A Brief Return to Photography

Last weekend I was back out at Nordegg.  Once again this was a solo trip.  I had a bunch of odds and ends to work on, plus I wanted to try and get out with my camera... finally!  I left on Saturday morning after dropping Hailey off at work.  It had been raining, with a little bit of snow mixed in, at the end of the work week.  All the way out the roads were dry, though there was snow in the ditches.  By the time I turned west on Highway 11 at Rocky Mountain House conditions had deteriorated.  The highway was covered with slush and snow and it got worse and worse the higher I got up onto Saunders ridge.  The snow plows were out and just getting started but in places the road conditions were not great.  I arrived at the cottage in the early afternoon and got unpacked and set to work.  

I finished up the installation of the glass clamps on my railing posts.  I also did a little touch up painting.  I went out for an evening walk and the snow got heavier with almost white out conditions for a while.  When I got up in the morning it was about -7C and there was a couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground.  I went down into the basement and worked on insulating.  The upper levels of the cottage and the ceilings are all well insulated.  The basement is made with ICF blocks.  These are foam insulated forms that are filled with concrete to create the foundation.  The ends of the floor joists were not yet insulated and I spent a few hours on Sunday morning doing this.  This should help to keep the basement a lot warmer in winter.  I took a shower to get rid of the fiberglass itch and then looked to wrap things up at the cottage.  The temperature really took an upward swing and by 3:00 in the afternoon it has risen 20 degrees to +13C.  I packed up the cottage and hit the road with my camera.

It was very calm so I decided to take a drive up to Windy Point.  Even within a mile or so of the point, conditions were still relatively mild.  But as soon as I got up to the ridge, true to its name, the wind was howling and the lake was covered with whitecaps.  It took two hands to pull the truck door shut and photography with a large view camera was impossible.  I headed back east and stopped at Allstones Creek.  I set up the camera and took a couple of shots here, and wandered around for a bit. 
Then I headed into the Nordegg townsite.  The restorations to the exterior of the old service station are now complete.  The brick has been replaced on part of one wall where there was previously a big hole.  And new metal roofing has also been installed.  I set up the camera and took a detail shot of one of the old windows.

As I slowly made my way back home I passed two groups of wild horses along the highway.  I didn't bother to photograph them this time.  Still later I stopped by an old abandoned schoolhouse but I was a little too late and by this time the last light of the day was fading.  I took a couple of digital snapshots but will have to return another time to shoot it with the view camera.

Even though I only did a couple of set ups, and probably didn't capture anything spectacular, it was sure nice to get out again with the big camera after a summer of virtually no photography...!!