November Calendar Image

This is the image I selected for the November page of my 2026 Fine Art Monochrome calendar.  It is a shot of the boulders along the shore of Medicine Lake, in Jasper National Park.  At this late point in the season the lake has drained away to just a channel of water in the middle.  The lake is the result of an ancient rockslide off of the Colin Range, that dammed the Maligne River.  In the summer months, when waterflow is high, a lake forms behind the rock dam.  In the fall, when the waterflow slows, the water drains away through the rocks faster than the lake can fill, and the lake bed empties.  It is fascinating to experience and there are spots in the rocks where you can hear the water draining like a bathtub.  This photograph was taken several years ago, on the Monochrome Guild Fall Photo Weekend, before the big fire in Jasper.

 

 

The Last of Them

These are the last of my phone snapshots from the recent trip down to East Coulee.  After our visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Helena and I picked up a couple of pizzas from our favorite place, Pizza 249.  We headed back out to the trailer in East Coulee with them.  We met up with Frank and Chris and the shop and they shared some pizza with us, and we stayed up late visiting.

The next day it is still rather cold and wet from all the rain and snow.  So we went out for a little drive and toured around the area.  We ended up back at the Newcastle to play pool a second time.  The owners of the establishment are East Indian, and their attached restaurant specializes in East Indian food.  We never tried the food, but both times we played pool they served us a plate of what I believe are nan chips.  I really liked them, though Helena thought they were nothing special.

Later we went back to the Vintage pub so that Helena could get a second dose of her Mac and Cheese.  When we got back out to the trailer in East Coulee, Helena wanted to go out for a night walk around town.  I was freezing, and in the midst of fighting off a bad cold, that I still have to this day.  I didn't really want to go, but I humored her and went along.  We wandered over to the playground by the school, and down by the river, before eventually returning to the trailer.  This was the last night of our five night stay in the valley.  The next morning we packed up and tidied the trailer and hit the road for home.  We did remember to make a stop at the self serve vegetable shack and picked up a few things for back home.

 

 

Billiards

After we finished up at the Museum, Helena and I headed over to the old Newcastle Hotel, now called the Dinosaur Hotel.  It was the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, so we were the only ones in the place.  I had a couple of beers, and Helena got into the rum and coke, after finding a Strongbow cider not to her liking.  We got some change from the bartender and I attempted to teach Helena how to play eight ball.  She did alright, for a first try.  At one point I bounced the cue ball off of the table and into the ladies room.  She made me go in and get it.  It's a good thing there was no one else around.  We really enjoyed the afternoon and ever since, Helena is anxious to go and play pool again.  I guess I'll have to drag her out to some more dive bars in the future.  Dad of the year candidate...!!