Thursday, August 25th, 2011

More of a tougher day at work.  Had more things come up that I didn't have answers to, but stumbled through it nonetheless. Onwards and upwards...

On another note, I'm still waiting for a reply from my landlord stating that he'll let me out of my lease by the end of September.  I think that's fair considering that's still two months more in this building by the time I find another place and move out.

I went for a drive after work, then a short walk near Signal Hill.  Of all the years I've lived here, I never knew what the numbers on the side of the hill stood for ... obviously it's a signal - hence the name, but it looks like some kind of code.  Here's the real story:

Battalion Park on Signal Hill (both the park and the hill are named for the numbers). In 1910, a militia camp was established on land that was leased from the Sarcee (Tsuu'tina) First Nation, more than a day's travel from Calgary.


During WWI, this became a large military training camp. Lacking much to do in their off hours, the soldiers training there dreamed up something that today would be called a "team-building exercise": carry rocks up the big hill that overlooked the camp, and use them to make the unit numbers of the battalions training there. Because many of the trainers were from the United Kingdom, they saw an opportunity to utilize the abundance of field stones as a training exercise, to display the soldiers battalion numbers, as so often was done in the UK. So in 1915-16 field stones, were carried up the hill and arranged by the soldiers in their Battalion numbers

Calgary: 137, Lethbridge; 113, Red Deer: 151 and Edmonton 51.

Those soldiers from the 137 Battalion, who survived the war, came home with a mission to save the Stones of Signal Hill, which had become a symbol of their lost comrades.  Over the decades, the numbers slowly became invisible, as growth and erosion took their toll.


In the early 1990's, development threatened the neglected site, as plans were announced to grade the hillside to provide a larger flat area at the base for a future shopping centre.  After extensive lobbying by those interested in preserving this historic site, a compromise was reached: the hill would be graded, but the Calgary military cadet units would recreate the numbers on the new slope with the original stones. The result is Battalion Park, a park on the side of the hill with interpretive signs explaining the history of the numbers and of the military units that they represent."

Anyway, I'm off to Edmonton bright and early in the morning - I'm aiming to be on the road by 6am... yuck!  I'm staying overnight in a pretty nice hotel called the Matrix and by looking at the photos, it's very slick.  Then the double header baseball game on Saturday between Edmonton and Calgary where we'll be promoting the Tomorrow Project.  We were on CTV news last night, and some of my team got some air time.  The Project's getting a lot of publicity and attention which is fantastic, since we need 50,000 participants!  You can see the news clip here:

CTV News Clip

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

I got up early because Lurline, Dave and I agreed that we would go on a road trip out to Dinosaur National Park today.  It's near Brooks, a couple hours away, so we wanted to get on the road early.  They were supposed to meet me at 9am, but we actually left a little later than that because Dave forgot his wallet at home.  Tristan decided to join us for the day, too.

They hadn't eaten or had a coffee yet, so we stopped to pick up food, then had to get gas.  The morning was slipping away.  Anyway, we finally headed out around 10am.  It's not a very interesting drive.  Lots of fields and flatlands as far as the eye can see.  It was going to be a scorcher, too.  I think we got up to 32.5 degrees celsius!

When we got to Dinosaur National Park, we got out to take photos and I also took some video of the view from the top.  Then we drove down into the canyon and had a snack and a drink at the concession.  There's an actual campground there.  It was really, really hot outside in the sun, so we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible.

There's a loop that you can drive right through the hoodoos and rock formations of the canyon.  Along the way they have some actual dinosaur "digs" that you can check out.  It was interesting and there were lots of fantastic photo opportunities.  It was hard to choose which one to use for today.

When I got home, I made BBQ pork skewers, corn on the cob and potato salad for dinner.  The potato salad was store bought, actually.  Then I put on some music and read a book.  I'm reading Water for Elephants.  I didn't want to see the movie until I've read the book.

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

I took a "me" day today.  Stuck around the house in the morning and had a few pancakes with the Raposos, then got ready and headed out.  I went to get my hair cut first ... just got a trim, so nothing too special.  Then, I went to a car wash to finally get my car clean.  I washed it last week, but didn't do a very good job.  After that, I had my camera so I went for a drive heading South.  I only got as far as De Winton just outside Calgary.  I drove some back roads and took some photos of random things.  It's absolutely gorgeous in Alberta in the summer.  There are fields, hills, amazing skies, sunshine, hay bales, and old structures scattered all throughout the province - like old grain elevators, farm equipment and barns.  I just love going for these types of random journeys to see what I can find.  The picture below is just one of many that I shot that were so naturally intriguing.

When I got home, I finally heard from the property management company regarding the 2 bedroom apartment.  He wanted me to go drop off the deposit and fill out some paperwork.  So, I headed to the far Northeast corner of Calgary - Falconridge - and paid my deposit, 1/2 August rent, and September rent.  My bank account is taking a big hit!  I told him I'd move in on Saturday, so we'll do a walk through that morning to check everything over.  Yay!  I finally officially have a place to live.  Phew ... I wasn't sure I was going to find anything, and best of all I love Bankview area.  It's very close to where I was living before.  I love it when a plan comes together.

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Well, I'm off to Calgary!  Got up earlier than I would've liked, got dressed, and headed out the door.  The drive was pretty good. I was a little worried about possibly falling asleep at some point, since I didn't get enough sleep and this was the fifth trip between Calgary and Chilliwack in about three weeks. The first few hours hardly had any traffic, and the sun was shining the entire way.  My car was so full, so it was a little heavy, which made for some slower climbs up the hills.  I saw some big horn sheep through Golden, which was the only wildlife I encountered.  I made some pretty good time, arriving in Calgary around 5pm Mountain Time... just in time for rush hour traffic.  It took me an hour just to make it from the highway to Lurline and Dave's house.  Here's a photo of my very full car - notice all the squashed bugs and dirt on my car.  It needs a good wash!

Friday, July 15th, 2011

It was a very full day today.  Mom and I packed up our suitcases in the morning, as we prepared to do the drive to Calgary.  Before we could leave, however, we went to the Rotary luncheon at the Best Western, as they were thanking the participants of the Garden Tour.  My mom and dad won second best garden overall, and they only lost by 4 votes... and the unfortunate part was that none of us voted on the day of the tour.  If we had, they would've been first, as we had a house full of relatives at the time.
Anyway, after the lunch - around 2pm -  mom and I headed out on the highway.  It was a good driving day... only had rain around Field and it only lasted for about 15 minutes or so.  We saw a moose and some deer, and the most magnificent full moon!  We arrived in Calgary around 11:30pm, so we made very good time.  The picture I took was when we were stopped near Salmon Arm for some road construction.  It seems they have wheat growing everywhere along the sides of the highway.  I found it strange, so took a photo.