Monday, February 28, 2022

Monday 28 th February 2022…waterfalls!!

 I do a lot of research for my hikes and adventures and today was a great two hike to two amazing waterfalls in Apache country!!

Sorry there are so many shots but it was so picturesque and I saw no one totally off the beaten track.


To the first falls Cibecue 



I had to cross the stream 38 times there and back and the only way was just to wade through with shoes and socks on, which is what I did, the water was best described as refreshing!!







The waterfall was a classic one I loved it!!!
















The  Apache waterfalls was also so nice but in a different way, this was easy to get to…









This area the Salt River Canyon is spectacular if you are ever this way.


My air bnb for two nights is really a small house it has everything including a bath tub!!! Yea!!!!







Stay safe and healthy!!


Yashi Kochi!!

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Sunday 27 th February 2022.. a surprise visit!!

A good first sleep in the States and on the road around 8.30am….

The plan is to do some hiking whilst making my way towards California and my first hike was at Kent Springs in Coronado National Forest…about an hours drive….




I must say it was a shock to my old bones to go outside and feel how cold it was!!

I started out hiking in my fleecy jacket but after around 15 minutes going up hill I jettisoned my jacket and T shirt……







Snow…..not had my feet in snow for years!!!




It was a good hike highlighted by seeing the deer….


A little story about deer…..


After my Mum passed away in 1995 my Dad would come and visit me in Smoke Lake which I wrote about yesterday…..I often write about my Mum but I cannot forget the impact my Dad had on my life, he was small in stature  but huge on morals and standing up for himself and he was an avid supporter at all my soccer games encouraging me to get stuck in from the side lines…..


I must admit my brother Malc was a way better soccer player than I was he was a finesse player with silky skills and footwork….I was not…I would describe myself as a hard nosed defender who got stuck in and was not afraid to dish out some punishment on opposing forwards…Dad was always at our games with words of encouragement.


I digress……on one trip he made to visit me on Vancouver Island I left him in my apartment as I went to work an afternoon shift at the restaurant……my apartment was lovely and in the  woods with a deck that overlooked the forest.


One evening I came home from work and Dad was in a particularly good mood and he told me about his afternoon……he said he was on the lounger on the deck when a deer came up to the fence right below him no more than six feet away….the deer laid down and proceeded to give himself a bath and washed every part of his body except behind his neck …he said this went on for over 90 minutes and my Dad said he had never seen anything quite like it and since then deer have been a part of my life at interesting times.


A few years later I was in another downstairs apartment with windows that looked out into the yard…around 4 am my phone rang and I knew right away it was not good news, Malc telling me that our Dad had passed away in his sleep at the grand age of 87!!!


I got up and starting making plans to get over to England and when I opened the curtains right outside the window looking in was a deer!!!


Flash forward to one evening I was driving my motor home somewhere in Utah and is was getting dark and I was getting tired and I knew I should pull over and find somewhere to spend the evening….I went a couple more miles I was not driving fast and my eyes started to close and suddenly right in front of me ran this huge buck deer and he turned and looked at me…my Dad telling me to get off the road!!!


Another time after I was driving again somewhere in the southern States and going slowly up this back roads hill surrounded by forest when I saw this amazing specimen of a deer just off the road in the bushes…I pulled over got out with my camera and the deer just stood there looking at me actually staring at me and it was not till later that night when I received a call from Malc telling the that the money that he and I had received from my Dad’s estate was deposited in to my bank account!!


So when ever I see deer I smile and thank my lucky stars for my Dad!!


Tonight I am in the small town of Globe in a lovely tiny house..the bathroom and shower is in the main house which is not a problem to me…





Got a recorded soccer game to watch tonight!!


Stay safe and healthy!!


Yashi Kochi!! 

Saturday, February 26, 2022

Saturday 26 th February 2022….back in the good old US of A🇺🇸

 This was a real easy day after two days of long hikes!!!


I was on the road by 9 am and the highway to the border was all toll roads and with light traffic!!








Crossing the border was a breeze in line about ten minutes and no questions no showing Covid vaccinations……and arrived at my little motel in Nogales around 2 pm…..






After getting settled in went to the Mall and walked around and bought myself some new tennis shoes and now settling in to watch the final of the tennis from Acapulco…My hero Rafa  taking on a British guy, Norrie, should be a good matchup!!




A little story…..


In May of 1980 I married Connie in Bermuda and she was a Bermudian resident and had two young daughters Michelle and Mia and they would have been around 14 and 16 years old…..we had applied to get Canadian  residency and Connie’s brother had sponsored us all as he 

was married to a Canadian and owned a grocery store in Alberta.


After the wedding we all left Bermuda and  the next day arrived in Smoky Lake, Alberta, our new home…..








I started working in the grocery store, the girls went to school and Connie soon opened a travel agency…..


Smoky Lake is a very small rural town with 1200 inhabitants and it was in a large community area that was all Ukrainian immigrants, in fact Larry, who I just spent the day with is of that decent and his grand parents came to Canada from the old country….


The local people were a little hard to get to know but once you were accepted and became part of the community they were like the Mexican people very friendly and kind.


My marriage did not last but I did stay in the community for 13 years before moving to Vancouver Island in 1993….


I heart and prayers go out to the people of Ukraine at this most dreadful time of their lives!!


Stay safe and healthy!!


Yashi Kochi!!

Friday, February 25, 2022

Friday 25 th February 2022..already one week!!

 This hike was a doozie all up!!!!!




But the rewards were the views from the summit…..















Great lunch spot!!

Can you see Blaze??

:





hard to believe I left SMA a week ago today and already had some many wonderful experiences and the company of good friends…..tomorrow I cross the border!!





Stay safe and healthy!!




Yashi Kochi!!

Thursday 5 th January 2023…it was a great run!!!

 This was my first ever blog post back in November of 2006!!! With just a couple of days off I have written a blog every day since and I hav...