Earthquake hits Banff!; Coyotes avoid Hailey

A new plan this year!  I have actually had really good luck the last few years either avoiding gas pumps in the US that want a zip code, or I have usually been successful with the ‘00000’ code.  But in an attempt to avoid the surcharges plus exchange on credit card purchases, I decided to open a US bank acct and try using a debit card attached to it.  It all sounded so easy on my TD Bank website.  Just ‘click here’ and you’ll have a US acct.  NOT!  There were many hoops to jump through, and many ‘chicken and egg’ situations to deal with.  “You cannot access your account online till there is cash in the account”, but I can’t transfer money into it till I have access!!  Just waiting for the debit card to arrive in the mail, but even now, I will not be able to transfer funds with a click of the mouse, I will have to phone them and go through the song and dance over and over again.

Weather has been lovely around home most of the time, so the urge to migrate has not yet reached a turning point.

The rig has been winterized as a precaution, as frost at night is becoming a regular occurrence.

Don & Donna came down for a quick visit on Thanksgiving weekend, but they likely won’t be able to join me on a beach in Nevada till sometime in the spring ;-(

Visited some other friends recently in the Rocky Mountain foothills, and took the opportunity to get the helicopter airborne for some photos of their place.

We went for a short ride along the river …

then watched the horses enjoy a good roll.

Went for a drive out to the east boundary of Banff National Park, and a short hike into the park.

Speaking of Banff, they had a 2.7 earthquake hit a few days ago, but all reports indicate that the town will survive!

Back at home, Hailey was hunting high,

low,

and in between,

keeping the local wildlife wild.

The coyotes had to keep a sharp eye out to avoid her attacks!

Many of the leaves have fallen, but there is still some good colour remaining in some areas.

The birds are finally finding my feeder popular.

I tried to sneak up on some geese …

Glad to see that the Bayfield Bunch have completed another successful voyage back to their place in Congress, AZ.  Hope to see them somewhere on the road this winter.

Haven’t seen John & Brenda’s tail lights headed south yet, but I suspect they’ll be loading horses and heading out soon.

Ready to hook up and head out – at the first sign of bad weather!