March 12, 2014

Another gorgeous day!  We have been very busy since we arrived here & the darn camera is not working so we have to take it in somewhere to find out why it’s just not charging at all.

We have been to so many new eating places & they all serve Gluten Free food so that is great for Lois.

We met up with some friends from Calgary at the Street Fair in downtown PS. How it has grown!!! It was only ½ the size last year! The tv newscaster said the economy has picked up because so many Canadians have bought down here 2 years ago & now it seems to be thriving quite well. New buildings are going up and all the leases sitting empty for years are all filled up! This is awesome for PS & for us Canadians. We spent most of the w/e with Kris, Derek, Paul & Helen showing them a few good eating places & of course some terrific live entertainment (in between their tennis). It was absolutely wonderful to see them! We miss them a lot. Last night Lois went to the casino with Gilbert & then we all met at the Streetbar & David (from PS) & Garth (from Vancouver) were there. Garth is having a big birthday at the end of the month & Gilbert is doing the breakfast as his whole family will be here for it & we are invited!

Today Kathy will be arriving from Yuma for a visit with little Kiwi & we are happy to have them here. We have already booked t-time for Kathy & Jane (friend from Vernon) so that’ll be a great day for them golfing. Supper here tonight with Terrie, Jane & Kathy so they can meet.

March 5, 2014   Palm Springs, California

We have arrived & been here for about 6 days. The weather’s been in the 70’s which is perfect for us & is now getting warmer into the 80’s. We are soooooo very happy to be here with all our friends from Calgary & of course a smaller city. This means I can drive which is awesome.

We stayed with Mel & Gilbert when we arrived on Friday as we did not book our condo until Saturday. They are very gracious hosts & wonderful to be with. I’ve known them for over 30 years from bowling in a league. On Saturday their new guests arrived from Edmonton & Vancouver so it was great to meet them & go out dancing to the oldies at Oscar’s! My God we had a blast!! The place was packed outside on the patio, drinks were flowing, & lots of laughs to be had. There are so many Canadians down here! Lois danced so much, her hips were sore the next day! hahaha

 The newscaster on tv stated that the economy has started turning around down here because the Canadians are buying up properties & living down here. Where the buildings in downtown were all empty & up for lease….are all back in business again. Isn’t that great! We do love it down here.

We also had a lovely visit here at the condo with a new friend Paula & her pup Eva that I met last year. Jane & Terrie who now live in Vernon, BC met us for lunch at Manhattan on the Desert on Monday. They will be here until 15^th.  We will be reconnecting with them again. Palm Springs seems to be the place that is so close to the west side of the continent that everyone comes here & of course the lifestyle!   

Sunday morning and it's gorgeous out again! No wonder all the snowbirds want to come & stay down here. We have been doing little things every day, both of us working out........... Lois going to the gym & me going for my 5K walk every day. It's lovely to be able to be outside without worrying that you're going to slip & fall. We went to the Mesa Market on Thursday & it is HUGE.  There's absolutely everything a person could want there. Lois got lost on the way out looking for the car & FYI, I'm the one who found it!! Not bad for someone who can't find her way out of a wet paper bag eh?? We have been going to the pool & hot tub every day so here are some pics.

 

We went to the casino yesterday afternoon so that was something different to do but Lois woke up in the middle of the night with a headache. I think it was all the 2nd hand cigarette smoke.

Tucson, Feb. 18, 2014

Saguaro National Park was huge & of course Lois wanted to see the 50 foot cactus. This is the only place in the world where they are this size.

 There are very few trees here (which we are used to seeing in a forest), just lots of cactus everywhere. Doesn't Lois look tiny?

The area is quite rugged & the cactus seem to grow out of the sides of rock with just a tiny bit of nutrition.

We then went to Benson to visit the Kartchner Caverns State Park. This was an incredible site where 2 fellas (called cavers) went into the mountain to look for caves & discovered this cavern in 1974.  They didn't tell anyone for 4 years because they were trying to preserve it. They then told the people who owned the land & they didn't tell anyone for another 10 years while they were trying to get a bill passed to turn the area into a state park so the cave would be protected.

The intrepretor or guide that took us through told us a couple of examples of what would happen if you dropped something in the cavern. If you drop gum or candy into the cavern anywhere, it would grow into the size of a baseball within 2 days. If you touch the surface of any of the rocks, black mold will grow within a couple of days. It was and incredible journey under the mountain & we will never look at a mountain the same way ever again without wondering of there are caverns in it.

There was lots of information before we went in about the various rock formations as well as a video clip. A journey well worth taking. It was open to the public in 2002 to educate people about the rock formations & how water transforms & crystallizes these wondrous creations of nature. We were not allowed to take pictures but here is a website of this area. Enjoy!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ISewwO38xs0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uF75q4vzbAY

Phoenix Rodeo

February 16, 2014       Rodeo

We decided to go to the rodeo in Phoenix this afternoon for something to do. It was Sunday so they usually give out awards for all the talented competitors that did barrell racing, goat dressing, steer wrestling, etc. It's very similar to the one in Calgary that we attended in the past. 
Imagine running into a few of the gals that we know (& usually compete in the rodeo) there. They were absolutely surprised!!!

Here we are Sandy, Mary, Judy, & Lori

Look at those lovely red boots!!  Definately made for dancing!

This horse was very talented walking sideways left, then right, backwards, & pawing the ground right foot then left with only a tap of the wand he used on the side of the horse's leg. 

This is called barrel racing & some of these competitors are FAST! It was a wonderful display of skill & horsemanship.

February 14, 2014

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO YOU!!!

Today we went to an open house at the Mormon temple!! So yes Jeannie, we went to church hahaha! It was a magnificient piece of architecture (looked more like a hotel from the inside) & the expense they went to was really unbelievable. The chandelier must've cost at least $100,000 & there was 2 large ones & a few smaller ones. They also had a hot tub in one of the rooms that they baptize people in. I wish I would've thought to take my bathing suit! They are planning on building another one in Phoenix & one in Tucson! There was a lineup all the way down the street, around a corner & then around another corner & all the parking lots were absolutley full. I'm not sure that they were all Mormans or curiousity seekers like us. Of course they did not show us where they conduct the sermons.

As you can see the ground is quite rugged with cactus growing sporatically in & out of the rock crevices. This area is called Oak Creek Canyon.

They've got lovely bronze statues on the street. We decided to buy a couple of things for the gazebo so I'm looking forward to that.