Our Little Friend

This little guy lives in Johnston's Canyon. He decided he liked us. He followed us for a time while we were hiking along. We'd put our hands out to him, and he'd come up and touch his nose to our fingertips. He's only about four inches long, and so tiny and cute.

On our way back down through the canyon he found us again. It was quite a hot day, so I offered him a bit of my drink, and he accepted.

Wooden Pathway

I went to Johnston's Canyon just outside of Banff, Alberta. It's a beautiful hike, but hard. It took us about four hours or so, to make it to the top where the upper falls are, and back down again. It's an interesting hike. As you walk along, the pathway takes you beside the canyon to a certain point, and then you start to walk through the canyon on a wooden walkway that has been suspended along the inner walls of the canyon. This is not the size of the Grand Canyon or anything, but very interesting anyway. Every step of the way are incredible views of the canyon, and Johnston's canyon creek, which runs through it.

Western Coast of England

Here is the photo I had promised of the western coast of England. You can see the farmlands, wind generators, and roads. As I said before, it's a little blurry, and I apologize for that. But it's still an amazing sight to see from an airplane. This was my first trip outside of Canada, and first time on a plane. My brain was just buzzing with the thought that I had actually travelled halfway around the world, and was about to land in a totally foreign place.

Orange Sky

These are some pictures I took of the sky over my son's work. I had just gone to pick him up, and the sky just turned into this kaleidoscope within a few seconds. It was amazing. The sun was setting, and the clouds just took on a life of their own. It's proof that even in the big city, some amazing wonders of nature can still be seen. Not much else to say about these photos, other than it was so cool to be under this sky, just staring up at it. Absolutely beautiful. No canvas could ever hold colors like that.

Medieval Packhorse Bridge in Aylestone

I thought I would share this photo. It's the Medeival Packhorse Bridge in Aylestone. It's a very interesting bridge to go see. I highly recommend it.

It's estimated to have been built in the fifteenth century, and walking along it, you feel like you've been transported back in time. There are horses in the fields beside the bridge, and they complete the image in your mind of fifteenth century England. As you walk along it, the center of the bridge is quite narrow. This is where the people and horses passed. But all along the sides of it are these niches that are built to protrude out and away from the center of the bridge. These niches were built for the people passing over the bridge to step into, in order to allow the horses passage.

My First Plane Trip

This past spring I went to England. It was very exciting for me because I had never been on a plane before, and for a first timer, it was a very long plane trip. I got to the Calgary International airport at about 2pm Calgary time, and I arrived at Manchester Airport at about 4am Calgary time. England time it was 11am. That was one of the strangest nights I've ever had. There was only about three hours of darkness, so it was very difficult to sleep or even nap. But the views from the plane were incredible. Even when it was too clouded over to see much down below.

I did manage to see ground though when we were passing over the western coast of England. There were wind generators visible all along the coast, along with farmland and roads. I tried to snap this photo before we passed over. I succeeded, but it's rather blurry. My digital camera takes a bit to power up and ready. Sometimes it's a problem when the moment is passing me by.

As it turns out, I had thought I would upload the photo, but now I can't find it,. So I will find it, and then upload it once I have it.

Meteorite

When I was a child, I lived in Nova Scotia. I just loved watching the ocean and the stars at night. It was so quiet and peaceful. Not to mention it was a special treat considering we weren't allowed out after dark very often. The water and moon and sky were so peaceful. I painted this more from memory than sight. It's what my mind remembers about that ocean.

I added the meteorite as a figment of my imagination. No matter how many times I look up at the night sky, that is what I look for. But as yet, I haven't seen one.

Sometimes when life gets rough or hurtful, it's nice to think back to childhood. When life was easier, and the most important thing in life was whether or not you could get the newest Smurf doll. Whether or not you'd hit that homerun that would impress all the boys, or whether or not Mommy and Daddy would let you have some money to go to the corner store and buy a little brown paper bag full of penny candies. My favorite was the tiny vanilla fudge squares that were two for a penny. The only idea anyone had of fashion, was to not be caught dead wearing bell bottoms, and for us tomboys, not to be caught dead wearing anything pink. The color black was cool, KISS was cool, and so was "Pass the dutchie" even though none of us had any clue what it meant. Everyone dressed up like Gene Simmons or the Great Pumpkin for halloween. No axe murders. No razor blades in apples. No war. No worries. The spookiest thing you might see was a small ghost dressed in a white sheet, holding onto a giant bag of candy in one hand, and the hand of their mom or dad, in the other. Life was good. No one died, and everyone was going to be ten years old forever.

Takakkaw Falls

This website is going to be my personal diary of my own travels. Most of what you will see will be of Alberta, and my experiences here. But I will also try to include my travels and photography from elsewhere in Canada, and abroad.

This is one of my favorite photos. Most photos I take myself, but this one I found on the internet years ago. I'm unsure of the photographer, and I mean no disrespect by posting it. I only mean to show my admiration. This is Takakkaw Falls, in Yoho National Park, in British Columbia. I have never been to these falls, or to the park, but I plan to visit soon. I credit the photographer, wherever he/she may be. and I thank them for sharing this photo with the world.

I have this idea, that if these falls can be so beautiful in a photo, they must be stunning in real life. When I do get my chance to go, I will share my own photos, but for now, I thought it would be a nice start for this site.