Aussie Orientation Continues

It might be the beginning of autumn, but the temperatures are still in the mid to high 30s.  We love it -- especially when we read about winter snow storms in Alberta.

In our continuing Aussie orientation, we went to the Sounds of Starlight Theatre in Alice to see a world renowned didgeridoo musician.  In an intimate setting with about 80 people, we were treated to 90 minutes of the haunting music accompanied by a slideshow of spectacular scenery from the region.

There were at least 20 different didgeridoos of various lengths and shapes.  Each enabled the musician to make unique sounds and it was amazing to hear the melodies coming from a piece of wood that has been hollowed out by termites.

We were limited to when we could take pictures, but if you check their website,you can see more examples of didgeridoos.  

We had our dear friend, Craig Stratford, who is involved in the same project as Roger, and his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter over to our apartment to celebrate his birthday.  It was fun to be able to find and buy high quality food (all in one spot!) for the dinner and we enjoyed the evening with everyone.

Chloe is a little charmer

Happy birthday, Craig! Chocolate mud cake and more wine finished off steaks done on the barbie

For an early birthday present, Roger bought me a new camera.  It has a 300+ page instruction booklet, and the jury is still out if it's too much camera for what I want, but we have it for a week's "test drive" so thought we should put it to the test.

A short drive from Alice Springs, is Standley Chasm that is in the midst of the MacDonnell Range of mountains believed to be 300-350 million years old.

Our timing was perfect, because at mid-day, the sun shines down to the floor of the chasm which highlights the vibrant red rock.

Roger at Standley Chasm

A geologist's dream

Arch formed by a tree

A gum tree on top of the outcropping

Seeds of a Cycad tree

We have a big week ahead, and one we've been looking forward to for years.  Craig and his wife, Wendy, have invited us to their home in Beachport, S. Australia for Easter.  We fly to Adelaide on Wednesday with Craig and Wendy will meet us there. The four of us are going to see Paul Simon in concert that evening which will be a blast from the past.

Thursday we get chest x-rays done for our visas, Roger meets with a machine shop, and then we drive to Beachport which is four hours away.  Roger has another meeting close to Beachport, and more when he returns to Adelaide on April 2nd.  A perfect combination of business and pleasure.

It wouldn't be a usual blog posting without some mention of food.  Here is a menu item at the "Juicy Rump" where we had dinner a couple of weeks ago.  We didn't try this one, but maybe next time...

Seems to cover most wildlife around here....

Lots to see...lots to do...lots to be grateful for. We hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and that it is filled with good food, family and friends.

"Still crazy after all these years.....oh, still crazy after all these years."
                                                                                   Paul Simon