Through My Lens: Mount Rundle
Regular readers of this blog know how beautiful I think Vancouver is and how blessed I feel that I get to live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
But there is something about Alberta that always takes my breath away. This photo shows why. I took this shot of Mount Rundle in Banff National Park last weekend.
Through My Lens: Lake Louise
I would hazard a guess that Lake Louise is the most visited ― and most photographed ― lake in all of Canada. Because it’s so popular, the crowds can be, well, a bit overwhelming.
Crowds or no crowds, this view always takes my breath away.
Dry Island Buffalo Jump
Speaking of cruising the Alberta countryside, there is one drive that my dad and I took a couple of summers ago that I enjoyed immensely. We drove about 100 kilometres southeast from Red Deer to Dry Island Buffalo Jump.
Dry Island is a small badlands area straddling the Red Deer River.
The small plateau in the centre of the badlands is Dry Island.
Buffalo jumps are natural cliff formations that First Nations hunters used to help them kill buffalo. The hunters up above would drive the animals over the cliff to the hunters waiting below.
The other neat-to-know fact about Dry Island is that it was the site of an important paleontological discovery: that of part of the Eotriceratops xerinsularis. (And if you memorize the spelling of the names of all the dinosaurs discovered in Alberta, you are a long ways to winning your next spelling bee.)
Through My Lens: Granaries
I was catching up with my cousin’s wife the other day by email, and she told me that she and her husband (my cousin) are enjoying their topless Friday evenings.
Nope ― it’s not what it sounds like.
They’re cruising the Alberta countryside in their red convertible.
I was jealous. But not of the red convertible.
I was jealous because there is nothing quite as beautiful as the Alberta countryside in the summertime.
Through My Lens: Lunch Break
It’s that time of year.
What time of year?
It’s the time of year when we Canadians maximize every second of our short summers by spending as much time as possible outdoors.
Did you know that studies have shown workers are more satisfied with their jobs if they eat their lunch sitting on a park bench instead of in a café or (shudder) at their desks?
This chap is Lunchbox Joe. He’s enjoying his break in Edmonton’s Sir Winston Churchill Square.
Get outside, people!
Through My Lens: Bentley
This is a favourite photo of mine, and today is a good day to post it to the blog. That’s because this afternoon my dad and I took a drive to Bentley to deliver his sister (my aunt) safely home after a family get-together. Bentley, Alberta, is a small town due west of Lacombe where I spent a good chunk of my childhood summers.
Yup, I’m back in Wild Rose Country.
I took this photo almost five years ago. Alberta’s grain elevators are quickly disappearing ― in 1934, there were over 1700 of these iconic structures, but today there are maybe 120. Happily for me, this one is still standing.
Highway 2
A week ago today, I hitched a ride down Highway 2 from Edmonton to Red Deer with my brother and his family. As we left the city’s outskirts, I had some fun teasing my nieces that they were doing a good job of ignoring their old aunt. (Their noses were glued to their devices.) Even my brother was planning to spend the two-hour drive alone ― with his book.
No matter. Within minutes, I was enthralled.
Eventually, my brother, too. His book lay forgotten in his lap.
Someone once told me they thought Highway 2 was the most boring stretch of road anywhere in Canada.
I beg to differ. I think it’s the most beautiful.
Lacombe Mural
Speaking of murals, here’s another. This one’s from Lacombe, Alberta. I took the photo on a grey November day and, once again, the colours of the mural blend perfectly with the surrounding sky.
Edmonton Mural
I’m thinking it’s time for another mural. This one is from Edmonton ― I took this photo last month when I was there over the Easter weekend to visit my family. I like the Greek touch, but I love how the colours blend so perfectly into that bright blue sky the Prairies are known for.
Red Deer Murals
I was pleasantly surprised to discover during my visit to Alberta last month that the city of Red Deer also has a set of murals scattered around its downtown core. Like the Anacortes murals I photographed back in October, most of these are based on old photographs and all of them offer a glimpse of Red Deer’s history through the years.
Here, take a look.
