Outdoors with Don Q: Selected personal memories from the year 2013

As I look forward to the year of 2014 with high expectations, hopes and dreams, this is a good time to reflect back on some selected personal memories from the rapidly ending year of 2013.

Here are my top memories of this year, ranging all the way from Carson City to British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada:

All-time personal bear sighting record:
The nine black bears Elaine and I saw at different locations while driving in British Columbia, including a mother and cub that ambled across the highway in front of our car. The most bears we have ever seen in one year.

Autumn Village in Carson City:
It is a senior complex of very nice apartments and each year the residents and guests gather for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner. This year, 63 people (including us) enjoyed an awesome potluck dinner with all the trimmings.

Awesome fall colors:
The spectacular groves of Quaking Aspen trees along the drainages of Bishop Creek in the mountains west of Bishop, California. You have to see them as mere words can't begin to describe their beauty.

Created our own calendars:
We spent many enjoyable hours creating our own 2014 calendars from all kinds of photos, which included British Columbia, Carson City, fall colors, flowers, Italy, the Quilici cabin, wildlife and the Yukon.

Favorite afternoon cocktail location:
Our front porch was an ideal location on warm weather days for a leisurely afternoon cocktail beginning at 4:00 p.m. We had all kinds of relatives, neighbors and friends join us for tasty munchies and alcoholic beverages.

"Fishing The California Alps":
Each year, I write articles with photos by Elaine for this annual publication, and each year, it is a "Ton of Fun" to do so. Gloria Washam of Woodfords, California is the publisher and she is delightful to work for.

Four unusual visitors:
The four wild turkeys that walked around the corner of our cabin while we were sitting outside enjoying an afternoon cocktail. They were totally unafraid, checked us out and then slowly continued on their way.

Having fun while crying:
On October 21, we went to the home of Chuck and Barbara Van Hise to make homemade horseradish, dug up out of their garden. That hot stuff had all four of us crying and would take the paint off your walls. Wow!

Lunches at Bordertown, Nevada:
A "Must Stop" for lunches on the way to our cabin, where over the years, the hostesses, the waitresses and the bus boys know us by sight and/or name. Great food and great service always equal a great time at Bordertown.

Lone Pine, Calif:
It has become an overnight stop on our annual 8-hour drive to Indio, California. We stay at the Dow Villa Motel, eat breakfast at the Alabama Hills Restaurant and arrive in Indio, well behind the rush-hour traffic.

Marinating Bing Cherries in brandy:
We bought pint-sized canning jars with lids, lots of Bing Cherries and our favorite brandy. Filled each jar with cherries, poured in brandy until the cherries were covered, put a lid on the jar and stored for future use. Yum!

Operation Game Thief Citizens Board:
It pays rewards for info that leads to the conviction of Nevada poachers. Elaine and I are retiring from the OGT Board. It has been a great experience (I've been on since 1987) and now it's time for new members.

Outdoor Editor for carsonnow.org:
I have been writing weekly articles with Elaine's photos for that Internet website for three years, and working with Jeff Munson and Kirk Caraway is an enjoyable experience, week in and week out. You are the best!

September 24:
It was the day when Elaine and I were driving to Parchers Resort, west of Bishop, California, and I had to slam on the pickup brakes, just south of Coleville, California, to let a small black bear cub walk across the highway.

Special out-of-the-way location and friends:
Ookpik Wilderness Lodge on the remote, north end of Babine Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Elaine and I spent four fun-filled days visiting with our friends, Helmut and Carol Hoftmeister, the owners of the lodge.

Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada:
The home of our longtime, good friends Barry and Susan Drury, and we have had the pleasure, over the years, of being with them in Carson City, Anchorage, Homer, Valdez, Watson Lake (this year) and Whitehorse.

Finally:
I hope that you have as many pleasant memories of the year 2013 as I have. It has been a great year and I hope that 2014 will be even better.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you which of the above memories was the very best of the year.
If he grins and says, “Don will tell you that his best memory for 2013 was all of the memories listed above," he is either a relative or a close friend of ours.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com