coming along, but right now Sandy is out picking two or three oranges every day. An orange fresh from the tree is a real sweet and juicy treat. It sure makes getting your servings of fruit each day a lot easier!  We did, however, have to get a lesson about orange picking from our gardener last year.  Orange trees will draw the moisture out of the fruit if it isn’t taken off the tree in time, making for dry, woody oranges. We are making sure to get them off the tree this year while they are still juicy and good! Lemons don’t do that, and can stay on the tree for quite a while after they are ripe and still retain their juiciness. 

Fresh oranges from our yard

As you may recall, our development is right on the edge of town, so we do much of our cycling in the countryside, passed the neighbouring produce fields. It is an interesting time, crop wise, right now. There are lots of crops just coming up, and lots that are being harvested. We rode passed massive fields of leaf lettuce, today. They are fun to ride by as they are planted in wide strips of different varieties, showing off different colours. Today, I noticed one patch of lettuce that was deep purple, almost black.

Purple lettuce; harvesting crew in the distance

 For those of you wondering about the dogs, they are doing great. The big excitement in Benny's life is he had a spa day:  bath, hair cut, nail clip. Oh, and he is the only canine that is allowed up on the furniture, provided he can get there on his own.

Benny, before and after his special day

Rockie has started back to school at Dream Dogs and is absolutely loving the scent work class she is taking. She keeps her eyes glued on the instructor throughout the class and can hardly contain herself while waiting her next turn to sniff out the treats the instructor hides for the dogs to locate. A Jack Russell on the hunt; this is what she is meant to do! 

Rockie does her homework in the garage.  Benny has figured that out and likes to try to get in on the action. He gets really excited when he accidentally finds one of the hidden treats I set out before Rockie gets them all.  Ben's sniffer is no where as good as Rockie's, but it is fun to watch him try to locate the treats.

Rockie, not so patiently waiting her turn at school

A tired dog it a good dog. And after long walks, classes, or homework sessions, Rockie is one sleepy little terrier.   

All tuckered out after school, and sneaking a nap on the chesterfield!

You may have heard of the many serious fires in southern California, driven by the Santa Anna winds. These are hot, dry winds that blow from the desert towards the coast. There are a string of fires burning from north of Los Angeles, south, with thousands of acres burned, many structures consumed, and over 200,000 evacuees. For us, this brings back memories of the Fort McMurray fire.

Recently, we made plans with our riding buddy, Ed M, to go cycling this week in San Diego, about two hours drive from here. Routes were selected, Ed and I booked our dogs into camp, and travel plans were made. The next day, another fire broke out outside of San Diego, named the Lilac Fire.  As with the others, this fire was fast growing and out of control. With the unpredictability of the winds and fires, we made the decision to cancel our trip.

As of writing this entry, the San Diego fire was under control, but still burning and with lots of smoke in the air over the city. Here in La Quinta, we are safe from the fires, as we are on the east side of the mountains that separate us from the coast.  

Devastation caused by the Lilac fire, San Diego

 

That's about it for now. We are busy getting out on our bikes 3 - 4 times a week, joining in some other activities, and getting ready for Christmas. 

Settling in For Winter

Well, after arriving safe and sound following a taste of real winter, we are beginning to get organized and rolling with things down south. The dogs remembered their California home and quickly settled into their routine here.

As much as he loves riding in the van, Benny loves his bed even more. As soon as he came in the house, he headed down the hall to check out how his bed was. Rockie, meanwhile, headed outdoors and began her yard patrol duties.  Day two, she was frustrated by a gecko that ran through the rocks and must have run up the side of the house. For two days, she stayed outside watching those rocks and the house wall, just in case it came back. Sandy saw one by the back door and called her over. Those little geckos are fast, but so are Jack Russell rat-catching terriers. Sandy says the gecko zigged and zagged, went this way and that, but Rockie followed it, anticipated its next move, and caught herself a little reptile!

Now, I have previously been told that geckos and lizards will drop their tails when in danger. However, when I went to remove the deceased gecko from our patio, the detached tail kept flicking every time the implement I was using to pick it up came near. Yikes!! That kinda freaked me out. Why didn’t anyone tell me that part????!!!  Sandy decided some bird could probably make a meal of the little thing, so I placed it, along with its flicking tail, where it could become someone’s dinner.  A couple of days later, the gecko was gone, but the blasted tail was still there. Kinda reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe’s, The Tell-Tale Heart.  Ongoing visions of that stupid flicking tail will no doubt lead to the gradual demise of my sanity.

Rockie and her gecko; its body was about three inches long.

We have been getting out on our bikes and building our fitness base before we start some serious work on getting back into shape. We like to go on 80-100km rides while we are here, but after the summer we had, we have some work to do before we will be fit enough for that.  In the meantime, our rides have us exploring the local produce fields to see what is being harvested. An awful lot of manual, back-breaking work is done by the field workers to get the various crops planted, weeded, and harvested; most of it by hand. The first day out, we saw a group of workers sitting or kneeling in a field as they toiled. As we got closer, we could see they were hand picking and bundling chard. Neither of us care for chard, but we can appreciate the work of these people to get it to the market for those of you who do!

Picking chard. It’s not cold, at least not to us.

If you could scratch and sniff the next photo, you would smell one of my favourite herbs, and one Sandy really doesn’t care for. Where would Mexican or Thai food be without cilantro? As we rode passed this field, the aroma had me drooling and Sandy picking up the pace so she could get by sooner.

Cilantro, cilantro, and more cilantro.

We often get to see various interesting things on our bike rides. With the Monday morning ladies ride group we lead, we frequently ride through the nearby PGA West development on our way home.  It sits at the foot of the Santa Rosa mountains, next to Silver Rock golf course.  The Big Horn mountain sheep that live in the mountains like to come down, graze on the fairways, and poop in the sand traps. Apparently, Silver Rock has put up some fences to keep them out, so they are now enjoying the lush greenery inside PGA West. As we came around a corner on our ride, we met up with about 50 of the creatures in a number of groups, just relaxing and chewing.

A few of the Big Horn Sheep hanging out in PGA West.

We are getting back into some of the other activities we enjoy. Every month, there is a Canada Party. This is a pot-luck attended by Canadians, friends of Canadians, and wanna-be Canadians. There is always plenty of good food, and with all those Canadians, lots of interesting people to visit.  To get herself ready for the November party, Sandy completed an appropriate puzzle, provided to her by her puzzle-sharing buddy at home, Dee.

7 x 10 inch mini puzzle, perfect Canada Party prep.

What is Friday evening without a rousing Bocce match? Everyone brings snack food to share and their best trash talk. Sandy brings her best moves. I missed getting a photo of her putting the Manitoba hex on an opposing team member. It worked, our side won the match … at least this time.

Sandy makes a play in Bocce

Although summer here was hotter than hot, most everything in our yard survived. Most importantly, my lemon tree survived! Our gardener gave it a much needed pruning, so we won’t have as many lemons this year as we did last. There will still be lots, however, for me to try more lemon recipes, so watch this space. Although most of them are still pretty green, a few ripening ones fell off the tree last week. 

First lemons of the season

Our tangerine tree is now producing fruit that is just about ready to pick, so we are looking forward to enjoying those over the next few weeks.

Tangerines just about ready.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This update was posted on US Thanksgiving, or as we call it, “Bonus Turkey Day.” Everyday, we try to be grateful for the many good things in our lives:  loving, supportive families; wonderful friends; having had rewarding careers; and enjoying numerous amazing opportunities and experiences over the years.

Thanksgiving, be it American or Canadian, allows one special pause for thanks. The day we arrived in California, we learned that our dear friend, Ian, passed away that morning.  We are very thankful to have been able to call Ian, and continue to call his remarkable wife, Mary, “Friend.” Ian was a retired kidney specialist; I hope I was able to provide my patients the compassionate care I know Ian provided his.  We will miss his impish smile, dancing eyebrows, and wonderful sense of humour. He was a friend we are very thankful to have known. We will remember him fondly and our memories of him will always make us smile.

Enjoying a cold drink with Ian after a bike ride in the desert, winter 2015.

Kate and Sandy's Fall Migration

After a summer that saw us less active than usual, as you know from our previous posts, we were beginning to look forward to heading back south to our wintering grounds in the Palm Springs, California area. October had a mix of weather conditions. We did manage to get out for a couple of nice rides to enjoy the fall colours, but these required us to haul out some of our cool weather gear.  Especially Sandy had her mind on riding in the sun and warm, so for the most part we found ourselves with many excuses not to get out pedaling.

Some October fall colours

Hallowe’en evening saw Edmonton get pouring rain. The next day, November came in with snow … on the 1^st, the 2^nd, the 3^rd, the 4^th. This, of course, really annoyed Sandy.  Not only did that put a final end to any cycling, it meant walking indoors at West Edmonton Mall; no way did she want to risk a fall and any injury that could delay our departure!

 Our snowy back yard

With our planned departure scheduled for the 5^th, all this new snow made us wonder what kind of road conditions we would encounter. Normally, we make the drive down in three days, but Sandy scheduled an extra day as we had tickets to see Celine Dion in Las Vegas. If we got held up along the way due to the weather, she hoped the extra day would allow us to still make the concert.

As per usual, Sandy woke up early on the fifth, anxious to get going. Her side of the bed had the only clock I hadn’t changed to standard time before we went retired for the night. She woke up at “05:30” but it was actually 04:30 Standard Time. She started  “quietly” putzing around. I gave up on trying to get any more sleep and got up at 04:50. We had lots of time to do a few last minute things, have a bowl of cereal, and triple check the house before we left at 06:40, well ahead of our planned 07:00 departure.

It was bitter cold, -18C when we left, and got to -21C as the sun came up. The good news was, however, at that early hour on a Sunday, there was very little traffic on the usually busy highway between Edmonton and Calgary.

bio break in central Alberta

We stopped at a Tim Horton’s donut shop outside of Red Deer, half way from Edmonton to Calgary, so Sandy could get a hot tea.  I just had to take a photo of the donuts they had for the local Canadian Football League (CFL) fans. It makes sense that people in this area could cheer for either the Calgary Stampeders or the Edmonton Eskimos, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders?? That team has fans everywhere!!

 CFL donuts

Although it was cold, Highway 2 was clear, and with very little traffic, the drive was easy. We stopped just south of Calgary where my sister met us. We were going to have lunch, but since we left so early, it was barely 10:30 so we opted for a hot breakfast while we visited with my sis.  About an hour south of Calgary, the road conditions changed and only the right lane was clear of snow most of the time, with blowing snow drifting across the pavement. These conditions, in varying degrees of severity, stayed with us through Montana until just north of Pocatello, Idaho. Of all the many times Sandy has driven this trip, this one presented the most challenging conditions.

Blowing snow, just north of Lethbridge, Alberta

As soon as we crossed the border into Montana, it started to snow and the driving conditions began to deteriorate. We made it safely to our hotel in Great Falls and all of us were glad to get off the road and out of the vehicle. However, it certainly was chilly when I took the dogs for their bio walks! During our last walk before bedtime it was cold, windy, snowing, and the migrating geese overhead seemed to be complaining as much about the weather as we were. That is until Rockie saw a cottontail rabbit. She thought it would be fun to play chase the rabbit … and that is why I never let her off leash.  I’d probably still be looking for her!

That night, the weather forecast was for 1 to 5 inches of snow overnight, depending upon the area of the state, ending by about 08:00. This meant we could sleep in and give the snowplows a chance to get to work on the roads and mountain passes.  The morning bio walk with the dogs, was “refreshingly” cool enough to make sure Benny and Rockie took care of business quickly.   After a leisurely breakfast, we were back on the road about 10:00.

Fresh snow in Montana

Following a snow plow

Finally, the sky cleared, and when we stopped for gas in Butte, it was brightly sunny.  Although it was still pretty cold at only -12C, the dogs and I enjoyed getting out for a stretch and meander while Sandy refueled the van.

Rockie on patrol in the jacket my sister made
so she doesn’t leave a lot of hair in the van

Our weather woes continued.  Shortly after we crossed into Idaho, we got into some pellet snow that turned into hail. Really? Now we have hail? We drove through that nonsense for about 10 minutes. One we got out of that, and shortly before we got to Pocatello, Idaho, the highway cleared and we had no more snow or black ice to deal with.  Finally!!

Hail outside Dubois, Idaho  

Our destination this day, was Sandy, Utah (yup, you read that right), on the south side of the greater Salt Lake City area and through the worst of the crazy traffic there. Oh, but not before we had a 20 minute delay due to an accident on the freeway. Of course there would be an accident, have you seen the way those people drive there???

Sunset north of Salt Lake City 

Day three, Tuesday, we arrived safe and sound in Las Vegas.  We had tickets to see Celine Dion Wednesday evening, so we booked the dogs into a highly rated and recommended kennel, Doggie District Silverado Ranch, so we could have some human time on our own. Our dogs love going to their kennel, Club Mead Pet Resort, at home and took to this place like they had been there before. They didn’t even look back at us when the staff took them in.  When we picked them up on Thursday, after they both had baths and nail clips, they were happy and Benny was the white-ist and fluffiest we have ever seen him!

Dropping the dogs off at Doggie District

We were in Vegas, so Sandy had to play the slots. We have a strict $20 limit (cuz we know the odds really don’t favour the players!).  She had fun playing different machines and I even played a couple. I thought I would share her winnings with you:

Sandy’s Vegas “winnings”

One of the many things that amazes me about Las Vegas is how huge the hotels are. We stayed at the South Point hotel as it was close to the kennel. They were hosting the Indian National Finals Rodeo all that week. This facility includes not only the requisite casino, but also a 4000 seat arena in which they host 33 equestrian events each year. We were able to sneak a peak at couple of competitors in the bull riding. The hotel had over 2000 rooms, and the halls seemed to go on forever; Sandy likened it to when one looks in the infinite reflections seen in two mirrors.

Sandy looks down the Infinite hallway

After spending the day exploring parts of Las Vegas not on the strip, Wednesday evening we made our way to Caesar’s Palace to see Celine. What can I say? The girl has a set of pipes on her! What a beautiful, powerful voice, that seems so effortless.  She also has a pretty good sense of humour.  As most people know, she is the youngest of 14 children.  She said that her father never wanted kids, and then said, “but 14?!” with a WTF kind of look. Looking out over the audience, her next quip was, “Seeing all of you out there reminds me of my living room at Christmas.” The show was fabulous. I did not take my phone; who knew that they would allow photos during the show?? You will have to make do with this screen shot. There is a massive version of this photo outside Caesar’s Palace, many stories high, advertising her show.  She has been playing in Vegas since 2003, and we saw performance 1063.

Thursday we left Vegas for the final leg of our migration. To avoid the crazy traffic heading from Vegas to the LA area, Sandy took us the back way through the desert, along part of the iconic Route 66, and through Joshua Tree National Park. The roads were much calmer and the drive the most relaxing of the whole trip.  Through the park, there were signs to watch out for tarantulas on the highway. Sandy, who hates spiders, said she would watch for them all right and aim right for them. Fortunately for the critters, we didn’t see any!

Once through Joshua Tree, we headed west and continued our descent into the Coachella Valley and our winter nesting grounds.

Descending into the Coachella Valley

We arrived, safe and sound albeit somewhat stiff and sore from all that time in the van, just before sunset Thursday.

Home, sweet winter home

That’s the Summer that Was

Reflecting on summer and prepping for winter seems to be the main activities of us prairie folk once the fall equinox passes. So here are our reflections on the last few weeks of summer which saw us on more outings with Boxy, the RV. 

A highlight of our RV season had to be our visit to the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre at Innisfail, Alberta. This centre hosts the breeding programme as well as training of the service dogs and their RCMP handlers. We were treated to a demonstration of some of the teams’ skills at this last show of the summer and at the conclusion of the participating teams' training programme. 

 Sandy back in uniform

This facility trains police dogs for general duty or special skills.  “The responsibilities of police services dogs include locating lost persons; tracking criminals; searching for narcotics, explosives, illicit alcohol and stills, crime scene evidence and lost property; VIP protection; crowd control, in conjunction with tactical troop; hostage situations; avalanche search and rescue; and police/community relations.”

The graduating teams show off their skills at 
taking down some bad guys

The training field is being relocated on the site’s grounds in 2018, so the weekly demos may not be held next year.  We recommend you put this on your things to see and do in Alberta list, however, when the demos are again being offered (normally Wednesday afternoons in the summer).

Starting their training young, these puppies are chasing after this intruder 
on the property (the summer student)

Our final trip with Boxy was a circle tour north east of Edmonton taking in a number of the “world’s biggest” or unique things some of the smaller communities have created to encourage people to visit their areas. This was during the first week of September, through beautiful, rich farming country with stunning vistas of mature crops waving in the breeze as the season’s harvest was just beginning.  Even without the “attractions” to take in, the drive through these gorgeous prairie scenes was well worth the trip.

The first stop we made on this tour was Mundare, Alberta, home of Stawnichy's Meat Processing, makers of the best Ukrainian garlic ham sausage, hands down. After going to the store at their plant to purchase a couple of rings of sausage, we headed to Mundare's attraction, a giant replica of the famous product. 

I will leave the interpretation of this sculpture to you …

but it is big.  Mundare, AB

Next up, we were off to Andrew, AB to track down the world's largest mallard duck. Alberta sits in the Central North American Flyway.  There are many lakes and ponds forming a nice north-south link through the province that make excellent stop-overs during the seasonal migrations. Just east of Andrew is a lake that plays host to many mallards during their journeys, hence this tribute.

Good thing I took that birding course last winter, 
I just might spot this guy! Andrew, AB

As we made our way to our next destination, Sandy pointed out this collection along a farmer's field. Sure beats the oh too common nailing of one's ball cap collection to fence post after fence post, or worse yet, "posting" of their old boot collection.

A rainbow of old combines along the highway

Our next stop was Smokey Lake, where they hold an annual Pumpkin Festival and Weigh-Off every October. So, what do you think their giant sculpture was?

 Kate in the giant pumpkin patch, Smokey Lake

From Smokey Lake, we made our way to Vilna, a teeny tiny old town that has done a pretty good job of preserving its old buildings and heritage. We spent a considerable amount of time exploring every aisle and shelf in the old hardware store that had something of everything, including a store cat that kept watching our every move.  After the hardware store, we were off to see the world's largest mushrooms. According to the Vilna website, a salute to this wild mushroom acknowledges its use in many traditional dishes of the local, mainly Ukrainian, cuisine. Mushroom hunting has been a tradition in the Vilna area since the first Ukrainian settlers' arrival in the early 1900s.

Sandy finds shelter under the World's Largest Mushrooms, Vilna

Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Sandy hails from, also has a substantial Ukrainian population, and she has long been a fan of Ukrainian food. Her pyrogies are a favourite contribution to the monthly Canada party pot luck dinners held in our community in La Quinta, California during the winter. We had to go on a far jaunt during this tour to make our way to Glendon, Alberta to find this salute to one of her favourite foods.

The World’s Largest Pyrogy, Glendon, AB. 

Not sure how the fork ranks in the world order.

Not claiming to have something that is the world's largest, St. Paul, Alberta has chosen to go with something "other worldly."  Built during the celebrations for Canada's centennial year, 1967, the St. Paul UFO Landing Pad promotes not only world peace but intergalactic harmony as well. Unfortunately, it is too big, with too many elements to include in one photo. As this is the year of Canada's 150th birthday, that means this installation is celebrating its 50th. 

Kate and Sandy waiting for a UFO. 

No landings, as of yet. 

Our final stop on this loop was the World's Largest Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) in Vegreville.  As you have no doubt figured out by know, the area of this tour was substantially settled by Ukrainians, many of whose families continue to farm, work, and live in the region. This Easter Egg is spectacular, slowly oscillates back and forth, and has an intriguing pattern.  Each design element in a pysanka has a special meaning, so when one is created, it tells a story or pays tribute to something.

 World's Largest Pysanka,Vegerville

So, there, that wraps up our last adventures of the summer. With our medical adventures, we didn't get out exploring by bike, or RV, that much, which means next summer can only be better! 😊😊 

Here is a clipping I have had in my desk for many years. I think it accurately sums up what we thought about summer. 

Even if you think your summer was too short, we hope it was a good one!