Canada

Elaine and I just returned from a three-day, two-night, mini vacation at Parchers Resort in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, west of Bishop, Calif.

The purpose of our visit was to enjoy the cozy cabin accommodations at Parchers, plus the late spring weather, spectacular scenery and the peace and quiet in that general area. Here's some miscellaneous info on our trip:

Thursday, May 8 was my birthday, and Elaine had arranged two unforgettable, secret surprises for me as a present.

She had previously asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told her, "Heck, I have everything I want, let's go to the cabin with Jim and Kathi (our son and daughter-in-law) and have a quiet steak and lobster dinner up there."

The Quilici Cabin is located on a steep hillside between Portola and Davis Lake in Plumas County, California, and we like to go there as often as we can to enjoy the accommodations, scenery, wildlife and peace and quiet.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife along with local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and several private businesses in Nevada are joining boating safety advocates across the U.S. and Canada to promote safe and responsible boating during National Safe Boating Week, May 17-23 and through the entire summer.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is warning residents of a telephone scam involving grandparents of college-aged students. The scammers recently bilked a Douglas County couple of $4,000, said Sgt. Pat Brooks. In Carson City, people have been targeted in the past with a similar scam.

The way the scam works is a caller phones a relative, usually a grandparent, and informs them their grandchild has gotten into trouble with the law while on spring break. In the most recent case, the grandchild was said to be in trouble with the law in Nashville, Tenn.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Gov. Brian Sandoval is heading a delegation of Nevada business and education leaders on a trade mission to Canada.

Ben Masters, 13, travels Saturday to University of California, Berkeley to participate in an official World Cube Association competition at Wheeler Hall.
Ben, who has been practicing his “cubing” skills about five months, has a personal best time of “about 17 seconds,” which has been perfected as he has practiced during his free time through each day and has worked up to doing five or six “solves” per hour, he said. He attends eighth grade at Dayton Intermediate School.

Passionate outdoorsmen recently formed the newest Pheasants Forever chapter in Nevada, known as the Great Basin Pheasants Forever chapter. The group will focus its attention on habitat improvements, increasing pheasant populations, and youth outdoor participation in the Great Basin area.  

The Great Basin chapter was drawn to Pheasants Forever’s unique model, which empowers county and local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds will be spent.

This week's outdoor article is about two special friends in the Far North, Barry and Susan Drury who live in Watson Lake in the Yukon.

Elaine and I first met them a number of years ago in downtown Anchorage, Alaska as a result of Barry and I both being active members of an outdoor website, Modernsportsman.

Since that initial, get-acquainted, Anchorage lunch, Barry has visited us at our home in Carson City and at our cabin near Davis Lake, Calif.

Fans from all over the world are attending the Bonanza Round Up which comes back to the Carson City, Lake Tahoe, Virginia City areas June 26-29. Some of the countries represented are England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Chile and Canada to name a few.

"Bonanza" was one of the most popular TV westerns that aired from 1959 through 1973, and continues in reruns today. The "Bonanza" theme song is one of the most recognizable.

Many believe that an east-west partition is inevitable in Ukraine, but it probably won't be that simple. 78% of the country's 44 million people are ethnic Ukrainians, including majorities in the city of Kiev and all 24 oblasts (provinces). Ethnic Russians make up only 18% of Ukraine's total population, though they are a majority in Crimea, an autonomous republic, and in Sevastopol, a city not officially part of Crimea where Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based.

Many believe that an east-west partition is inevitable in Ukraine, but it probably won't be that simple. 78% of the country's 44 million people are ethnic Ukrainians, including majorities in the city of Kiev and all 24 oblasts (provinces). Ethnic Russians make up only 18% of Ukraine's total population, though they are a majority in Crimea, an autonomous republic, and in Sevastopol, a city not officially part of Crimea where Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based.

Western Nevada College clinched its third consecutive road baseball series victory by overtaking Riverside City College with a big seventh inning on Saturday in Riverside, Calif.

Spenser Dorsey’s two-run single highlighted a six-run seventh inning and Tony Roque knocked in three runs on two hits as 14th-ranked WNC defeated the Tigers 8-2.

By taking two of the three nonconference games from the Tigers, the Wildcats’ series victory follows triumphs at 10th-ranked Cochise and Pima.

Western Nevada College became a different baseball club during the second week of the season, ironing out some issues on the mound and behind the plate. The result was capturing a 2-1 weekend series over 10th-Ranked Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz.

Dana Uken, a local Edward Jones financial advisor, will be hosting a coffee club at 10 a.m. Thursday February 20, 2014 at 604 W. Washington St, Ste F Carson City NV 89703.

Edward Jones provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the types of investment options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work.

When the Nevada State Board of Wildlife Commissioners met recently in Las Vegas, its members tackled an agenda that included the establishment of big game hunting seasons for 2014 into 2015, including several “antlerless elk management” hunts that allow for combination deer and cow elk tags, combination bull elk and cow elk tags, spike elk hunts and Nevada’s fourth bear hunt.

Also on the agenda was the removal of fishing tackle restrictions on certain spans of the Truckee River.

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:

This is my annual reminder that November 18 is a very significant date in the lives of some 4,212 hardy Alaskans (as of the 2010 census).

Those folks live in a unique location known as Barrow, Alaska, which is the northernmost community in the United States.

It is located in the Far North, on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, about 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and roughly about 1,300 miles south of the North Pole.

On November 18, the sun sets below the horizon at Barrow and it will not peek back up over the horizon until January 23 (weather permitting).

Elaine and I just returned from a three-day, two-night, fun-filled visit to the Sierra Nevada mountains, just west of Bishop, Calif. The purpose of our return visit to the mountains was to do like we had done in 2012 at this same time of the year:

The Brewery Arts Center welcomes back the "Cultures of Nevada" concert and performance series with nationally ranked musical artists, Chris Proctor and Montana Skies in two separate concerts in October at the BAC Performance Hall, 511 W King Street.

Chris Proctor: October 12th at 7:30pm.

Last week, I wrote about our visit to the remote Ookpik Wilderness Lodge on Babine Lake in British Columbia.
This week, I would like to offer a suggestion for taking a 2014 vacation trip beginning in Smithers, British Columbia, traveling to Watson Lake in the Yukon and returning to Smithers.

It will basically replicate the trip we took, after our return to Smithers from staying at the Ookpik Wilderness Lodge. If you are interested and if you have the vacation time, you might want to consider a 2014 Canadian vacation trip.

Saving Spot Dog Collar Donation Program
by Poochie-Pets benefits Pets of the Homeless of Carson City, NV

We are pleased to announce that Saving Spot purchases made between August 15-September 14, 2013 will benefit Pets of the Homeless. A nonprofit volunteer organization that provides pet food and veterinary care to the homeless in local communities across the United States and Canada. With every Saving Spot product you purchase, we will donate a new Saving Spot dog collar to Pets of the Homeless.

About the Saving Spot Program, Buy One, Give One

Organizers of the 30th annual La Ka Lel Be Pow Wow to be held in Carson City during the Nevada Day weekend say the event is taking shape and are looking for sponsors and raffle donations to help bring the event to its fullest.

The pow wow began 30 years ago at the Carson Indian Colony. It is and has always been a part of the Nevada Day celebrations, said co-organizer Brandi Colunga.

However, through the years, some of those who participated in organizing it have stepped down. So, along with Martin Montgomery, the two are hoping to continue the tradition.

Last week four of the Carson City's Sheriff Office top motor officers were invited to compete in the San Francisco Police Department Motor Officer Training Challenge held at Giants Stadium.

The SFPD Training competition attracted 52 motor officers from police, sheriff and highway patrol departments from California Oregon and Nevada. In June the Carson City Sheriff's Office hosted its own 10th annual Motor Officer Training Challenge during the Legends of the West Bike and Car Fest.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. Be sure to pack your sunscreen and plenty of cool beverages. Temperatures will heat up in the valleys near the century mark and 90 degrees or better in the Sierra.

High octane throttle therapy, chrome and the roar of motorcycles, hot rods, trucks and old car classics will highlight Carson City downtown during Legends of the West Bike and Car Fest, June 21-22.

This jubilee celebrates all things that make the open road a call to the wild side, showcasing incredible hot rods, classic cars, and plenty of motorcycles. Activities feature live entertainment, a Show and Shine, raffles, expanded cruise parade, breakfast, awards, and plenty of dining, hydration and refreshment opportunities.

Here's an annual reminder of a special event at this time of the year! The Davis Lake area, just north of Portola, California has some spectacular displays of colorful wildflowers blooming at the present time.

June 12, 1922 - March 21, 2013 Long-time Carson City resident, Jeannette Jensen, 90, passed away on March 21, 2013 in Las Vegas after a short illness. A native of Canada, Mr...

Last week, Elaine and her Mom spent five days enjoying all kinds of fun things to do in San Diego, Calif., on their once-a-year Mother-Daughter outing.

They flew roundtrip from Reno to San Diego with some great internet discount tickets from Southwest Airlines.
Then at the airport, the hotel shuttle picked them up and took the two of them to the Wyndham Hotel, which is located on the edge of the harbor.

Their name, Montana Skies, is a metaphor for musical freedom, and they continue to follow their creative instincts far beyond traditional boundaries.
In concert, these award winning musicians delve into music from Pink Floyd and Rush to Vivaldi, and House of the Rising Sun, as well as their own originals that have been featured everywhere from NPR to the Travel Channel.

In our many wanderings in the Great Outdoors in the last few years, Elaine and I have encountered all kinds of wildlife and birds; and I thought that it might be fun to share some of those encounters in the hope that, you too, might also experience some unforgettable memories.

So, with that as a lead-in, here's where to look and what you might see, and don't forget to take your iPhones or digital cameras for photos: