Auld Lang Syne

May your 2018 be wonderful with fantastic highs and fleeting lows.

All the best to you and yours.

2017 Retrospective

A few things that stuck with me from the past year.

Abandoned Alberta

Noticed this as I was driving in the cold to see my friend on December 24, 2017 near Linden, Alberta. It is a little cold to be out driving so there have been single photo posts.

Cold temperatures I can live with. Cold and snowing is a different matter. When it is snowing and it has covered the road it can be hard to see just how far you can pull over to take a photo of something or even see the road you are on. Too many people drive in winter conditions drive like it is a sunny day in July. Snow can be evil. A nice snowfall can barely affect your traction or it can be little ice crystals falling from the sky making paved roads treacherous. I have new winter tires on my car but it does not mean much when the roads are extremely icy. According to the forecasts winter conditions should be a little kinder in less than a week. 

A bit of colour before the end of the year

After all, it is winter.

Salmon Arm, British Columbia October 28, 2017.

Starting to get a little concerned . . .

I had a minor run of good luck lately. Nothing really spectacular, just some little things that have been going my way.

The most recent good thing happened today. I fill out surveys for a national polling firm on occasion. I cannot remember why or how I started doing this. I have been doing it for over two years. About two weeks ago I got an email from them saying I won five hundred dollars from them in one of their random draws. Needless to say I was skeptical. I never win anything and it vaguely sounded like a scam.

The cheque arrived today. I immediately cashed it and paid some bills with it.

Now I am getting worried. With the run of good things happening to me lately I fully expect something bad to happen. I am thinking I should hide for a few days until it is safe to come out.

Alberta blooms in spite of the cold

I will admit the flowers are metal. With this Christmas cold snap it is nice to see something that reminds you of summer. Temperatures are close to -30C around here, worse with the windchill. The cold snap should end next week with temperature on the plus side. Until then I will keep warm.

The best thing to do during a cold snap

Is to stay home. Bundle up, keep warm. Hang out by the fireplace if you have one.

As for me I am going shopping for Boxing Week deals. The more of you that stay home the less crowded it is for me. 

Niobe Elevator

Just outside Innisfail, Alberta on a frosty Boxing Day.

Spotted earlier today

Near Innisfail, Alberta. I think the one on the right realized how cold it is. 

Posting a barn since it is damn cold outside and I have nothing else in the post cupboard

Not to mention that I am still recovering from Christmas.

Merry Christmas one and all!

Church south of Cadillac, Saskatchewan August 10, 2017.

'tis the season

Christmas tree at the Jasper Park Lodge, Jasper, Alberta.

Christmas Eve

We all know what Christmas is really about.

I made a few new friends and a friendship or two ended that I wish could have been on better terms. Regardless I sincerely wish one and all a good time and good fortune.

May you all have a great holiday season.

Not a reindeer post

Because this is not a reindeer. I did my best to get this one to raise its head for a photo. No go. Jasper, Alberta December 17, 2017.

Athabasca Falls

South of Jasper, Alberta on December 18, 2017.

I have been here in the summer. This is my first winter visit. Glad I made the trip.

This bridge is the old highway going into Jasper. It is closed in winter. The bridge crosses over the falls. The water is a beautiful blue/green colour.

I can't be the only one suffering from this

If there is one thing I hate this time of year it is going to a store to pick up something. I can live with the crowds. It is the way that people drive in parking lots that get me. I am very patient and way too nice when it comes to driving in a parking lot. I am careful as I am paranoid about hitting someone or something.

There are days I find the Christmas spirit lacking and a great temptation to do others grievous bodily harm whilst navigating and searching for a parking space. Sometimes I need some time to calm down and revert to my usual wonderful self. Thankfully this too shall pass.

Tangle Falls

Frozen waterfall right along the Icefields Parkway between Jasper, Alberta and Saskatchewan Crossing, Alberta on December 18, 2017. I have posted this place before when I have seen it in the summer. This is the first time I have seen it in the winter.

You can Streetview this spot on Google Maps at: 52.267234, -117.286784

There was a group doing some ice climbing. This person was a little over halfway up, the rest were at the base. 

Sometimes you need to sit back and enjoy the smell of coffee

A perfect brew to close out the day.

As for my Christmas plans . . .

The last four years I have given up on making concrete Christmas plans. Whatever I would like to do somehow ends up being changed. I had planned to indulge in some personal time, now I am visiting family.

This Christmas I ordered a turkey from a local caterer that I am picking up fully cooked right from the oven on December 23, 2017. I like to order a turkey as I find it is less hassle. My sister and her family are doing the side dishes and we will have dinner when I deliver it. I am making damn sure I get turkey.

On December 24, 2017 I will drive up to see my mother and take her to see her relatives on Christmas Day. My sister is a bit under the weather so I am not sure if she will join me. Then I will head back home. I hope everyone else's Christmas goes according to plan.

Icefields Parkway December 18, 2017

I really need to put some more thought into some trips. I wanted to squeeze another trip in before the end of the year. The Icefields Parkway is Highway 93 from Lake Louise, Alberta to Jasper, Alberta. The best part of it is from Saskatchewan Crossing, the junction of Highway 93 and Highway 11, north on Highway 93 to Jasper.

The views are amazing. The highway was hard packed snow and ice over the pavement. I did not run into any bare stretches of pavement. There was a recent snowfall of up to five centimetres and large sections were not plowed. Having almost new winter tires all round made travel much better. The temperature was about -2C and clear. The main problem was that with it not being plowed in sections there was not an opportunity to stop at the side of the road and take photos. If you did you ran the risk of getting run over by someone testing out the limits of their four wheel drive truck or SUV. My 2012 KIA Rondo got me through with no problems.

Tour buses go from Jasper to the Columbia Icefields year round. The nice thing about this time of year is that there is not a lot of traffic. There are no services this time of year from Jasper to Lake Louise which is 232km. Make sure you have a full tank of gas.

This was as good as the highway got.

Lots of great views.

Wall of ice.

Somewhat plowed highway. I did pass two snowplows working in tandem going the other way on a different part of the highway. A few times I was driving in a few inches of snow.

It won't be a green Christmas after all

Snowing here today and tomorrow. It looks nice except it is that evil type of snow that makes the roads just a little icy and slick. The nice thing is that I live a mile from where I work.

Pineville School 1914 - 1959

Just outside Hoadley, Alberta on December 10, 2017 and there is not much in Hoadley.

This is behind some trees. It is abandoned and deteriorating.

I actually walked up the steps with the intention of getting a look inside. One step on the deck and I thought better of it. The boards are rotting and I was by myself. If you are going to do dumb things bring someone with you. If you suffer some mishap once they stop laughing they help you out.

Churches in Dorothy, Alberta

Quick drive by Dorothy, Alberta. The place is almost a ghost town. These two churches are just yards apart from each other.