Beautiful Canada.

Hi Everyone.

Back from a week in Canada and preparing for a week in New Mexico.  It was only a week in Canada but what a beautiful week it was.  I flew to Calgary in Alberta and then got a bus to Bamff.  The contrast between to plains around Calgary and the Rockies in the distance is amazing.  

I have to admit to falling in love with the Rockies.  They are so rugged and massive and stunning.  It doesn't matter if I see them from the air or ground, they just blow me away.  I'm not so sure about winter there.  The Aussies I spoke to said it's dreadfully cold and, from my memories of living with real snow and ice, I have no trouble believing them.

Bamff is charming and but very touristy (if I can use that word).  It was full of German, English, American, Australian, Japanese and lots of other tourists.  I was surprised when I arrived at my hotel to hear an Aussie accent at reception.  However, once I started to move around the town, almost every second person in retail was a young Aussie person on a working holiday. I started to become aware of the fact that Canadians are a little more casual than Americans  and just as friendly.  I had to buy a little coin purse for my Canadian currency and the lovely man in the supermarket took the time to explain their coins to me.  Oh how I appreciated that little gesture!  Their notes are different colours and very attractive after the dull greenbacks of the US but...... their $5 notes are the same colour as our $10 notes and vice versa.  So of course I handed someone a $5 note when I needed a $10 note a couple of times.

One night in Bamff was enough for me and the next morning I set off by bus through Bamff National Park and Jasper National Park.  Wow, what a day!  I felt as if my head was on a swivel and it was impossible to take it all in.  Our bus driver had lived in the area for most of his life and he had made it his mission to learn as much about the area as possible and he drove the route regularly so he he knew the places to look for wild life.  He also knew the history and the geology of the area.  It was fascinating.  Canada is such a huge country, so much bigger than Australia but we can relate to the tales of exploration just the same.  There were even a couple of women explorers.  Pretty amazing for those days and in those clothes.

I have to admit to having about 500 photos of snow capped mountains and glacier fed rivers, lakes and waterfalls and I'll try not to bore you with too many of them but each one is so beautiful in it's own way. One of the famous ones is Lake Louise.  There is a huge classy hotel there but the lake is much better to look at.  The day I was there was overcast and the blue of the lake was not he same as on a bright sunny day.   Gorgeous just the same.

Further along was the Raven's Claw Glacier.  All the glaciers seem to be melting faster than they are growing at this time.  These little plants use the fluffy foliage and the snow or ice on the outside to insulate themselves so they don't freeze over.  Then on to Bow Lake.  It looks rather threatening in this weather but I can imagine it would look much happier on a sunny day.  As you can see it still has some ice in it.  While walking around, I met a young fellow from Toowoomba.  He's over in Canada working as a cowboy on a feedlot in Alberta.  He told me he has a cowboy hat and chaps - got to look the part I suppose.  He and his mates had four days off work and were in a combi van traveling around the area.  He said it had been -6 degrees in the van the night before.  I'm so thankful for warm hotels.

Further along we came across a black bear just strolling along beside the road looking for something to eat.  Pretty relaxed about a bus pulling up, more important things on its mind.  It seems to me that no matter how many bears people see, their fascination never diminishes. The bus driver was just as excited as we were.  Then a bit further along the road another bear.  Two bears in one day how lucky!
Another very touristy thing to do, but fun just the same, is to go up to the ice fields.  It was freezing cold but fun to be there.  I have a video of people walking like penguins on the ice.  Our driver was this amazing Japanese man called Sami.  He's 62 and looks and acts like a extrovert 18 year old.  So much fun. 

Getting closer to Jasper but more beautiful waterfalls to see.  The Athabasca Falls (say that with your teeth out!) are huge and very noisy.  I couldn't imagine how much water was passing through per second but they were extremely powerful and complete with a deep gorge full of fast flowing water.  Obviously bears in the area too.

So all in all a successful day - two bears, numerous mountains, glaciers, lakes and stunning waterfalls.  Jasper here I come.  So I settled back in anticipation of a warm shower and a nice dinner.  Until ...........

Lotsaluv

Carmel

Not sleepless in Seattle.

For the Memorial Day long weekend, Sue and I boarded the train to Seattle.  It's about a four hour trip but very relaxing.  Sue had an exhausting week at work so it turned out to be a good decision to take the train instead of driving and it's such a change of culture from the slick, impersonal procedure at the airports. The Portland station is called Union Station and looks like something out of a thirties movie set.  Where was Al Capone?  The staff were relaxed and friendly and things just seem to roll along.  I have to say that I have found most people here very friendly and helpful and extremely polite - even the teenagers.  I'm told that people in Oregon pride themselves on it.

To get on and off the train you walk across the tracks and find your car and seat and settle back for the ride.  I was quite taken with the conductor's uniform - just like you see in the movies.  I suspect there's a lot of tradition with Amtrak.  They advertise themselves as the clean green way to travel and seem to be attempting a revival.  We just loved our trips up and back.

If someone was to say to me what is my overwhelming impression of Seattle, I would have to say HILLY!  People in Seattle must have very good knees and be as fit as a fiddle.  It's very much like the scenes you see of San Francisco.  Our hotel was not far from anywhere but was at the top of one of the hills.  And that's why I didn't have any trouble sleeping - very cardio-vascular getting back to the hotel.

It's a reasonably new city because the original city was almost exclusively built out of wood.  Seattle was first established as a logging city and even the water pipes were built out of wood.
But then came the great  fire of about 1882 when the whole town burned down.  A glue pot spilled over and started a fire which then spread to other buildings containing ammunition and other combustibles and there was nothing they could do to stop the fire.  The people of Seattle had to stand by and watch it burn to the ground.  The photos of the aftermath are incredible.  They show men walking down the streets with nothing but a few half burnt poles around them.  So everything in Seattle is post that time.

As noted (huff puff), Seattle is built on steep hills and, in earlier days, also mud flats.  So the devastation after the fire was an opportunity to rebuild the town without some of those problems.  The leaders knew they had to make the hills less steep (hard to believe that happened) and to fill in some of the mud flats and the way they planned to do this was to push some of the land from the top of the cliffs down the side and to make the hills less steep and the area at the bottom more suitable for building.  Because of the politics of the day and the lack of agreement as to how that would happen, this is how it proceeded.  Business owners built brick or stone buildings on their original properties but the council built new roads up to 32 feet above the footpaths.  The roads were built with big retaining walls but were way above the shops and businesses.  Kind of makes building a few tunnels seem very sensible!  So ladders were used to access the businesses of Seattle at that time.  Very inconvenient for all concerned but think of the women in their crinolines, big hats and long skirts.  No dashing out for a litre of milk.  Eventually, the engineering was completed (Campbell Newman is wasted in Brisbane.  He could have had much more fun in Seattle) and the town was completed to every one's satisfaction.  But that left a whole underground system in Seattle just ripe for a few shenanigans.  Some of it is still there and is being preserved as part of Seattle's history.  If you look closely you will see some shop fronts, sky lights and, of course, an old bath tub from those days.

A visit to Seattle would not be complete without time in Pike Place Markets.  Sue and I are both markets freaks so it was lots of fun.  Lots of flowers, lots of local produce and lots of beautiful things made by local crafts people.  The salmon and the scallops were huge.

Because it was raining most of the time we were there (it's no secret why the north west is so green and everyone has lovely complexions), we also visited the Seattle Aquarium.  We had hoped to visit the Folklife Festival but not in the rain.  The aquarium was fascinating but I feel in love with the otters and the seals.  So cute and full of personality.  However, I wouldn't like to be their housekeeper!
When we emerged from the aquarium, it was sunny and a glorious day.  Wouldn't you know it!  But it was time to head back to the train and Portland after a lovely weekend.

Lotsaluv for now

Carmel

Schreiner's Iris Gardens.

Hello Everyone

I must be getting old.  I really enjoyed this afternoon.  As irises are my favourite flowers, Sue took me to Salem to see these gardens on the 24th May Australian time.  Not being a gardener and certainly not knowing much about irises, I was blown away by these gardens.  Apparently Schreiners export all over the world and their land holdings are enormous.  They develop and test new varieties of irises and their gardens are open to the public for about a month a year.  It had hailed the day before and we were ducking in and out of showers of rain but, as you can see, it was still an amazing place.  I took so many photos of different irises that I can't even choose which ones were my favourites so I'll chooses a few at random.  The rain wasn't really a problem because there was a wine tasting tent to keep us entertained during the showers.  Sue bought a bunch of twelve different Irises for my birthday and they're still going strong with more blooms coming out each day.  They are just amazing.  I hope you enjoy looking at them too.  We went home and drank champagne and then the next day we went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday in the US.  So I got to celebrate for two days.  How lucky is that!  We went to a cute little Italian restaurant in Beaverton and had lovely food and an enjoyable night.

Lotsaluv

Carmel

Oh Yellowstone.

Our last field trip was a lot more geology and less wildlife. We also saw quite a few different birds. However we still saw the ubiquitous bison.  In fact when we were on our way home at the end of the trip, we came across a traffic jam and couldn't make out what it was.  After a little while, it became obvious that it was a large herd of bison ambling down the road escorted by a ranger.  He was there to ensure that no tourists did anything silly like trying to get close to the bison and to ensure that bison got right of way.  And so they ambled on down the road.  It took about ten minutes for about 2/3 of the herd to pass and for us to be on our way again.

                      

We visited and walked around more thermal mud pools and fumeroles.  I never get sick of them.  I find them fascinating (to view and learn about but not to smell!).  And just for a contrast, it was another cold day in the mountains.

Our lunchtime stop was at Old Faithful and, of course, he didn't let us down.  Sue and I sat out on the front deck of the Inn and got a good view,  It's quite magnificent especially in the context of all the volcanic activity in the area.  After that, I went for a really interesting walk around the area to view more mud and hot water and learn some more about it all.  It was sunny but cold.  In the distance you can see the Old Faithful Inn.  It is a magnificent old building and so cosy inside.

It was a long enough drive back to the motel for both Sue and I to feel quite sad that our time in Yellowstone was nearly over,  Sue vows to return to see it in a different season.  I'm not sure if I will get back.  We had one more session with Gene the next morning about the bears and then we were on our way back to the plane at Bozeman.  But ........  not before one last reminder about who rules .......

the bridges!    Goodbye Yellowstone.


You may like to check out the photo gallery on this website:


http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/index.htm

Oo Yellowstone!

Went out to dinner at a Peruvian restaurant in Portland last night.  The people we went with were friends of the owners and we were showered with all sorts of Peruvian specialties.  Tried another yummy cocktail.  Don't ask me the name because I wouldn't have a clue about any of the names on the menu but it had ginger and wasabi in it and I wouldn't mind another one.  The place was extremely busy and literally packed to the rafters and I can see why.  The food was well priced, authentic (I'm told), healthy and tasty.  It was starting to empty out a little when we left at about 10pm.  Seems like a lots of people go there after work on Friday night.  Yesterday was wet and freezing here.  I had to go to get a hair cut and wasn't prepared for the weather.  Someone said it was like a November day.  The longer I stay here the more I think the weather is very unpredictable.

Anyway, back to Yellowstone.   I forgot to mention one small detail - Yellowstone and the surrounding buffer National Forrest is an amazing 18 million acres.  It's bigger than huge.  It's the only place in the US with the same range of animals as when white man first arrived and that is only because of the careful management that has taken place.  Bison were on the verge of extinction and carefully nurtured back to where there are about 3000 in the park now.  Wolves were reintroduced in 1995 and there are about 100 in the park now.  Moose are becoming rarer, they think, because the area is becoming too warm for them and are migrating further north.  There are only about 20 cougars left and they live mainly in the north side of the park.

On our first field trip we went across the road on the north side and it was an afternoon/evening trip because that is the best time for viewing.  We did the same for our second field trip but we went south along the western side and then down the middle and to higher altitudes.  We were looking more at the geology of Yellowstone and hopefully seeing more wildlife.  MBE & MBB (more bloody elk and bison) and lots of birds but not so many of the bigger animals.  Apparently they were still lower down and would go to higher altitudes as the weather warms up.  We did see a muskrat busily tending his nest in the middle of a freezing lake.   He would swim to the side of the lake collect something and then swim back to his nest and again and again.  Guess it's the only way to keep warm!   We also had a closer viewing of a grizzly.  Love those grizzlies!  Just to show off my spectacular photography skills, I'll include a photo of a Mountain Bluebird.  Spot the Bluebird.  I'll give you a hint - click on the photo first.

We also saw a Hairy Woodpecker busily making a hole in a tree.  I wonder if they get terrible headaches and bad necks doing what they have to do?

However, the day belonged to geology and the weather.  It was extremely cold for li'l ole me but it was fantastic.  Not much sunshine but some snow.  Often the mountains looked dark and threatening and the rivers were full of melting snow.  This is   a Thompson Falls and it is famous because a painting of it first drew attention to the beauty of the Yellowstone area.  The photos of thermal activity are of Mammoth Springs and the Norris Geyser basis.  The little Whitetail Jackrabbit was enjoying the warmth of Mammoth Springs.

Gene told us a little about the geological history of the area.  It was formed over about 17 million years by a series of volcanic explosions, the latest being about 640 00 years ago.   If you look on some maps, you will see an area marked called the caldera.  That is the crater for the volcano.  My rough estimate is that it is more than 1/3 of the area of Yellowstone.  There is volcanic activity everywhere.  In some places it looks like a little steam rising out of the ground in the middle of nowhere.  In other places it is permanent mud pools or boiling water fumaroles and on a grand scale.  Smells disgusting but is stunning to see.  I wasn't too comfortable using pit toilets in these areas!

I had a surreal experience.  I was standing looking at one formation called the Dragon's Cave, so called because every 30 seconds or so the boiling water and steam explode out and make a rumbling noise, and it started to snow.  I was so excited - all that thermal activity and snow at the same time.  Just loved it. We drove all the way down to Yellowstone Lodge (and it's painted a very yucky yellow colour!) and Y. Lake.  The lake was still frozen but, apparently, there are areas of thermal activity under it so it's not advisable to try to go across it.  It was over too soon so back to the motel for a sleep and to get ready for our last field trip around Yellowstone.  Arriving home at 9.30 pm in daylight does wonders for my body clock.  Bloody fereigners!