Round 3 - We-Ko-Pa

Well by now it has been a standard that we are up by 5:30.  Today we are heading off to We-Ko-Pa.  This is another desert course.  Very pretty.  We again saw another Road Runner.  I think with each day we are getting closer and closer to them.  There were Hawks flying overhead which was neat to see.  In the distance we thought we saw a Geyser shooting through the air.  We found out it was a fountain in the centre of a town called Fountain Hill.  In the evening we went to visit this and see it live.  It runs every hour for 15 minutes.  After our game of Golf we headed to Saguaro Lake where we enjoyed a boat cruise on the Desert Belle.  We saw some Big Horn Sheep and a Bald Eagle as well as different birds and beautiful scenery.  For dinner we went to the Four Peaks Brewery.  We end our evening with a drink in our room but are usually in bed pretty early.

Round 2 - Eagle Mountain



Check Out the Road Runner behind Teresa



Another early morning start at 5:30.  We enjoyed breakfast at home again and headed off to Eagle Mountain.  This time range balls were included in the package so we hit a few balls in preparation for today’s golf game.  The scenery was just breathtaking.  We loved playing this course and would certainly put it on list of courses to play again.  Today we again saw Road Runners on the course.  By the end of the week we will be saying, oh it’s just another Road Runner.  After golf we did a bit of shopping and then headed back to the Condo.  We had a happy hour and then went for dinner at Gordon Biersch again.  (Same restaurant we enjoyed in Buffalo.).  We held our evening draw and Ralph Helmus was again the winner by 1 point.  Yeah for Ralph.  it will be an early night again tonight.  We are looking forward to tomorrow’s game and our scheduled boat cruise.

Round One - The Raven

Another early morning!  We were up at 5:30 but this time we enjoyed breakfast at home.   We drove to The Raven Golf Course.  We were excited and ready for the challenge.  We hit some balls before we started.  Oh oh, if this is any indication to how my game is going to be it is not looking good.  It was warm today.  The girls brought sweaters along but we didn’t really need them.  We overdressed for the Balloon ride and underdressed for the Jeep tour.  Today the ladies were overdressed but it was easy to pull off layers.  The Raven was challenging and it was difficult to find your ball if you landed in the rough.  We had cart path rules only and I could feel my feet at the end of the day.  We did see a Road Runner again today.  Not such a pretty bird but fun to say you saw one.  We enjoyed a drink at the course afterwards and then did some more shopping at another PGA store.  When we sat in the car the temperatures was 100 degrees.  We went to visit the Eagle Mountain, the course we are golfing at tomorrow .  We saw people driving their carts along the sides of the mountain.  Looks like it too will be very challenging.  We headed home and enjoyed a happy hour.  Lawrence, Grace and I went for a dip in the pool and hot tub while Ralph enjoyed a quick nap.  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Charleston’s, serving Prime Rib, Steak, Pork Chops and Ribs.   Once we were home, we had a random draw to see who would win our Golf Competition.   Congratulations to Ralph for winning Round 1.  Tonight will be early for an early start in the morning.

Some Awe Inspiring Views

This morning we got to sleep in until 5:30.  We packed up our bags and headed off to Sedona.  We stopped at the Coffee Pot which was once owned by Jane Russell (we learned this from our tour guide on the Jeep tour).  They had 101 Omelettes that you could choose from.    Yummy!!  At 10:00 we did the Mogollon Rim Trail for our Jeep tour from A Day in the West.  Our tour guide was very pleasant and had lots to tell us.  We had another couple from Ohio with us.  The ride was a little bumpy.   The scenery of the red rocks was just gorgeous.  It was very exciting to view the mountains.   The challenge was to pick a picture because we had all taken a lot.  After the tour we went to a camera shop to buy some air spray as the red rock sand was all over our cameras.  We did some browsing in the stores and found a spot called the Cowboy Club where we enjoyed some lunch.  We ordered an Appetiser Sampler which consisted of Cactus Fries, Buffalo Brochettes, Green Chili Rattle Snake Meatballs and Cilantro Flatbread.  They all tasted quite good.  Afterwards we drove a little further North and stopped at Oak Creek.  From there, we drove home so we could give Grace and Ralph a bit of time to do some work.  We are very excited about golfing tomorrow.

Up, Up and Away

The alarm clock wrang at 4:30 am.  We slept like a rock and 4:30 seemed really early.  We headed to Starbucks, enjoyed a coffee and a breakfast sandwich and this is where we were meeting for the balloon ride.  We all piled into Shane’s  (the balloon pilot) truck and we drove around to a few different sites, where he would let off some helium balloons to determine the wind strength and direction.  We finally found a spot to set up (close to another balloon ride expedition).  Here they pulled out the basket, put it on its side and connected the balloon.  They started filling the balloon up with air from a fan.  Once it was filled to a certain point, it raised the basket up to its right side position.  We gracefully crawled into the basket (not!!).  When everyone was in, we left the ground with such ease and floated to about a 4000 foot elevation.  On top there was no wind at all and we merrily floated around enjoying the scenery.  While up in the air we were able to see the other balloon take off as well.  This balloon was quite a bit smaller than the one we were in.  For the landing we were told to hold on to straps in the basket and face the opposite way we were travelling.  We were also instructed to bend our knees to take in the impact of landing.  Just before we landed we saw a Road Runner  but because we were instructed to hold on tight with bent knees we could not take a picture (boo).   While they were setting down the balloon and folding everything up again, we enjoyed some champagne and orange juice and were told the history of why they served champagne when a ride was complete.  We also enjoyed some apple slices with peanut butter and some cheesecake or cream puffs.  What an awesome experience.  So much fun.  Afterwards we went to Cave Creek where they had a Western Festival going on.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch at The Horny Toad and walked through the town.  On our way home we stopped at 2 of the golf courses we will be playing, Rancho Manana and Grayhawk.  Both looked like they will be a lot of fun to play.  We ended the day with a nice meal at The Elephant Bar and than we went to purchase a cooler so we could keep some waters cool and ring them along to Sedona with us in the morning.