This morning I awoke without the alarm going off. As my eyes focused sleepily on the clock, my brain registered the numbers …6 … 3 … 3. Click, whir, clunk.
Shit! 6:33am.
To put this in perspective, to beat the stupid traffic here and the curfew that sees you spend 15 minutes in the car park whilst all the buses come in the gate, I’ve been leaving home at 6:30am.
Fortunately my clock is 8 minutes fast, so as the clock flickered and became 6:34 and my feet hit the floor, it was really only 6:24. Bonus!
I had a quick ‘deodorising’ shower (you know, the one that gets sprayed out of a can and involves no water) thanked myself for having done the ironing this week, rinsed my face and hair and then scrambled into some clothes.
I grabbed my computer bag and work accoutrements and headed out the door. Well, nearly out the door. I realised that my computer bag was a bit light and quickly checked the contents. No laptop.
10 minutes later, having scoured the house, I recalled that the previous evening as I’d put Emily to bed, I’d rescued the bag from her room and admonished her about the fact that the computer didn’t belong to me and she shouldn’t be touching it.
I had no choice, I went upstairs and gently woke the sleeping princess.
“Emily, where’s Daddy’s computer?”
A dazed and groggy little princess replied, “It’s behind the cupboard … no, no its not, its in the bottom drawer.”
I checked the drawer of the indicated side table and sure enough, there was my computer. I didn’t have time to rant and rave and I wanted her to go back to sleep rather than start the chaos that is the morning and so again, quickly told her that she shouldn’t have done it and that I wasn’t very impressed.
“I just put it there so that Thomas wouldn’t get it Daddy.”
So thoughtful.
And if you want to know just how precious she really is, ask Caroline about taking her and the three boys along as she attempted to get Emily enrolled in a pre-school session.
Ask her about the fire alarm …
Aug 28, 2007
Clean ... or not
One of the things that I’ve been impressed with since I started driving a little further around Alberta (ie to Calgary and the Rockies) is just how clean the roadsides are along the way. There simply doesn’t seem to be the rubbish that I am used to seeing on Australian roadsides.
As far as I can determine, it must have something to do with the bears. After all, leaving food scraps and rubbish around is, from all accounts a very silly thing to do whilst there’s bears about. I guess that I first noticed it around the bins that you see between Fort Mac and Edmonton. There’s not rubbish over flowing the bear-proof bin, just nice clean bitumen. I seem to remember too many occasions when I drove past a rest-stop in remote Oz where there was simply rubbish over flowing the bin, not to mention soft drink (that would be ‘pop’ over here in Canada) bottles and beer bottles scattered about the fringes of the road and rest areas.
Its rather pleasant really, to just see the country side.
There’s something of a dichotomy though, because for as clean as Alberta seems to be, Fort McMurray is just plain dirty. Not garbage dirty, dirt dirty. There’s so much construction work and mining around here that there’s a constant lift of dust about the place. And now that we’re getting rain as well, its mud, not dirt.
There seems to be absolutely no control over restricting the traffic of dirt from construction sites. I remember going to University and learning about wash-down bays where trucks would be stopped to prevent them removing the dirt from site. I know for a fact that we were supposed to have one on the construction site that I worked on in Singapore (notably the concrete was laid, but the bay never finished or used in the time that I was there – not my decision).
But over here, there doesn’t appear to be any attempt at controlling it. I can see that the lovely white stuff that is to fall from the sky later won’t be white for long if its like this! Driving home yesterday, the dirt was a good 3 -6 inches high on top of the gutter and there was plenty spread out onto the road surface at the housing site just up the road. It gets pretty annoying when you have a nice clean car and mere days later its mud spattered and filthy!
I'm well over it considering I'm not real good at getting around washing cars at the best of times.
As far as I can determine, it must have something to do with the bears. After all, leaving food scraps and rubbish around is, from all accounts a very silly thing to do whilst there’s bears about. I guess that I first noticed it around the bins that you see between Fort Mac and Edmonton. There’s not rubbish over flowing the bear-proof bin, just nice clean bitumen. I seem to remember too many occasions when I drove past a rest-stop in remote Oz where there was simply rubbish over flowing the bin, not to mention soft drink (that would be ‘pop’ over here in Canada) bottles and beer bottles scattered about the fringes of the road and rest areas.
Its rather pleasant really, to just see the country side.
There’s something of a dichotomy though, because for as clean as Alberta seems to be, Fort McMurray is just plain dirty. Not garbage dirty, dirt dirty. There’s so much construction work and mining around here that there’s a constant lift of dust about the place. And now that we’re getting rain as well, its mud, not dirt.
There seems to be absolutely no control over restricting the traffic of dirt from construction sites. I remember going to University and learning about wash-down bays where trucks would be stopped to prevent them removing the dirt from site. I know for a fact that we were supposed to have one on the construction site that I worked on in Singapore (notably the concrete was laid, but the bay never finished or used in the time that I was there – not my decision).
But over here, there doesn’t appear to be any attempt at controlling it. I can see that the lovely white stuff that is to fall from the sky later won’t be white for long if its like this! Driving home yesterday, the dirt was a good 3 -6 inches high on top of the gutter and there was plenty spread out onto the road surface at the housing site just up the road. It gets pretty annoying when you have a nice clean car and mere days later its mud spattered and filthy!
I'm well over it considering I'm not real good at getting around washing cars at the best of times.
Aug 25, 2007
Awas!
We were at the table having pizza for dinner the other night when Emily said to me, “Daddy, I know how much you have to pay the policeman if you don’t eat all your crusts ....a hundred and ninety dollars!”
Don’t say you weren’t warned
Don’t say you weren’t warned
Aug 21, 2007
One Man's Junk ...
… is another man’s treasure … or so the adage goes. Another MAN’s treasure. So what I want to know is how that other man’s junk became my WIFE’s treasure? How did it end up as THIS man’s junk filling his garage?
I mean, to put a couple of things in perspective, I do not currently actually own a garage. And yet the garage that I do not own is currently accumulating a variety of things that have been bought at ‘bargain prices’. They are residing in thais place where we live until at some point in the future, I do, once again own a garage (or at least get to occupy one) and they get to come along for the happy journey.
We already have a 40 foot container of stuff arriving from home in the near future and despite the fact that we managed to get rid of a significant volume of ‘junk’ that had been held for years prior to leaving (and what a cleansing experience that was) I was the one that had to go and put a value against the inventory of things that we’re bringing over in order to get it all cleared through customs.
And having gone through that list, I am exceedingly nervous about what I am going to discover managed to get packed into the container during the time that I was busy at work. So why on earth would I want to accumulate more and more stuff when I don’t even know what I’ve got and where it is going to go?
It could well be a curse of the size of the house that we’re going to move into … the fact that we have storage room, could, quite conceivably, lead someone into thinking that we need to fill it up. Or if not need, that we have room to store it, so there’s no real point in throwing it out!
Let’s not forget that around the end of this year, we’re supposed to move 3 provinces across to Ontario. How would it look if you have a full 40’ container of stuff arrive in September and then need an additional 20’ container to move again some 3 months later? Egad!
Garage sales are obviously a pox on my existence.
But in someone close to me’s words, “They stop soon, when summer’s over, no one does it anymore so its too cold. So I have to get this stuff now.” Which may indeed make a lot of sense; and even I have to admit that I can see there’s sense in buying used snowboards, ice skates and sleds in summer when people don’t want them, but that doesn’t mean I can’t bitch and whine about it! I hate accumulating crap … and even I’m guilty of doing it.
It’s my own fault though. I said that she could go. I told her that I couldn’t be bothered arguing about it so she could get whatever she wanted.
But the flipside to it is that when I’m told, “you do what you have to do, its your decision,” I’ve learnt that what it really means is, “yes, you can go and do that, but believe me, it’s the last thing that I want you to do and when you get back you’re going to hear about it!”
Perhaps I should have been more direct.
(And having managed to get the emotional response out of the way, I think it should be said that I dearly love my wife and the logical part of my brain truly does acknowledge just how much money we can save buying stuff this way. All the boy bits however want new toys!)
I mean, to put a couple of things in perspective, I do not currently actually own a garage. And yet the garage that I do not own is currently accumulating a variety of things that have been bought at ‘bargain prices’. They are residing in thais place where we live until at some point in the future, I do, once again own a garage (or at least get to occupy one) and they get to come along for the happy journey.
We already have a 40 foot container of stuff arriving from home in the near future and despite the fact that we managed to get rid of a significant volume of ‘junk’ that had been held for years prior to leaving (and what a cleansing experience that was) I was the one that had to go and put a value against the inventory of things that we’re bringing over in order to get it all cleared through customs.
And having gone through that list, I am exceedingly nervous about what I am going to discover managed to get packed into the container during the time that I was busy at work. So why on earth would I want to accumulate more and more stuff when I don’t even know what I’ve got and where it is going to go?
It could well be a curse of the size of the house that we’re going to move into … the fact that we have storage room, could, quite conceivably, lead someone into thinking that we need to fill it up. Or if not need, that we have room to store it, so there’s no real point in throwing it out!
Let’s not forget that around the end of this year, we’re supposed to move 3 provinces across to Ontario. How would it look if you have a full 40’ container of stuff arrive in September and then need an additional 20’ container to move again some 3 months later? Egad!
Garage sales are obviously a pox on my existence.
But in someone close to me’s words, “They stop soon, when summer’s over, no one does it anymore so its too cold. So I have to get this stuff now.” Which may indeed make a lot of sense; and even I have to admit that I can see there’s sense in buying used snowboards, ice skates and sleds in summer when people don’t want them, but that doesn’t mean I can’t bitch and whine about it! I hate accumulating crap … and even I’m guilty of doing it.
It’s my own fault though. I said that she could go. I told her that I couldn’t be bothered arguing about it so she could get whatever she wanted.
But the flipside to it is that when I’m told, “you do what you have to do, its your decision,” I’ve learnt that what it really means is, “yes, you can go and do that, but believe me, it’s the last thing that I want you to do and when you get back you’re going to hear about it!”
Perhaps I should have been more direct.
(And having managed to get the emotional response out of the way, I think it should be said that I dearly love my wife and the logical part of my brain truly does acknowledge just how much money we can save buying stuff this way. All the boy bits however want new toys!)
Pedestrian
One of the things that we’ve found since we’ve been here in Canada is a vastly different attitude towards pedestrians than what we’re used to back home. Its hard to really describe my experiences back home because when I think of being a pedestrian there, I tend to think of that as normal.
Of course, if I didn’t, perhaps I wouldn’t think of this as odd. However, thinking on it a little further, I’ve lived in Singapore and traveled through Europe and in most of those places, my experiences weren’t that different from Australia and this probably adds to my perception that that is normal behaviour. There’s probably a host of things that get associated with this, like the amount of traffic on the road for one. I’ve seen movies and so on from overseas and there’s some pretty chaotic places to cross the road … places where you’d be taking your life into your hands if you were to merely contemplate stepping away from the refuge of the gutter.
So what’s the big difference over here?
Cars stop for pedestrians. And I don’t just mean that when the lights go red, the cars wait respectfully for pedestrians to cross the road, they stop all over the place! If you’re walking along with the kids and it looks like they want to cross the road, cars stop! You don’t even have to be at a crossing. They’ll do it on the main road (not the highway, though I haven’t actually tested this). Its quite bizarre.
The worst part of it with the kids is probably when we go bike riding. We’ve educated the two bigger kids to wait at corners so that we all catch up and Caroline and I can be sure that we’re crossing the intersection safely. But over here, two boys waiting at the corner looking like they’re about to cross the road means that the cars stop! Which is embarrassing when you’re trying to get the others to catch up and you end up with three cars all waiting for you to cross the road.
And if you try and wave a car through, most of the time, they still just sit there, waiting patiently for you. Its certainly quite safe for the kids.
Of course, this has some down sides as well. Pedestrians EXPECT that level of respect here and so its not unknown for them to just casually stroll out in front of the traffic and expect you to stop. And the other one is that when you do start to expect that level of respect and step out onto a pedestrian crossing and someone DOESN’T display that typical and now expected behaviour, it can quickly turn into an underwear changing moment (UCM).
Of course, if I didn’t, perhaps I wouldn’t think of this as odd. However, thinking on it a little further, I’ve lived in Singapore and traveled through Europe and in most of those places, my experiences weren’t that different from Australia and this probably adds to my perception that that is normal behaviour. There’s probably a host of things that get associated with this, like the amount of traffic on the road for one. I’ve seen movies and so on from overseas and there’s some pretty chaotic places to cross the road … places where you’d be taking your life into your hands if you were to merely contemplate stepping away from the refuge of the gutter.
So what’s the big difference over here?
Cars stop for pedestrians. And I don’t just mean that when the lights go red, the cars wait respectfully for pedestrians to cross the road, they stop all over the place! If you’re walking along with the kids and it looks like they want to cross the road, cars stop! You don’t even have to be at a crossing. They’ll do it on the main road (not the highway, though I haven’t actually tested this). Its quite bizarre.
The worst part of it with the kids is probably when we go bike riding. We’ve educated the two bigger kids to wait at corners so that we all catch up and Caroline and I can be sure that we’re crossing the intersection safely. But over here, two boys waiting at the corner looking like they’re about to cross the road means that the cars stop! Which is embarrassing when you’re trying to get the others to catch up and you end up with three cars all waiting for you to cross the road.
And if you try and wave a car through, most of the time, they still just sit there, waiting patiently for you. Its certainly quite safe for the kids.
Of course, this has some down sides as well. Pedestrians EXPECT that level of respect here and so its not unknown for them to just casually stroll out in front of the traffic and expect you to stop. And the other one is that when you do start to expect that level of respect and step out onto a pedestrian crossing and someone DOESN’T display that typical and now expected behaviour, it can quickly turn into an underwear changing moment (UCM).
Aug 14, 2007
Lottery
We are currently in somewhat temporary accomodation at work at the moment, because the incumbent contractor is still occupying space on site and we are in the throes of getting up and going.
The accomodation that we are in is far from the Hilton and one of the things that reminds you of this is the fact that we have a single toilet between something like 40 people.
Of course the upside of this is that when you walk around because you need some relief and its actually empty, you get to not only relieve yourself, but do so with the euphoric feeling that you've managed to win the lottery as well!
The accomodation that we are in is far from the Hilton and one of the things that reminds you of this is the fact that we have a single toilet between something like 40 people.
Of course the upside of this is that when you walk around because you need some relief and its actually empty, you get to not only relieve yourself, but do so with the euphoric feeling that you've managed to win the lottery as well!
Aug 11, 2007
House
The housing market here is stupid. I've haven't seen so much money paid for real estate since I lived in Singapore back in the mid 90's (Man that was a long time ago now).
The boss that my house bought had offers to buy it at something stupid like an extra 30,000 (700,000 property) before settlement had gone through!
House values have risen something ridiculous like 14% in the last 12-24 months.
So looking for one wasn't an exciting prospect with the limits that the company had put on what they were willing to buy. We only got shown one and that was way too small. Then we were told that there was nothing else close to appropriate within the company guidelines.
There was one that we were interested in, but it was too old and too much money. A few words with the boss and then the real estate agent and we got to have a look.
Well actually, Caroline got to have a look at 2pm yesterday. Last night we got approval from the company to put in an offer. Today at 1pm that was put to the vendor. At 2pm I got a call to say the offer had been accepted and we have an inspection at 5:30pm.
Considering how slow it can be to line up and pay for your groceries, get a seat at a restaurant or just drive home from work, real estate seems to be exceptionally fast.
I think it moves at the speed of money!
There'll be a link to the house in your notification email (can't have just anyone knowing where we'll be living!
The boss that my house bought had offers to buy it at something stupid like an extra 30,000 (700,000 property) before settlement had gone through!
House values have risen something ridiculous like 14% in the last 12-24 months.
So looking for one wasn't an exciting prospect with the limits that the company had put on what they were willing to buy. We only got shown one and that was way too small. Then we were told that there was nothing else close to appropriate within the company guidelines.
There was one that we were interested in, but it was too old and too much money. A few words with the boss and then the real estate agent and we got to have a look.
Well actually, Caroline got to have a look at 2pm yesterday. Last night we got approval from the company to put in an offer. Today at 1pm that was put to the vendor. At 2pm I got a call to say the offer had been accepted and we have an inspection at 5:30pm.
Considering how slow it can be to line up and pay for your groceries, get a seat at a restaurant or just drive home from work, real estate seems to be exceptionally fast.
I think it moves at the speed of money!
There'll be a link to the house in your notification email (can't have just anyone knowing where we'll be living!
Summer?
You know its summer in Fort McMurray …
… when there’s a hail storm that causes 18 million dollars of damage one week and then a couple of days later as you get up to go to work the announcer on the radio tells you that its 2 degrees Celsius with a forecast high of 14C …
Bring on winter baby!
… when there’s a hail storm that causes 18 million dollars of damage one week and then a couple of days later as you get up to go to work the announcer on the radio tells you that its 2 degrees Celsius with a forecast high of 14C …
Bring on winter baby!
Aug 6, 2007
Calgary and beyond
As I believe I noted in the email that I sent announcing the last update, to drift, I had to fly down to Calgary on Thursday for a meeting with two of the management team from the refinery in Sarnia (or Narnia as I have been known to call it because of its apparently fictional place in our lives as a destination (well currently anyway)).
So being a long weekend (today is apparently heritage day, but so far I haven’t actually found anyone that’s been able to tell me what that means (not that I’ve asked many either)) Caroline decided that we should seize the opportunity to explore Calgary and beyond (particularly the bit of beyond that includes the Rocky Mountains and Banff).
This resulted in her driving from Fort McMurray to Calgary with the four kids whilst I flew down on my own, a trip that I wouldn’t have wished upon anyone in their worst nightmare, but which by all accounts went extraordinarily well, with only 2 stops for toilet breaks. Amazing what good preparation and a DVD player in the car can do (though the kids told me that they only watched 2 and a half movies through the entire journey.
They beat me to the hotel as I had to work for the day (tough for some, I know) though I did manage a very feminine lunch hour in which I bought two pairs of shoes and a new belt (I did only bring one pair of shoes that I could wear with a suit with me, and they were on their last legs).
We spent the evening having a bbq with an Adelaide couple that I used to work with back home which was great. If nothing else, it showed up the difference between what one can get in Fort Mac and what’s available in Calgary ... and we’re definitely on the losing end of that little bargain up here. Hard to believe as you’d expect that housing up here, in a smaller community might be bigger, but the reality is that the infrastructure in Fort Mac is struggling to cope with the massive growth that the region is experiencing.
Saturday we decided that we’d check out the car market in Calgary given the limited options that there are in Fort Mac. I can’t say that we had really done all the homework that we needed to but one of the biggest inhibitors to the process is the simple fact that there’s so many different bloody cars over here that we didn’t even know where to start.
It took a little longer than we thought and probably to our surprise we actually ended the day having put a deposit down on a 2002 Ford Explorer (Eddie Bauer edition). Caroline had started the day keen on something the size of a Ford Expedition where I wasn’t really that excited about having to drive something that large around all the time. In the end, the fact that we could pick up the Explorer at a good price compared to something bigger swung the argument.
Now there’s just the little thing that I have to get back to Calgary sometime in the near future and drive it back here. Now I just have to remember what all the things I was supposed to do before owning a car were!
Sunday was reserved for exploring the mountains. We set off from Calgary with a borrowed park pass for the Banff and hope for a great day.
We managed to navigate our way out of the city without too many dramas and despite the kids being more interested in what was going on on the inside of the car than the outside, Caroline and I stared in wonder as the beauty of the Rockies slowly revealed itself.
Once the mountains really started to reveal themselves, even the passengers towards the back of the vehicle started to take an interest in the scenery, especially when there was a hint of snow in the offing. I don’t know that words or even photos can really do the mountains justice.
We stopped at Canmore for breakfast, to find that there was folk festival on and adding that to the fact that it was a holiday weekend, it was a popular place to be. Despite Thomas being heartbroken over the fact that we went to a bagel place for breakfast rather than the golden arches (to the point that when Emily managed to knock a glass of water over him, he was too busy sulking to even raise a voice of protest) it was a great little spot to have stopped for a first admiration of the area that we were in. It was surreal to walk down the main street and see the towering giants that are the Rockies looming in the background.
But we had Banff on our mind and so it was back to the car. If Canmore was busy, Banff was rush hour in Tokyo. We navigated our way up towards the hot springs to either simply take an admiring look or possibly even an indulgent dip. But as we began the process of disembarking from the car and collecting everything that we need, it started to rain. Good solid, heavy, mountain rain too. We decided that rather than get soaked before we got to the hot springs, we jumped back into the car and head north for Lake Louise, hopefully before the weather beat us there.
We were fortunate and made Lake Louise in fine sunny weather, as did the other thousand people that were trying to find car parks at the same time as us. Fortunately we did find a park before the weather caught up to us!
The colour of the lake is something else. The photos give some indication, but as I said before, it’s really nothing compared to seeing it firsthand. It’s as green as the blue lake is blue. We pulled a tight arse and passed on spending an hour canoeing on the lake, but we did walk along the 1.1km trail to a view point over the lake. Of course at the point that you set out, it doesn’t talk about just how vertical that little stroll would be. And if it was tough for us, it’s a big ask for the tiny legs of a four year old girl. And that’s why she spent most of the time getting piggy-backed by the big fat sucker (yes that would be me). And I think the photo that you can see looking down at the hotel might give you an impression of just how much fun it was to tote the little tike all the way up to the view point.
Despite Caroline’s fears that we were going to be taken by a bear (I don’t think she was that scared, I think she just used it to try and keep Michael and Sam from running too far in front of us) we all made it up and back down again in one piece so that we could make our way a little further to where we anticipated a gondola ride.
Lake Louise ski resort is a beautiful place in the summer and oh how I would like to see it covered in snow. Of course, being in the middle of the Rockies in Canada, it was only natural that about 75% of the staff that we met when we were there were Aussies!
The gondola (aka ski lift) takes 15 minutes to get you to the top of its run and ascends about 450 metres vertically (traversing 1750m) in that time. We sat in the open chairs, Caroline with Michael and Sam and I with Emily and Thomas. And my God, the view from the top was breathtaking. And by saying the top, I just meant the top of that run, because there was another lift that took you even further up the mountain (in winter).
The photo below this paragraph that looks back out over Lake Louise gives an impression of the view, but it is of course only a bit part of the total. We were very blessed to have been there on such a beautiful day.
Then it was time to go home. Driving home gave a different view of the mountains and at times, the sun shining on the bare, sheer rock surfaces left them so pale as to give a wonderful impression of what they could look like covered in snow. I know we’ll be going back. And the train that winds its way along the river through the valley beckons as well.
So we made our way home, stopping for dinner ... Swiss fondue of course. What else would you have in such an alpine setting?!
So being a long weekend (today is apparently heritage day, but so far I haven’t actually found anyone that’s been able to tell me what that means (not that I’ve asked many either)) Caroline decided that we should seize the opportunity to explore Calgary and beyond (particularly the bit of beyond that includes the Rocky Mountains and Banff).
This resulted in her driving from Fort McMurray to Calgary with the four kids whilst I flew down on my own, a trip that I wouldn’t have wished upon anyone in their worst nightmare, but which by all accounts went extraordinarily well, with only 2 stops for toilet breaks. Amazing what good preparation and a DVD player in the car can do (though the kids told me that they only watched 2 and a half movies through the entire journey.
They beat me to the hotel as I had to work for the day (tough for some, I know) though I did manage a very feminine lunch hour in which I bought two pairs of shoes and a new belt (I did only bring one pair of shoes that I could wear with a suit with me, and they were on their last legs).
We spent the evening having a bbq with an Adelaide couple that I used to work with back home which was great. If nothing else, it showed up the difference between what one can get in Fort Mac and what’s available in Calgary ... and we’re definitely on the losing end of that little bargain up here. Hard to believe as you’d expect that housing up here, in a smaller community might be bigger, but the reality is that the infrastructure in Fort Mac is struggling to cope with the massive growth that the region is experiencing.
Saturday we decided that we’d check out the car market in Calgary given the limited options that there are in Fort Mac. I can’t say that we had really done all the homework that we needed to but one of the biggest inhibitors to the process is the simple fact that there’s so many different bloody cars over here that we didn’t even know where to start.
It took a little longer than we thought and probably to our surprise we actually ended the day having put a deposit down on a 2002 Ford Explorer (Eddie Bauer edition). Caroline had started the day keen on something the size of a Ford Expedition where I wasn’t really that excited about having to drive something that large around all the time. In the end, the fact that we could pick up the Explorer at a good price compared to something bigger swung the argument.
Now there’s just the little thing that I have to get back to Calgary sometime in the near future and drive it back here. Now I just have to remember what all the things I was supposed to do before owning a car were!
Sunday was reserved for exploring the mountains. We set off from Calgary with a borrowed park pass for the Banff and hope for a great day.
We managed to navigate our way out of the city without too many dramas and despite the kids being more interested in what was going on on the inside of the car than the outside, Caroline and I stared in wonder as the beauty of the Rockies slowly revealed itself.
Once the mountains really started to reveal themselves, even the passengers towards the back of the vehicle started to take an interest in the scenery, especially when there was a hint of snow in the offing. I don’t know that words or even photos can really do the mountains justice.
We stopped at Canmore for breakfast, to find that there was folk festival on and adding that to the fact that it was a holiday weekend, it was a popular place to be. Despite Thomas being heartbroken over the fact that we went to a bagel place for breakfast rather than the golden arches (to the point that when Emily managed to knock a glass of water over him, he was too busy sulking to even raise a voice of protest) it was a great little spot to have stopped for a first admiration of the area that we were in. It was surreal to walk down the main street and see the towering giants that are the Rockies looming in the background.
But we had Banff on our mind and so it was back to the car. If Canmore was busy, Banff was rush hour in Tokyo. We navigated our way up towards the hot springs to either simply take an admiring look or possibly even an indulgent dip. But as we began the process of disembarking from the car and collecting everything that we need, it started to rain. Good solid, heavy, mountain rain too. We decided that rather than get soaked before we got to the hot springs, we jumped back into the car and head north for Lake Louise, hopefully before the weather beat us there.
We were fortunate and made Lake Louise in fine sunny weather, as did the other thousand people that were trying to find car parks at the same time as us. Fortunately we did find a park before the weather caught up to us!
The colour of the lake is something else. The photos give some indication, but as I said before, it’s really nothing compared to seeing it firsthand. It’s as green as the blue lake is blue. We pulled a tight arse and passed on spending an hour canoeing on the lake, but we did walk along the 1.1km trail to a view point over the lake. Of course at the point that you set out, it doesn’t talk about just how vertical that little stroll would be. And if it was tough for us, it’s a big ask for the tiny legs of a four year old girl. And that’s why she spent most of the time getting piggy-backed by the big fat sucker (yes that would be me). And I think the photo that you can see looking down at the hotel might give you an impression of just how much fun it was to tote the little tike all the way up to the view point.
Despite Caroline’s fears that we were going to be taken by a bear (I don’t think she was that scared, I think she just used it to try and keep Michael and Sam from running too far in front of us) we all made it up and back down again in one piece so that we could make our way a little further to where we anticipated a gondola ride.
Lake Louise ski resort is a beautiful place in the summer and oh how I would like to see it covered in snow. Of course, being in the middle of the Rockies in Canada, it was only natural that about 75% of the staff that we met when we were there were Aussies!
The gondola (aka ski lift) takes 15 minutes to get you to the top of its run and ascends about 450 metres vertically (traversing 1750m) in that time. We sat in the open chairs, Caroline with Michael and Sam and I with Emily and Thomas. And my God, the view from the top was breathtaking. And by saying the top, I just meant the top of that run, because there was another lift that took you even further up the mountain (in winter).
The photo below this paragraph that looks back out over Lake Louise gives an impression of the view, but it is of course only a bit part of the total. We were very blessed to have been there on such a beautiful day.
Then it was time to go home. Driving home gave a different view of the mountains and at times, the sun shining on the bare, sheer rock surfaces left them so pale as to give a wonderful impression of what they could look like covered in snow. I know we’ll be going back. And the train that winds its way along the river through the valley beckons as well.
So we made our way home, stopping for dinner ... Swiss fondue of course. What else would you have in such an alpine setting?!
Sick of it
Shortly after arriving here in Fort Mac, the kids started coughing and spluttering and getting runny noses. Hell it’s summer, what else would you do? Sam managed to start going through tissues at a rate that caused one to consider buying shares in the nearest wood-pulping company but it wasn’t a direct impact on yours truly. He didn’t complain too much, as long as he had a good, steady supply handy. His siblings were much the same.
Then I got it.
So did Caroline.
So for the past 10 days or so, we’ve been a matching pair of over achieving snot producers and to be honest, we’re both sick of it. Because apart from simply having your sinuses stuffed full of crap and having get a new tissue every 30 seconds or so, it’s been an ear blocking bastard. Living in a muffled world just isn’t a whole lot of fun, especially when you have to get up and give a presentation to the community about the company’s presence in town ... twice. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger apparently.
And there’s something about going to see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world that loses just a little something when you’re ears block every time you go through a 50 metre change in elevation.
Bring on the snotless, clear –eared times ...
Please? Because I am sick of conversations that go, “What?” “Pardon” “I didn’t say anything, “Huh?” “What” “Nevermind” which then result in the decibels being raised to a stupid level just in an attempt to ensure that you’re other half has heard what you’re trying to tell them.
Then I got it.
So did Caroline.
So for the past 10 days or so, we’ve been a matching pair of over achieving snot producers and to be honest, we’re both sick of it. Because apart from simply having your sinuses stuffed full of crap and having get a new tissue every 30 seconds or so, it’s been an ear blocking bastard. Living in a muffled world just isn’t a whole lot of fun, especially when you have to get up and give a presentation to the community about the company’s presence in town ... twice. But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger apparently.
And there’s something about going to see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world that loses just a little something when you’re ears block every time you go through a 50 metre change in elevation.
Bring on the snotless, clear –eared times ...
Please? Because I am sick of conversations that go, “What?” “Pardon” “I didn’t say anything, “Huh?” “What” “Nevermind” which then result in the decibels being raised to a stupid level just in an attempt to ensure that you’re other half has heard what you’re trying to tell them.
Aug 2, 2007
Traffic
There’s about 100,000 people in Fort McMurray so one of the things that I didn’t think would be of concern when I was leaving Australia was traffic. After all, when you think about regional towns in Australia, traffic simply isn’t an issue. Heck, even in Adelaide, with a population of about a million, it’s difficult to consider traffic a significant problem. After all, hasn’t it been known as the 20 minute city?
But this is Fort Mac and everything is a little different here. There’s one main highway through past the centre of town and that highway heads out to all the various sites that are involved in getting oil out of the sand.
A lot of these places have camps where people work rosters and therefore don’t travel to and from site everyday. But there’s also a large number of people from Fort Mac that commute from the town to the various mines and processing sites. And all of these are North of town. So each morning, the exodus begins.
Where we’re living, there’s two ways to go. Thickwood Boulevard and Confederation Way. And the reality is that they are the same road, running in a horseshoe from highway 63 all the way back around to highway 63. So it doesn’t matter which way you go, you end up on the same road going in the same direction as everyone else. At the same time.
So this small country town has some of the worst traffic that I’ve ever seen. There’s nothing quite like coming around the corner and seeing just how far its backed up from the lights onto the highway. Yesterday it took me 40 minutes to get through from the back of the queue to the lights. Because some hours before they malfunctioned and the impact carried on for hours.
Last week, on a trip to Firebag, which is a 2 hour drive if all goes well, it took us an hour to get to the high way. Because there’d been an accident. There was no sign of it by the time we got there of course, but that didn’t stop us from getting to spend 3 hours in the car to travel about 120 kilometres. That’s ok, but on the way home, along the dirt road, it pissed down with rain and it took us over 2.5 hours to make the return journey. That’s too long to spend in the car on a commute in any one day. Hell I could have almost made it all the way to Pt Augusta and back in that time.
Traffic isn’t helped by the fact that there’s only one bridge (well technically two … one for each direction of traffic, so let’s say one location)) that enables you to cross the Athabasca river. There’s two lanes in each direction, which should provide for a nice smooth flow of traffic. After all, we’re talking about something in the order of 300m spans in a straight line. But that wouldn’t be allowing for the truck-driving Fort Macians who have managed two rear end collisions on the bridge in the last week alone. And each one of those backs traffic up to ridiculous levels.
I mean, its not even winter! There’s signs up warning you about icy bridge decks and don’t change lanes and so on, but these’ people can’t even manage to do this in summer! What hope is there I ask you?
But this is Fort Mac and everything is a little different here. There’s one main highway through past the centre of town and that highway heads out to all the various sites that are involved in getting oil out of the sand.
A lot of these places have camps where people work rosters and therefore don’t travel to and from site everyday. But there’s also a large number of people from Fort Mac that commute from the town to the various mines and processing sites. And all of these are North of town. So each morning, the exodus begins.
Where we’re living, there’s two ways to go. Thickwood Boulevard and Confederation Way. And the reality is that they are the same road, running in a horseshoe from highway 63 all the way back around to highway 63. So it doesn’t matter which way you go, you end up on the same road going in the same direction as everyone else. At the same time.
So this small country town has some of the worst traffic that I’ve ever seen. There’s nothing quite like coming around the corner and seeing just how far its backed up from the lights onto the highway. Yesterday it took me 40 minutes to get through from the back of the queue to the lights. Because some hours before they malfunctioned and the impact carried on for hours.
Last week, on a trip to Firebag, which is a 2 hour drive if all goes well, it took us an hour to get to the high way. Because there’d been an accident. There was no sign of it by the time we got there of course, but that didn’t stop us from getting to spend 3 hours in the car to travel about 120 kilometres. That’s ok, but on the way home, along the dirt road, it pissed down with rain and it took us over 2.5 hours to make the return journey. That’s too long to spend in the car on a commute in any one day. Hell I could have almost made it all the way to Pt Augusta and back in that time.
Traffic isn’t helped by the fact that there’s only one bridge (well technically two … one for each direction of traffic, so let’s say one location)) that enables you to cross the Athabasca river. There’s two lanes in each direction, which should provide for a nice smooth flow of traffic. After all, we’re talking about something in the order of 300m spans in a straight line. But that wouldn’t be allowing for the truck-driving Fort Macians who have managed two rear end collisions on the bridge in the last week alone. And each one of those backs traffic up to ridiculous levels.
I mean, its not even winter! There’s signs up warning you about icy bridge decks and don’t change lanes and so on, but these’ people can’t even manage to do this in summer! What hope is there I ask you?
Bearly
I saw my first Bear the other day. It was black, not overly terrifyingly large either. I was driving home and was just heading up the hill (3 lanes each way) when I thought … why the hell are these jokers slowing down?
Oh, that would be because of the bear that’s trotting across the road! I wasn’t quick enough to be able to get the phone out and snap a picture … I was too surprised. After all, this was only a couple of hundred metres from where the housing starts! I was also rather happy to have seen it from within the confines of a car. Cute as it may have looked, I wasn’t up for a cuddle.
And it was only about 2 days after that I’d written this that we were told a little story by an Aussie girl that we met. Apparently she’d been running down the other part of this very same road (it goes in a big horseshoe but changes name halfway) and after some time noticed that there were people in cars waving at her. Eventually she looked over her shoulder and saw a bear coming after her, at which point she made a run for the traffic. Fortunately that was enough to scare the bear away. She’d been running with her headphones on and hadn’t heard all the car horns blaring and people yelling at her trying to warn her that the bear was there!
Sounds like an underwear changing moment to me!
Oh, that would be because of the bear that’s trotting across the road! I wasn’t quick enough to be able to get the phone out and snap a picture … I was too surprised. After all, this was only a couple of hundred metres from where the housing starts! I was also rather happy to have seen it from within the confines of a car. Cute as it may have looked, I wasn’t up for a cuddle.
And it was only about 2 days after that I’d written this that we were told a little story by an Aussie girl that we met. Apparently she’d been running down the other part of this very same road (it goes in a big horseshoe but changes name halfway) and after some time noticed that there were people in cars waving at her. Eventually she looked over her shoulder and saw a bear coming after her, at which point she made a run for the traffic. Fortunately that was enough to scare the bear away. She’d been running with her headphones on and hadn’t heard all the car horns blaring and people yelling at her trying to warn her that the bear was there!
Sounds like an underwear changing moment to me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)