Well, dear readers, due to my thrifty nature, this free blog spot is all full up and I am moving on to my next site.
I want to thank my loyal readers and I do hope you will all join me there for more adventures.
Here is the new site………………. https://blographytoo.photo.blog/
Thanks again.
Allan
Well, dear readers, due to my thrifty nature, this free blog spot is all full up and I am moving on to my next site.
I want to thank my loyal readers and I do hope you will all join me there for more adventures.
Here is the new site………………. https://blographytoo.photo.blog/
Thanks again.
Allan
Well, dear readers, due to my thrifty nature, this free blog spot is all full up and I am moving on to my next site.
I want to thank my loyal readers and I do hope you will all join me there for more adventures.
Here is the new site…………….... https://blographytoo.photo.blog/
Thanks again.
Allan
Our son and his wife were embarking on a short vacation and we were entrusted with their little ones’ (our fur Grand-Babies) care. They have 3 bunnies and a chinchilla. We were both honoured and nervous, likely both signs of good Grandparents. As they do not play nicely together, each one had to be let out separately for exercise, so there were no spats. All in all, we enjoyed the experience.
Doin’ the Bunny Hop
They walk through the door, like they own the place,
but when we see them, we don’t know their face.
With clumsy hands, they maneuver our homes,
not like we’re used to, but we’ve room to roam.
Hall doors are closed and soon all is secure,
After one more check, its time for our tour.
Impatient Eleanor, first to run free,
binking and hopping, just as it should be.
Next comes Carob, her cage such a real mess.
Could it be much worse? The answer is yes.
Amelia the mischievous goes last,
zipping by at top speed, she has a blast.
Cages cleaned, food and water just dandy,
At long last, it was time for poor Ande.
He slowly creeps about from side to side,
Despite the strangers, he takes it in stride.
Playtime done, we fur babies settle in,
these “hoomins” were nice, hope they come again.
…….and now, the stars of our little play…….
Eleanor
Carob
Amelia (the mischievous)
Ande
The Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary is 348 acres of protected marshland, open meadow, aspen parkland and pine forest just a short distance from the U of A Botanical Gardens North of Devon.
Clifford E. Lee was an Albertan with a deeply felt commitment to humanitarian and environmental concerns. Born on a farm in what is now Edmonton’s Hardisty district, he taught school for ten years before becoming a pharmacist and owning several pharmaceutical outlets in Edmonton. Always interested in politics, he was long active in the CCF, predecessor to the New Democratic Party, serving several terms as its Alberta president and writing regular columns for its newspaper, People’s Weekly.
Seeing the need for affordable housing following World War II, Lee applied his business acumen to starting up a home-building company, which thrived, eventually becoming NuWest Development Corporation, once one of the biggest housing development companies in North America. When the company he founded became a public corporation in the late 1960’s, he transferred the bulk of his personal fortune into a foundation. The Clifford E. Lee Foundation was thus established in 1969 to make funds available to worthwhile philanthropic endeavours in a variety of fields.
Although Clifford E. Lee died three years later, the Foundation, under a board of Directors, has continued to provide grants to a wide assortment of projects in the performing arts, social services, wildlife conservation, native concerns, and international development. The Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary was one of the largest projects funded by the Foundation, and one in which Lee himself would have taken great pleasure.
(Source:cliffordelee.com)
We have been here several times in recent years under varying conditions. Needing a destination on Easter Sunday, we went back again and found the place bustling with parents and young children. A few birds were about, but a lot of songbirds have not yet returned. We could see that the trees and shrubs were just starting to get their “Spring” on and will return again. We are particularly interested in returning once the wild roses are out, provided the mosquitoes are not also in abundance.
I will leave you with a few pix from the walk. It is not a strenuous or long hike. We likely walked 3-3.5 km this day.
Thought I’d better catch up on my other posts between my series. This may be a bit out of season, but strangely enough, there were places in Alberta that had snow on the past weekend. This walk starts in Capilano Park.
Nature Comes Alive
Starting slowly at first,
then with a sudden burst,
long dead branches of grey,
new green buds now display,
their tang scenting the air,
curing winter despair,
that this day would arrive,
when nature comes alive.
Just outside the gates of Jasper National Park is located Folding Mountain Brewing, a craft brewery and taproom that opened in 2017. Our son had L has stopped here before and said it was worth a look. Their website ad for a Salted Chocolate Pretzel Stout intrigued our group, so we opted to stop for a bite and refreshments on our way home.
Access is easy as it is right beside the Eastbound lanes of the Yellowhead. The building is beautiful, as is the adjacent mountain scenery.
It is an order at the bar kind of place, so after a bit of deliberation, we went up to make our drink and food choices. The first disappointment came when we heard they were all out of the feature stout. Boo hoo. That problem overcome, there were plenty of other choices. Because we still had to drive, we kept our drink choice small. I ordered a 12 oz Ridgeline IIPA and only later noticed it was a 9.5% beer. H ordered the tasting flight of the day (4-6 oz glasses).
For food, we had 3 orders of the street tacos and one of the grilled cheese sandwich with poutine. See the sign photo. The beers were all good. My 9.5% was unbelievable smooth for a strong beer and the 4 samples were also very good, as was the grilled cheese and poutine. I mean, come on, bread with two types of cheese, bacon and apple jam combined with fries, with gravy and more cheese. What is not to like.
Our street tacos were a disappointment. We opted for the 3 for $16, one each of chorizo, kale and chicken). It could have been the time of day or week (Monday at 2 PM) or it could have been that we made the wrong choice. The taco shells were dry and cold and the fillings were also mostly cold. The included Valentina sauce and lime wedges added some flavour, but………………
Maybe next time. And by the way, the Jasper East Cabins are right next door, so if you decide to stay awhile and sample more brews, you can walk between the cabins and the taproom.
Point of Disclosure–Highway 16 and the mountain pass it runs through are referred to as “The Yellowhead”, after an Iriquois-Metis trapper, fur-trader and explorer who worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company during the 18th and 19th centuries. His name was Pierre Hastination or Pierre Bostonais (Boston Man, a name given to him by First Nations members to indicate his American origin), but because of his yellow hair, his nickname was Tete Jaune (French for Yellow Head). In the early 19th Century Pierre and his men crossed the Rocky Mountains through the pass that would later bear his name. (Source:https://www.tetejaunelodge.com/history)
Yellowhead-ing It
This is the moment we have been dreading, yet,
as we leave Jasper town, Yellowhead-ing it,
we can’t help but feel our smiles spreading a bit.
Trip starting at Marmot, we were shredding it,
on to Icefields glacier, no one sledding it,
then off to waterfall, with ice spreading it
and around 5 Lakes all ice, but shedding it,
before hiking hill with snow paths threading it.
Seeing the view with mountains embedding it.
we knew in 3 weeks we’d return again yet.
The Maligne River and Maligne Canyon are an interesting formation. The Maligne River flows as a full size river for 15 km upstream of Medicine Lake. Medicine Lake empties and fills throughout the year and the amount of water in the lake is purely dependent on the season.
Shortly after exiting Medicine Lake, the Maligne River becomes a “losing stream”, flowing underground until reaching the canyon where many smaller streams rebuild the river. The river cuts through the slot canyon limestone bedrock, exposing the underground river at several points. The underground river amplifies the flow as the river continues to drop down the canyon.
The canyon height reaches a maximum of 50 m (160 feet) depth and at points is less than 2 m (6.6 feet) wide.
(Source:Wikipedia)
Magical Maligne
Constantly flowing,
appearing, disappearing.
Magical Maligne.
Here is what you see form the parking lot. note the red tinge caused by the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation in the wide angle shot. Yikes. It is everywhere.
Here are a couple of shots of the upper canyon near the Tea House. You can walk down the canyon to 6th bridge, but we did not have the time to spare on this day.
2b
Hard to overlook
a trail just this beautiful.
Pyramid 2b.
Up near the end of Pyramid Lake Road, in Pyramid Lake with a fabulous view of Pyramid Mountain is a small island called Pyramid Island. Noticing a theme here yet?
You park in the small parking lot and walk across a wooden bridge and there you are, surrounded by mountain beauty.
Pyramid Scheme
As if in a dream
magical alpine island.
A Pyramid scheme.
Profound
New pussy willows abound,
butterflies circling around,
by each new blue lake we found,
we trod on snow or bare ground,
climbing hills both up and down,
gentle breezes the only sound,
past candle ice, a sight profound,
and hills of crocuses crowned,
all too soon we’re homeward bound.
Frozen in Time
Mighty Sunwapta
frozen fast in winter’s grip.
Black raven preening.
The Columbia Icefield is the largest icefield in the Rockies at 325 square kilometers ( (125 square miles) and between 100 meters (330 feet) and 365 meters (1198 feet) thick. The area receives up to 7 meters (280 inches) of snow per year.
The Icefield consists of 6 major glaciers (Athabasca, Castleguard, Columbia, Dome, Stuttfield and Saskatchewan) and was formed between 268,000 and 126,000 BCE). The last major advance occurred during the Little Ice Age from 1200 to 1900 AD and the glaciers have been in retreat ever since (note the furthest 1890 extent in the feature photo.
(Source:Wikipedia)
Situated on the Continental Divide (Great Divide), it is sometimes referred to as a Trihedral Divide or hydrological apex. Melt water from this point runs three ways, to the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic Oceans).
(Source:The Canadian Encyclopedia)
On this day, it was spectacular against the blue sky with sunshine making the glacier ice a pale blue. We were but 4 of a handful of people here as the Icefield Discovery Center and Snow Coach Tours were not open. In fact, the parking lot was only recently plowed out. We enjoyed a picnic in our car with the stunning view spread before us as we watched the snow clouds swirl up the backside from the West. It was magical.
Nature’s Majesty
Spread out before us
lay Columbia Icefields.
Nature’s Majesty.
Highway 93 or the Icefields Parkway runs down the mountain valleys between Highway 16 (Trans Canada North/Yellowhead) South of Jasper town site and the BritishColumbia boundary at Vermilion Pass. It is 268 km. (167 miles) long and I would contend it has some of the most beautiful scenery that the Canadian Rockies has to offer. Up to 100,000 cars a month use portions of this route in the July and August tourist season. A valid Parks Canada pass is required to drive the route through Jasper and Banff National Parks and the maximum speed permitted is 90 km/h (55 mph). The speed is lowered in wildlife corridors and near many of the tourist attractions.
(Source:Wikipedia)
The road was quiet on April 7/19 as we drove South to the Columbia Icefields (next post) with H & L. There are many attractions and pullouts where you can stop to stretch your legs and your eyes. Our first was Athabasca Falls (last post).
We also stopped at:
Goats and Glaciers viewpoint. No goats this day, just an industrious raven gathering nesting materials.
Stuttfield Glacier viewpoint for these stunning views
This pullout not far from the Icefields where the Athabasca River shone icy blue-green.
Tangle Falls…a real tangle of ice on this day.
and by these pink/orange boulders from some ancient landslide, not far from Sunwapta Falls (future post). There is one rock here that is shaped like a giant arm chair. Unfortunately, too much snow here on this day to access easily.
A bit underwhelming at this time of the year. Lots of ice, not much waterfall. Still amazing for our Winnipeg visitors.
Hard Water
Frozen waterfall
slowly dropping down canyon.
Athabasca Falls.
H & L were worn out by their extra ski day and after hemming and hawing, Pat and I opted to do a bit of stargazing. Jasper is a Dark Sky Preserve and yet we had never been out to ponder the heavens on our many trips.
Hopping in the car, we drove back up the Pyramid Lake Road to Pyramid Island. It was twilight when we arrived, a hazard of the rapidly approaching summer solstice. Arriving just after 9 PM, I managed a few twilight shots of Pyramid Lake. I was shooting on a 2 second exposure.
Then, the first star popped out…..I upped the exposure to 30 seconds (unfortunately the maximum on my camera).
As the sky darkened, I shot a few more on 30 seconds….catching parts of the little dipper and as it turns out, the International Space Station (streak on second photo below). What were the odds the lens would be open at that point?
On our trip back home, we paused at the Pyramid Lake Resort for one last shot.
We were starstruck and a bit tired as we pulled into our hotel around 11 PM.
H & L were back for another day of skiing at Marmot Basin, leaving Patty and I to our own devices. After a tasty breakfast at the Sunhouse Café, we set off to enjoy one of our favourite Jasper hikes up Trail 2b, Pyramid Overlook Trail. We were not going the whole way, just up to the rocky bench overlooking Patricia and Pyramid Lakes. A total of 4 km return.
Up a slippery slope
Slip sliding our way
up Pyramid Overlook.
Spectacular views.
The photos speak volumes……….
Pyramid Lake and Mountain
pine needles in the snow
close-up of Pyramid Mountain
snow skiff patterns on Pyramid Lake
mountain view
Pyramid Mountain
Mountain Pine Beetle destruction
forest footnotes
lake views
Mountain Peaks
the marsh below
the forest and Red Chairs
What we had not counted on for this trip was that the lakes and rivers would be partly melted and even where there was still ice, the green colour still showed through the ice in the bright sunshine. The valley floor here is often much warmer than the mountainsides above. The valley and Jasper town at 1,060m ASL (3,480 feet) are snow free, but the snow line is visible at about 1500m (just under 5,000 feet).
I had seen the perfect shot when we entered the park 2 days before, but stupidly kept on driving. The shots I got on this day, while still beautiful, were not a patch on what I had seen.
The red tinge you may see in the trees in the bottom photo is due to the infiltration of the Mountain Pine Beetle from the other side of the Rockies in BC. The current outbreak in BC started in the early 1990s and since then they have destroyed more than 50% of the commercial lodgepole pine in that province. The mountain peaks proved to be no barrier for the insects and they have now spread into the Alberta boreal forests with disastrous results. With favourable wind current and climate conditions, they can disperse to forests more than 100 km away and recolonize where they land. No longer satisfied with just the lodgepole pine, they are also reproducing in jack pine, the dominant pine in the boreal forests. While our 2019 winter (February) was colder than in the past few years, there is little likelihood that this will delay their advance. I imagine we will see them in Edmonton in the future.
(Source:Natural Resources Canada)
Under attack from the Mountain Pine Beetle, the evergreen trees turn red and orange and eventually to a lifeless grey. At that point, the trees become a fire and safety hazard. Efforts are underway in Jasper National Park to improve safety of the residents and the public. Whistlers campground will be closed all of 2019 while reconstruction of over 700 campsites takes place. We drove by the campground on this trip and all of the diseased trees have been removed, leaving the forest looking more like a parking lot. A sad day indeed.
We were due for further heartbreak, when we passed Cottonwood Slough on the Pyramid Lake Road. Large swaths of evergreens have been removed, leaving a few lonely aspen to hold the fort until newly planted seedlings can take hold. Climate Change is very real, folks.
Marmot Basin in Jasper National Park has always been our “Home Hill”, since we started skiing in 1976. More than 40 years later, it still excites us to think of skiing there. That is why we jumped at the chance to show it to H & L from Winnipeg when they came for a visit in early April. Things have changed a bit since 1976. Lift tickets then were $27 and now adult day passes go for $106. There were no high speed quads and now there are 3 (the Canadian Rockies quad at 596 m (1955 feet) is the longest in the Canadian Rockies. I seem to recall there being only 41 named runs in 1976 and now there are 91. Two large new areas of ski terrain have been opened up on Eagle Ridge and Tres Hombres. And there are two terrain parks for those who like to snowboard. These same snowboarders tend to shave the tops off the moguls on the more expert runs and now that I am 65, this is not always a bad thing.
The base elevation of 1,698m (5,570 feet) ASL is the highest in the Canadian Rockies and the top elevation of 2612m (8,570 feet) ASL gives the hill a vertical drop of 614m (3,000 feet). 30% of the runs are novice, 30% intermediate, 20% Advanced and 20% Expert.
Lift capacity is 12,000 skiers per hour and with an annual snowfall of 400 cm, the season can run from mid November to early May. Given the distance from the nearest major population center, the hill is seldom crowded and on the weekdays, you can ski straight onto the lifts. Rentals and lessons are available in the base lodge. The 4 parking lots allow skiers to easily ski to the lifts and back to their cars.
(Source:WIkipedia)
We had never skied here in April before, but ended up with a picture perfect day. Sunny, blue skies, a low temp of -3 C and a high of +5 C. Not only has the hill changed, so have we. I am now 65 and while the spirit is still willing, the body sometimes has other ideas. My Patty’s knees can no longer take a full day of skiing. I went up the hill for opening time with H & L and Patty joined us about 10:30 AM, once the snow on the lower slopes had softened a bit.
Here are the pix.
Riding the lifts
the shining Athabasca River below
H & L on the hill
photographer goggle selfie
the upper chalet (Paradise Chalet)
on the lift
at the top of Paradise Chair
Paradise Chair and runs are aptly named
selfie at top of Eagle Ridge chair
Jasper townsite from top of Eagle Ridge chair
Nobody wanted to join me for a run down from the top of Knob. A sign at the bottom of the lift states “There is no Easy way down”. I last skied this run at the age of 60. Now I can say I did it at 65, not well, but I did it and survived.
Shots from the lifts. The last one was taken while the lift was stopped for 15 minutes due to a power outage. All lifts have backup diesel motors so they can keep going and make sure all lifts have been emptied.
Various shots on Paradise and this hill truly is Paradise.
Jasper is a small mountain town in Jasper National Park, 362 km. West of Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. As it is situated in the protected Jasper National Park, it is a specialized municipality governed by the municipality and federal Parks Canada and is subject to a lot more rules and regulations than most Alberta towns. (SOURCE:Wikipedia)
Anyone who has visited both Banff and Jasper can see a vast difference in how these two towns have been developed. I often joke that Banff is a “shopping center with mountain scenery” while Jasper is a “mountain town”.
Given its distance from Edmonton and the fact that Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies at 11,000 square kilometers, crowds are a lot smaller and there is plenty of space for all. The population of Jasper was 4,590 as of the 2016 census. Accommodation choices vary from campsites to guest houses to cabins, hotels and motels. (SOURCE:Wikipedia)
We love Jasper, but it can due to its smaller size, the town can be crowded in peak summer and winter skiing months. At these times, accommodation can be scarce and prices can soar. We prefer to visit in shoulder or off season.
Views from our Chateau Jasper hotel room
Sunrise beauty from Geikie Strreet
Views from Patricia Street, the main shopping street.
This view of the upper tram station on the Jasper Tramway up Whislters’ Peak is visible from Connaught Drive (with a 50x zoom)
Older buildings abound. The feature photo is Parks Canada Building. The old firehall below is now used for live theatre.
Despite its small size, there are plenty of dining options in Jasper from our favourite bakeries, the Bear Paw and the Other Paw to higher end fare from Evil Dave’s Grill (photos of meals below).
On this trip, we also discovered the Sunhouse Cafe, a delicious spot for coffee, breakfast and lunch. Photos below.
We have been visiting Jasper for more than 40 years and always enjoy a return visit in any season. When we travel with someone who has not seen it before, it is like we are seeing it again for the first time, as well.
When friends H & L from Winnipeg told us of their plan to come ski Marmot Basin in Jasper, we did not need much coaxing to accompany them. We were uncertain if one or both of us would ski, but, we are always happy to show people around our favourite mountain park. After a tasty lunch, we piled into our cars and headed West the 4 hours to Jasper. H was still technically working, so rode with me to catch up on phone calls and E-mails, while Pat and L rode together in the other car.
Mountain Splendour
Shining Talbot Lake
bids us welcome to Jasper.
Wildlife fascinates.
Talbot Lake
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
Elk (Wapiti)
Visiting now over, we head for home,
leaving Spring green for Winter monochrome.
One last walk with K and Benji the dog,
dragging bags uphill, it was quite a slog.
Hugs and goodbyes said and onto the train,
to YVR and our awaiting plane.
Last minute purchase of goodies for lunch,
Coffee Crisp for Pat, for me Crispy Crunch.
Rolling down runway and up into cloud,
Missions all accomplished, we should be proud.
Over the Rockies and on into YEG,
home to La-Z-Boys to put up our legs.
YVR
Vancouver and environs
Rockies and on into YEG
West End Vancouver seems to move at a snail’s pace at the best of times, but during morning and evening commutes, it can be downright painful Given the other choices available (Skytrain, bus, car share, ride share, walking, bike share, personal bike, ferry and water taxi), I am never sure why many even own a car let alone put themselves through all the gridlock twice a day. Our son has the perfect solution to get from the West End across False Creek to work, rain or shine, winter or summer.
Morning Commute
The noise of Vancouver rises and falls
as traffic jams slow traffic to a crawl.
When presented with traffic congestion,
some opt for an alternate suggestion.
Those living near work can take a short hike,
those further away can opt to ride bikes.
Whether you commute to work near or far
there may be a better choice than a car.
Sojourn
No trip twice the same
through Stanley Park’s winding paths.
New sights ev’ry day.
We have wandered these paths so many times, we have lost count. So, we chose a slightly different route today. There were highs and lows, but we also had some first time moments. Rather than go back to Prospect Point, we opted for Beaver Lake, not knowing at the time that the paths near it were very icy, but also partially closed, while some production group was shooting a podcast. We were in search of some good fish and chips before we flew back to landlocked Alberta. Rather than opt for Stanley’s at the Stanley Park Pavilion, we headed for the Tea House.
On arriving, we realized that not only had we never eaten there before, but, we had never before been on the paths to or at the Tea House. We were soon seated and our waiter appeared. We had our mouths all set on the Cod and chips selection, but, our server advised that their supplies had not yet arrived and that the fish and chips was not available today. Seeing our sad faces, he offered to try to have the chef prepare salmon and chips. While not our first choice, this would have to do. As he was about to head to the kitchen, word arrived that the cod was now on hand. Yay.
But, I am getting ahead of myself on the wander. Here are pix from the day.
English Bay activities
Birdlife on Lost Lagoon
Along Stanley Park’s trails
Up at the Teahouse
Walking back out of the park.
All in all, a great day for a wander.
Now far from the land of ice and snow,
we gladly put on light coats to go,
outside to enjoy the evening show
amid lights casting their bright, warm glow.
Amidst the towers
distant laughter can be heard
high up on the roof.
While high rise living does not come with big back yards, many of the apartment and condo towers come with amenities (gyms/common rooms/pools/gardens/roof top decks/etc) to give their tenants a place to go or from which to host gatherings with family and friends. Close to the end of our stay, we got the tour of the 9th floor amenities in one such building and it was impressive, with…
its views of the city
its views of the mountains
and the amenities of an interior suite with kitchen and washroom for entertaining, a large rooftop with BBQ and seating, as well as some landscaping. A great place to spend a lazy summer evening, I would think.
We had often seen the sport of Rugby on television and even watched the televised games between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa when we were in New Zealand in 2002. It is a rough sport, played by real men and women.
When our son asked if we wanted to attend the HSBC Rugby 7s tournament at BC Place, while we were in Vancouver, we jumped at the chance, not knowing what to expect. We opted to attend the Saturday games and got there around 9:00 AM. We left at lunch time and came back around 2 PM. In and Out privileges were only good until 3 PM.
Games consist of 7 players a side playing (2) 7 minute halves. All told, we saw 18 matches and one exhibition game between local teams. To say the least, it was exciting and fast paced and we were glad not to be on the field as we watched the scrums and tackles taking place.
The audience grew throughout the day and were really into the games. Many arrived in costumes either supporting their favourite teams or in just plain fun costumes.
A highly successful day, all round. Canada’s team lost one game and then won their next 2 and we got to watch the New Zealand All Black side show their skills. A little disappointed there was no Maori Haka, though.
BC Place all lit up the night before.
Inside BC Place, including the feature shot. There was even a resident flock of gulls swirling around inside the stadium, just like when we attended the Footie match in Melbourne Australia in 2012.
Getting set
The scrums
The action
Field maintenance
In the stands
On the big screen
In the concourse
Definitely a fun atmosphere.
All round Vancouver,
tall buildings are rising up.
Tourist mouths agape.
Vancouver and particularly the West End is a very vertical city, with glass towers popping up everywhere. When you are staying in such a place, you should never think you are invisible. This is a good example of what the song “The Night has a Thousand Eyes” might be saying.
All that being said, it is a wonderful vantage point for photography. Just do not aim your long lens at any particular building or windows for too long. And if you see one pointed your way, smile.
Morning glory
Stained glass window
Down on Davie
English Bay
Toward Coal Harbour
Evening twilight
Morning Gander
Down for a gander
as Sunset Beach awakens.
Yellow daffodils.
He walks down the street
leash wrapped ’round your feet.
He barks at some dogs
and jumps over logs.
He watches rollers,
cyclists or strollers
and when people run
he’ll join in the fun.
When at the pet shop
a big bone won’t stop
him from wanting
to try a big munch
if its time for lunch.
Back home in a breeze
with a cough and sneeze,
he looks quite dapper
with head in flapper.
He’s tiny in size,
with his big brown eyes.
He is at his best
when taking a rest.
He’s part of my blog,
he’s a Wonderdog.
Just for the Halibut
Granville Island trip
for groceries and Go Fish
for the Halibut.
JJ Bean coffee,
yellow sulphur and blue drop.
Coal Harbour morning.
Shirtsleeve Weather
Lion’s Gate traffic humming slowly from afar,
we stop at The Point to take stock of where we are.
Sun beaming down warmly on us, me in shirtsleeves,
spring not yet quite here, with trees awaiting their leaves.
North Vancouver was glistening on the North Shore,
Seaplanes and choppers fly overhead with a roar.
Restaurant closed, but concessions bar was still there
perched at the window with this memory to share.
Refreshments done, we did not want to leave this joint,
it was a day to remember at Prospect Point.
We’ve walked this trail many times before from Lost Lagoon to Prospect Point and back. The air was clear this day and while the trails were icy on places, we still enjoyed wandering through Stanley Park. The feature photo is from the Trailhead near Lost Lagoon.
From 3rd Beach
from Merilees Trail
back on Bridle Trail (or Bridal Trail, where the sign makers erred)
Sorry, trying one of these again.
Lost Lagoon’s low languid lighting lures listless lonely lingering loiterers, long lacking legendary lives, looking longingly, lamenting limited lifetime leisure .
But, bountiful bucolic birdlife bequeaths benign beauty, before briskly blowing breezes bounce big blossom burdened branches, bringing better balance, benefiting bench buddies.
All Alliteration aside (oops), Lost Lagoon never disappoints and this day was no
