Fort Nelson

Another northern BC trip under my belt. This time it was to Fort Nelson, a new destination for me. And again, as usual, I wanted to explore a bit since I had some extra time. My building review only took about 4 hours, but I’d only have had about 2 hours on the ground at most if I’d wanted to catch a same-day flight back to Vancouver.

My first stop was the Visitor Info booth where I learned that if it hadn’t been snowing, reportedly the conditions were right, high above the clouds for the Northern Lights phenomenon to occur. Better luck next time I guess. It snowed the whole time on this trip. It wasn’t ridiculously cold however, only about minus 10.

I wasn't familiar with the location of Muncho Lake in relation to Fort Nelson
 so I asked. Turns out it's about 3 hours west. No time to drive that far this trip.

Too cold for jogging outdoors, but since I’m training for the Sun Run next month I didn’t want to miss a training day. I was resigned to probably having to use the hotel treadmill. Not exactly ideal. The Visitor Info office came to my rescue by introducing me to the new Aquatic Centre right next door which houses an indoor walking/running track. And it’s free! This discovery, added to the hotel swimming pool (with corkscrew water slide) and hot tub more than compensated for the snowfall.

A bit too early for picnic season.

Another item from my Visitor Info session was that just up the road was a turn-off onto the Old Alaska Highway. It looped back to the main highway a few miles north of town so I took a drive. In reading the map I’d noticed that this intersection coincided with an access road to Parker Lake. It was of course snow-covered, but flat and recently traveled judging by the many tire tracks. In a couple of kilometers I reached the lakeshore to discover a tracked vehicle plowing the surface of the frozen lake. I had exited my vehicle to get a couple of photos, and as I stood there two snowmobiles approached. They stopped and I asked one of the pilots what was happening on the lake, as the previous day when I’d first checked it out it had been desolate and pristine. He informed me that there would be a sled dog race occurring on Saturday. Wow…can’t get much more Northern Canadian than that.

The access road to Parker Lake.

Parker Lake.

If you're looking for a place to happen, I'd suggest this is it.

I think this is a turning point for me. Upon arrival in small towns and cities I'm unfamiliar with, time permitting, I will definitely seek out a Visitor Info booth.

Can you believe it? They had the actual furnace that cremated Sam McGee at the
 museum across the road from the Visitor Info office.  ;-)

We celebrated Tannah's 10th birthday this past Sunday. We even got her a cake from a pet supply bakery on Main Street. We don't normally go nuts for a dog's birthday, but considering she's 10 and just got a good report from the vet, and of course since she's just such a great dog, we decided to have a bit of fun this time.


Mmmm...cake!

Happy Birthday Tannah!

Snow Fatigue

This year I think we're getting a sense of what winter really is for the rest of Canada. I think I may even be starting to sense "snow fatigue". As you may have guessed, it snowed again in East Van last night. Honestly, I can't remember a year where it snowed this much in four consecutive months. Mind you, I've only lived in Vancouver 17 years. The rest of my memories are from White Rock, but in terms of distance it's not that far away. However, I think where I live now is a bit higher in elevation.

Crocuses: normally a sign of Spring. Not this year.

Tomorrow's commute to work should be interesting. The snow has stuck to the side streets and it's forecast to dip down to about minus 1 tonight. That'll mean crusty ice tracks in my 'hood tomorrow morning. Maybe next year we'll revert back to the norm and I'll actually appreciate our typical West Coast catch phrase regarding the rain; "At least ya don't have to shovel it!"

Big Yellow Trucks



Somewhere between Prince George and Burns Lake.

We just attended a friend's birthday last weekend and he had an interesting item from our childhoods on display. It was a yellow Tonka dump truck. We both had one as kids and apparently his Mom kept his and gave it to him recently, used as a prop for a plant. I'm not sure if this gift occurred for this recent birthday or not, but that would certainly make sense. Like I said, I had one too. I asked my Mom about mine and, sure enough she said she's kept mine all these years as well.

"Tonka Tough"

I think we were probably about 4 years old when we got these trucks and we'd lean on the dump bins of the trucks, crouched over, and run behind them. I'm surprised we didn't wear out the plastic tires. I guess there's some truth to "Tonka Tough".

Interestingly enough I traveled to Prince George this past week and drove to Burns Lake to review a building. Somewhere along the way (I've forgotten the name of the small town I passed through and can't seem to find it on Google Maps Street View) I came across a real-life Tonka dump truck. Not really made by Tonka of course, but it's pretty cool to stand beside to get a sense of how big one of these things really is. And this isn't even as big as they get. The bottom of the dump box on this truck was higher than I could see into. I think the tires were each about 5 feet high, and the truck's certainly too wide to navigate a standard width traffic lane. I'm not overly familiar with the Prince George/Burns Lake region in general, but I would think this truck was used in the mining industry, although all the large trucks I saw while I was there were involved with the logging industry.

"On A Steel Horse I Ride"

Mom and I took in the Cavalia Odysseo experience that is currently playing at False Creek in Vancouver this past weekend. It's quite a spectacle. At the beginning they request no photography during the show because flashes might distract and/or potentially cause harm to the performers, both human and equine. It was only later that I realized I could have gotten a few good shots without a flash; modern iPhones are that good. But then again, I really wanted to just sit and experience the show like one would have done in the good ol' days, without any electronic distractions. There are plenty of good Cavalia photos and videos on the internet. 

Of course the expected merch was well represented, and not unexpectantly it wasn’t cheap, but there were pieces on display outside near the entrance to the tent that I hadn’t expected; life size welded-metal horses! Pretty cool. But, as the saying goes, if you have to ask the price, it’s likely beyond your price range.

Spring is in the Air

Only 1 week ago we were wondering how (or if) Shauna was going to get to the airport the next morning for her trip to Quebec City. We already had about 6-7" of snow on the ground with up to 6 more inches predicted for the following morning, then turning to rain (i.e., slush).

But look at it today. Crocuses and Snow Drops have not only sprouted, but they're blooming! And the only snow left is in big piles, deposited by many shovels last week.

I think Tannah smelled more of the resident raccoon population than the flowers.

Snow Drops

Crocuses

They’re Killing Us Softly (“You Betcha!”)

If we weren’t so far linearly removed from April Fool’s Day I would have dismissed this morning’s news byte as well-deserved humour amidst the recent barrage of US Executive Orders. But…it sounds like there could be US blow-back to Canada after all from Trump’s electoral smash & grab, either for Canada’s real-world immigration policy, or perhaps because nobody’d give ol’ Trumpy so much as a “thank-you” for a shirtless photo-bomb like our man JT, or even Trumpy’s man-crush Putin. No talk of a wall (yet) as with Mexico, but it’s almost sounding like a wall would be welcome news in place of what I just heard this morning (perhaps Canada could assertively launch a pre-emptive mission to erect a wall around Alaska).

The name in this morning’s report (from CBC no less) was “Palin”. And the context was potential US Ambassador to Canada. And no, unfortunately I’m not referring to Michael Palin of Monty Python fame. The question then becomes, does the White House really feel a need to step up to the plate every time Walmart denies entrance greeter employment to a past Republican party stalwart?

Honestly, I do regularly try to stay positive, but seriously, another addition to the DC Comic Strip “As the Oval Office Churns” (in this case, “DC” standing for District of Columbia)? We’ve already got President “Tweet”, “Dr. Evil” Bannon, “Cruella” Conway and “Angry” Spice(r). Incredulously must we now add Ms. “I can see Russia from my front doorstep (in Twin Peaks, Alaska)” Palin? My hands will barely permit me to type the name (she whose name shall not be spoken). This is truly another “Shock and Awe” moment. The only person I can think of that may remotely warm up to this most recent cabinet placement suggestion (and please God, let it only be a tongue-in-cheek suggestion!) is Lorne Michaels (creator of SNL).

I do admit that Alec Baldwin teamed with Tina Fey is absolute comedy gold, but even that isn’t adequate trade-off for the real-life absurdity of the potential situation. But as they say, ya just can’t make this stuff up.