Exciting News!

My Beautiful Bride and I have been invited down to Florida to visit a friend, outdoor survival practicioner, and fellow blogger...my friend Molawns!

Next April, Molawns will be our guide to experience Florida's scenery, culture and history before we escape to Myakka River State Park to explore, hike, kayak, fish and practice a some subtropical bushcraft & survival skills.

As we face another long, cold winter, T. and I will take great comfort in researching, planning and preparing for this once in a lifetime adventure together, and we will be sure to share it with you upon our return next Spring.

It's really nice to have something to look forward to. 

Palm Forests at Myakka

Myakka River

First Snow of Autumn

A mix of rain and snow fell last night, and this is what we woke up to this morning.

It's going to take some mental adjustment to accept the passing of autumn this year.  The way I see it, there are actually almost a dozen seasons in your average calendar year, and this snow marks the start of

"late autumn - the first snows"

Get out the winter kit now, Mr. B...

Camping in the Boreal Forest

Hello again!

This will be a shorter post than I wanted it to be, because I put alot of effort into making short video clips from our digital camera to share the experience, but I can't seem to upload the movies!

Tammylove and I took off after a hellacious Friday at work so we could do a bit of camping again...just to relax and do a bit more experimenting with kit and techniques. We went to Winagami Lake Provincial Park, about a half hour north of town, where camping in the Dry Mixedwood Boreal Forest can be experienced.  Aspen, Cottonwood, Paper Birch, Willow and the odd Spruce or Pine are the overstorey, and wild rose, sarsaparilla, highbush cranberry, and red-osier dogwood make up the understorey.

After the Labour Day long weekend, the park was practically empty, and we revelled in the peace and solitude.  Geese could be heard flying overhead with their distinctive honks, and woodpeckers hammered the trees around us to keep us company. As dusk deepend into night, the stars shone brilliantly above us, seeming close enough to touch.  We sat and spoke in appropriately hushed tones to the the flickering firelight that danced and reflected in the tree canopies overhead.

In the still, wee hours of the morning, the moon shone brilliantly, casting stark shadows across the campsite and forest floor.  All was absolutely still, silent and breathtaking.

We came home refreshed and recharged, and we're hoping to get out again in the next week or two, so we can capture and share with you the autumn colours at their peak.

The Canadian Rockies

After an incredibly hectic summer, my beautiful bride and I decided to dump everything and run away for a week. Our initial plan was to hike Mount Robson (the world famous Berg Lake Trail) but bad weather encouraged us to change our minds.

Instead I decided to give T. a weeklong discovery of all the best parts of Jasper & Banff National Parks. T. had very little camping experience, so it would be a welcome "shakedown cruise" to sort ourselves out, as well as an opportunity to explore through the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

One thing new for me too...since I've always preplanned trips, I figured I'd throw caution to the wind and just wing it.

No preplanning.

No schedules.

No booking ahead.

We decided to just wake up each morning and ask each other "What do you want to do today, Darling?" Strangely enough, it actually worked! Every night we found a great place to sleep. Every day we found a new campsite, trail, hotspring or other activity to engage our minds and relax our hearts...

This photo essay is the chronicle of our adventures together.

Jasper Park's East Gate (from Hinton)
Rainy, windy, chilly day in Jasper

The getaway vehicle
These sheep almost caused a huge pileup.

Near the headwaters of the Athabasca River

Approaching the Columbia Icefields

The Columbia Icefields and the Athabasca River

Just entering the treeline again

"The Racetrack"

A huge sweeping switchback dropping down a steep sustained grade

More dropping down...

Towards Wenkchemna Pass

Moraine Lake and the Valley of the Ten Peaks.

This scene is famous in Canada as it was printed on the back of our old $20 bills
Valley of the Ten Peaks.

Tammylove admiring the view

Looking towards the Consolation Lakes and Paradise Valley

Moraine Lake

Hiking up the Rockpile

Beautiful Bride and me

Our Tacoma at Lake Louise town

Temple Mountain is the big mountain at left-centre and Victoria Glacier can be seen

just above the treed ridge in the distance
Mountain scenery at Bow Lake

Bow Lake

Headwaters of the Bow River

Johnston Canyon

Johnston Canyon

At the top of Johnston Canyon

Johnston Canyon

Some Mountain Freak

Johnston Canyon

The town of Banff

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park (1885) that was

originally set aside to protect Cave and Basin Hot Springs

Tammylove's hand cooking supper at Two Jack Lake

Supper.

Tammylove's campfire cooking experiments were a complete success!

Some weirdo that Tammylove lets hang around.

Proof that if you feed a stray, he'll come back.

Lake Minnewanka, near Banff

Banff Upper Hot Springs, Sulphur Mountain

The mountain in the left distance is Cascade Mountain that you saw before from downtown Banff. Tunnel Mountain is the low ridge just above the trees.

A slightly different view (turned to the right a bit) showing Mt. Rundle.

The valley heading off to the right is the Bow River Valley that leads to Calgary, about an hour's drive away from Banff.

Miette Hot Springs.

This little cabin was my treat to Tammylove for camping with me.

These cabins were built in 1938 and have had only minimal upgrades.

Our Son's Graduation

Jonah, our son, has now graduated from High School.

I have no way of expressing either the heights of my pride at his accomplishment or the depths of sadness at the pending loss of him from home as he pursues his dreams. Jonah is quite a talented drummer and loves playing heavy metal music...so I cannot imagine how we'll manage to keep him in this tiny farm town we call home.

C'est la vie is such a civilized way of saying "Too bad, so sad, Dad." My loss is my son's freedom.

Here are a few pictures of his special day!

Fort Edmonton Park

For the Victoria Day Holiday (24th of May) I took my beautiful bride to Fort Edmonton National Historic Park. http://www.fortedmontonpark.ca/pages/FortEdmonton/default.aspx

Fort Edmonton Park is Canada's largest living history museum and is a fantastic example of "history in motion". An interactive museum spanning many decades of Alberta's capitol city, Fort Edmonton Park has four primary features: 1920 street, 1905 street, 1885 street and the original Fort Edmonton (built in 1795 and shown as a fully functioning post at the height of the fur trade in 1846.

The following photo essay is only a small collection of the photos we took and the experiences we enjoyed that day, but I hope it educates and entertains you with Alberta's history!


I'd say the sign is pretty self-explanatory...

Fort Edmonton Park entrance. This building is a refurbished (and actively used by the park) railway station.

1920 Street.

Time period automobiles and motordrome, circa 1920.

1920 Street.

The cap badge of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment (aka "The Loyal Eddies"). The LER was formed at the start of the First World War as the 49th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. The motto of the Loyal Eddies is "Fear No Foe".

The Loyal Edmonton Regiment still exists as a Reserve Force Regiment in the Canadian Armed Forces, and forms the 4th (Reserve) Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI).

Talking with a local actor portraying his own grandfather, who fought in the First World War with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.

This intrepid young man has looked high and low for authentic uniform pieces to complete his post-WW1 uniform, and has almost completed the uniform - at his own cost.

Typical Edmonton street - including electric streetcars - circa 1905.

Edmonton council chambers circa 1905.

Tent camp where new settlers could stay until they could build a house. Many a shopkeeper, accountant or bank clerk stayed in these tent camps with their families for months at a time.

Bachelor's pads haven't changed much in the last 100+ years.

1885 Street.

Northwest Mounted Police outpost.

Typical tack of the NWMP circa 1885.

New construction methods for the 1880s.

Bellerose schoolhouse built in the 1880s.

Typical "land yacht" of the mid-late 1800s which many settlers used to cross the continent before the railway was completed.

Plains Cree trading camp located just outside Fort Edmonton. First Nations members participate as living exhibits of Plains Cree culture at the height of the fur trade at Fort Edmonton.

The refurbished Fort Edmonton, built in 1795 and exhibited at it's trading height in 1846.

Typical accomodations for fort-dwellers.

The fort's main square the the Governor's house.

Metis blacksmith working. The red sash he is wearing signifies his status as a Metis (halfbreed).

Emergency stores, no doubt!

Fort Edmonton's storehouse.

Another view of the Fort and the adjacent Cree trading camp. The Cree Indians would trap furs throughout the winter months, then trade them the following summer, when they could return by the rivers, the original "highways" of Canada.