Monday, May 29, 2017

The Days of May


It's almost too good to be true.... three fine, fine weekends, in a row, in May.... including May Long.... What... is going on?? Wow! Anyway, I am not complaining, believe me - I am simply in awe of this rarely experienced phenomenon. And I have definitely been taking advantage of it!

On my post-birthday weekend I went to Medicine Hat, to visit my parents as well as one of my besties. For a solid 48 hours I alternated between playing cards with my Mom and Dad and scrubbing floors in Jynelle's beautiful old house. Sounds like an odd combination of activities I know, but it was fabulous!

Springtime on the prairies.



It's bug season! Ewwww.

The homestead.

The Parents. My Mom is still being
cordial to me at this point.....

I'm seldom on the winning side of the table, so
this was a nice way to end the evening!

Elinor however, had something to say
about my victory.... which I may or may not
have made a big deal about.... LOL!


So the card game was where I had to use my brain, and Jynelle's house, was where I had to use my brawn. She is giving the place a nice facelift and I contributed some elbow grease to the cause.

One room down....

....and a few more to go!

Quality time with my BFF!

The long weekend ended up being mostly chill, however I did venture out to Siffleur Falls one of the days, which I've blown past a hundred times on my way to the mountains but never stopped. What a more than pleasantly surprising trail!

Beautiful canyon!


Amazing water color!

The crocuses are out.

Cool view.

More great landscape.


Right after the holiday Monday, my plant started into a shutdown. The first full-tilt week of ripping and tearing was capped off nicely for me by some more incredible outside time. The weekend weather was stellar, both days, and I clocked about 25km on trails around Canmore.













Overall, the month of May has been excellent! And I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is NOT all that we get for summer.... LOL!

Cheers!



Hiking - Siffleur Falls
Time (car to car): 3-1/2 hrs
Distance: 12.0km (hiked 2km beyond first falls)
Elevation Gain: 150m

Hiking - Ribbon Falls
Time (car to car): 5-1/2 hrs
Distance: 18.5km (hiked up to the chains)
Elevation Gain: 420m

Hiking - West Wind Pass
Time (car to car): 2 hrs
Distance: 4.5km
Elevation Gain: 360m












Sunday, May 7, 2017

Happy Birthday to Me!


Remember when we were kids, and as soon as spring rolled in and it was nice enough to be outside without a snow-suit on, how after school or on a Saturday morning, we'd hop on our bicycles and madly pedal around to all of our friends' houses? Maybe break for a few minutes and have a pic-a-pop before riding over to call on the next buddy, the bike gang growing in size as it moved through the neighborhood. We'd spend hours just cruising up and down the streets - practicing burnouts in the sandy gutters, attempting wheelies, stopping to say hello to old Mr. Miller as he eyed us up suspiciously while weeding his flowerbeds, or bugging one of our older siblings as they washed their vehicle in the driveway. If any of us had a spare quarter or two, we might even treat ourselves to some candy from the corner store. As long as we were home in time for supper, the liberty of riding was ours unconditionally. Life was good!

Now fast forward four decades or so.... Aside from dodging a spray of water from an irritated teenager's garden hose, and maybe not so much with the burnouts and wheelies, spending a day on my Harley is pretty much the adult equivalent of a ten-year-old's bicycle exploits, for me anyhow. Gallivanting from town to town, enjoying a cool beverage at each stop in the company of fellow riders, sharing laughs and stories on a sunny patio.... the freedom of being on my bike just never gets old! This past weekend offered up several kilometers of lovely riding with great friends. It was the first time out this season, and coincidentally it was my birthday. How's my luck!

First stop - we picked up Jacki.

Happy Birthday to me!


Second stop - Monkey Top



Third stop - Hooterville


Final stop - J-Bar-T


Friday was a gorgeous day - unusually warm, with lots of sunshine! We couldn't have asked for better riding weather. And after birthday partying it up with another group of friends later that same evening, we did it all again on Saturday.

Not only did I get myself some serious wind therapy this weekend, I also got some new bling for the FatBoy Lo. I am learning that the accessories available for a bike are truly never-ending - I used to laugh when someone told me that the cheap part is purchasing the bike - and I don't have much for self-restraint when it comes to personalizing my ride. Here is the latest addition (I replaced the stock mirrors):




I surpassed the 10,000km mark on my motorcycle on Saturday, and what a fabulous ten thousand K they have been! I am excited to click the odometer through the next 10,000.... Too bad we didn't have odometers on our pedal bikes way back when, hey! I'd be curious to know how many miles I've logged in my lifetime on two wheels. Life is good!

Cheers!