Author: Rudy

I woke up just before 5am. I guess that’s not surprising — who needs more than 8 hours of sleep? At this rate, by the time we go back home in April I’ll have worked my way around the clock and be back to ‘normal’. Just in time.

Bacon and eggs for breakfast. It’s Saturday. Officially. Why am I writing in sentence fragments? It’s supposed to be sunny but it’s not. But the temperature is just fine for going out to the driving range and hitting a bucket of balls. So that’s what we do before lunch. I need to try out my ‘new’ clubs. The driver feels good in my hands, hits the ball pretty far, but it’s slicing a bit. I’ll need to either figure out exactly where to tee up the ball, or maybe all those fancy adjustments on the club head can fix this. I’ll have to ‘google’ that when I get home.

Sue makes lunch while I putt outside. And off and on I sit down at my computer and continue to work on my web project. Sue hops on the bike and leaves for her hair appointment. A few minutes after she leaves I hear a strange noise outside. What’s that? Rain. I go outside. Not lots of drops, but still, maybe I should hop in the van and give Sue a ride. But I don’t. It’s not that bad. And after 15 minutes it stops anyway.

And now it’s time to watch some NFL. Two games today, so I might as well make myself comfortable on the couch. I didn’t really expect either game to be all that close, but before I had all my snacks and drinks all arranged on the coffee table the Ravens had surprised the Patriots with two quick touchdowns. Holy cow! Maybe I should pay attention. Lucky for Tom Brady (and for Jim and Bonny), I was cheering for the Ravens. So my record is intact.

Sue got home with her new hair-do just in time to see the bitter end of the first game. And CTV didn’t miss a beat — just ‘cross-faded’ from one game to the next. There was hardly even time for a washroom break in between. We ate our hotdogs with beans and beer while watching the second game: the Panthers at the Seahawks. Again, there were glimmers of hope for the Panthers early on, but in the end (and by ‘the end’ I mean just before the late news!) the Seahawks were the better team.

A whole live-long day of football — no wonder it felt like Sunday! And the good news is tomorrow we get to do it all over again. Bonus day!

I got up early and made coffee. The usual. Worked on my web project all morning, although I was distracted by CNN’s constant updates about the shootings in Paris (today they caught and killed 3 of the 4 killers). Susie Homemaker baked another big batch of ‘monster’ cookies.

I have a couple of blogs that show up in my daily morning newsfeed — and today one of them mentioned a new ‘top-secret’ food that will change everything. I’ve been enjoying ‘imitation’ crab for a few years now, although Sue only lets me buy it as a special treat. I think it tastes as good as ‘real’ crab. Well, if what this article says is true, I may one day switch to ‘imitation’ hamburgers!

After lunch we picked up Dave and Marylou and drove out to Superstition Springs on Power Road. We went to see the new movie “The Imitation Game” — it’s getting lots of good reviews and it’s one of the few movies that the Driedgers haven’t already seen. We left a little early because the last time the Driedgers had gone to see it there was a line-up and they couldn’t get in. Still, we figured we had plenty of time and so we stopped by Vans Golf Shop so I could look for a driver — I’ve been using Sue’s driver for the past month and Sue thinks I’m wrecking it. I found a couple of used clubs that Dave thought would work for me — we’ll see how that turns out next time we go golfing.

We were glad we got to the Harkins theater early because by the time the previews started pretty well all the seats were filled — mostly ‘seniors’ like us who can’t stay awake for an evening movie so we go to the matinees. The movie was good, although not riveting enough to keep the elderly couple sitting next to Sue (no, not the Driedgers — they were on the OTHER side) from snoring loudly through the last 20 minutes of the film.

After the movie we headed back into Apache Junction for supper. Dave suggested we go for what may be the best hamburgers in the valley at the Handlebar Pub & Grill, a nondescipt little building we’ve driven by many times, not far from Gold Canyon. The place was busy. No seats inside. We sat outside at the bar watching the cook flip burgers on the outdoor grill while we waited for a table to open up inside. After about half an hour we took our drinks inside and ordered our meals. Nine ounce hamburgers, the ‘real’ kind. Craft beers. And live music.

By 8:30 we were back home. Too full of burgers and beer. Too tired to watch TV. Seniors!

Sue went to Bashas this morning to pick up bread. When she got back she made bacon and eggs! I’m not sure why, but it was a nice surprise. Maybe she thought it would fortify us for our big adventure today…

At 11:00 Dave and Marylou picked us up and we drove out to the parking lot near the starting point of the Peralta Trail Hike. The road there starts just a couple of kilometers from our place, but once we turned of Hwy 60 it soon turned to a winding gravel track through the desert. After about 7 miles we found the parking lot — we were not the first and not the only ones who thought the clouds and the slightly cooler temperatures would make for ideal hiking conditions.

There is a big board with a map at the entrance to the hike. There are also washrooms at the parking lot. And there is a ‘sign-in/sign-out’ sheet where Marylou registered us. And so began our hike.

We must have missed a turn early on — not surprising, since it seemed to me there was an awful lot of visiting going on at the front of the ‘group’. Soon we were following a dried out river bed, doing our best not to slip off the big rocks and trying to avoid getting our legs (like true novices, we were all wearing shorts for this!) from getting completely scratched up by the thorns and branches that were making the ‘trail’ narrower as we went along.

Finally it seemed we were stuck. Then we heard voices, up above, somewhere behind the brittle bush and cactus vegetation. Are we lost? Is there a trail up there? We finally managed to scramble up through thick brush and found the wide, clearly marked path that would take us through the Peralta Canyon to our destination.

And so that’s how we continued — about 5kms winding up and down through some interesting vegetation and rock formations. We were following the creek, so occasionally we heard a babbling brook or ducked through overhanging green ‘rain-forest’ as we gradually ascended into the Superstition Wilderness. On either side we had towering volcanic rock ‘needles’ pointing up to the cloudy sky.

After hiking 3 or 4 kms we could see Fremont Saddle. We recognized it because it looks like a saddle. There are many ‘balancing rocks’ along the hillside here, but this one is prominent, jutting out in the middle of the canyon.

We continued on, zig-zagging our way along the trail, always aiming for that lowest part of the ‘V’ on the horizon. We’d hiked about 5kms when we came to that crest. When we got there we got a fantastic view of Weavers Needle. And behind, and all around it, was a huge canyon. We could see Superstition Mountain and even the Four Peaks way out in the distance.

And, we had lunch! It was around one o’clock, way past a proper lunch time. But after hiking for a couple of hours those little sandwiches sure tasted good. We got another hiker to take a group photo of us before heading back down into the canyon. Although the return is mostly downhill and quite a bit easier, you still have to watch where you step and make sure you stay on the trail. And going downhill can be hard on your knees, and on your toes!

We managed to get back to the parking lot safely, and by around 3:30 we were back at the house. The Driedgers stopped by for happy hour.

Sue made supper and I had a long skype call from Werner — hadn’t talked to him in a long time. Things back at school are about the same as ever and he’s working far too hard and not getting nearly enough credit or appreciation for it. After supper Sue made a bunch of phone calls. I showered and worked on the computer. By the time the CBC National was over at 9pm I was having trouble keeping awake. I managed to find ‘The Daily Show’ on TV but I may have to watch the rerun in the morning if I want to know what it was about.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me — I just can’t seem to get into the proper timezone. Every evening I fall asleep watching TV on the couch until Sue sends me to bed, and then in the morning I wake up just before 6 and I’m wide awake, ready for the day. Why can’t I just shift everything ahead by a couple of hours? Ah, but then my 11:30am lunch would only get to the table at 1:30pm, and that would be disaster!

I worked on my web project all morning. Sue gave up on her book and has now downloaded a new one to her Kindle. It was a warm sunny day again — good day for golfing. We went to hit some balls on the driving range at Gold Canyon and met Dave D. there. The three of us teed off (the boys played from the blue tees because we’re so good!) at 1:17pm. It sure was a busy day at the course today. By the 5th hole the guy behind us asked to join us. He was hitting from the gold tees, way back behind us. He said his drives were around 330 yards, that his longest was 377! I impressed him when I birdied hole #5, chipping my second shot to within 3 feet of the pin! Too bad I couldn’t keep that up! I held it together okay for the front nine (45) but fell apart on the back nine, ending up with a 99. (Sue, on the other hand, continued to play well, getting a birdie 3 on the second last hole!) It was slow-going; we were waiting for the groups ahead of us on every hole. We barely finished before dusk.

After G&Ts, Sue made delicious chicken stir-fry for supper. We thought we’d watch a couple more ‘Suits’ episodes, but Sue ended up on the phone with Alex for a while, and after that we watched the CBC News at 8. Big story today: Paris Newspaper Shooting — 12 Dead. Crazy. We watched John Stewart after the news and then Sue went to bed while I spent another hour working on my project.

I got up at around 6 and made a good cup of coffee. Sue joined me an hour later. After breakfast, at around 10, we got into the van and did a bunch of errands — banking, fruit market, Walmart, etc. Got back in time for ‘Holmes on Homes’ and lunch.

I worked on a website all afternoon, and listened to iTunes on my (new) sound system. Fun. Sue went back to Wells Fargo on her bike and then scouted out a haircut place. It was around 23 degrees today — nice and warm. I was getting tired of all the bird shit on our driveway near the garage — birds are finding a nice perch on the satellite cable that is stapled under the eaves. So I spent almost an hour moving that wire — up on the step ladder with pliers and a screwdriver. After I cleaned up the mess Sue and I headed across the street to the driving range. I hit a couple of buckets with my fairway wood; Sue whacked a few balls with her wedge.

When we got home we put on our cycling shorts and went for a spin around the loop. We met Marylou cycling home on her bike and arranged to stop by for a drink on our way back — which we did. Dave had been at baseball practice and had some tales to tell. We cycled home in the cool of the long shadows of the evening sunset at around 6:00.

Sue made a nice supper, I barbecued some sausage. After supper we watched a few episodes of ‘Suits’ before ‘Frontline’ started at 10pm.

Worked on a website all morning. Sue went to the pool and read. I wanted to go to the driving range for a bit but I got sidetracked when the new neighbour across the street introduced himself, etc.

Sue and I went to Mountain Brook for a 3:15 tee time. It was busy; we were stuck behind 4 ladies who insisted that they were NOT slow — but the old guys ahead of THEM were walking very slow. Well, it took us nearly an hour to finish 3 holes! And those ladies ahead of us were taking up to 5 ‘strikes’ at the ball and missing it every time! When I hit the ball onto the green AHEAD of them they got the hint and let us play through. Things sped up a little after that, enough so that we actually finished nine holes before sundown.

Some nice views of Superstition by the time we got to number 9. I parred 3 holes and bogeyed 6 — for a 41 on the front nine. Probably my best nine so far.

When we got home Sue made us each a G&T before supper. Leftovers. A couple of episodes of ‘Suits’ before we watched a depressing documentary on PBS. Went to bed after 11:30.

Today is Sunday. That means we watch CBS Sunday Morning. And NFL Sunday. And Fareed Zakaria. And football. But first…

French toast for breakfast! And freshly ground coffee.

Sue did six loads of laundry. There were 2 NFL Wild Card Playoff games on TV today. I watched the Colts beat the Bengals. Then the Lions lost to the Cowboys.

In between, Sue and I went for a walk to Ed and Val’s house and back —  to return some table games we’d borrowed from them. The day was bright and sunny and considerably warmer than it’s been for the past two weeks — and we’re happy for that, although it would have been nice to have this weather for when ‘the kids’ were here.

After the Dallas game I took the van to the car wash — just to rinse off some mud splashes. There was a nearly full moon peeking out over the top of Superstition Mountain but by the time I’d parked the van and got my camera out it was already up above the mountaintops. But the red sky in the west was worth a photo.

Back at the house Sue had cheeseburgers ready for supper. We watched 60 Minutes and then switched to our schedule of downloaded TV shows and watched another episode of ‘Suits’. Then we caught the premiere of season five of Downton Abbey. And the News. And soon it was time for bed.

I woke up at 5 a.m. Finished sleeping. Lay in bed waiting for 6 a.m. Time to get up. The kids want to be at the airport by 7:20 for their flight to Fargo. Max is up a little earlier than usual, but the smile on his face this morning is as big as ever. He’s just a happy kid. He’ll eat some toast and cheerios while we have our coffee and toast. I start the van a bit before we need to leave so it will warm up. We load in the suitcases and we’re off. One last drive through our neighbourhood narrated by Max. “Opa? Opa? Opa? What are you doing? I saw two cactuses!”

We get to the airport in no time. Unload. Park the van. Go in — there’s no waiting at the check-in. Max’s car seat, which has been buckled into our van for the last 2 weeks, is now getting checked in as oversize luggage. We head to the gate. One last photo of Max next to a big cactus. Then it’s time for them to go through security. Hugs. Tears. Goodbyes. We’re happy and we’re sad.

Now what? Sue has a shopping list. Groceries, Costco, etc. It’s a bit early, but we find a Fry’s Grocery store not far from the airport and fill up a cart. Then down to Santan Village –first to a coffee shop for a muffin and coffee, then to TotalWine and then to Costco. It seems that we always come home with more than what was on our list. No exception today. I’ve missed having a decent sound system to play my music at the house so I’ve bought a soundbar which I will connect to our TV.

We’re back at the house by around 11:00. Sue puts away the groceries. I check my emails — a few from Dave Driedger. What’s up? Wanna go golfing? He comes by on his bike to say hello. We decide to join him and Marylou for nine holes at Mountain Brook this afternoon. It’s cool, but the sun is making it ‘feel’ warmer than it is.

After lunch we have to hurry to get ready for our golf game. Sue decides she’ll leave the laundry and clean up for tomorrow. I have a quick shower and then the Driedgers are here. We load the clubs into the van and go to the golf course. Four golfers walking nine holes. Just like old times. It’s a fine Saturday afternoon. The golfing is fun — Sue hasn’t golfed at all since before the kids came two weeks ago; Marylou hasn’t golfed since the four of us golfed at Buffalo Point this summer! We finish our round at 5:00. The Driedgers are off to meet friends for supper. We go home to our ’empty’ house.

We watch the last quarter of the NFL Wildcard game — where the Panthers easily defeat the Arizona Cardinals. No surprise there. Then I Skype with my parents for a bit. Just before supper the kids Face-time — they are home, safe and warm and happy. They had to boost their car in Fargo, but otherwise had an easy ride home. It’s VERY cold there now. They’ll have tomorrow to rest from their vacation, and then it’s back to work for them.

We have leftovers for supper and watch the second NFL playoff game. Sue goes to bed before the Ravens win their game against the Steelers. She didn’t sleep very well last night.

Tomorrow is Sunday. It will be a ‘normal’ Sunday morning. It will be quiet in the house. We’ll watch our morning news shows and drink some good coffee — alone. And we’ll miss the ‘busyness’ and the happy ‘hubbub’ of the last couple of weeks.

It’s 6 in the morning. I’m finished sleeping. That’s what I get for going to sleep at 9:30. Oh well, might as well make some coffee. Max and Alex will be up at quarter to seven. I have a few minutes to upload my photos from yesterday.

It’s not raining today, but I’m still a little concerned about our A/C unit outside. It’s completely frosted up and it’s running full time. After breakfast I get out the garden hose and give it a good hosing down to clear off the ice. Then I turn off the furnace so that while we go on our morning hike out to Silly Mountain, the unit can dry off and hopefully get back on track.

Tim watches over things at home while the rest of us drive out to Silly Mountain. Sue and Alex go hiking up to the top while Max and I stay at the base and wander around the ‘cactus walk’. I decide to take some photos for Max to look at once he’s home. He’s so good at identifying the different varieties — maybe he can look at some photos and recall the names. I didn’t get a photo of the ‘Elephant Ear Cactus’, but I got most of the other ones that Max has come to know.

After the hike we stopped at Bashas so the girls could pick up some groceries. While they did that Max rode his Strider bike around the parking lot.

After lunch back at the house, I called the golf course to see if we were still on for our 1:00 tee time. Oh no — two and a half hour delay because the big frost last night! Well, that way we won’t even get our game finished before dark! What to do? We decided to go to the course at one and hit some balls on the driving range. Maybe there would be some cancellations and we’d still get on.

When we to the course we were welcomed by the crew. And yes, if we were ready, we could head out to number one tee right away — before anyone else showed up. Okay! We zipped out to the tee — there was a foursome ahead of us but no one behind us. And the sun was shining. It was cold, but we felt lucky to get one last game in.

And what a start we had. I parred four of the first five holes, and could have easily had a couple more! Tim shot a 45 on the front nine, I shot a 43.

Things fell apart for me on the back nine. Tim finished with a 49 on the back nine, but a couple of eights and a nine (and a seven and two sixes!) wrecked what might have been my best round ever. Still, when we bogeyed the final hole at around 5:30, with a big red sun sinking in the west and a nearly full moon rising in the east, we felt great about the afternoon.

Tim and Alex bought a couple of pizzas from the Hitching Post for our supper. Great! Last meal together. Max entertained himself (and all of us) by playing with his toys on the carpet in the living room. At around 8 o’clock Tim gave him his bath and read him his bedtime story. He came and gave us each a big goodnight hug. We’re supposed to be up tomorrow at six, ready to take them to the airport.

A bit of champagne and some sweet snacks for the rest of us.

Woke up same time as usual. Furnace is going pretty steady these days. All the rain yesterday and the cold temperatures at night resulted in a frosty cover on Superstition Mountain. A frosty coating on the van too! Yikes! Almost like living in Manitoba!

Before Sue had finished making bacon and eggs I hopped on my bike and pedalled up the small hill behind our place to get a few photos of the rising sun lighting up snow-covered Superstition Mountain.

Then, after breakfast, we got into the van and went for a ride through Mesa. We ended up at the Target across from Superstition Springs Mall. And when the Target didn’t have any crazy sales we headed across the street to the mall. Max had a lot of fun riding the escalators and elevators with Tim and me.

But the highlight for him was when we discovered the merry-go-round near the food court. Opa joined Max for a few loops on the zebra. Then we all got back into the van — if shopping has anything to do with exchanging cash for big bags of returnable outfits this visit was a total bust — and headed back for home. We stopped at the Jack-in-the-Box fast-food restaurant in Gold Canyon and brought the burgers to our house for lunch.

Max went for his nap and I took the van to the gas station for a fill-up — the fuel warning said I had 1km to go on my tank! — and filled my tank with just-under $2.00 gas. Sue did laundry and Alex read. Tim was using the hair dryer to defrost our outdoor A/C which had a layer of white frost all around it. After a call to the A/C repair guy I found out the A/C is a combination air conditioner and heat pump — so what we were experiencing was normal for these conditions. Okay, that’s a relief. Got an email from Dave D — they’ll be arriving in G.C. tonight.

When Max woke up (happy, as usual) from his nap, he and I went out for a ‘bike’ (Strider) ride.

We ended up at the Vista Point hill again, so we parked the bike and climbed to the top. The sun was out, but it was still very cold. Max didn’t seem to be too bothered by the temperature though — he managed to find a pool of ice-cold water in one of the big rocks at the top of the hill and had his fingers in there, fishing out little stones and branches. Nose running a bit, but no complaints.

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We got home for happy hour, soon followed by Sue’s supper. And then we sat around and were entertained by Max for an hour or so before he had his bath and was ready for bed. I read him the Three Bears, got a big hug, tucked him in, and turned out the lights on his smiling face. One more day with my little buddy and then he and his parents head back into the frozen north.

We watched a bit of TV and had a little dessert and then wandered off to bed too.