On December 28th Margarit and I went out together on a day trip. We used to do this a lot before the girls came along, but it has been a long time since we did not have a back seat full of distraction. This time our niece Amelia came over for the day to babysit, and the two of us were able to spend an enjoyable, relaxing day together. We left town and headed east, passing through Elk Island National Park and on up into Lamont County. We aimlessly drove around stopping here and there to check out a few old buildings and abandoned yards.
Up near the North Saskatchewan River valley we found an old yard with several interesting buildings. We wandered about in the yard and it was quite pleasant for a winter day. The sun was out, and the temperature up around -5C. When we got in the open, there was a rather brisk east wind that made things a little more difficult. We explored the yard and found a really cool old car beside one of the buildings. I dug out my big view camera and took a few shots of it before we headed off again.
We found the day winding down much sooner than we wanted it to, and headed in the general direction of home. We stopped and admired the side light on a field of corn stubble. Then we found some lawn chairs rather comically set up in front of an abandoned community hall. We eventually passed back through Elk Island National Park on our way back into the city. For the second time this month, but only the third time ever, we actually saw a herd of elk in their namesake park. But, we found it rather unusual that there was no other sign of life and the usually common herds of bison were oddly absent.
After that last stop to see the elk, we blasted back home to relieve Amelia of her duties and return to the chaotic world of three demanding little girls. But, it was a nice break while it lasted.
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