The hottest party in town (for families with small children anyway) is the Calgary Zoo, known as Zoo Years Eve. Hot? It was -19 degrees C (-2 degrees F) but that really isn't so cold for a Calgarian. There were over 1,000,000 lights and of course there were fireworks.
It has been cold again, and snowing. The paper said earlier this week that we had 25 cm of snow or about 10 inches this month. It has snowed another inch or so since then I would guess.
Relative to a lot of places, Calgary doesn't seem to put up that many Christmas decorations, but Stephen Avenue still looked nice on Christmas Eve.
If the Easter Bunny makes an appearance in Calgary on Christmas Day it means you will have an early spring.
Banff is always nice, winter or summer. In the summer, there is hiking from easy to extreme. In the winter there is skiing and spas. We did both, with no injuries at either. The scenery is always beautiful. Merry Christmas wherever you are...
We had a chinook and it warmed up here in Calgary towards the end of last week.
There are still geese on the Bow River below the little spillway in Eau Claire but it seems to me those rice fields down in Katy would be nicer (except for maybe the hunters).
There is a restaurant across the street from our apartment with seating on the sidewalk. Last week it wasn't getting much business outside.
It is starting to get a bit cold here in Calgary... and snowy. The Bow River has ice and snow over it and the temperature is supposed to bottom out at -27 to -30 deg C tonight. Tomorrow night, -35. Those geese better get on the road.
I have it on good word that the geese have been seen heading South, and over Missouri, so I went down to the river where I normally see them to have a look. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them for about a week or so. The river has a lot of ice on it but I did find this goose and a lot of mallards.
Here is the Canadian Pacific Railway #29 ready for Christmas. It was built in September, 1887 at a cost of $7000, and with tender weighs 150,000 pounds with a length of 58 feet. It is a class of locomotive known as a Standard or American-type 4-4-0. It was the last steam locomotive in Candadian service when it ceased operating in November, 1960. It was last operated in 1989 when it was over a 100 years old.
This is the Upper Cataract Falls in Indiana on Mill Creek. It has the highest volume of water of any waterfall in Indiana. There is a covered bridge built in 1876 just upstream. The stone foundation in the middle of the frame is from an old mill that dates from that time. Just downstream is the Lower Cataract Falls, also very nice....
This is a statue of a former president of Indiana University who coincidentally has a hat just like mine. Here is a fact that might not be known widely outside the area - in the 1910 census it was determined that Bloomington was the center of population of the USA. There is a marker at the Monroe County courthouse that says so.
This is the Science Fiction Museum at the base of the Seattle Space Needle. Click here to see shots of the Needle and the location where they were taken.
Alexander Calder's Eagle in the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Space Needle built in 1962 for the World's Fair is in the background.
We were bck in Texas for the weekend. This waterfront property is now available on Surfside Beach courtesy of Hurricane Ike. I have hooked my camera up to a GPS (really). When you click on the Surfside Beach link above, the location where I took the shot can be seen in in the map to the side.
This weekend was British Columbia and this is the Vermillion River close to the Stanley Monument.
Ewes and lambs passing Radium Springs as they take the highway into the town of Radium. The sheep aren't the least bit afraid of cars and unfortunately that is one of the leading causes of death.
This big fellow was taking it easy early one morning over by the Radium baseball field. They were also in people's yards, in front of the hotel, and on the golf course.
Two rams just after butting heads in the town of Radium, British Columbia. There were sheep all around town. These guys were hanging around in a group of about 12 rams. The town bills the annual event as the Radium Headbangers.
This doe was tiptoeing to eat berries from a tree in Radium, British Columbia as her fawn stood nearby.
We took a hike near Canmore, Alberta and this is Chinaman Peak as seen from the path to Grassi Lakes.
Teresa crossing Canmore Creek above the falls.
These are the Canmore Creek Falls. To reach the top you follow the path forward, up, and to the right of the falls. A small bridge crosses the creek at the top and leads to the Grassi Lakes.
There are two paths to the Grassi Lakes. This is the start of the more difficult path. There is another easier one that follows a road. But the more difficult path gives better views of the Bow valley and the Canmore Creek Falls.
Seen at the Cochran Ranch, site of the first really large cattle ranch in Alberta.
I haven't done a collage in a while so here are some doors from around downtown and neartown Calgary. By the way, I looked up the difference between montage and collage and I'm not sure I understand the difference.
There are golden arches and then there are golden arches. While we do have the commercial ones, this one is on the path to the river from our apartment. Thousands and thousands have passed through it.
These magpies are common around Calgary and are very pretty birds in the right light and quite elegant. This was one of a pair down by the river and I followed him up and down the bank for a while trying to get a good shot. I took his picture just after he lifted off from a rock and was probably only six or seven feet away. This is a very distant Australian relation.
It warmed up today, the snow is long gone, and it was a nice day for a walk.
On the road heading into the mountains outside Canmore we saw a wolf, a bear, and several white tailed deer. I didn't get a picture, but it was enough to see them.
Yesterday was the Zombie Walk on Stephens Avenue. See more zombies by clicking here but be forewarned! Some are pretty gruesome (but they all seemed like they would be nice once you got to know them). One cool thing about them was that they all seemed to be following a theme like Alice and the Mad Hatter or Star Trek.
The male elk was in the brush and bugled a few minutes before this picture was taken. Then he came running at the young male in the foreground who was grazing with the cows. The little one was out of there....
Dear Stu Monkey,
Q: Why did the black bear cross the road in Waterton Park?
Pat's Park Service Station and Gift Shop in Waterton sells gas, repairs bikes, rents scooters and bikes, sells gifts, etc... Plus, on this particular morning there was a mountain getting nice light in the background. You can't really see it on this downsized web version of the photograph but there is also a mule deer just above the hood of the red pickup that I didn't see until I opened up the photo on my computer.
Upper Waterton Lake lies on the border between Canada and the United States. At the south end of the lake lies Goat Haunt, Montana in Glacier National Park and you get there from the town of Waterton in Canada by boat (or by foot if you care to walk). Goat Haunt consists only of a ranger station that is staffed in the summer.
On the way back from Waterton we detoured west to British Columbia to take a picture. It isn't far, so I expect to be back.
This seagull was sitting on a rock and I had taken a shot or two. Then it took off just as I snapped the shutter and this is what I caught. At first I was disappointed but when I got back home and looked it seemed kind of artistic. Don't tell anyone it wasn't on purpose....
These two blackbirds were part of a large flock down by the beaver lodge on Princes Island. I'd been trying to get a good picture for a day or two. The light was low and getting dark so the lens is wide open and I used a flash to provide a little pop. The background is nicely out of focus and the colors contrast well with the birds I think.
Today was the Calgary Community Peace Pole Unveiling Celebration in the park down below the apartment. Besides unveiling the Peace Pole (a sculpture that I don't quite get) these pinwheels made by "Ms. Drisdelles's art class" were out on the grass. When the wind blew, they sent "their messages of peace out onto the world."
Q: Why did the girls dressed like clowns cross the road in Waterton Park?