Own the Podium

You have probably heard about the Canadian sports program "Own the Podium". The goal?  Win more medals in the 2010 Winter Olympics than any other nation (and gold for the first time in an Olympic competition on Canadian soil).  Anyway, it was the buzz here before the games and put tremendous pressure on Canadian atheletes.  And gold has been won but it looks like Canada will fall short of actually "owning the podium", maybe well short.

But everytime Canada wins a gold they light up the torch on the top of the Calgary Tower between 5:00 and 6:00 pm.  So I went down and got this picture today.

Lake Vermillion and Mount Rundle

A warm spring keeps a part of one of the Vermillion Lakes ice free.

Banff from Sulfur Mountain

The town of Banff and the Bow River as seen from the top of Sulfur Mountain.

Bighorn Sheep near Banff

This ram was with a small herd of sheep north of Banff on Highway 1A. Look closely, he seems to be sticking his tongue out at me. Actually they were licking run-off on the highway for salt and he continued to lick his tongue as he walked by and eyed me.

You can tell the age of rams by looking at their horns and counting the ring transitions. If I am counting right this fellow must be four years old. But then again, I'm no sheep expert.

An ewe

This is a lamb from last year.

Ice Climbers in Johnston Canyon

An ice climber making his way up the wall at Johnston Canyon. The ice has different colors, with a really deep turqoise blue standing out in places. Other spots have a yellowish tint and there is cyan too.

One of the climbers said the winter had been warmer than normal and the wall wouldn't be safe to climb pretty soon if we didn't have a cold snap. I guess it has been pretty warm for the olympics over in Vancouver too...

Johnston Canyon Upper Falls

This is a shot of the frozen Johnston Canyon upper falls. Ice climbers were making their way up the frozen wall outside the right hand frame of the picture. Johnston Canyon is north of Banff off of Highway 1A.

Community Garden

The Danny Woo Community Garden is in the International District of Seattle. This is the area where the Asian community historically lived.

In Britain there were allotment gardens managed by the council that looked a lot like the ones on this hill. I also remember gardens like this in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Japan.

In the garden there was a poem: With the passing seasons... Countless hands and hearts caress the earth - Here this evening's meal!

Reflection of the Needle

A reflection of the Space Needle in a Belltown building. I've updated the collection of Space Needle pictures here.

Tug

Seattle tug as the rain blows in

Floats

Floats in the water alongside a Seattle Pier

Building Boats by Hand

There is a shop on a wharf in Seattle where they still build boats by hand, albeit with modern tools. The boat shown is an authentic replica of a tender popular in the 1800s.

Deluxe Junk

Deluxe Junk is an antique store in one of the funkier parts of Seattle. We stopped in a vegan restaurant close by and I had an artifcial meatloaf sandwich. And it was good too. Nearby is a rocket ship attached to a building, huge statue of Lenin for sale, and a troll under the bridge. Like I said, funky.

Year of the Tiger

Happy New Year from Seattle

Balloons over the Bow Again

The balloons were out over Calgary again this morning.

A few minutes after taking this picture a dozen or so Canadian geese flew by. We are on the 14th floor, the geese were at window height and flying west in the same direction the camera is pointed here. I heard them first, and then saw them only 20 or 30 feet away. Of course, I didn't have the camera in my hands and although it was only a few feet away, no time for a picture.

Bison

Bison near Rocky Mountain House. Rocky Mountain House dates to 1799 when the Hudsons Bay Company and the North West Company established fur trading posts there.

The British-Canadian explorer and surveyor David Thompson used the location as a starting place for expeditions. In 1811 he navigated the entire length of the Columbia River including modern day Washington state and Oregon. The trip was at least partially in response to concern over the trip Lewis and Clark had made to the Pacific Ocean in 1804-06 and a drive to claim territory.

Nordegg

Nordegg is an old coal mining town that was practically abandoned by the 1950s when the mine shut down. The few remaining jobs are associated with a minimum security prison and tourism. The church is still there and active along with a combination store / gas station, a motel open only in the summer, and a museum that closes for the winter.

Siffleur River

A view of the canyon and river below Siffleur Falls.

Siffleur Falls

The Siffleur Falls, largely frozen over. It pays to have YakTrax on your boots out here. They really add traction and help prevent a slip on ice.

The North Saskatchewan River

This is the view from the footbridge that crosses the North Saskatchewan River on the way to Siffleur Falls. It is a 8 km walk including the return across two rivers, a montane plain, and along a canyon. It was a beautiful day and we didn't see another human the whole way.

Quoth the raven, "nevermore"

A raven looking for a handout at the turnout on Hwy 1 across from Crowfoot glacier.

Nikon N75 35mm Film Camera

I bought another used camera the other day off of eBay. This was one of the more expensive ones I've bought - paid $28 Canadian for it. I think I almost have this out of my system now although I do covet the 50mm and 135mm Nikkors for my Bronica S2. Usually what I do is run a couple of rolls of film through them and set them on my shelf.

It's not that they don't take good pictures, many of them are very capable. But it does cost a fair amount of money to buy the film and get it processed and scanned. And unless you pay even more, the scans aren't that great (why do you have to pay that much more for a decent scan?). And you have to take them to be processed and wait to get them back. That is the real reason I don't use them much - I can hardly stand that waiting any more.

The reason I bought this particular camera is that it is one of the last Nikon amateur cameras made and has almost all of the modern features. In fact, it works great with all my new lenses. It supports VR (vibration reduction), it autofocuses with both the screw type and newer lenses with motor in lens. Metering seems great (take this shot at dusk with a bright sky for example). It doesn't support the newest CLS flash metering and features but that is about all it is missing.

Nonetheless, it now sits on the shelf. I still like to fool with film, but 99% of the shots I take are, and will continue to be, with digital.

A Chinese Teapot and Cups

I bought these in Malaysia many years ago from a Chinese merchant.

Train Snow Plow

A snow plow at Banff Station. Click here to see a snow plow in action...

Intentional Burn

The Sawback prescribed burn occured in May, 1993. Almost seventeen years later the results are still very obvious. So why was a fire intentionally set?

Before modern fire prevention and fire fighting, a fire occurred on average every 30 to 50 years in the Bow River valley. In the 20th century there were essentially none. The forests grew to be uniform and without open spaces.

A variety of old growth and young forest, as well as shrubs and meadows, are needed for a healthy mountain environment. Bears need berries. Wildflowers need sunlight. Woodpeckers need old growth trees and rabbits need meadows.

Castle Mountain at Sunset

Looking towards the east just off Hwy 1.

Another View of the Canadian Rockies

North of Banff on Highway 1A

Yet Another Snow Covered Mountain

Just another beautiful mountain covered in snow, this time taken from Highway 1A on the way to Lake Louise from Banff. Took this picture last Saturday, I never tire of it...