AHHHHHHHHHH Life in the desert!

Well another week has come and gone and we are getting back into a routine, a busy one, but still a routine. Monday and Thursdays are hike days. Sunday Kelly and his friend Al play texas holdem, and the ladies watch movies and discuss the short comings of their husbands. Monday night is Photo Club for Kelly. Tuesday night is crib night for both of us. Wednesday is Happy Hour from 4 to 5:30. Even numbered days are set aside for Pickleball in the morning and for odd numbered days it's Pickelball after 2pm. We only have one court here and we share it with the tennis people. Yes we are very busy and having a real good time!
Last Mondays hike was the Side Ladder Canyon.

Hope those guys can't see up my shorts

Water break in the canyon

View from the top

I hope that guy in the front knows where he is going

June's turn to hold up the rock cliff.

We did this same hike last February and is still one of my favourites. You have to climb 5 ladders and 2 dead waterfalls to get to the top, but with the "we're all in this together" attitude we get there.

Tuesday was Pickleball day and Palm/Christmas Tree decorating day. I must say it is a bit different decorating a Palm Tree.

Our first Palm/Christmas Tree

Thursdays hike was the South Lykken Trail. This was another "cardio" hike as it was straight up 2300 feet then across a ridge and then switch backs to the bottom.

View of the valley from the top. Where there is green there is irrigation

Junkel at the top!

The forecast for Friday was Rain. Some of the clouds came in early and we were treated to an amazing sunset on Thursday.

The sky was a deeper red than this.

These bands of cloud went across the valley.

Thursday night was also Hiking club potluck dinner night. We had a great time there yabbering with all of our fellow hikers. We took a block of the Maple Cream that Kelly's grandmother had got for us. Needless to say it was all gone and I am not to sure but I think some one licked the plate.

Friday was complete shut down day as we were bagged.

On sunday we sat out at the end of our street with our friends from Sidney and watch the Golf Cart Santa Parade. They also pickup donations for the local food bank. Apparently this is and annual event and one that we will have to take a more active role in, in the future!

Santa and the Mrs. leading the parade.

When we were here in October and November we struggled to keep our Non-air-conditioned RV cool, now it is the reverse. The nights have been dropping down to 5-7 degrees and what ever the temp is outside it is the same inside. This means we have had to have the heater on a bit, this is the part where all of you feel sorry for us. Michelle is flying in on Friday and the three of us are off to Disneyland for three days. Then it is off to Messa Arizona for Christmas with Linden, Reid and Natalie and her parents. The excitement never ends!

We hope to post one more blog before Christmas comes but if not Merry Christmas to all and we hope 2015 is all you want it to be.

Thank-you for reading this and Take care of one another.

Junkel

We must be having lots of FUN

There is an old adage that says " Time flies when you are having Fun". If this is correct then we must be having the time of our lives as it has been a month since I last wrote a blog and I don't know where the time went. It has been a jam packed month with a little of everything. On November 17th we went went on the single toughest hike for Kelly that we have ever done. It was 7.5 miles with a 2700 foot elevation change. We were either going up or down with very little flat terrain. When we got yo the top the view of the Valley was outstanding but we our knees paid for it.

June at the top of Murray Peak

On the 19th of November we flew home to Sidney for two weeks with family and as many friends as we could squeeze in. We spent as much time as possible with our grandson Linden!

Grampa K and Linden

Gramma J and Linden

Natalie and Reid welcomed us and we stayed for a total of 7 days. We even went across to Burnaby and brought June's mom Jean back to spend a couple of days with her grandson Reid and Great Grandson Linden. 

First Santa Picture.........Better luck next year

A "Selfie" with Linden

We were able to see quite a few of friends as we had lunch with the people Kelly use to work with and June got to go out with her ladies group. Unfortunately there just was not enough time to see everyone. 

When we started out on this years adventure I told June that if I had to wear jeans for more than 5 days in a row we would be moving on. Well this greeted us on day number 12.

This does not make us happy....

December 3rd came way to quickly and it was time to fly back to Palm Springs. It was also Michelle's 32nd birthday so we texted back and forth before we turned off our Canadian phone and hopped on Westjet back to the warmth. In our absence from Desert Hot Springs the weather had been cool and wet with abnormal amounts of rain. Most people tried to blame us but it was sunny when we left Sidney. We had to skip the Thursday hike as we were only about a week behind in our sleep, but the pickleball courts have been calling us regularly since we got back. 

On Saturday December 6th we went into Palm Springs to see the "Parade of Lights". It was billed as one of the top ten parades in the US. It was ok but not spectacular. The main difference between this parade and the Sidney Santa parade was the number of school bands and the helium BIG Balloons.

50 foot snowman.....you don't see that everyday

Well that brings us almost up to date. I am planning to set aside more time for this blog as so many people told me they actually read it! We are always amazed by this. We want to thank all of you who went out of their way to see us when were home. We are so lucky to have good friends. A special hello to the East coasters as we miss you all.

Thanks once again for reading this.

 Junkel

Tigers in the Desert.......And our Secound Home

Hello one and all. I am sorry that this blog has not been updated recently! We are now in Desert Hot Springs at the Sands RV and Golf Resort, aka our secound home.

We left Williams Arizona on the 22nd of October with the idea of going to Lake Havasu.  We heard about a place called "Keepers of the Wild" in Valentine Arizona, so we checked it out. Valentine is on Route 66 so the town is just about done. The "Keepers of the Wild' is a reserve for wild animals that use to be pets, performers or just injured strays. All of the Animals are in heavy duty chain link enclosures so pictures are difficult. The stars of the show were the Bengal and Siberian Tigers. We paid our admission and extra for a guided tour at 3pm. June had read that the 3 o'clock tour was the best so we stayed for it. We walked around the enclosures for about and hour and a half and kind of felt ripped off. Most of the animals were hiding in the shade our just about impossible to photograph through the fences. We went and had lunch in the Rv and then waited for the 3 o'clock tour. The tour turned out to be the saving grace and one of the highlights of the trip! The tour went around the park on the same roads that we had walked but it was feeding time. It was Wednesday while we there and the Tigers are not fed on Tuesdays( to mimic not always being successful in the wild) so they were hungry! How do you feed a hungry Tiger? you ask. Well you throw an 8 pound raw roast over a 15 foot high fence. Not as easy as it sounds as the new trainee found out.

It's coming over the fence and It's Mine

Told you it was mine

Look camera boy back off

See my Teeth

Your lucky there is fence between us!

They also had Llamas,Cougars,Coyotes,Raccoons, White Tigers,Monkeys and a variety of birds of prey. In one of the monkey enclosures there was the fattest grey squirrel we had ever seen, steeling monkey food helps you put on weight I guess. They also had a couple different types of Bobcats and Lynx. These were June's favourites as they look like big friendly cats.

June's favourite.

There was only the two of us for the tour so we sat in a golf cart and followed the feeding staff around. Very relaxed and informative.

By the time we left the park it was getting late so we only made it as far as Kingman Arizona before stopping for the night.

The next day we drove from Kingman to Desert Hot Springs. One of the roads we were on was very much like a kiddies roller-coaster, you couldn't go more than a half mile before there was about a 8 foot dip in the road. These proved to be to much for Whiskers as she was sick twice in about 20 miles. We have driven over 30,000 km and this is the first time she has been motion sick, go figure. We arrived here in the late afternoon and were happy to be here.

We are in a different spot than January, this one our door faces East so the west winds don't blow into the trailer. Our days have started to fall into a routine. We get up and walk the park, 2.2 miles. Then we head down to the gym to work on some arm exercises then it's pool time. The pool is followed up by some hot tub therapy a shower then home for lunch. We like to be done by 1:30 as it starts to get quite hot by then(30+ degrees).

I know it is a tough life but we are more than willing to take on for the team and struggle through. The hike leader is back next week so that will be added to our weekly routine and we have purchased a couple bikes, so we will have enough to do.

Take Care and thank you once again for reading our ramblings. We are looking forward to seeing some of you in the last two weeks on November, till them be good to each other.

Junkel

Bison, Otters and Bears...........Oh My

After the Grand Canyon we thought we better checkout something a little more "usual." We had heard about a placed called Bearizona which is just outside the city limits of Williams. The person who told us about it said we would need a couple of hours to see it, well she was wrong 5 and a half hours later they kicked us out as they were closing. Bearizona is a wildlife park that has only been open for four years. All of the animals were rescued from some fate worst than death and brought there. The animals all looked healthy and the staff were excellent. Here are some of the critters we saw.



 They have two 10 acre corrals for the Bison and White Bison.

 
They have a "Birds of Prey" show. We liked the owls best. Kelly wouldn't get any closer....The Owl was giving him a sideways look.

The foxes always look so cute.....We watched a Rooster walk back and forth in front of the fox enclosure......Awful brave when the fence is up.


They had Wolves and Artic Wolves. Apparently the Arctic ones are white....Glad someone asked that on the tour.



The otters were very playful as they always are. The one on the right just looked guilty to me.



They had three types of "Sheep" Mountain Goats on the left. Dall Sheep on the Right and Big Horn below.
Insert your own joke about big racks here.....

 June beside "VampBear" and Kelly playing "Where's Kelly"





Oh Yeah Da Bears. There were 5 bear cubs all around 10 months old. Now they know how to have a good time. June could have watched them all day.....

I didn't know that Porcupines like to spend time up a tree. This guy didn't even come down for dinner. 



After Bearizona we walked around the town of  Williams. There is a lot of history here. Route 66 was the road you took from Chicago to California. There have been many tales about it and songs written in its honour. Williams Arizona was the last town on the old Route 66 that was bypassed by the new highway I-40.

 It is hard to read but the map on the side of this old Hotel shows Route 66

Pretty self explanatory.
Yup gas is 3.59 a gallon here and that was about $.45 a gallon more than Flagstaff which is 30 minutes away.











We lived in Dawson Creek for 8 years and it is known as "Mile 0 " of the Alaska Highway. Well this sign is over the old Route 66 as you enter Williams.

We quite liked it here. The Rv Park was clean and well priced, the people were friendly, and the tourist attractions were professional and affordable. BUT we still can't find a place in the states where the Rv park doesn't have a #$*&*@% train going right by our spot. I only want to wake up at 3:30 am for one thing and listening to a deafening train whistle is not it!  Hope all is well with you all and take care.

Junkel...

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday we went to "The Grand Canyon" and today I am still overwhelmed. We went into the park at the east gate and proceeded to Desert View Point. After parking we walked over to the point and looked out over the Canyon. From that point in time till the sun went down we were in a constant state of amazement. I am having problems explaining our state of mind. The shear size and scope of "The Grand Canyon" is beyond explanation, it is just one of those thing you must see to believe. June suffers from a certain lack of depth perception so at first it looked unreal, like a huge painted backdrop from a movie. I was adsorbed with thoughts of holy mackerel and how did they do this then? The next problem that I had was How do you capture The Grand Canyon on film so others can SEE It? The answer is you can't. I have taken countless photos of flower and fauna, planes, trains and automobiles, people, insects etc. etc. etc. and they were easy. So here are the best we could do. I hope that you get some sense of the size and great beauty of this place, but try to find time in your life to spend a day or two here to really appreciate it.

Junkel at the eastern rim

Eastern Rim...notice the tree in the split rock

 From the east gate you drive 23 miles, yup with the canyon on your right, to Grand Canyon Village. The Village is like a junior Whistler Village. There are 4 lookouts along the route and we stopped in the all.

From Moran Point looking north....notice the Colorado River.

Grandview Point

Yaki Point looking west

Yavapai Point looking west

When you get to the Village there are three different free bus routes that service the area. There are many places that you cannot drive to so you must use the shuttles. We only had time to take the red shuttle out to Hermits Rest. Hermits rest is the most western point that you can "drive" to. Along the way we saw 12 Elk including these ones.

Note the one antler forward and one back........where did the rest go?

I guess when your hungry you eat even if you are on the side of the road!

At Hermits rest looking north east 

It was a 1.1 mile walk from Hermits Rest to Pima Point, so we walked it. I know we are not in the best physical shape but walking just over a mile at over 7000 feet above sea level is noticeable. We arrived at Pima Point just as the sun was about to set. The shuttle buses run every 15 minutes until an hour after sunset then its every 30 minutes. We stayed at took photos as long as we could.

Looking north as the sun set

Like a big chair facing the setting sun.

Watching the sun go down.

There was very little cloud for that great sunset shot, but we stayed and held hands and just enjoyed the end of one of the most "moving" days of our journey to date.

Thank-you.................................Junkel