Willi's Wine Bar

Willi's Wine Bar burned in the Santa Rosa fire and re-opened at 1415 Town & Country Drive, Santa Rosa.

Charcuterie Plate with 3 choices served with Mustard Fennel Pickle and Warm Bruschetta--$16. We chose Parmesan and Porcini, FaTToria (Calabrian chiles, cayenne, garlic and orange zest) & Culatello ("little ass"--ham of pork rubbed with black pepper & garlic--"prosciutto's smaller cousin"). This is not a huge portion.

Warm Skillet Bread, Melted Gruyere, Sea Salt, Green Olive Tapenade--$7. The bread and tapenade were good.

Mushroom Soup Shooters with Grilled Truffle Tremor Cheese--$10. The mushroom shooters were flavorful but the grilled cheese was not.

Fava Bean & Burrata Bruschetta, Preserved Lemon--$11. Meh.

Goat Cheese Fritters with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes, Smoked Paprika and Lavender Honey--$9. Interesting flavor--probably my 2nd favorite of the evening.

Willi's Truffled French Fries with Truffle Aioli--$9

Liberty Farms Pulled Duck BBQ, White Cheddar Polenta--$12. This was the best tasting dish but there wasn't a lot of duck.

Moroccan Style Lamb Chops, Preserved Lemon Couscous, Toasted Almonds and Arugula--$17 for 2 chops, $25.50 for 3.

We ordered a bottle of Folk Machine Chenin Blanc for $40. Corkage is waived for a bottle you bring with each bottle purchased. Otherwise, corkage is $20 per bottle.

2019 07 08

Parish Cafe

Parish Cafe is located at 60 Mill Street in Healdsburg. There is a 2nd location in downtown Santa Rosa.

Beignets--$5 for 3. They're large, light, fluffy and loaded with powdered sugar. Double the price of New Orleans but if you can't make a trip to the Big Easy, this will do.

Fried Oyster Po-Boys--$15.50 for regular (12 inch) or $19.50 for king (18 inch). The oysters were well fried and the roll was chewy and good.

Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo--$10 for bowl ($6 for cup).  Deep rich flavor--loved it!

Fried Green Tomatoes--$6. This was delicious and a huge portion--can be shared with 4 people.

Went back again a week later and tried the Shrimp & Grits--$14.50. Very tasty.

One more trip a month later and tried a few new things:

Fried Catfish Po'Boy--$14.50 for regular. This didn't have as much flavor as the Oysters Po'Boy.

Fried Okra--$6. These were delicious. They had a nice coating and were not greasy at all.

2019 07 08 & 14, 08 20

Baladi Shawarma

Back in Calgary, we grabbed lunch at Baladi Shawarma, located at 104-65 Sage Hill Plaza NW. It was actually pretty good for a strip-mall fast-food place.

Donair Platter--$13.95.  Platters include rice, garlic potatoes (which were delicious), hummus (just okay), salad and pita bread. I was not a fan of the rice. I'm a purist and I don't like peas and peppers in my rice.

Mix (Chicken & Beef) Shawarma Platter--$14.95.

2019 06 22

Wildlife Sightings

It's inevitable that you'll see some wildlife in the Canadian Rockies. Whenever you see cars parked on the side of the road, you can be sure there's something to see.

Black bear we encountered on the way to Maligne Lake. Black bears have no shoulder hump, small head and tall ears.

Bald eagle's nest (but no eagles) at Medicine Lake.

This black bear took a dump in the middle of the road then took its time getting off the road.

It was a good sized bear.

I thought this was a chipmunk but it turned out to be a ground squirrel. Ground squirrels don't have stripes on their heads.

Grizzly bear near Sunwapta Falls. Grizzly bears have a shoulder hump, large head and short rounded ears.

Finally saw some elk on the way to Banff Upper Hot Springs.

I really wanted to see a moose and went to Moose Lake. Alas, the only moose I saw was on the signboard.

2019 06

Two Jack Main Campground

The Two Jack Main Campground is 14 minutes from the town of Banff. There is also Two Jack Lakeside which is next to Two Jack Lake. Both have flush toilets. Lakeside has showers but no dump station whereas Main has no showers but a dump station. Neither have electricity.

Site 33C is surrounded by trees.

2019 06 21

Banff Upper Hot Springs

Back in Banff, the Banff Upper Hot Springs is open from 9 am to 11 pm May 17 to Oct 14. Shorter hours the rest of the year. Closed for maintenance Oct 15-27. Admission is CAD 8.30 for adults.

Park in the parking lot then walk a short distance to the hot springs.

Historic entrance. Lockers and showers are available. If you need a swimsuit or towel, you can rent them.

The pool itself is not as atmospheric as at Miette but the soak in 104 degree water is still great.

2019 06 21

Johnston Canyon

At Johnston Canyon, there is a 2.5 km easy one-way trail to the Upper Falls. There is a 120 m elevation gain and it takes about 2 hours roundtrip.

Walkways along the canyon.

Lower Falls.

You can enter a tunnel and come out at the edge of the falls.

The Upper Falls.

2019 06 21