Wednesday 26 December 2012

From Mesa to Yuma

Christmas at Merrill and Joyces was absolutely delightful. They had 2 other couples over who also reside at Coyote Springs in Sundre, Alta in the warm months. Bill and Judi Gualt and John and Wendy.So good to see old friends and enjoy the lovely meal that Joyce cooked and had prepared a few days before. The following are their decorations.

Going back a bit. One of Karen's groomers at her busines is also an artist and one day could be quite famous and the following is a picture he painted and gave her as a Christmas present. Rather whimsical don't you agree?
I left Mesa this morning and headed for Yuma. Hard to believe it is Boxing Day. It is cold in the mornings but warms up during the day but everyone seems to think it is too cold for biking. I just tell them I am Canadian and this is quite hot....I managed to make all the right turns today and never got lost once. I did take a little side tour into the new casino south of Maricopa and took these awesome photos.
 
 
 
 
I traveled on and stopped at Gila Bend for a bite to eat and then headed on to Yuma. When I arrived I called Kathryn and then got a room at the Motel 6 as  Trish will not be here til tomorrow. I had a nice dinner with Kathryn and Lionel and we went to see the sunset which I thought was pretty great but Kathryn said they do get much better and it looks like tonight is a full moon. After visiting for a bit they drove me back here to my room. Kathryn and I plan to do some riding tomorrow.
 
 
 
What a fitting end to a beautiful day.

Monday 24 December 2012

Mesa Arizona

Left Palm Springs yesterday. Kind of cool out on the highway. Fueled up at the pilot gas station and then headed east on I 10. Nothing really to take pictures of and I stopped at Blythe for a cup of coffee to warm up. I thought I had lots of gas so went right through Quartzite only to have my low fuel light come on in the middle of nowhere. I slowed down a bit and made it to a rest area just outside of Tonopah and met this really nice old couple from Colorado. They gave me about 1/2 gallon of gas and I made it into Tonopah and fueled up. I managed to get through Phoenix and Tempe and into Mesa but had to call for directions after that but I managed to find the place and here I am at Merril and Joyces lovely place in Mesa. We went and visited Bill and Judy Gualt last night . Can't believe it is Christmas tomorrow but Merry Christmas to all my Blog readers.

Saturday 22 December 2012

Picked up bike today Hooray

 
Yesterday I had the bike picked up and taken to Riverside BMW. The battery was too far gone to recover. Ken had shopping to do for Christmas so I just rode along to Costco, Walmart and other stores. It was interesting but I am sure not a shopper. Lots of nice cars around the Palm Springs area. Parked next to this lovely T-Bird.


 Today Ken had to pick up some gravel at a place called White Water Rock. We had some time so went up the canyon to White Water Preserve
which used to be a fish hatchery. It still has ponds and fish and would be a great place to have a picnic.
 
 

 
 
On the way back down I took these photos of the windmills and then of the smoke trees as I was pleased to get such a close up when I had missed most of the fantastic shots in Joshua tree in Sept.
 
 
 
 
After the preserve we went back down to the rock place and picked up the gravel. Very interesting place with all kinds of rocks and things made from rock.
 
 
 
 
We took the gravel back to the house. Picked up sandwiches for everyone at Karen's Grooming Business and then headed out to Riverside to get my bike. Ken dropped me off and I put the luggage on and visited with another customer from the area Hector. Then I headed back to Palm Springs 61 miles away. Traffic was heavy but I really had no problem and got back around 3:00. I checked in with Steve and |Colleen and will see them again at Agua Caliente. I contacted Merrill and Joyce and got directions to their place in Mesa for tomorrow. I will conclude with photos of the Riverside BMW dealership.
 
 
 
 

Friday 21 December 2012

Second Day in California

Well I tried to do my blog last night and now I cannot find my draft. Yesterday I tried to start the bike but it just would not go so I went with Ken on his work trip and we went to Riverside BMW and purchased a battery tender. Then Ken had to go to a jewelry warehouse in Long Beach. Then on the way to Nature Vet  we stopped at San Clemente State Park. I of course forgot my camera and Ken took a few pictures for me and then emailed them for me. Well somehow in my ignorance I seem to be able to recover this one photo.
Well despite the fact it was on the (EAST) side of the road and I had confirmed with Ken we were heading north. Apparently we had turned and were heading south and somehow I missed all that. It is the Pacific Ocean and It was right there.
Well hey there is a differnt picture. I'll try for one more and hopefully publish before it disappears again.
Yeah finally figured it out, kind of. Got the battery tender hooked up but the battery is beyond charging so I have just had my bike picked up and taken to Riverside BMW and they will fix it up so I can pickup tomorrow.That will make me feel so much better.
 
 

Wednesday 19 December 2012

1st day Palm Springs

Well it has been awhile but I don't want to bore you all with Work, Scouting, Church etc but I have been extremely busy as always. Retirement? I am however on another trip. Left Calgary Dec 18 to tunes of -25 degrees Celcius on the weekend and snow in my front yard. I headed for warmer climes. Palm Springs California and my F650GS that I left at Ken and Karen's in Sept. Arrived last night . The landing was fairly rough with some heavy wind. One woman was reassuring her child...just think roller coaster..and that pretty much desctibed it. But is was worth it. This is today. I am spending the day trying to figure out where I am going to go and when. My only set dates are Dec 29 to Jan 1 Agua Calente campout and then Death Valley campout. I made an appointment to have bike serviced on Sat at noon then I think I will head out and start visiting. So many people to see.
This is out side today.

 
 
A far cry from Calgary

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Last days of mileage contest

Oct13/2012
Today dawned relatively nice after that snow on Thursday and so after running errands I finally headed out to Elbow Falls on a run. It is a lovely spot and I had not been there for awhile. Unfortunately it was getting rather late so I parked, walked up and took pictures and left.
 
Some of the trees are still holding on to their leaves and the fall colors are still stunning.
 
 
 
 
Once I finished walking I headed to Bragg Creek for fuel and then went over to the shopping centre and went to The Greatest Little Wordhouse in the West and bought a couple of James Patterson books and checked out who was there on motorcycles. Did not appear to be anyone I knew so took a picture..not a very good one of the deer who hang out here and headed home. Ironically the building behind them is the Animal Clinic.
 
 
Then I headed home as it was getting dark. The next morning (Last day of contest) I got up and went to the motorcycle breakfast and then to church..where I had to read the story and try to thread a needle at the same time..REALLY!!!!
I then headed directly out to Sundre to visit with my friend Marlene and Marshall's sister and brother-in-law. Merrill and Joyce Davidson. Following is a picture of Marlene. I came home through Cochrane and just got back in time for the Cuborama meeting at the Scout Shop. Then home and I tallied up my mileage for 6 months. 27,581km Yahoo!
 

Thursday 11 October 2012

It's Not Fair

BMW mileage contest ends Oct 14/2012. This is what I arose to this morning. How am I supposed to ride in this?  It's just not fair.....
Oct 11/2012......

Lake Mcgregor

The following weekend turned out to be beautiful and wanting to put on a few more miles before the contest is over I decided to respond to an invitation from my past Weight Watcher Leader Sharon to see the cottage her and her husband had built and I am so glad I did. It was a beautiful day for a ride and not only is their cottage lovely but Brenda and Dawn who were also there as staff every Tuesday were there also. What a grand reunion as I had not seen them for 2 years.

Not only was the company, the food and the glorious surroundings lovely but the ride home was absolutely stunning with the sun setting to the west and the full moon rising in the east. WoW!
The grain elevators at Mossleigh silhouetted by the setting sun are a true western site vanishing from the prairies.