Las Vegas
March 12, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
The Bellagio fountains are one of my favourites, both day and evening shows. We could feel the heat of the erupting volcano from our viewpoint across the street. The theme of the gardens at TheRead more
Las Vegas
March 14, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We did need a break from all the action on The Strip so we headed to one of our favourite places in Las Vegas....Red Rock Canyon National Park. We selected an 8 km moderate hike but towards the endRead more
Mesa, Arizona
March 15, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
We left Las Vegas this morning at 11:30, anticipating a 5 hour drive according to Googlemaps. Sadly, we encountered two motor vehicle accidents. The first one occurred just past the Hoover Dam. A semiRead more
Mesa
March 15, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Our home for this week is a one bedroom condo at the Westgate Painted Mountain Country Club in Mesa, a community east of Phoenix. It's an older property on a main road with no views but it will meetRead more
Mesa
March 19, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
We started our week with a relaxing day at the pool. I explored the neighbourhood one day and found the desert style of gardening much different than at home. The temperature soared to 32 with sunnyRead more
Mesa
March 20, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
The temperature was only 27 today so I thought it would be a good opportunity for a bike ride. My destination was the Usery Mountain Recreation Area, a 15 km return trip. Initially I was able to bikeRead more
Mesa
March 20, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
On my bike ride I was excited to see the desert in bloom. Beautiful!
Mesa
March 20, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Also on my bike ride I thought I had photographed a roadrunner but my research proved me wrong. It was a Gambel's quail that also runs along the ground but not as fast as a roadrunner.
John chose toRead more
Scottsdale
March 21, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
After our 10 am check-out in Mesa, we drove 20 minutes east to see the Goldfield Ghost Town. There was no admission fee but there were a number of touristy attractions you could pay for. A few minutesRead more
Scottsdale
March 21, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Our new home for the week is the Sheraton Desert Oasis in North Scottsdale. This is the same resort where I started my adventure with Linda way back on January 3rd! It's a very nice condo so I'm happyRead more
Scottsdale
March 23, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Yesterday John relaxed by the pool while I explored the community by foot. I think I have an inherent GPS for shopping malls because after nearly an hour of walking with no destination in mind IRead more
Scottsdale
March 23, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Pinnacle Peak had flowers of yellow, purple, orange and magenta; Common Chuckwalla (iguana); and rattlesnakes (which we fortunately did not see).
Scottsdale
March 23, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We convinced ourselves that we had burned enough calories on our hike so we could now splurge on lunch at In-n-Out Burger :-) At this Southwestern burger chain everything is freshly made.
Scottsdale
March 24, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We were up early this morning as we had reserved an 8:30 am tour to the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center. They rescue and rehabilitate wildlife that has been injured, displaced and orphaned.Read more
Scottsdale
March 25, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Another early morning as we had set up an appointment to attend a timeshare presentation. The only reason we did it was to earn the $100 they offer.
In the afternoon what better activity to do in 93Read more
Scottsdale
March 25, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
The desert trek made John desire an icy margarita on the rocks. So we used the GPS to track down a Mexican restaurant for dinner. We were lucky to find one that had delicious food, as there is aRead more
Scottsdale
March 26, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
It was another scorcher today, 93 F and sunny. John opted for a pool day; whereas I went for a l l/2 hour bike ride and joined him at the pool afterwards. Because there is so little humidity, the heatRead more
Scottsdale
March 26, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
In Phoenix, housing developers are required by law to protect all native flora. So when new housing developments are built they must use the existing plants in their landscaping. That means there areRead more
Scottsdale
March 27, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
It was our last day in Scottsdale. Our plan had been to go on a hike but when the temperature quickly reached a near record high of 95 F (35 C) and the TV news reporters were issuing warnings about aRead more
Santa Fe, New Mexico
March 28, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Although neither of us felt ready to return home, it was time to begin the long journey north. It was a very scenic drive as we ventured off the interstates.
Santa Fe
March 28, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
750 km and 8 hours later we arrived in Santa Fe. We were both looking forward to a delicious meal of New Mexican cooking and weren't disappointed with the food at the Blue Corn Cafe. JS enjoyed aRead more
Cheyenne, Wyoming
March 29, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
We varied our route by driving through Denver and then north to Cheyenne. Fortunately it was a Sunday afternoon so we didn't encounter heavy traffic in downtown Denver. Wyoming had a speed limit of 80Read more
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
March 30, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Now the scenery became somewhat monotonous, as prairies can be. There were a lot of trains hauling coal and oil. We stopped at one scenic rest area along the Missouri River. It seems that rattlesnakesRead more
Winnipeg, Manitoba
March 31, 2015 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C
This was a very sad, tearful day. Last evening we spoke with Alyssa who informed us that our 17 l/2 year old Kobi had just suffered what appeared to be a stroke. He had no strength in his hind legsRead more


































































