Day 1 of 55

We just completed our first full day on the Maasdam. It’s been a good day at sea. It started with breakfast in the room, followed by tea in the Crow’s Nest, followed by a 3 star Mariner champagne welcome, followed by lunch. Then came trivia and finally some rest time in the library. Tonight was a “Gala” night, so it was the first of our 9 formal events and most of the folks got dressed up. The day is coming to a close, so we’ll see a movie before bedtime. Cruising is such hard work...and we seem to love it. Our first stop is Honolulu but that’s another 4 days from now. Life is good! And, guess what? Silkie is having a good time too!

Morning

The sunrise was spectacular this morning. The light radiated from the cloud cover painting the ocean with pale pink, gray, green and blue light. And, then a blink later, it was gone! I completed my 2 mile walk, which is 8 laps around deck 6, in good time. I thought I was leaving my cabin early, before 6:45, but folks were on deck 6 walking away.       

The deck hands were putting up the deck chairs while the rest of us walked (no jogging allowed) the wet deck. Thank goodness the deck was not slippery. As you can see, the water was calm, as it’s been the whole trip.

Next stop was America’s Test Kitchen which Holland America is featuring right now. Fans can watch ATK test cooks demonstrate their favorite recipes. Today, 2 yummy easy-to-cook Italian meals were prepared in less than 30 minutes. My type of dinner. 

 

Watch This Space

My shoulder still hurts, so I’m using the sling once in a while, especially when my arm gets tired. I saw another doctor yesterday and he said the exray shows a “chip” in the shoulder that could cause another problem. If you look, you might see a dent at the tip of the humerus. 

I’m not sure why my other doctors have not seen that little indentation. This doc said it could cause a “catch” when I raise my arm? Who knows. I’m doing my rehab regularly and I’m determined it will get better. It has to get better, as a new adventure is starting tomorrow. 

Right now there are 5 suitcases in the bedroom that are getting packed and only one is completely packed. We are getting ready for a HUGE vacation. Watch this space for pictures...they will start tomorrow!

 

Back in the Land of Fruit and Nuts

We are back in California, having made the four day drive from quiet and rural to noisy and urban. Thank goodness we don't live in a super urban part of CA. When we leave and when we return I try to take a picture of Lake Oroville. 

This September the water level is relatively low. This is probably a good thing because the spillway is not yet fixed and the weather guessers are predicting a wet winter. (We saw a headline on Sunday saying the spillway will not be finished by November 1.) Therefore, a low lake level is a good thing. Click here to see the lake level last year at this time. Click here to see progress being made on the spillway. It's a huge project.

BTW, I named this post the "Land of the Fruit and Nuts" because California produces a lot of fruit and a lot of nuts, both of which are healthy for you.

Update

 

The news is good. Yes I did break my shoulder...and yes I did some damage to the rotator cuff...but according to my doctor I'm on the mend and I do not need surgery!

The top x-ray is the latest one...and if you know how to read x-rays, you can see that the bone is mending. The doc took me out of the sling and said now is the time to try to heal the rest of the way by moving your arm more naturally so it will not become frozen. So, he gave me some exercises to do several times a day to increase mobility, which I'm doing.

As for the rotator cuff, it is NOT torn. When I fell, I must have jabbed the bone into it, creating a 1/2 inch hole. This is supposed to be better than a tear. A tear needs to be surgically sewn togehter, but a hole will heal itself. If all goes to plan, the shoulder should be well in 8-10 weeks. He showed me the hole on the MRI but frankly I did not see what he saw...it looked like a brighter line amidst some darker ones. Interpreting MRIs is an art-form.

Being out of the sling is wonderful. I have two arms and two hands that work, as long as I don't push it too much. I did that last night be accidentally over-extending my right arm. The pain was immediate! I'm not 100% yet, but I'm going to get there.

Lest We Forget

Today is 9-11 -- 16 years ago, a group of Islamic terrorists successfully destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City, part of the US Pentagon, etc. It is a day we need to remember, much like we need to remember 12-7-1941 (Pearl Harbor Day or The Day that will live in Infamy). Events happen that change the world...and they should not be revised or edited or erased because they are not pleasing to x-group or y-group, or any other group. (Ancient Egyptians took to deleting hieroglyphs of pharoahs when they were out of favor...yet centuries later, we still know those pharoahs existed and what they did.) Columbus took a few handful of men in 3 tiny ships and sailed to a place that was hitherto unknown; Robert E. Lee was a great Civil War general; 12 US Presidents were slave holders; Balboa, Vespucci, DeSoto and many others were discoverers exceptional; and now these people and others are being reviled because of the aftermath of their deeds. For every action there is a reaction. That's what change is about. We need to remember the past in order to understand the present and predict possible futures. Erasing the past will not make it go away, nor will editing it. The past is! Wake up and smell the roses. Things happen. 9-11 changed our world in such a way that we no longer trust one another. We need to remember that and not try to erase it like it never happened.

Watch this Space

We said "good bye" to the Tetons for the summer...watch this space as another adventure is on the horizon!

Birds

It's hard to take still pictures that show some action...but I think I did. This warbler is munching the berries on a western mountain ash tree.

And here's a young robin doing the same. Not too bad for a smartphone camera!

On the Lighter Side

On July 29 I broke the tip of my humerus and tore my rotator cuff. Trying to type with those two conditions has been difficult. Today I'm trying again...and so far, no pain...but I'm supposed to get out of my sling tomorrow as the break should be healed. The rotator cuff injury is another story. I'll find that information out tomorrow.   In the meantime, I need to post some pictures as I've not just sat around while waiting for my arm to heal. We went to an old car show which was a lot of fun. The cars of my youth are now old cars. I hope they don't put on an "old person show" any time soon, as we are not quite as shiny as the old cars.

The cutest car there was the 1957 Metropolitan. I remember this car but I don't think I saw too many on the road. This little beauty cost under $1200 when she was new. 

In traffic, she got 30 miles to the gallon! American Motors was ahead of it's time.

My eyes were drawn to this 1955 Oldsmobile because my parents had one of these beauties. We had the Super 88 (this is the 88) in turquoise blue and polar white...those were the days of two tone cars! This car is currently for sale for a mere $22,000.

1958 was the first year of the Chevrolet Impala and this beauty was HOT way back then. It even sported a Continental Kit which made her about 18 inches longer. Those were the days when longer was better.

There were two 1957 Chevrolets...and red one and a blue one.

The blue one sported a Buick grille...who knows why. This one is completely restored and has only 5000 miles on it. The gentleman who had the car said "this car gets lots of attention" and rightly so. She was purty!

You don't see many Studebaker's around anymore. This is a 59 SkyHawk.

I'll end with a 1970 Nova that been "souped" up a bit. This car did not sell well in Mexico because no va means "no go" in Spanish. Not a promising name for a car!

Stuff

Hurricanes are blowing, earthquakes are shaking, fires are burning, NK is threatening...no where is safe! My heart and hopes and prayers and thoughts are going to all the folks who are enduring the barage of "ugliness!"Do we need a crazy man exploding nuclear warheads when we have mother nature doing her thing? STOP NK--enough is enough! Everyone, stick together; help your neighbors; we're all in this together... Be safe out there!

End of Season -- Part 2

As the flowers are drying, berries are coming out.

The garden is filled with snowberries. They are not edible by humans, but the deer love these crisp white berries.

All that is left of the wild roses are the rose hips...while not a berry per se, it looks like one. Another tasty treat the deer seem to love. 

The asters are going to seed...and at this stage they look a lot like a dandelion.

There are a few asters still in bloom...their last gasp of the summer.

If you look carefully, you will see that the lupines have formed peapods containing seeds for next year's flowers.

There's only one new flower...the Hollyhock. It's in full bloom right now. Soon the aspen trees will turn yellow...

but we are not there yet.

 

End of the Season

Summer is winding down in the Rockies. There's a golden glint to the light that was not there two weeks ago. The flowers are reaching their end too. 

Their petals are curled and faded and some have dropped off.

Bumblebees are harvesting the last fruits of summer.

A few flowers have not "caught the word" that summer is waning. Soon the berries will be out and the trees will change color.

 

 

Totality

Yesterday was the first total eclipse to cross the US in 99 years. I did not think it was a "big deal" but my nephew had the total eclipse on his "Bucket List" and i thought "sure--I'll go along with the idea."  The adventure began!  

On Saturday we made a dry run to Jackson and determined the place was going to be so crowded on Monday we needed to take a dirt road to Jackson that might be less traveled. On Monday we got up early and drove to the "back way" only to discover that the roads were not as busy as we thought they would be. So instead of taking the backdoor approach to Jackson, we took the main road to Jackson and turned off at the Wilson-Moose remote entrance to Grand Teton National Park. There we saw a tiny hot air balloon floating high in the sky, getting ready for the eclipse.. not a lot of other traffic...and a small parking area with 5 cars in it. We parked and waited for the eclipse to start. We had a good time talking to all the eclipse fans in the lot. 

Not too much later, the Teton Village gondola was stopped. It was filled with eclipse fans who wanted to get a birds eye view of the event from the privacy of a cable car. It looked eerie to see a string of lights marking the cable cars stopped on the mountain.

Then the sky started to turn a bit darker and it became cooler and someone said "it's starting!" All of us put on our special glasses and took a peek at the sun as it was being covered by the moon. At first it looked like a small bite was taken out of the sun...then the "bite" became larger until the sun was covered by the moon. People were counting down to the magic hour of 11:24, the point of totality...and then it happened.       

We had two minutes and nineteen seconds of darkness in the middle of the day. The sky was not pitch black, but it was dark...it was definitely cooler...and we could see the stars! A few folks said they had goosebumps...others said they felt "strange."

Folks were clapping and shouting "hooray"...the two dogs in our area were making sounds like they were uncomfortable...yet the people were excited and awestruck at the same time.       

The horizon was ringed with a beautiful rosy-salmon glow that blended to blue then dark navy. Ever so slowly the moon moved away from the sun leaving the tiniest gap of sun that shone as brightly as a diamond and the process was reversed. Totality was gone, but the memory can never be erased. What a day...and I'm oh so happy I went!

 

August Problem

For the last several years, August has not been a good month for me. One August i broke a rib. Another one I caught pneumonia...and this year I broke the tip of my right humerus where it attaches to the shoulder. 

That's the x-ray...look at the arrow and you will see a booboo at the tip of the bone. I had an MRI on my shoulder earlier today but I have not been told the results yet. I'm hoping I just chipped the bone and did not damage the rotator cuff. Wish me luck that the rotator cuff is OK. 

In the meantime, I'm learning how to cope with a sling tying my right hand down, but it's a challenge. At least I'm not in too much pain. Life goes on!

 

Lethbridge, Alberta

Lethbridge is located in the coulee area of Alberta. What is a coulee? Take a look

This is the "Lethbridge Viaduct," a very long (just over a mile) and very tall (over 310 feet) railway trestle that bridges the coulee. The trestle is the longest of it's type in the world; and the largest trestle in Canada. It's very impressive especially when you consider it was built between 1907 and 1909 and it still sees daily use!

This is a dorm (University of Lethbridge) that is nestled into a coulee

And here's a picture of the same dorm, from across the coulee. 

There are many definitions for the word coulee (see wikipedia) but in this case, a picture is worth a thousand words. 

In addition to coulees we also saw some white tailed deer...including two spotted fawns.  

We saw more deer in Lethbridge that we did in both national parks.

 

 

Heading Home

 

We had a grand time at 2 Canadian National Parks: Banff and Jasper. The scenery is always world class, and this time it was even better as we were able to share it our family. There were 3 RVs in our caravan--2 Cruise Canada rental motor homes and our fifth wheel trailer/pickup truck. 

The first few days were spent in Banff...then 2 days at Lake Louise...then 3 in Jasper...then back to Banff before we went our separate ways. I don't know what the highlights were as there were too many. I know that we ate well as everyone cooked -- so we had curry, tortellini with 2 types of sauce, soft tacos, steak...and the list goes on. We were glamping and enjoying every minute of it. 

We even had a true Canadian dish...Poutine!

The flowers were grand...the animals were scarce (we went on a wildlife safari and only saw a few elk...but when we got back to our campground, a group of 5 elk were there including a youngster and a male in velvet)-- But best of all, was the fantastic time we had with the family. 

Pyramid Lake in Jasper. 

Jasper

The next National Park on the list this year is Jasper, which is about smack dab in the middle of Alberta. It's just not easy to get to because it's far from everything. It's 4 hour drive from Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, and a 6 hour drive from Calgary. From Banff/Lake Louise you take the TransCan 1 until the Highway 93 exit where you begin one of the prettier drives in North America...the Icefields Parkway. 

The scenery is spectacular for 150 kilometers. Jasper Park begins at the Columbia Icefield

 

That might not look huge...but it is! The icefield is fed by 8 glaciers and has been on this earth for millenia.

From there we drive the 102 kilometers to Jasper townsite and Whistler's Campground our "home" for the next few days.

There are still fires in BC, but the wildlife watching is pretty good. Tonight we are taking a wildlife safari to see more.

 

Lakes

We spent two days at the Lake Louise "end" of Banff National Park. Lake Louise is beautiful and way too crowded. Everyone seems to have heard about the Lovely Lake Louise so they make a pilgrimage there. Last year when we tried to see the lake, the traffic was backed up on the TransCan 1. We decided to go anyway and just could not move, so we said "good bye Lake Louise, maybe next time." This year was next time, and we did see the lake and about a million of our closest friends.

But, when we took the walk alongside the lake, the crowds subsided some and we could enjoy the beauity of the turquoise water.

The next day we got up early and drove to nearby Moraine Lake which might be even prettier than Louise, and far less "discovered."

Early in the morning the lake is still as glass and the reflections are stunning.

The blue of the water is incredible and there are not any crowds. The reason is simple. The parking lot is limited, and when it gets full, ParksCanada blocks off the road. Something they cannot do at Lake Louise.

Moraine Lake is a blue gem that nestles in the Valley of the Ten Peaks and it takes your breath away.