Back to Blackstone

Margarit came out to Nordegg on August 3rd to join us.  On the 4th we all headed back up the Trunk Road to the Blackstone River.  Our next door neighbor Dan and his daughter Arlette joined us.  The weather was sunny and really warm and we enjoyed our time down by the river.  

Fishing is allowed on the Blackstone and its tributaries but because the fish population is low you are not allowed to keep any fish and they must be released.  I tried fishing for a bit with my fly rod and got a few hits from some nice sized trout.  I almost landed one that was likely a cutthroat, but it spit out the hook and got away before I got it to shore.  I would have tried a little longer but I foolishly snapped my rod in half right after catching the big one.

It was still fairly smoky from the BC fires but we made the best of it.  Anna's friend Raquel was out with us and the three girls had a blast splashing around by the river and swimming in the icy water.  At one point our dog Quinn fell into the water and the current quickly washed her down stream.  Anna acted quickly and managed to scoop her up before she got washed too far away.

I was able to collect a large burl from the driftwood along the banks of the river.  I'm not sure exactly what I will do with it, but I intend to make something from it.

The bridge over the Blackstone is rather interesting.  Like many of the bridges in this part of the province it is a steel truss bridge built by Dominion Bridge Company out of Winnipeg.  The plaque on the bridge dates it to 1949... just shortly after the Second World War and nearly 75 years ago.  It is quite a high span over the river and affords a nice view of the valley.

There was a large sedimentary rock, probably sandstone, down by the water.  Within it was the impression of a very large tree trunk.  There are many other fossils in the gravel along the river but most are marine in origin, and much older than this tree.

As we were leaving I spotted a huge wasp on a log.  It was at least 1-1/2 inches long and rather frightening looking.  There have been a lot of wasps out this summer and almost everyone in the neighborhood and in the family got stung at least once.  These have mostly been the really aggressive yellow jackets.  We also saw the occasional hornet, and have been pestered by enormous horse flies.  But the huge wasp that I saw was unlike any others.  I believe it is some kind of wood wasp that uses its long ovipositor to lay eggs, probably in wood.