Bloomin' Trees!

While we were down in Palm Springs area, I tried to take a number of photos of the flowering bushes and trees. Here are a few of them. It is just beautiful to see how different the landscaping is there compared to what we are used to here up "north". Just another note, while we were there, they planted all sorts of bedding plants at the entry to the compound and other locations around. In Canada, we were pulling out all the dead ones from the early frost etc!The tree above and the flower below!The dried up "lily" on the end of a Joshua tree branch. We were there at the wrong time obviously to see the real thing.

Our trip to Palm Springs and area certainly was a blessing! To sum it all up in just a few sentences would be difficult. We definitely had highlights and yet also experienced things we wouldn't repeat. I think if we have the opportunity to return to the area we will. Maybe not Palm Springs itself - but one of the other "cities" stretching on down the valley! If I had to say what I enjoyed most it would be spending good visiting time while soaking up sun! We had lots of laughs (at least Bev and I did!) yet lots of serious conversations as well. That's what family is for!

Besides enjoying the sun and warmth I would say I liked Joshua Tree National Park the best - both during the day and again a few days later at dusk! Stopping at the Cap Rock viewpoint and shutting off the car to see all the stars was so cool - if a bit unsettling. We're not used to being out in the darkest of night in the middle of nowhere whatsoever! I think I could sort of get used to it though with some practice!

The tramway up the south mountains was very enjoyable too! Fully rotating around while travelling upwards gave us lots to look at! Again ascending up a steep rock face is different than any other tram I have been on! It was a steep climb up! Peter mentioned that the top of the mountain reminded us of our beloved Alberta. As much as I enjoyed time south and would do it again, this is still home! Cold and all!

The Air Museum was really cool too. In a warmish sort of way. Being right next to the airport we felt a lot of heat from the asphalt while walking outside. Even though the displays were American airforce I could still appreciate the effort put into the fight for freedom! I was the only one of us four who wouldn't walk the catwalk in the B-17 - but I did get a thorough explanation of the display of all the gear a fellow would have to wear when flying. Incredible!

Now we need to refocus and think of work, finish cleaning up the yard for winter, start gearing up for next summer's L Days and this November's Craft Sale. Palm Springs was a blessing and now I am enjoying reading a bit of history about where we were and actually discovering a few places we might have missed! Next time.

Blessings #7

Well, we arrived back in Canada safe and sound even though there was a fair amount of turbulence on the flight! We left Palm Springs with the temperature hovering at 90 degrees F and came back to Calgary with the temperature about 36 degrees F with a bunch of snow around. Reality sets in real fast eh?

The next few photos were taken right at the airport in Palm Springs.

This is taken in an area between the main building with the check in areas and the gates themselves. We were a bit early so we spent about an hour just enjoying the final time outside. We did get to see numerous planes take off and land will we sat there.

Will waiting at the aiport we saw a few hummingbirds just flying all around. They took turns sitting on this sign. The sign was probably 18"x12" big so when you see this and the bolt holding the sign on its post, you can understand how tiny this beautiful bird is! What a blessing to see these birds numerous times during our stay!

Blessings #6

Our blog entry is a bit later today since we spent some time at the College of the Desert Street Fair. It is a lot like Thursday nite's street fair but way better and way bigger. It is very hot today. As we drove back to the villa, the car temperature gauge for outside said 100 degrees for part of the drive. But the time we got back to the villa, it cooled down to 97! Time for the pool again! Here is a photo of us four in the pool.

Last night was very special and another blessing! We decided to travel the 60 miles again from our villa to the Keys West viewpoint but this time to see the sunset and see the stars. We a sight! We arrived right before 6pm when the sun was already behind Mt. San Jacinto. We saw the orange in the sky change to darker and darker. It was very warm for 5100 ft above see level. Just around 60 degrees. We stayed there for a while and we were not the only ones who wanted to see this sight! A few other couples were there as well but left before we did. Then it felt erie. We were the only ones left at the viewpoint and it was very dark! There are no houses, businesses anywhere near! We were very alone! We drove back to the Cap Rock palring area and then took a few minutes in the pitch black to view the stars. The moon was just a sliver shape but very bright. We were able to see a portion of the Milky Way though and also the Big and Little Dippers!

View towards Los Angeles with a Joshua tree in the foreground. Mt San Jacinto on the left side.

This photo was taken viewing east from the Keys West viewpoint. Just to show the cool landscape! That is the Salton Sea in the background which apparently is 50 times saltier than the ocean and is about 235 ft lower than sea level!

After coming back from Joshua Tree National Park it was time to head to the pool again. We met a very nice couple from Fullerton, California and we all talked till just about 11pm! Found out lots of info about the States!

Blessings #5

Another great day yesterday! Different again though! We took time to have breakfast at the "Old Creek House" again after which is was "necessary" to visit the nearby Micheals to look for craft ribbon for some ornaments that L finished painting before we left. Of course we found a few other things too!

We don't start our mornings very early but we do take the time for a short walk around the gated community where we are staying. Got to get in a bit of exercise in order to justify the eating out! We have a fully equipped kitchen but it is missing a potato peeler and a kettle! We do use it two meals on and two meals off for some reason. Yesterday after our breakfast, a bit of shopping and relaxing in the villa and by the pool, L and P made supper. "Hachee" was the choice. Ask us about it sometime. Who knew that cloves, onions and hamburger go together?

After supper we took some time to go "downtown Palm Springs" to what is called the "Village Fest". Apparently it happens every Thursday nite there. The main road through downtown is closed off and they hold like a craft, home based business fair. There are other businesses as well, but they have their canopies and stuff along. It is a bit like a farmer's market but with not as much food for sale. It was very packed with hundred's of people! We had a very hard time finding a parking spot. (Had to walk three blocks!)

In our travels over the last number of days we certainly have noticed all sorts of Palm trees. Since we did not take any adventure worthy photos yesterday, we are going to post these. Palm trees apparently are a bit like people, all shapes and sizes!

This one is the most common with fairly rough bark and a nice plume of leaves on top.

These are shorter and heftier and have a smoother bark for a section of the trunk.

For some reason, some palms are left with the dead growth hanging there. Too embarresed to show the whole trunk?

So how about these ones with a "haircut". Notice the smooth trunk appearance.

Now these ones are probably considered to be "toddlers" or little kids since they are so short. They are not all "growed" up!

Then there are the fake ones that want to be a tall and stately palm. They even make the communication towers looks like palms! Actually kinda cool.

Blessings #4

Hello all, day #4 has come and gone already! Way too fast!!

We were blessed immensely yesterday as we took the entire day to visit the Joshua Tree National Park. This million acre park is located about 45 min north of Palm Springs. We arrived there later morning and took in the very unique scenery right away! This park is SO different than anything we have ever seen. The rock formations looked like piles of discarded rocks, but we are sure that is not the case. God certainly had some fun creating this area! He certainly has a great imagination! A very large part of the park has joshua trees growing all over the place. Like a forest but not like ours in Alberta. In the heavily forested area of the trees, they are probably 100 ft apart with very little undergrowth. Take a look at the photos below and see what you think!

R&B under a Joshua Tree

This is just one of the many unique and awesome rock formations. Many appeared as just a pile of rocks randomly placed! Can you see the rock climbers?

Another hiker took this photo for us. We went for a mile long loop hike through the "Hidden Valley" so named for the ability to hide rustled cattle without being seen.

This is Cap Rock. This large rock is just "hangin' around"!

We stopped at Keys West, the view point into the valley where Palm Springs is located in the far right under the "mountain". From this vantage point you can see the San Andreas Fault where there is a long strip of rock in the valley floor about two thirds accross this photo. We drove over the fault line later in the day to get back to Palm Springs.

This is a close up of the Cholla Cactus. One little guy in 1997 found out how they "jump" at you sticking there very sharp tines into you without warning. This cholla was located at the Cholla Garden on the way out of the park. The littered the landscape in this area. It was fanastic to see but we needed to be very careful not to get too close as we walked by them on the pathway in and around the garden. Garden is not really the right word to use though.

We are being blessed with great weather and just yesterday we saw someting very strange in the sky that we have not seen since we left Alberta. I think they call them clouds.

Blessings #3

We continue to be blessed with great weather, good company and wonderful things to see and do.

After a great breakfast yesterday at the "Old Creek House" which is a sit down restaurant, where Lorraine had Huevos Mendez for $5.99 and I had Steak and Eggs for $6.99 and with coffee for 75 cents a cup, we were full and happy. It was very cheap but very good.

We took time to relax by one of the pools for a few hours and then decided to see the Palm Springs Air Museum showcasing many airplanes and models of ships as well. Just fantastic! When they let you into the airplanes to look around, that is wonderful! I toured a B17 Bomber! The musuem is right by the airport as well so we could watch some flights come and go as well. Very worthwhile to visit there.There was three hangers to view and look around, all full!

The cockpit from the B17 Bomber
The 6" wide catwalk in the bomb bay that did not have handrails in actual flight. The flight engineer occasionally had to free up a bomb if it got caught!
The B17 Bomber
The East side of the villa. We are in the main floor unit on the right side.

Blessings #2

Time is already flying as we are having a great time here in the desert. Another blessing for us as we do our best to relax and enjoy each other's company.

We did spend a bunch of yesterday driving around and doing some shopping. Prices here are really not much better than in Canada. Figure this one out...... they have all sorts of sweaters, heavy fleece items, gloves and toques. We asked a cashier about it and she said it gets cold here, like in the low 60's (not celcius!)

We took time yesterday to go up the Palm Springs Tram. the valley floor where we are at must be under 1000 ft above sea level and the tram took us to 8516 ft. The picture below shows all the coniferous trees up there. They said it is like going from Mexico to Alaska in ten minutes up the tram. The scenery at the top looked a lot like our beloved Alberta! The scenery into the valley was awesome! At the top is was a balmy 13 c or 56 f. Nice for Alberta!!

The photo above was yesterday morning enjoying breakfast on our villa patio! It is a blessing being here!

Blessings#1

Hello all! We made it to Palm Springs just fine! The flight was uneventful and smooth! Westjet screwed up the reserved seats so we will have to address that later with them to get a credit! Here we are the the airport in Calgary and then R&B in Palm Springs. Had to take a photo as soon as we arrived!





The airport was very cool since a lot of it is open air! Must be warm around here all year round! :)

L&P went for a walk this morning first thing. No need to wear jackets! The ring road around the entire complex took us about 15 minutes walking briskly with a couple of stops for photos. Here are a few photos of the complex including the front of our unit (garage only really seen). We will take photo of the other side tonight with some sunshine on it. We even ate breakfast on our patio this morning. No flies or mosquitoes!!

Christmas is coming!!

Take a look here at some of the beautiful work that L is doing for the Craft Sale in Lacombe on November 28th next month!





There will be all sorts of new things this year as well. We finally took to staining some woodwork which was fun and new! I will post some pics later to show y'all!

I/we haven't blogged in a long long time it would seem. Or so I keep being reminded of by others and by the date I see when I open our site thinking maybe the other half of the "we" did an entry without mentioning it to me as a surprise. My cue for this entry is taken from our daughter-in-law's latest writings actually. Thanks for the inspiration K! Speaking of thanks - it's about Thanksgiving! What I am thankful for!

-I am thankful for our children who are honest about how they are doing and what they are thankful for. ( This sounds a lot like "thankful for thankfulness" doesn't it.)

-I am thankful for the opportunity for long conversations to stay in touch with our children. Sometimes these visits seem few and far between - but we fill in the gaps pretty quickly.

-I am thankful the Lord has brought daughters into our family. Women who understand life from the womanly vantage point.

-I am thankful for the life opportunities presented to our children to broaden their horizons, increase their abilities and bring them into a deeper relationship with God, even if sometimes they don't see this happening.

-I am thankful for the chance to fly away to somewhere warm. (Winter weather seems too early this year.) But more importantly, somewhere we can spend time with our own siblings, removed from daily routine and pressures to gain perspective and balance from one another through our visiting. Siblings are a God-gift!

-I am thankful we get to do just this again next year with more siblings. Thankful we are blessed with the resources to have these trips with loved ones who've been our family, some since the day we were born!

-I am thankful for God given abilities to have productive and fulfilling jobs that directly or indirectly touch the lives of people very personally. We desire houses to be homes!

-I am thankful for the thoughtfulness of my husband/boss in making sure I have time and a place to express my creativity and share the proceeds with children around the world.

-I am thankful God sees the bigger picture even though we don't. Thankful He is patient with us in our anxiety about the little we do see.

This is just my short list. The "thankful"s that come to mind quickly this morning! Even though the Thanksgiving weekend is over for us here in Canada, you can make your own thankful list and then let it grow all year long!