Game Five of the summer hockey season was on Monday night. We played a game against the division leading Raccoons over at Kinsmen Arena. Yet again we were short a number of players and suffered our first major setback of the season. We were soundly defeated by a score of 8-2. Divisional realignment took effect after this game. The Raccoons have been moved up to a higher division, where they belong and we will not face them again this season. Several weaker teams have been moved down from higher divisions. We will finish out the remaining 10 games of the summer season in Division IV along with 7 other teams. At this point in time we are in second place in the division and will have to wait and see how we match up against some of the newly assigned teams.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Dad and Kids Weekend
We just returned from the annual Dad and Kids weekend. I must be getting old, because this one was pretty tame. In years past we have had better turnout. This time around it was just me and my girls, and John from the office with his kids. Frank from Drumheller stopped by in the afternoon to visit for a while, but didn't stay the night.
I remember previous trips when we stayed up all night long... putting a huge dent into the local beer supply... and driving the neighbouring campers crazy with music playing and a fire roaring all night.
Weather conditions were poor and I think we need to consider changing the date. We have typically planned for the weekend after the May long weekend, and in recent years it has been raining or snowing every time. Perhaps next year we should choose an alternative weekend in early to mid June. This year the weather held true to form. It was so wet and rainy on Friday that we postponed our departure and did not leave until Saturday morning. Even at that it rained all the way there, and finally began to break up just as we neared the badlands north of Drumheller. We rolled into the ranch by early afternoon, and I promptly got stuck in the mud with my truck and trailer. Eventually after gearing down into Four Low I was able to extricate myself and back the rig out of the yard and onto the gravel driveway.
We decided to head over to the gravel camping pads at the nearby Tolman Bridge Provincial Recreation Area. I phoned John to let him know that the ranch was out of the question and that he should meet us at Tolman. The girls and I got the trailer set up and by this time the sky was beginning to break up. A short time later John and his kids rolled in and set up camp nearby.
We did a little fishing, visited with Frank for a while in the afternoon, had a BBQ and then settled down into the evening. I packed it in and went to bed around 11:00, though the girls stayed up for quite a while longer in the back bedroom of the trailer.
In the morning we went out and wandered around for a while. I even managed to get out for an hour or so and do a little shooting with my view camera. After lunch we packed up and headed back over to the ranch. By this time it had dried off enough that we were able to get out for a trail ride. We had to keep it to a relatively short one hour ride as most of the trails were still too muddy. They had got 1-1/2 inches of rain here in the day prior to our arrival. No wonder I got stuck in the mud!!
After that trail ride we packed up and headed for home, arriving around 7:00PM. The girls were sure glad to see their Mom, and after something to eat and some baths, they got sent off to bed...
Red Rock Coulee
On Saturday morning we packed up and carried on to Red Rock Coulee. This is a Provincial Natural Area south of Medicine Hat. There are no facilities here..., no campsite, no outhouses... nothing. Open fires are not allowed due to the usual dry and windy conditions. We often camp here, just parking our trailer at the end of the road.
My brother Greg and his family were spending the long weekend camping at Dinosuar Provincial Park. On Saturday they had headed over to Red Rock Coulee for the day. They had forgotten that it was nearly a two hour drive from Dinosaur to Red Rock, but nonetheless they were there when we arrived. We went hiking together, and they hung around until after dinner, before hitting the road back to Dinosaur and their campsite.
Then on Sunday the girls and I went out hiking after breakfast. Margarit and Hailey set off down the Coulee, while the two younger girls and I went for a walk up into the boulder field. We spent the late morning wandering around and making a few photographs.
We all met up back at the trailer around 2:30 in the afternoon. We had hoped to be able to have lunch and a bit of a break, and then head out for more hiking. But some storm clouds rolled in and soon the spit turned into a drizzle, and then an outright rain. So we ended up hanging around the trailer for the rest of the day and into the evening... having supper together, and watching a movie.
When we got up the next morning the rain had quit, but it was very muddy. Eventually we headed out for some more hiking. Anna decided to stay in the trailer by herself and read. Hailey and I set off down the coulee, and Margarit and Helena went out for a shorter hike. Hailey and I got quite a ways down the coulee and did some exploring together. I took a few photographs with my view camera, and we just did some poking around. We came across some gumbo evening primrose in bloom, a large abandoned raptor nest, as well as a little garter snake...
It was clear and sunny all morning, and getting very warm by the time we had to trudge up the slope out of the coulee. By the time we eventually got up to the top, the clouds were beginning to build, making for some much more interesting photographs.
When we eventually got back up to the trailer, we had some lunch, packed up and hit the road. We had a long drive all the way back to Edmonton. I needed to be back at the office, and the girls back at school in the morning. We drove pretty much all afternoon and evening, and the clouds at this point had built up to scattered showers. We drove in and out of rain pretty much all the way home. We made a brief stop at the Carolside Reservoir east of Drumheller and found another old playground. But, this place was just infested with midges and the minute we stopped the truck and got out everything and everyone was covered with these non-biting, mosquito like insects.
Once we got back into the truck after this stop we pretty much just pounded the pavement home. A brief stop for fuel and something to eat in Stettler, and then to dump our holding tanks at a rest stop. When we finally rolled up in front of the house it was already approaching 10:00PM. We quickly unpacked what we needed to, and got the kids off to bed. A very tiring but very enjoyable long weekend and I sure was relieved that I pushed myself to go, and did not bail out like last year.
May Long Weekend
I booked an extra day off work so that the long weekend would become four days, instead of just three. We had hoped to leave Thursday after work, but we just weren't ready. I was feeling a little overwhelmed by trying to get everything ready, and getting all of our camping gear moved over into the new trailer. I was tempted to just call it off and cancel the weekend... But, then I remembered last year when we cancelled and didn't head out for the long weekend, and I regretted it for weeks afterward. So on Thursday night and Friday morning I forced myself to keep going... plodding along... and finally we were ready to go.
We managed to roll out of town about 10:00AM on Friday and like usual, ended up forgetting a few things... the walkie-talkies, my hiking boots, etc. But, we made the best of it. We didn't have the time to head all the way to Red Rock Coulee on the first day of our trip, so we made our way to Dorothy, in the Red Deer Valley, downstream from Drumheller. This has become one of our usual camping spots. The ghost town and the old churches used to be a lot more photogenic... when everything was abandoned and falling apart. And many of the images in my "Playground Ghosts" series were made in the old playground. Now the two old churches have been restored, and work is continuing on the Community Hall. It is still a fun place to visit, but not as good as it used to be. We rolled into the park in the early afternoon and set up camp for the evening. This would be the first night in our new trailer, and it was kind of fitting that we would spend it here. I proposed to Margarit in the old United Church back in 2000, and we used a photograph of it on our wedding invitations...
Friday, May 24, 2013
Dad's Birthday
My Dad turned 84 today... It is somewhat discouraging to reflect on how he has deteriorated in recent months. He now lives at St Joseph Auxiliary Hospital, and is mostly confined to a wheelchair. Alzheimers has really taken it's toll on him and he struggles just to keep up to a simple conversation. His life is now about the little things. A little bit of humour... a taste of chocolate... seeing his grandchildren...
Several of the immediate family including my Mom, my brother Greg, and Margarit and the girls went over to the hospital yesterday and spent the evening with Dad. We brought in some pizza... and some birthday cake. He was in pretty good spirits but grew tired into the early evening.
At least he now lives in a comfortable place where he is well looked after. Most importantly... Mom is no longer burdened by having to look after dad 24 hours a day... 7 days a week... 365 days a year. I think that her health has improved since she made the decision to put Dad into long term care... and good for her.
The entire family is in agreement with this and just need to make a little more effort to get out and see Dad a little more often.
It was great to see him yesterday in good spirits and spending time with family...
Summer Hockey - Game 4
On Wednesday this week the Renegades played the fourth game of our summer season. A half a dozen of our regular players were unable to make this game, for various reasons. It was a scramble to pull together enough players to make a reasonable attempt. In the end we had 11 skates and a goaltender.... a lot better than it looked like a day or so prior, when we only had seven or eight guys confirmed. We played a late game at the Kinsmen Arena in south Edmonton, against the Shockers.
Fortunately these guys are not all that good, and despite our short bench we still managed a respectable effort. A better team would have eaten us alive. By the end of the second period we were ahead by three goals but they put on a big push late in the game. We managed to hang on for a 4-3 victory. This puts us in second place in our division as we look forward to an upcoming divisional realignment.
I played the entire game in my usual spot back on left defence. I got a lot of ice time as we only had four defensemen for the game. This meant that I was on the ice for half of the game. On several occasions I got knocked down... not because the game was overly rough... but mostly because the Shockers were not particularly good skaters and most of the time were out of control. I didn't think anything of it and just kept getting back up and into the play.
I hung around in the locker room after the game with the guys and had a couple of beers. I felt fine and just enjoyed the time hanging out and relishing our victory. Later when I got home I unpacked my gear. Some time afterwards my knee began to swell up and within a short time I had a golf ball sized lump on my right knee cap. As I write this a couple days later it remains tender and swollen and I really can't be sure exactly when it happened. Hopefully the swelling goes down so that I can play in our next game on Tuesday...
To add insult to injury, when I got home and attempted to take a shower, I quickly learned that our plumbing was blocked up once again. The downstairs toilet would not flush properly and the shower would not drain. I needed to forfeit my shower and get to bed and get some rest. The next day I discovered that the upstairs plumbing had also backed up into the various sinks in my darkroom. Fortunately nothing overflowed and there was no serious damage. We called in a drain cleaning company to auger out our sewer lines... again... [this is the third time this spring]. Hopefully they will finally deal with this issue completely and life as we know it can return to normal.
Fort McMurray
About a week ago I had to head up to Fort McMurray on business. This was another of those long road trips that seem to have become the norm for me lately. I left the city at 6:00AM with my senior installation foreman. We drove for five hours up to Fort McMurray to attend a couple of jobsite meetings and confirm some site dimensions for the fabrication of skylights.
One project is the Thickwood Medical Center. For this project we have to fabricate three new Barrel Vault Skylights to replace existing ones that are being removed and disposed of in conjunction with re-roofing of the building.
The second project is a renovation at the Peter Pond Mall. Here they are cutting in two new skylights on a section of the mall that is being renovated into new retail space. One skylight is 12 feet by 32 feet and the second is 20 feet by 20 feet.
Highway 63 is notorious for poor road conditions, traffic congestion and accidents. The last time we drove up this way, in poor winter driving conditions, we saw several vehicles upside down or on their sides in the ditch. This time around road conditions were good. Traffic is often delayed by some of the large loads that are being transported up to the oilsands. Highway 63 is, for the most part, just a two lane highway. There are passing lanes and turnouts from time to time. The large industrial traffic is obligated to respect traffic volume and is only allowed to move during daylight hours and needs to use the turnouts. But, these conditions lead to impatience, risky passing attempts and even road rage. In response to complaints and some recent serious accidents the provincial government is responding by attempting to fast track the twinning of this highway. But it is a slow process. There are a couple short sections that are already twinned and a couple of significant sections that are under construction. But it appears as though it will be at least another year before there is any substantial improvement. And even then there will be large sections that will still be awaiting further upgrading.
To drive to Fort McMurray and back in one long day... 10 hours spent on the road, plus time spent at site meetings... not only makes for a very long day, but gives one some appreciation for not only the scale of the oilsands projects, but also the issues associated with the remote location of this site, and the concerns surrounding access.
Nordegg and the Kootenay Plains
On Saturday May 11th a number of the gang from the Monochrome Guild headed out for a day trip. Six of us met up early in the morning, around 6:00AM, and hit the road in two vehicles. We headed southwest of the city to Nordegg. It had been our plan to shoot at the historic Brazeau Collieries mine site. But, there was an out-of-control forest fire burning nearby, and the hamlet of Nordegg was on a 1 hour fire evacuation notice. We did not expect to be able to get up to the mine site, but set out anyway, hoping to find some opportunities for photography in the general area.
Except for the fact that there were numerous helicopters flying around, and that numerous roads were barricaded, it was not obvious that there was an out-of-control forest fire in the area. There were no flames visible and it was not particularly smoky. Nonetheless we were unable to drive up the road to the mine site so we continued west along the David Thompson Highway towards the Kootenay Plains.
We made a brief stop at Windy Point and on this day it certainly lived up to its name. The winds were just blasting down the valley and photography was made all but impossible. We did find a couple of sheltered spots on the leeward side of some rock outcrops, and managed a couple of photographs. If this wind kept up is was certainly going to make fighting that forest fire difficult.
We finished up here and continued further west, out onto the Kootenay Plains. We all met up at the Siffleur Falls trail and set off on a hike. After crossing the suspension bridge over the North Saskatchewan River, and a second smaller bridge over the Siffleur River, we split up into two groups. Court, Arda and Tanja continued up to the falls. Rob, Mark and myself struck off to the northwest towards an outcropping of hoodoos. The trail that we were following eventually wound its way up onto the plateau above these hoodoos. Once again it was very windy up here and we had to find sheltered locations in order to set up our cameras. There was a lot of deadfall on the ridges up in these areas, what appeared to be both Limber Pines and perhaps Jack Pines.
While I had my view camera set up on the rim of the hoodoos, and was battling the wind trying to make some photographs, I noticed a dark shape down in the forest below me. I watched for a while and soon it began to move. I quickly became obvious that this was a black bear. I watched for quite a while and briefly saw a cub cautiously following the mama bear. I managed a couple of snapshots of it with my little digital camera.
After finishing up my large format photographs I packed up my gear and moved away from the rim of the hoodoos. Behind me was an alpine meadow with some great views of Ex Coelis Mountain. Across this meadow was an area of deadfall that had attracted the attention of Mark and Rob. I wandered over in their direction, stopping to make a couple more photographs. Though it was still early spring and very dry, there were a few wildflowers beginning to bloom... mostly Crocuses...
By the time we packed up and headed for home late in the afternoon, it was a little more obvious that there was a fire near the Nordegg townsite. The wind had been gusty all day and the fire seems to have increased in size. Though we still could not see any flames, the smoke was becoming more evident, and the helicopters more evident. Hopefully this fire can be brought under control before it does any serious damage. It would be a shame to see the historic site at the Brazeau Collieries destroyed by fire. As we understood at the time, the fire was less than a kilometer away.
Nearly two weeks later as I write this, the fire was eventually brought under control. Though it grew in size somewhat before it was contained it never did burn into the mine site or the hamlet of Nordegg. Perhaps we will venture out that way at some point in the not too distant future and witness the damage first hand.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Fleetwood Mac
Margarit and I had tickets to see Fleetwood Mac at the coliseum in Edmonton last week. I had seen them once before, at the very same venue, back in the late 1970's. This time around it was the 35th anniversary of their Rumours album. Most of the original band members were on this tour. It was a great show and I was particularly impressed with the guitar playing skills of Lindsey Buckingham. He is exceptional and had the place just rocking. Stevie Nicks did pretty well too, and her reedy voice, though slightly weaker, still had that original sound, despite her age [65]. I missed a hockey game to be at the concert. The Renegades played our third game of the summer season that night. It sounds like I missed a pretty exciting game. I understand that we rallied to tie the score late in the game and eventually pulled off a shootout victory over the Ice Hawks.
Last Day on the Island
We slept in on Sunday morning, our last day on Vancouver Island. The restaurant at our hotel was having a Sunday brunch so we decided to check that out. They put on a huge spread that included everything from breads and pastries, fresh fruit, eggs, bacon, sausages, salads, seafood and even roast beef. We filled up with a big meal before heading out for the day. We had until late afternoon before we had to return our rental car and then head over to the airport to catch our flight home.
Initially we headed north up island from Comox, towards Campbell River. We stopped at Miracle Beach and Oyster Bay, but neither were particularly appealing. Both were somewhat developed and not the type of natural waterfront that we were looking for.
Eventually we made our way back towards Comox. We checked out Goose Spit and it too was very developed and not particularly natural. We found ourselves down at the Marina in Comox, checking out all the boats. The locals scoffed at us land lubbers as we watched hundreds of jellyfish in the waters between the docks. Later we went to a local bar for a cold beer and something to eat, before eventually returning our rental car.
We caught our flight from Comox at 7:00PM. After a very brief stop in Calgary we caught a plane for the short hop back to Edmonton. We landed around 11:00 and picked up the truck and drove home, arriving back around midnight.
It was a really enjoyable and relaxing weekend with just to two of us, and no set agenda. We missed the kids and were glad to see the girls when we got home, but it was nice to be away from them for a couple of days too. I brought my Hasselblad along for the trip and cranked through about 10 rolls of film... mostly black and white. I really wish I could have brought along my view camera, but it was just not practical to travel with, particularly for such a short trip. When I eventually find time to process my film I hope I have a couple of images that are worthy of a fine art print.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Denman Island and Hornby Island
I'm slowly catching up on writing posts for some of the things I have been up to lately. I still haven't finished with all the activities of the trip out to Vancouver Island at the beginning of May... so here goes...
On the third day Margarit and I headed out from our hotel room in our rental car, south along the Island Highway Scenic Route, to the nearby ferry terminal. We paid our 80 dollar round trip fare for the short ferry ride across to Denman Island. This ticket allowed us to continue from Denman over to Hornby Island, and eventually back. We had to wait about 20 minutes for the next ferry, but in a short time we were on Denman Island. We drove around sight seeing for a little while, admiring this gorgeous flowering dogwood.
We drove a circuitous route around the island, and eventually found ourselves at the southern tip, at Boyle Point Provincial Park. We parked our car at the end of the road and set off for a hike through the coastal forest. Eventually we got to an overlook called Eagle Point.
It was quite a steep slope down to the shore but despite the warning signs, we decided to give it a try. Mostly because the beach just down the coast looked very intriguing with its tide pool and large boulders. We could even see the Chrome Island Lighthouse from here, which had been our original intended destination.
We spent the entire afternoon on the beach just exploring, with the barking of sea lions in the distance, and the occasional boat motoring by. By about 4:00PM we realized that the day was slipping away, and we still had another island to explore. So, we quickly climbed back up to the forest and hiked back out to our car. We drove over to the nearby ferry terminal and almost immediately caught the next ferry over to Hornby Island. We wanted to check out the bluffs at Helliwell Provincial Park but weren't sure we would have time. It was already almost 5:00PM, and the last ferry back to Denman was at 6:00PM. We quickly drove out to the park and started the hike out to the bluffs. Again this was on a wooded trail through the forest. We got about half way to our destination, and realized we had run out of time. We turned back and hiked back out to our car.
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