Thursday, October 7, 2010

Highwood Pass

First, just let me say thank you so much for all the sympathy and good wishes from everybody.  I did feel a bit sorry for myself for the first few days... so it was great to know somebody cared.  Even my old golfing buddy (who is 91), remembered the surgery date and called to see how I was doing.  That was sweet of him.
I don't know if it is just me and how my body reacts, but, yesterday was the first day that almost everything didn't seem to hurt or ache.  Not just the arm.... that was okay after the first night.  There was really not much pain in the site of the surgery...but, it seemed like it even hurt my feet to walk.  I've been up and about of course, and even doing my outside walking...going my two kilometres......  but not really feeling myself.  Silly.  But... there you have it.  Hope I never have to have a big surgery.... although, no surgery seems a small thing when it is your own body does it?

Anyway... feel much more like my old self today... yaaaayy!!... don't see the surgeon til next week and wish it was today so we could check out the incision, remove sutures or whatever.  I still can't see anything...the steri strips are still firmly in place.  I don't even know if there are external sutures.
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Two weeks ago we drove over the Pass... before the winter gates close.   It is not open all year round.... they close it from December til mid June... probably as much because it would be very expensive to keep safe in snowy weather as it is for the animals.  But, this is the main reason.  Click to biggify and you can read it....






























That's the road....waaaay down there..... in the middle of Kananaskis country, Alberta.... Peter Lougheed provincial park.  I got the pics from Wik

Now...for some of our own photos..

It was a beautiful blue sky day.... why I love living here.  Usually we have more of them than we have had the past few weeks...but, fall weather has returned after some rainy days and it is beeyoootiful.  Actually...it is the best time of year for golf...except for the wrist thingy....

What a day for a drive!




























There were more motorcycles than cars out today... too bad the clutch is my left hand..... or we could have taken the bike. The past few days have been perfect motorcycling weather too.  Lots of bicycle riders and motorcycling on this particular stretch of highway.... and in the early spring...with the road still closed to four wheel traffic....the bicycle nuts just love freewheeling down the highway in big numbers...and belonging to all sorts of different types of bicycle clubs.  Okay, well, it is definitely not all downhill... (the summit is 7239 feet!) so there is a lot of pedalling and hill climbing...but, it must be something to see.















It didn't matter which way I looked there was beauty ... it felt like my head was on a swivel!











































Couldn't stop for every view... and it did take hours...so ...there are some shots that have guard rails ... darn it.  Some that I wish we had stopped for...... hmmm... this one would be so perfect without that rail ... maybe next year.















ah.... that's better.... sort of.... closer though and not so much of a vista.... oh, well....















stopped at a pull-out where there was a hiking trail and lots of folks had driven to that point to then hike for several kilometres on a pretty cool and muddy trail.  There was some snow right down to the parking area ..
















see? ... remnants of snow from the week prior....















Heading down the other side....











































Hey... look Toto....we're still in Alberta...



















 ... a nearby small town ....



















.... and finally.... right close to home...a nearby street.....

thanks for coming along for the ride!  What a great day... and today is just as beautiful...all sunny and blue... but,....the leaves... well.... the wind has blown them off now...and they have become like cereal...all crispy and crunchy to kick through on my walks.......

18 comments:

Gretel said...

What an incredible,dramatic landscape! And the roads - my dearest would love to take the bike along them!

Terra said...

That is so good that you are recovering nicely, and thanks for the photos of nature's grandeur, the mountains and the golden trees. Aspens?

Dolores said...

Gee that was soooo nice. I really loved that trip. Thanks and don't knock the guardrails. BC doesn't have them and it scared the %#$* out of my a whole lot of times when I was there this summer.

Creations by Marie Antoinette and Edie Marie said...

Oh Dear Vee,
I'm hoping you will recover soon.We have had some time of it,haven't we Dear One. It will all get better.
That park is breath taking.It would be so nice to spend some time there.
May God be with you Vee,
XXOO Marie Antionette

S. Nicolas Originals said...

It's been such a long time since I've posted on my blog and visited others to see what everyone is doing, but couldn't keep away any longer.
What lovely scenery. Really enjoyed the lush landscapes.
Glad you are feeling better.
Sherry

JudiA said...

How beautiful is that! Oh my! I wish I could have been there - I am enjoying the sun while it shines because soon it won't for a long time. Oh well...
SOOoooo glad you're feeling better!

Shashi Nayagam said...

Thanks for the beautiful ride Vee. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery. What lovely photos.
Hope your hand will be back to normal soon.

Perpetual Chocoholic said...

Lovely photos. Glad you're feeling better!

Jennifer Rose said...

I love that area! its such a gorgeous place to go, miss it :/

Sue said...

Incredibly gorgeous pics Vee! So glad that you appear to be well on your road to recovery!

Hugs,

Sue

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Vee,

I am sorry I have not visited you for a while and only just see now that you have had some surgery.
Glad to hear that you are feeling better.
I loved seeing your beautiful photos on your outing, thank you for showing us.

Have a good week
Hugs
Carolyn

Serena Lewis said...

Thanks for taking us on the ride with you, Vee....loved it! The scenery reminded me of parts of Wyoming I have seen...breathtaking beauty!

Glad to hear you're feeling much better now....I hope the visit with the surgeon goes well.

From the Kitchen said...

I'm so happy that I stopped in today to enjoy your photos of such a beautiful area. Thank you so much. And, I see you are getting over surgery. Hope that is going well.

Best,
Bonnie

Unknown said...

What a beautiful day for a drive, indeed! I love Alberta. it's so gorgeous. I'm glad you're back and hope you're feeling right as rain again soon!

Linda Vincent said...

WOW...what stunning photos! You're a lucky girl to travel that road.

Keep on recovering.... :-)

Anonymous said...

Glad you're feeling better!! The scenery is stunning. When we were on holiday last week, I kept complaining that there was nowhere to stop to take photos - you would think in a famous scenic area they would create stopping places for taking photos ..... after all if you go home with stunning photos, you encourage more people to visit, put money into the local economy etc!!

Beedeebabee said...

Hi Vee! Good grief, I've missed a bunch...I read about your surgery, you poor girl. Many well wishes to you as you continue to recover....I can't believe you even were brave enough to peek during your first surgery. I can't even peek when I get a blood test. I'm the biggest wimp....Your photos are stunning. What a beautiful area you're in. There are none of those gorgeous mountains here on Long Island...I think Madame P is one of THE most beautiful dolls I've ever seen. Thank goodness she arrived back in such excellent condition. She has such lovely, expressive eyes...Have a fun weekend, and feel better. xo Paulette

Abi said...

Hows you doing? I'm sorry I missed your surgery time.... healing well?

fabulous images - OMG wish I was there.