New Barby.

Finally after a solid week of assembling stuff (Ikea mainly) we finally finished everything.
The last item on the list was the barbecue. Yes barbecues are used places other than Australia & South Africa! They are very popular here in fact. Every apartment in the city seems to have a Barbecue, outdoor setting & a push bike on the balcony. Summer time is looked forward to & they certainly make the most of the warm weather around these parts.

Caddy Shack

Anyone who has seen the movie Caddie Shack would have an idea of what these little guys are. They have a bunch of different names here, Gophers, yellow gophers, picketpins, flickertails, and tawny American marmots.

The correct name here is Richardson's Ground Squirrels.
Whatever they're called, they are prolific around here to the point of plague proportions. They're prolific diggers & you have to be careful not to roll your ankle on the entrance to their burrows. They are either very bold or very stupid because you can get very close to them before they take off.

Our New Home.

It's been a hectic week trying to move out of our temporary accommodation at James' place (no doubt he'll appear in later blog entries) & trying to get set up in the new apartment. We're on the 4th floor of 9.

The apartment isn't huge, but with 2 bedrooms & a stack of storage space, it has plenty of elbow room. It has a nice little balcony where we have a small outdoor setting & a barbecue (when I assemble it).
From the balcony we have a nice view down the tree lined street & of some of the high rise buildings out to about 6 blocks away. We can also see the Calgary Tower (below).

The Calgary Tower is so similar to many others around the world including the Centre Point in Sydney. I have seen one in Auckland & Vancouver on the way here.

Not really my choice of things to bring from home, but the pink bedding followed us from Oz. Kerri likes the idea of a reminder of home. The main bedroom is quite spacious & has a big walk-in robe attached. The window has the same aspect as the balcony.

Below is the lounge & dining area. We already have a comfy couch & a dining table. The delivery guys had to skull drag the couch up the stairwell because it didn't fit in the lift. They also had to remove our front door to get it into the apartment! Nice couch though.

This is my way of feeling at home. A guy has to have his home entertainment gear. The TV is only a 32" LCD. I didn't see the point of spending more than double the $$ for a 40". After all we only have a smallish living room after all. The DVD player is pretty good. Its basically a surround sound 1200w amp with a 5 DVD carousel. It also has an iPod docking station, 5 surround speakers & a sub woofer fully sick mate! Well I like it anyway & it was reasonably cheap. The only downfall is that it doesn't play region 4 DVD's (Australia is region 4) so the selection of DVD's we bought over will have to be played through the computer.

New Digs

Today I started my new job in Calgary. I have a new city, a new job, all new workmates, and a new view! Check out what I see from my desk.

Notice the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the horizon. I look roughly in the direction of Banff. Anyone want a snow report? Just ask me anytime I'm at work!

First expedition to Banff National Park.

Our first exploration into the mountains took us to Bannf. Kerri, Shane, Canne and I rented a Jeep Cherokee for the weekend and headed up to Banff National Park on the Sunday. It was bucketing rain when we set off, but we still managed to get some OK weather and saw some nice scenery.
We made a stop in Canmore for some awesome muffins. This could be a manditoty stop for future trips.

We skipped Banff on the way out trip and took a divert off the Trans-Canada along the Bow Valley Parkway. The shot below was taken along the way.

What would a trip to a national park be without some wildlife spotting?
These White Tailed Deer were just grazing on a roadside grassy patch. This photo is a Doe and its' fawn. Another tick for the "Been there seen that" box!

This was a prize scalp. This Elk was grazing on the bushes beside the Bow Valley Parkway. He's a big boy! He wasn't the slightest bit concerned about us.

Surprise bend is almost at the end (Lake Louise end) of the Bow Valley Parkway. I'm not sure why they called it Surprise Bend. Whatever the reason, I just couldn't help it! A picturesque setting and a Canadian Pacific freight train. I just had to take a photo!
OK. No more train pics.

I did wait for the train to pass & took a few shots. This one was taken up river (opposite to the previous shot). I remember this stretch from the Rocky Mountaineer.

Lake Louise

Beautiful isn't it? The picture tells the story.
Pity it's one of the few tourist traps around these parts. I imagine it's a bit more peaceful during winter when it's only the diehard local skiers in the area.

Apart from Lake Louise being a tourist trap, I somehow managed to bring along a couple of them with me. Shane is more shutter happy than I am and the girls (Canne pictured and Kerri) were getting very pissed off at us. Shane has a similar picture of me taking this shot. Idiots!
This won't be the last road trip into the mountains.

Everywhere we go, Kerri seems to find an opportunity to take the hiding behind the tree in the forest shot. Here's yet another.

The Trans-Canada Highway

It isn't a bad patch of scenery heading along the main Trans-Canada highway. This is fairly typical of the road between Lake Louise & Banff.

We just pulled over on the way from Lake Louise to Banff. These two shots were taken from the same point but two different aspects. Castle Mountain is in the second shot.

Vermillion Lakes Lookout

Here's another great spot. It overlooks Vermillion Lakes, the same place where I took a series of awesome shots from the train just outside of Banff. Mount Rundle is in the first photo.

Banff Merchandising stores.

Similar to the shop in Vancouver, Kerri found another stuffed bear to have a photo taken with. Once again they wouldn't let us send it home the her mum.
HOW RUDE!!!

Princess Island Park

The Bow River runs from the B.C./Alberta border in the Rocky Mountains, across the prairie to Calgary. The river runs right along the north of the Downtown area. Right at this point the river forks & forms an island that has been developed as a public park called Princess Island Park.

There's heaps of wildlife including loads of geese, birds & some very bold squirrels. More on squirrels later when one sits still for long enough for me to take a photo if it.
This photo is taken from the park back toward the downtown.

The Rocky Mountaineer - Kamloops to Calgary

The Rocky Mountaineer Day 2 was an early start. We had to cover nearly double the distance as the first day, but through much more rugged countryside.

Almost immediately after we set off, the view started getting better. (Late on the day before, it was getting a bit same, same & boring to be honest.) The weather had turned a touch ugly the evening before & the following morning it was clear & crisp. The first hour or so out of Kamloops was through some lush green farm land, with rolling hills & mountains away in the distance. Not long after breakfast, we approached the Salmon Arm Lake (below). The train diverts to the south around the edge of it for about an hour & the scenery is gorgeous! I'll let the picture to the talking.

Toward the end of the diversion around the lake was the little logging town of Canoe. I'm not a big fan of logging natural timber myself, but trees are a bit scarce in Australia. The town wouldn't have rated a mention if I hadn't taken this shot. It is a very pretty part of the world & apparently a popular place for British Colombians to spend their holidays.

Eagle River

Pretty much straight after we had left the lake side, we headed into lush forests following the Eagle River. It was very clean & clear, particularly compared with those on the other side of Kamloops. This shot is pretty typical of the greenery & river system for that part of the trip.

There are countless waterfalls throughout the mountainous areas due to the steep countryside & huge quantities melting snow. This particular one just happened to fall under a bridge making for a nice photo opportunity.

Revelstoke.

The scenery was getting progressively better as the day went on but when we reached Revelstoke the scenery almost suddenly turned spectacular. This is where the Rocky Mountain range actually starts.

The Kicking Horse River

Approaching the Rocky Mountains & the Alberta Border, the train followed the Kicking Horse River. There is a long story behind the name, but the river lived up to the Kicking part the day we traveled through. The river winds through some very rugged & jagged landscape & carries so much water through such a narrow space. It was full of silt & debris as the spring snow melt was happening in earnest & they had a big year for snow this year. It stuck me as a very violent river, but I would love to see it in early autumn when it is a bit less angry. Awesome scenery through this area & the Photos don't do it justice.

This isn't the greatest of shots, but it clearly demonstrates why you pay the extra money for the dome topped cars on this train. It was a true sit back & enjoy the view option. It was a bit like lying back star gazing, but the view of the Rockies rising above you was truly incredible.

Cathedral Mountain

Right near the B.C., Alberta border is the town of Field & rising above it is the Beaverfoot Range on one side, the Van Horne Range on the other & Kicking Horse River Right down the middle. Mount Cathedral (pictured) rises out of the Beaverfoot Range & is the most amazing geological feature in the area. It looks like something off the face of Mars (so to speak). The photo doesn't do it justice, but the steepness of the range is severe to say the least.

This is not a good shot, but it is still a shot of my first wild bear. It was feeding on something on the railway tracks. We only got a glimpse, but it was still a black bear. There were two in fact & we saw a couple more not far from there. I think we were pretty close to Lake Louise.

Banff National Park

This photo was taken just inside Banff NP & is typical of the beautiful mountain scenery in the area. The water is full of alluvial silt like the others to the east, but the silt is nearly white & it looks almost like icy milk.

This is the real Rockies. They jag up out of the ground and produce some fantastic formations like Mt Rundle (below).

The Bow river flows from the B.C./AB border & runs down through Lake Louise & Banff NP to Calgary (where is goes after that, I haven't worked out yet, but across the prairies somewhere.) The advantage with the river running through the mountains is that it lets you take great photos like this one of Vermillion lakes adjacent to Banff.

Canmore & The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters (below) near Canmore (above) are about the last you see of the mountains before heading out across the prairie toward Calgary & the last photo I took of the trip. The weather & dark closed in then the countryside went flat (in comparison). It's only a 45 minute drive from Calgary so I'm sure we'll get another chance to have a good look at the Banff National Park.

The Rocky Mountaineer is supposedly the best in the world. Whether that means North America around these parts I don't know. The Yanks have their "World series" baseball etc but it is between "All American" teams. Go figure.
Regardless of the hype, it is a brilliant journey. The photos do not show the true nature of the trip, but some go close. (below).

The Rocky Mountaineer - Vancouver to Kamloops

I have alluded to the Rocky Mountaineer since before we set off from Australia.
I have been a bit of a train nut since I was young, so it appealed to me, but the scenery is breath taking in parts.
It's a little bit on the expensive side, but you still have to do it once in your life.
We took the more expensive option to go with what they call the "Gold Leaf" service. What this means, is that you sit in the top of the dome top cars (pictured at the front of the train) & get waited on hand & foot the whole time. When it is time for breakfast or lunch, you head down to the lower level to the dining room. The food was awesome! Full gourmet (and I don't mean French for small) delicious and brilliantly presented, & also plenty of it. You still get a better view in the dining area than you do from a Red leaf car (single level) as the windows are bigger. Upstairs you get the full bar service along with commentary during the journey.

Harrison Lake

The Rocky Mountaineer trip starts in Vancouver (Canadian West coast). Vancouver is situated at the mouth of the Fraser River where the vast amount of water collected in the western part of the mountains meets the sea. The train first heads east, along side the Fraser River heading toward the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Slightly upriver from Vancouver, Harrison Lake (pictured) spurs off the main river. This picture only shows the branch point. The main lake actually runs way up to the north.
Not far after Harrison Lake, the train takes a left hand turn & heads north through the gorges.

Hell's Gate

Hell's gate in Fraser's Canyon is the narrowest point of the Fraser River.
The volume of water rushing through this one spot is incredible! They had to build fish ladders for the salmon after building the bridge because the current was too great for them.
As an aside, the Train slows down to "Kodak speed" for places of major interest along the way. It's great because you get to take some good shots during the trip, rather than blurry trees with a bit of feature behind.

Below is just a shot taken along the Fraser river as the train follows its path through the coastal mountain ranges in British Columbia (B.C.). The town of Cisco is a little further to the north of this spot.

Just north of Cisco at a town called Lytton, the Fraser River is joined by the Thompson River (remember we are heading upstream). The Fraser River's source is far in the north of B.C. so the train follows the Thompson River to the east towards our night stop over, Kamloops. The Thompson River runs through a much more rugged & narrow gorge for the most part (see picture). Consequently the two rail lines that follow the river have had to be a bit more ingenious about how they negotiate the gorge. If you expand the picture you will see the freight train winding its way through tunnels & over small bridges. Quite an engineering feat aside from the fantastic scenery. This shot is semi typical for nearly 100kms. The trip just seemed to get better as we went deeper into the mountains.

Black Canyon

Black Canyon's name origin is fairly obvious (see pic below). It's the far northern part of the north bound section of the journey. The Thompson River winds itself through this canyon from its head, Kamloops Lake. It's quite a spectacular part of the trip with the train crossing the river a bunch of times & going through at least as many tunnels. Notice the angry river in the foreground & the bridge we had just come across heading straight into the hillside & a into a tunnel.

One of the advantages of being on a train journey is that you can always make a fairly mundane shot a bit interesting by adding a train. This shot was taken on one of the many Thompson River bridges in Black Canyon.

Notice the standard rail cars that are the "Red Leaf" option. No domed glass tops on those ones! Believe me, it's worth the extra money to go Gold Class.

I am actually quite proud of this one. Not a great shot & I have better, but I like it all the same. It's just a pity the clouds came over & spoiled it a bit.

Kamloops Lake

The Thompson River head is Kamloops Lake (below) & is fed by the South & North Thompson Rivers. It is interesting to see how wide & calm the lake is compared to the snarling river below on its way to Vancouver. This wasn't the most exciting part of the trip, but the contrast made it worthwhile.

Kamloops is a town of about 300,000 people spread across a very wide area of land. It doesn't really matter how big the town is, you are always going to get the odd crazy that does something weird. I've seen plenty of tents in the back yards of Australia, but this one is just taking the piss!
You will also notice the pipeline & stack in the background billowing smoke. Apparently it's great for getting rid of the smoke from Kamloops, but the occupants of the neighbouring town aren't overly fussed about it.

The train stops in Kamloops over night so you don't miss any of the scenery. The town didn't impress me that much, but we didn't see any trouble, & we got a good night's sleep. It had the feel of many semi-remote towns in Australia. Nothing particularly wrong with it, but just doesn't have the feel of a place that you would go out of your way to see. This shot is the most picturesque part of town & it's right next to the railway line & I wouldn't be surprised if it's owned by Rocky Mountaineer.
The train of 31 cars was split in two over night. Our half was destined for Calgary & the other for Jasper. I don't know too much about the Jasper trip, but I imagine it was at least as good as our journey, maybe even better. We will definitely drive into some of that country during the next two years.