DEC 6, 22 .. OUR TRIP SOUTH FROM ALASKA TO NEVADA AND ARIZONA ..

Some of this Post will be repetitive to some of you because I had internet issues with the DEC 5, 22 Post and published it before it was complete.

Below is how I ended the DEC 5, 22 Post  

As sometimes happens, suddenly I have encountered an issue with my internet service and I am not able to download additional photos.

No worries. I will just sign off here and when, and IF, I can successfully resume downloading additional photos, I will do so.

Ciao4now .. Over And Out for now.

- - - - - - - -

As I have written many times previously, I realize that not everyone who follows Patti and me here on blogspot is able to check this site daily. Some months I will only publish occasional posts. As a result, you may only check weekly to see IF I have published a new Post.

Last Saturday, December the 3rd, Patti and I flew South from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, and then to Las Vegas, Nevada. Then we drove from Las Vegas South to Laughlin, Nevada, where we will be staying 6 nights. This upcoming Sunday, December the 11th, we will drive to Phoenix, Arizona, where we have medical appointments at the Mayo Clinic. 

After enjoying the winter months under sunny skies and warm temperatures, we plan to return to Alaska in April 2023.

If you would like to have some additional details of our trip, please click onto the below link, and you will see a Post we published this past Saturday, December the 3rd, on our dotnet website.

https://babakaps.net/?p=49020

In last Saturday's Post, I did not include any photographs. The purpose of this Post, and the DEC 5, 22, Post, is to show the photographs I snapped during our trip.

As I ended the DEC 5, 22, Post, we were on the plane and getting ready to fly South to Seattle, Washington.

Now some photos that I snapped during our visit to the Seattle Airport.

We are on the ground in Seattle. What ? Snow in Seattle? 

Time to deboard our plane. Keep in mind that, by the time we arrived in Seattle, we had been up for hours, had gone through all the drama of getting to the Anchorage Airport, getting checked in, passing though security, waiting for our Seattle flight to board, boarding and then sitting in an airplane seat for over 3 hours. Then, deboarding the plane !

We are now in, and moving through the Seattle Airport to the boarding area for our flight to Las Vegas.

We are at the boarding area for our flight to Las Vegas. We had a full house !

On the Seattle to Las Vegas flight, a lady with her 19-year-old daughter sat to my right. It turned out that the lady and her daughter were I.T. (Information Technology) whizzes. The lady was running a Samsung smartphone with the Android operating system (OS). Man Oh Manischewitz they were sharp. And ?? I picked up some very valuable-to-me pointers and explanations about the Android OS.

Then our conversation lept away from smartphones to the National Football League !! .. when I said to the lady .. " What takes the two of you to Las Vegas ?" .. The lady replied .. " We are coming down to see the Los Angeles Chargers (6 - 5) play the Las Vegas Raiders (4 - 7) !! My Nephew, Foster Sarell, who wears number 73, is starting the game as the offensive right tackle for the Chargers. " 

In case you missed it here somewhere, yours truly has followed the NFL since High School so I could talk-turkey to the lady. 

Our friend Olga in Chita asked me what did I mean with the term "talk-turkey". Olga it means to discuss something frankly and practical. I have followed the National Football League since High School and I have played football as well. So I knew that what I was saying to the lady was accurate. I was talking-turkey to her Olga. 

And then we were in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The airport was immaculate.

Now this is Las Vegas !

Hello Las Vegas, Nevada.

Somehow we (with Patti navigating) successfully found our way out of the Las Vegas Airport onto Interstate 215 heading to U.S. 95 and then South to the College Drive exit in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas. We then had a quick visit with Jay and Eileen. We mean quick, we did not go into their home. The reason our visit was so quick is that darkness was fast approaching and neither Patti nor I enjoy night driving anymore !!

Christmas IS coming ! Jay and Eileen's two next door neighbors have decorated!

And then out and off we drove with Patti driving because your Captain was toast at this point in time. South we headed down U.S. 95 heading for Laughlin, Nevada. 

Of course we stopped in Searchlight Nevada.

We were in "dire need" of a McDonald's Oreo Cookie McFlurry!

Just what the two of us needed to get to Laughlin, Nevada !

The Edgewater Casino Hotel.

Our home-away-from-home until December the 11th.

There you have it. Photos of our trip from Anchorage, Alaska to Laughlin, Nevada via Seattle and Las Vegas.

Cap and Patti  Pretty tired but still standing !

DEC 5, 22 .. OUR TRIP SOUTH FROM ALASKA TO NEVADA AND ARIZONA ..

As I have written many (as in MANY) times previously, I realize that not everyone who follows Patti and me here on blogspot, is able to check this site daily. Some months I will only publish occasional posts. As a result, you may only check weekly to see IF I have published a new Post.

Last Saturday, December the 3rd, Patti and I flew South from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, and then to Las Vegas, Nevada. Then we drove from Las Vegas South to Laughlin, Nevada, where we will be staying 6 nights. This upcoming Sunday, December the 11th, we will drive to Phoenix, Arizona, where we have medical appointments at the Mayo Clinic. 

After enjoying the winter months under sunny skies and warm temperatures, we plan to return to Alaska in April 2023.

If you would like to have some additional details of our trip, please click onto the below link, and you will see a Post we published this past Saturday, December the 3rd, on our dotnet website.

https://babakaps.net/?p=49020

In last Saturday's Post, I did not include any photographs. The purpose of this Post is to show the photographs I snapped during our trip.

We will begin with some scenes of the Anchorage, Alaska, Airport. 

We are approaching our Departure Lounge.

Our Departure Lounge was full because every seat on our flight was occupied.

An adjoining Departure Lounge. What a difference from ours.

A look out the lounge window where you can clearly see the winter snow.

When it arrives, we will enter our aircraft through the above and below walkway. 

The history of Alaska is rich in stories about the Bush Pilots and their Flying Machines. The below photos show a Bush Plane that is on display here in the Terminal.

Beautiful Christmas decorations were already in place on December 3rd.

As sometimes happens, suddenly I have encountered an issue with my internet service and I am not able to download additional photos.

No worries. I will just sign off here and when, and IF, I can successfully resume downloading additional photos, I will do so.

Ciao4now .. Over And Out for now.

Cap and Patti

Besides it's now 4 o'clock in the early morning and I am five degrees past being bushed.

NOV 26, 22 .. SPIRITUAL POCKET STONES

Well Hello Olga ! Over there in Chita (Чита), how nice of you to be following Patti and myself here on blogspot !

We'll bet that maybe, just maybe, you have forgotten that it was you Olga who gave us the above 'keepsake' that we treasure so very much.

By The Way, for those of you who are not exactly fluent in the language of Russia, in the above photo, Chita is, at the top beneath the Red Bull, 6305 kilometers from Moscow (Москва ) and, at the bottom, 2860 kilomerers from Vladivostock (Владивосток ).

I have a most favorite quote from my most favorite Poet, one Robert W. Service, from his Poem, The Cremation of Sam McGee, that is as follows : 

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid.

Back on May 22nd, 2022, I showed, in a post on babakaps.net ..

https://babakaps.net/?p=45967

a photo of some of the spiritual pocket stones that I like to carry with me and give to others.

Then a few weeks ago, Olga asked me a question about these spiritual pocket stones. Suddenly I discovered, much to my dismay thinking I'd refer Olga to a past Post, that I have never "told their story".

Olga, here is the story of our spiritual pocket stones.

As many as 20 years ago, I began to hand paint messages on stones that I would find. The stones had to be small, roundish and flat. However, by keeping my eyes on-the-alert, I would find nicely shaped stones from time to time and paint a message on one and give it away.

Alas Alak. I never kept any for myself because the entire point of them was to share them with others. However, for reasons I am not able to explain, I recently came across two of them.

A different stone, the same message. The same message is painted on the other side of the stone.

Now we jump back to early February of this year 2022. 

Patti and I were both patients at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, and while in the lobby of the Main Hospital, we encountered a close friend, Shelley. Shelley was working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and had just eaten lunch and was heading back to the ICU. As the three of us chatted, a friend of Shelley's (actually the Hospital Chaplain which accounted for what was about to happen) came up to us. 

Suddenly the Chaplain pulled out a small black bag and, pulling open the top of it, said to Patti and I .. " Please take one of these."

The above and below photos were taken here at our home just for this Post. I did not have a clue-in-a-carload what was coming when the Chaplain presented her bag to us.

So into the bag Patti and I reached and picked (what was to become the very beginning of our spiritual pocket stones ministry) not one, but three of the Chaplain's stones.

" Oh My Goodness ! " I exclaimed to the Chaplain, thinking of my own efforts at hand painting messages on stones .. 

" How on earth did you do these so perfectly ? "

She did not reply because, in hindsight she had no idea what I was talking about, she never had made her own stones.

And off she went. Being a Chaplain in a hospital is one stressful and super busy career !

So after we got back to our motel room in Phoenix, I mulled over these amazing stones. I texted Shelley and asked her to ask the Chaplain where, and how, she got the stones.

Long story short, I never got an answer. Shelley asked the Chaplain my questions and could not get an answer. 

By the way, after I got my supply of spiritual pocket stones going, I gave Shelley ten of my stones to replace the six stones we received from the Chaplain.

So I continued to mull this issue over (for only a day or so because I wanted these stones) and suddenly had a thought. 

"Google them and go explore Amazon !"

B - I - N - G - O !!

Big Otters engraved Inspirational Stones (25 Different Words)

BigOtters Engraved Inspirational Stones, 

25 Different Words Encouragement Stones Amulets 

Gift Stones for Friends and Family as Christmas

 Thanksgiving Gift

TGS GEMS.. Is my preferred source.

Oh My, Oh My, Oh My .. Google and Amazon !!

On February the 13th 2022, I ordered one set from each of the above two Amazon suppliers.

They come in nifty little bags of 25 stones each. Each bag of 25 costs a little over $25 (or $1 a stone). The two suppliers differ slightly from each other as to the words on their stones.

And ?? Oh My, Oh My, Oh My !!

Your Captain was .. to coin a phase .. " Off And Running ! "

I ordered (some of the orders were for three bags) more Spiritual Pocket Stones on February 19th, April 15th, Apr 22nd, May 12th, May 25th, June 11th and lastly July 8th. 

We have come across the following words on the stones:

Accept, Believe, Blessed, Clarity, Courage, Desire, Dream, Faith, Family, Friends, Freedom, Focus, Happiness, Healing, Health, Honor, Hope, Inspire, Joy, Kindness, Laugh, Love, Nature, Nurture, Passion, Peace, Relax, Strength, Success, Trust, Wealth, Wisdom.

And ?

Below are photos of them. They are very proud of  themselves !

Well Olga, there you have it.

Now you know .. The Rest Of The Story about our spiritual pocket stones.

Lots of Smiles Olga ..

Cap and Patti

And now a fun .. Rest Of The Story ..

I was giving Lopez, one of my buddies, one of my stones. Lopez looked it over, and smiling, reached into his own pocket and gave me one of HIS stones.

Smiling I said to Lopez, obviously a rabid Boston Red Socks basefall fan .. 

" Lopez ? How about year 2004, Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, the Red Socks were down 3 games to none against the New York Yankees ! They won game 4 in the 12th inning and went on to sweep the Yankees going forward to the World Series which they won sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games !! "

Oh Yes .. This really bonded Lopez and myself. Spiritual Pocket Stones and baseball fans par excellence !

NOV 10, 22 .. LAUGHLIN RANCH, BULLHEAD CITY, ARIZONA

Thank You so very much Ginny for sharing with us some photos you snapped when you visited the Laughlin Ranch golf course and related facilities. 

Now, before we get to Ginny's photos of the Nevada / Arizona Desert, study the below photos of what Patti and I are looking at up here in Alaska.

Our local bunny rabbit is proudly wearing his white, winter coat!!

Do you all get it? At this point in time, Ginny's below photos of the desert look GRRRR8 to us.

A photo of several of the wild burros that frequent the area around the Laughlin Ranch. 

A snapshot of Detroit Tiger Tom.

Tom and Ginny live fairly close to the Colorado River which runs between Bullhead City, Arizona and Laughlin, Nevada.

Will you just look at the photos of the below 'boat' sailing around out in the river. Looks more like an automobile to us!!

Do you all see it out with the water taxi and the ferry??

I know Ginny and Tom. Just humor me here! Smiling.

Too.. Too funny!! I wonder how many $$ it took to create this 'boat' !!

Wonder IF the ducks in the below photo like the 'Auto Boat'??

Much Joy from the now frozen North. We head for Arizona December the 3rd.

Cap and Patti

Post Script : In his below comment to this Post (Cap there were 3 of those boat "cars", a Chevy, Ford & Plymouth. Very fun and unique. See you soon ! ) Tom called them Boat Cars.