Sunday Drive down Chungo Road

On Thanksgiving Sunday, October 8th, Margarit and I decided NOT to do any work around the cottage.  Instead we set out on an afternoon drive.  Originally we intended to drive up the Forestry Trunk Road to the Blackstone River.  But, we made a last minute decision and headed west on the Chungo Road instead.  

It was a beautiful day with clear sunny skies, and the temperature peaked at about +24C.  Very warm for this late in the season...  Our first stop was along Lookout Creek.  It was beautiful here, and I set up the big camera for a shot.  We noticed a bunch of trout in the creek, but all the tributaries of the Blackstone River are mostly closed to fishing.

Later we continued on to the Blackstone River.  This is upstream quite a distance from the Trunk Road crossing of the Blackstone that we usually visit.  There is a small recreation area with rudimentary camping facilities here at this upper crossing.

Later we continued even further west and followed the road to a crossing on Chungo Creek.  There was another small camping area here, but no one was around.  We wandered around down by the creek for quite a while and I took a few more photographs with the big camera.  By this point we were around 30km west of the Trunk Road, and getting closer to the Bighorn Range.  The main ranges were not particularly visible from this area as the road followed all the valleys in between the foothills and front ranges.  We turned around at this point and slowly made our way back to Nordegg.  Along the way we saw both White Tailed and Mule Deer, as well as lots of moose and elk tracks.  We even saw a couple of Spruce Grouse on the side of the road.

When we got back to the cottage it was about 5:00 and I put a beef roast into the oven for dinner.  We enjoyed a really nice meal together.  By the time we finished up it was around 8:30, and still very warm.  We went out for an evening stroll and cursed all the neighbors that had so many of their house lights on.  Eventually we got a little further away from all the light pollution and admired the clear skies with all the stars and the milky way visible.  We saw a really bright meteor streak across the sky from south to north and I'm pretty sure I head it crackling as it burnt up in the sky.  That was a treat to see and reminded me of one that Frank and I saw years ago down in Drumheller.  That one lit up the sky like daylight for a few seconds, and was much closer to the ground than the one we saw on this day.  All the same, it was really impressive.

A Few Days with Shawn

Hailey returned to the city on October 2nd.  The next morning, my brother-in-law Shawn came out for a visit.  We spent the next three days visiting, working and golfing.  We played golf twice... once on the 3rd and then again on the 5th.  The course is gloriously quiet at this time of year, particularly during the week.  There were only one or two other groups of golfers on the course when we played.  When we played on the 5th it was actually fairly cool.  The forecast high was only +8C.  But the sun broke out in the afternoon, and the temperature struggled up to about 10.  By the time we were finishing our round late in the afternoon, it was really cooling off.

We also worked on a bunch of stuff around the property.  I got the vinyl floor tiles installed throughout the dinette and living room of the guest cottage.  Only the two bedrooms remain.  Mostly Shawn worked on splitting firewood for me.  He got a good chunk of the remaining logs on my big pile split and stacked.  The last little bit that he didn't quite finish, I finished up on Friday, after he headed back to the city.  I also managed to get a start on the tile backsplash in the kitchen.

The rest of the time we just relaxed, cooked some good meals, and had a few beers.  It was a really relaxing and enjoyable visit, and we got a bunch of stuff accomplished too...!!

Afternoon Drive West

I arrived out in Nordegg on the afternoon of Friday September 29th.  Hailey was already there when I arrived.  Originally she was planning to only be out for a few days, around her 21st. birthday.  But then when everyone back home got sick with Covid, she decided to stay a little longer and hopefully avoid getting infected.  I think it probably worked....?

On Saturday September 30th Hailey and I attended an information session put on by Clearwater County.  This was hosted at the Community Hall in Nordegg.  They were outlining the process by which the Land Use Bylaws will be revised and updated.  The current bylaws are over 20 years old and some things are no longer applicable, and some new issues are not properly addressed.  About 80 people showed up, and we were told that the turnout was significantly higher than at any of the other information centers at various locations around the County.  Obviously a lot of the people in Nordegg have concerns about the new bylaws.

After the meeting was over Hailey and I took an afternoon drive down the David Thompson Highway.  We drove as far as the Spreading Creek Burn, near the Banff National Park Boundary.  We stopped at one location and took a couple of photos of a Limber Pine.  After that we turned around and slowly made our way back towards Nordegg.  We made a stop at the Abraham Slabs camping area on the elbow of Abraham Lake.  But this point it was getting pretty cool and breezy.  We wandered around for a bit and then made our way back to the cottage.  

More Game Camera Photos

I finally figured out how to properly set the date and time on my trail camera.  All the images that it recorded from the end of August until the end of September show proper information.  We had the usual collection of visitors through the month.  The Red Fox numerous times, and lots of deer.  The black bear is still hanging around.  I usually put a little oats out for the deer over the cold winter months.  But I wait until cold weather, after the bears have hibernated, so we don't attract and habituate them.

Its interesting to see that the White Tail bucks had their antlers in full velvet at the end of August, but by a month later the velvet is gone.  Looks like there are three or four nice bucks hanging around again.  They will likely stay nearby during the upcoming hunting season, as they are safe from archers and shooters in the subdivision.  Hopefully they hang around all winter again.....!

Back to work in the Guest Cottage

Life got really messed up the last little while.  We had a bunch of plans all set, and then Covid screwed things up... again.  It turns out that the cold that Helena came down with while we were in Crowsnest Pass was actually Covid.  It wasn't long before the whole family came down with it.

Hailey missed out as she had made plans to spend some time out at Nordegg for her 21st birthday.  But when everyone got sick she ended up staying out at the cottage longer than originally planned, to avoid exposure.  Margarit was going to go out to Nordegg with her friend Donna, at the end of September, but that got postponed.  I was going to go down to East Coulee for a few days but Covid changed that too.  By the time the end of September rolled around I was feeling better, and as the cottage was available, I headed out to Nordegg.

Hailey was still out at Nordegg when I arrived on Friday.  I was pretty much over my bought with Covid by that point and I'm certain that I was no longer contagious.  Hailey and I spent a couple of days together before she headed back to the city on October 2nd.

Clearwater County had an open house in Nordegg on Saturday.  They are about to undertake a complete overhaul of the land use bylaws and this was a first introductory session.  Around 80 people showed up, which is significant considering a lot of the cottage people were not around, and the entire population of Nordegg is only a couple hundred.   Hailey and I attended the meeting and got some good information.

After the session was over we took a quick drive up the David Thompson to the Kootenay Plains, as far as the Spreading Creek Burn.  We enjoyed a nice afternoon together and later that evening we made a big batch of tacos for supper.

On Sunday I just puttered around at the cottage.  Hailey made some chicken wire cages to place over the pine seedlings that I planted earlier in the year.  This will hopefully keep the deer from nibbling them all off.  I puttered around in the Guest Cottage.  When I came out on Friday I brought the toilet, the dinette table, two of the dinette chairs, some wood trim, and a bunch of small odds and ends.  I unloaded everything right when I arrived on Friday, to keep it from being damaged in the rain.  But now it was time to organize everything and get to work.

I installed the toilet in the bathroom, and also put some bumpers and a hook on the trap door to the crawlspace.  This will hold the door in the open position when access to below is needed, and prevent the door from denting the wall.  I also installed some more floor tiles between the wood stove and the east wall.  And, we unpacked and put together the dinette table.  Hailey and I BBQ'd some steaks later that night.

On Monday we didn't do a lot.  We had been hoping for some fog so that we could get out and do some photographs, but it never materialized.  Later we took a load of garbage to the dump.  After that Hailey gave me a hand to adjust the gate at the guest cottage.  I originally put it up by myself and just didn't have enough hands to line it up properly.  It's better now, but still needs a little fine tuning at some point.  In the late afternoon Hailey packed up and headed back to the city.  After she left I continued with the installation of yet more floor tiles.  

David Thompson Country Calendar - October Image

This is the image that I selected for the October page of my 2023 David Thompson Country Calendar.  This was shot out southwest of Nordegg in the Spreading Creek Burn.  I can't recall the exact month or year, but I know it was in the late fall... probably October or November.  

This is a fascinating area that I return to year after year.  As a matter of fact Hailey and I just explored out there a few days ago.

I'm presently working on the 2024 edition of my David Thompson Country Calendar.  I want to get these printed right away so that I can get them into the Beehive Artisan Market in time for their Christmas Market, and in advance of the holiday season.

Stroll in Blackmud Ravine

On the afternoon of September 27th, Margarit and I woke up Hank from his nap on the sidewalk, and took him for a walk over to the ravine.  Whitemud Creek Ravine is within walking distance of our house, but this time around I wanted to go to Blackmud Creek Ravine, which is about a ten minute drive away.  We are fortunate that we have these semi-natural areas so close to our house.  I have been walking these ravines off and on for the past 40 years and for the first time I came across a tent where presumably a homeless person was camped out.  This has become a huge issue in our city, and brings with it a whole raft of other problems.  We gave the tent a wide berth and enjoyed our walk in the ravine.

I took my big camera along and managed to do a couple of set ups.  Mostly it was just a nice day to be out with clear blue skies and a temperature up around +18C.  The fall colors were well on the way, but not at the peak yet.

Hank enjoyed the time running around in the bush and splashing in the creek.  He came home full of mud and with his fur full of burrs.  A quick bath was in order once we got back to the house.

BP 2.1 Greenhill Hotel - The Beer Parlour Project

These three shots were all taken on Kodak T-Max 400 4" x 5" sheet film.  The film was pushed to 1600 iso, and development was in T-Max Developer.  These are all from our visit to the Greenhill Hotel in Blairmore, for the Beer Parlour Project.

This was our second visit to the Greenhill.  The first visit was about a year ago, and the hotel has changed hands since then.  The new owners, Mike and Tina, were much more accommodating.  This second visit has become known as BP2.1.

Frank Slide Aspens

I recently processed a batch of Kodak T-Max 100 4" x 5" sheet film in 510 Pyro Developer.  This remains one of my very favorite combinations and I probably shoot more of this than anything else.  This shot was taken on September 16th 2023 at about 1:00 in the afternoon.  This was during an outing between the two Beer Parlour Project sessions in Crowsnest Pass.  I loved the way the late summer light was coming through these aspen trees.  The huge rockslide of the Frank Slide is visible through the trees in the background.  

I shot this with my Ebony 4x5 view camera and a Schneider 110mm lens.  I used a #22 Orange filter to brighten the fall foliage a little, and deepen the value of the sky.  Development was for 7:45 minutes at 24C.

October Calendar Image

This is the image I selected for the October page of my 2023 Fine Art Photography calendar.  This is a shot of Abraham Lake, taken from down near the Bighorn Dam.  This was one of those rare days when the lake was almost dead calm.  More often than not it is really windy in the valley and the lake is very rough.  More so up near Windy Point, but all parts of the lake consistently experience similar conditions.  I shot this in October of 2022 and it was a very memorable day that yielded several excellent photographs.

BP7.0 Grand Union Hotel - The Beer Parlour Project

This is a portrait of Glory-Jo, in the lobby of the Grand Union Hotel in Coleman.  Glory-Jo is the current owner of this majestic old hotel. She was a fantastic host when Chris, Connie, Margarit and I visited for the Beer Parlour Project back in mid-September.  This was the seventh stop on our tour of old hotels, and thus will be known as BP7.0.

This shot was taken on Kodak T-Max 400 film, pushed to 1600 iso, and developed in T-Max Developer.  I took a number of other photographs during BP7.0, some on this same film, and some on different films.  I will continue to post any successful ones here on my blog in the coming weeks and months as I get around to all the processing.  

One of the things that people don't always immediately grasp about film photography is that there is no instant gratification.  I can't look at the screen on the back of my camera and see if I got the shot.  I have to rely on my skill and expertise to get the shot.... then there is a sense of anticipation as I wait until I have time to develop the film.  Sometimes it works... occasionally it does not.  That's what makes film photography so much fun.