It has been a while since my last post and I’m not sure where to start other by saying this will be a brief recap to hopefully get back on track.

The past few months have been fairly busy with a variety of things going on. At the end of July we drove down to a convention we attend every year. This year it was in Salt Lake City. I have to say that the downtown area, where the Temple Square is located, is quite beautiful.

Temple Square

Utah Capitol Building

Following the convention we continued on down to the Palm Springs area to do some hunting for a winter home. We ended up buying a home in Indio, CA.

Giant Redwood

Our drive back home via the Oregon coast was punctuated by phone calls and emails containing documents relating to the house purchase that required signing. Overall the process went very smoothly and on August 20th the house was officially ours. Of course that meant that the first bit of time after getting back home was occupied with arranging for insurance and utility hookups.

During September and October we were busy with making plans for our return trip to Indio to spend the winter. We purchased the house furnished so we had to decide what we did and didn’t need to take down with us. It soon became clear that I wasn’t going to get everything in the back of the car so I purchased a cartop box. It proved to be a very good investment!

In the quest to improve my photographic skills I took two courses through Metro College in Edmonton. One was on flash photography and the other was landscape photography. Both were excellent courses and the challenge now will be to remember and use what I learned.  I did work in a couple of photo shoots during the fall to practice.

Grain Elevator

Busy Beaver

Bison

Late in October we loaded up the car and set off for California. On October 29th, shortly after noon we arrived in Indio, picked up the keys from our realtor, and were soon unlocking the door to our new home. Following a short trip to the Homeowners Association office to do some paperwork, the process of settling in began. Over the past month we have spent a lot of time shopping, both online and in store, for things the house needed or that needed replacement. The house was in great shape so the only big things it needed were a barbecue and a decent TV. However there were lots of little things we needed to acquire.

College of the Desert Street Fair

Roadrunner in our front yard

Relaxing in Palm Desert Civic Center Park

It hasn’t been all work, though, since we arrived. I’ve joined the local camera club and have been to a couple of meetings and one field trip. I’ve also been getting out cycling regularly with a group from our development and have managed to get some running in. On November 16th I ran the Las Vegas half marathon with some friends from St. Albert. Half day visits to Joshua Tree National Park and to the Living Desert, along with a number of visits with other St. Albert friends, who are also down for the winter, have rounded out a very busy month.

Looks like a football player

Kelso Depot

Mojave Desert

Joshua Tree National Park

Golden Eagle

Joshua Tree National Park

So in a few short paragraphs, that pretty much sums up the last few months.