Horseshoe Bend

I woke up a few minutes before our alarm went off at 4:15 am.  I was surprised to see light in the sky and promptly woke Ralph up.  It was time to go.  Ralph believes that he is married to a crazy woman but he humored me and got up.  The Horseshoe Bend is only about 15 minutes away from where we are staying.  The sun was up before we got there but it was rising behind us so it didn't negatively affect our pictures.  Horseshoe Bend is part of the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River turns in the shape of a Horseshoe and runs back the same way again.  It is very awe inspiring to see.  We stayed for an hour taking photographs and enjoying the beautiful view.  We hope to come back again and take pictures when the sun goes down.

It's going to be a hot one

I woke up early.....too early but with the time change it was almost 7:00 a.m. for me and I just couldn't sleep.  I quietly got dressed and went down to the front lobby.  I stuck my head out the front door to "check" the temperature.  It was actually very beautiful.  They are predicting a very warm day and we have to be cautious.  Last night Ralph and I bought a small cooler to keep our water from getting too warm and the people at the front desk were kind enough to offer to chill it and freeze our "freezer pack" so will be good for the drive to Page.

The following is the forecast for today.

Issued by The National Weather Service

Phoenix, AZ

9:19pm MST, Fri Jun 3

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 8PM MST MON

* AFFECTED AREA... THE LOWER DESERTS OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA INCLUDING THE GREATER PHOENIX AREA.

* TEMPERATURE... HIGHS 112 TO 118 DEGREES ON THE LOWER DESERTS TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY... WITH PEAK HEAT LIKELY TO OCCUR ON SATURDAY. ONLY SLIGHTLY COOLER MONDAY WITH HIGHS 109 TO 111 DEGREES.

We were on the road by 6:5 and arrived in Sedona by 8:30.  We enjoyed breakfast and then took in some scenery before heading for Page. There was 5 wildfires going on near Sedona so it was very hazy. It took us another 3,5 hours to get there,  The drive was amazing,  There was so much change in scenery.

First sighting of The Grand Canyon.

This evening we went on a tour of Antelope Canyon by water,  It was very beautiful.

We made it........finally

It takes a lot to tire me out but I must say that I am exhausted.  This was the longest journey for us. After spending so much time waiting at the Toronto airport we experienced the same in Los Angeles. We waited almost an hour and a half to get through security and to our terminal.  So much standing and waiting.  The fasted part of our trip was picking up the rental car.  We have a nice 2016 4 Runner.

We had no problem finding  our hotel but have decided to forego tomorrow's sunrise pictures.  We'll wake up when our bodies say they are ready to get going again.

We arrived to a balmy 104f temperature.  Wow is it hot . . . And that was at 10:30.

Training day at the airport

Ralph and I arrived nice and early for our flight to Phoenix.  Teresa was kind and offered to drive us to the airport.  We arrived nice and early.  It was a good thing because it took us almost 2 hours to check in and clear customs.  It was training day.  We had a very sweet girl check us in (the automated machines weren't working).  I must admit to getting very nervous when she asked if we wanted our luggage to follow us all the way to Phoenix ?  Yikes!!!  I ask her where else it could go and she said Los Angeles where we are changing planes.  I am praying that our luggage makes it safely all the way ☺

We were able to have lunch and now are wait g to board our plane.

The Adventure begins

We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning today.  A perfect day for flying. We were up early (me - before 6:00) and puttered around the house doing last minute things. Ralph and I watered all our pots and gardens, re-potted my "pot bound" cacti and  I relaxed and read the book of Esther this morning. What a perfect start to our vacation.

Around 9:30 Ralph and I were asked to leave the house while it was being sprayed for Ants.  We have an issue with little black ants and have started seeing carpenter ants again.  What better time than just before vacation to spray.  We can keep the house shut and hopefully eliminate these pesky critters.

I discovered this morning that our flight has been delayed by about 45 minutes which will put us a little later than we had originally planned to arrive.  That's ok though as we are now on "vacation time" and can relax and go with the flow.

Teresa and Lawrence gave us a few magazines to read on the airplane and I must admit that I am itching to start reading the one (it's on photography) as it has an extensive article on photographing the Milky Way.  I'll try to be patient and wait till we are on the plane.

Adventures in the America Southwest

It's finally here.  Tomorrow afternoon we are leaving for Arizona for 12 days.  We planned this trip to celebrate our 35th anniversary.  We wanted to do something special and different. We're both very excited about this trip.  We have a busy week planned, with the first 5 days spent in Page, Arizona. We have 3 photography tours booked (Upper Antelope Canyon, Lower Antelope Canyon and Bryce Canyon (Utah)).  These tours (the first two) are in the "slot canyons" in Page.  They look so beautiful in pictures.  I really hope that they will be amazing when we see them.  They are created by the waters that run through them during rainstorms.  

We are also planning a boat cruise on Lake Powell...


and a visit to Horseshoe Bend.


I think it will be a busy couple of days for us.  We have spent the last month reading, studying and practicing how to take photo's in low light areas.  I hope that our practice will reward us with a few nice photo's.

On Wednesday evening we will be driving from Page, Az to Bryce Canyon, Utah to take our night photography course.  I can't wait.  It should be so amazing.  The trip will take a while though as it's about 3 hours to get there.  The course starts around 10:00-10:30 pm and runs until 1:30 am at which point we still need to drive back to our hotel in Page.


I think we're going to be pretty tired in the morning.  We are leaving that day for Phoenix where we will spend the next 5 days at a resort in Litchfield.

I can't wait!

"Friends of We Care Charity Golf Challenge"

Today, Claudia,  Arja, Becky and I played in a golf tournament at Kettle Creek.  It turned out to be a very hot and humid day.  I really enjoyed spending the time with the ladies.  The golf was fun and Arja was the "winner" of closest to the Pin.  Way to Go Arja!!  It was a nice way to spend the day.

I really love this picture of the four of us.  We had a great time all together.