Still waiting for fall
It’s mid-September here in Alberta, which means one of two things: it’s either fall, or we’ve had an epic snowstorm. And since we haven’t had the latter, it must mean the former. Or rather, it …
Topic
Alberta
53 posts tagged with this topic.
The Long Road Home
I still wish there were trains between Vancouver and Calgary. Passenger ones, like VIA, not the Rocky Mountaineer (which, admittedly, I would still love to take, but I tend to not have an extra $5,000 lying around). But …
Be Selfish with COVID
I don’t have COVID, I haven’t had COVID, and I’ve been doing everything in my power to not get COVID. But I’ve known more than a few who have had it. People I know and love, my friends… And …
What Canadian politicians have forgotten
It should go without saying that this is an opinion piece: my opinion. It may not be yours. Politically, I’ve been centre most of my life. Today? I genuinely don’t know. Alberta has entered another provincial election, …
Red Eye Greyhound
So when you last left me, dear reader, I was sitting in the Denny’s in Red Deer (the only place I could find that was open sufficiently late), biding my time before heading down to the Greyhound station to find my 3:00 …
A musical evening in Red Deer
I know what you’re thinking: Red Deer? Music? Honestly, what on Earth are you thinking, Geoff? You haven’t exactly had the most … inspiring of times in Red Deer. Okay, I admit, I’ve not got the best stories of …
Royalties on Alberta Oil Sands
For those of you who haven’t caught wind of this, Alberta’s in an election again. It’s a fairly depressing event, as I’m realising that I’m actually having to consider the Less of Two Evils and lean towards the incumbent …
The Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival
On Friday, I came across an ad — I think it was through the @VisitCalgary Twitter feed — that there was an Ice Magic Festival at Lake Louise, and the picture I saw featured a castle made of ice. Given that the Monkey is …
The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 8
We were up perhaps a bit earlier than I’d thought we’d be up, but I’d also forgotten we were stopping in Redcliff to visit Marnie and her kids. Thankfully, Grandpa had enough sense to jumpstart us for the day. That …
A Dinosaur Day in Drumheller
Hey kids, I know it’s been far too long since my last letter. Sadly, it’s that worst excuse of poor excuses: I’ve been working a lot. Back in January, I started with a new company, the Evans Hunt Group. The project has …
The trip home
Well, Monkey, we’re home now. I know it doesn’t seem like it to you, because you’ve lived in three different homes since you were born. But this house, the one in Calgary (where we’re currently adjusting to serious …
Alberta communications companies suck
It’s about as official as it gets, now. We leave Costa Rica on 8 December. Which means that on the morning of 9 December, we’re going to be needing a few things. We’re trying to establish as much of that as we can …
A Moving Birthday
When we started planning this crazy little excursion to Costa Rica oh-so-many months ago, there was always the need for me to leave in advance of my family, and then come back to get them. The logistics of making …
An open letter to Jim Prentice
Dear “Honourable” Jim Prentice, Allow me to express my sincerest feelings when I say you are responsible for fucking over the Canadian people. This bill you are introducing this morning — likely as I write …
Privatize Calgary Transit
I was recently out in the United Kingdom on vacation. If you know my travel habits, you know I rarely stay in one place for long — I like to move around. (Yes, this often fuels or is fueled by my mild obsession with …
There was an election?
Yep, believe it or not, there was an election in Alberta yesterday. Provincial. New MLAs, new premier (in theory), all that jazz. In most provinces, it’s usually time of actual change — old regimes are voted out, new …
A bullet train in Calgary?
I just came across a rather … well, odd article on CBC.ca. It’s a blueprint for 2018. Apparently, the Calgary City council thinks that there should be a bullet train from here to Fort McMurray. Someone’s been …
Half-way, sorta
[This entry originally posted on How To Get Lost: Half-way, sorta.] We’re now halfway home. Sort of. Ekaterinburg is roughly halfway around the world from Calgary. (It’s also in Asia — we crossed the Europe/Asia divide …
Cold hike in Kananaskis
Someone had the brilliant idea to go hiking in Kananaskis. Apparently this person didn’t realize that it’s almost winter. (And around here, that means it is winter.) We all started off at Phil’s on 16th Ave. Alex and I …
BC Vacation - Three Valley Gap to Calgary
No rooster, just the sounds of patrons leaving their rooms. I think I prefered the rooster. The Chateau’s name is a little misleading. One is brought to think of the Canadian Pacific (now Fairmont) hotels, with the old …
Surprise weekend in Edmonton
It’s been a while since our last surprise weekend (see [[Surprise Visit to Drumheller]]), but not for a lack of wanting. We’ve been that busy. Either Alex has had to work (the joys of working in the medical community) or …
Birthday Camping in Kananaskis
This weekend, Alex and I went camping. It was the first time I’d gone camping since about 1997, before I’d moved to Vancouver. Seven years is far too long a dry period. We weren’t camping alone, though. My aunt and uncle …
Surprise Visit to Drumheller
This weekend was a bit of a surprise. Not that it suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, but that until something happened, I had no idea what was yet to come. The weekend started with the one thing I did have control …
Driving home from Kelowna
It’s been a very long time since I’ve been on a roadtrip. And although it was only one-way, I didn’t mind it at all. I flew into Kelowna, but I drove back with Andrea, Tamara, and Dan. Andrea had driven the three of them …
Turning Japanese Again, Returning to Canada
I can’t even call this a “last day”. Yesterday, really, was our last day. Today is the packing/travelling day. And the day to say goodbye to dear friends. I hate leaving friends behind. Chris is one of my …
Friends - Visiting and moving away
Last weekend was the first weekend in a while where a) I wasn’t busy with work or family, and b) wasn’t trying to paint the house. (No, I’m not done painting. I’m just sick of it.) So I opted to relax a little bit. It …
Banff National Park and Lake Minnewanka
Despite the plethora of forest fires plaguing the B.C. interior, my family decided it was a good weekend to dive into the (mostly) green forests of Banff National Park. Now you’re probably wondering why on Earth I noted …
Disc (Frisbee) golf in Canmore
Heat arrived in Calgary this weekend. It’s been warm here for a few weeks now (off and on, anyway), but this was the first really hot time in the ol’ town. Which, of course, is a perfect excuse to flee the city for a …
Chasing CPR Empress 2816 to Brooks
While this weekend was absolutely amazing, too many of these and I’ll die from exhaustion. I started early Saturday morning. Those of you who are chiming in with “must be train stuff” can smile smugly — ‘cuz …
Moving Nana from Prince Albert to Calgary
Well, it’s Easter time again, and that means a lot of family events out here in the great Canadian plains. The major difference this year is what sort of family events we do. In previous years, it’s been a massive dinner …
The Hell of my job
Not that I’m complaining. This week had been a stressful and depressing one. First off was the Technology department meeting for Critical Mass. The company’s been going through a structural overhaul. It’s not the first …
A Busy Calgary Christmas
This has simultaneously been the quietest and the busiest Christmas season I think I’ve ever experienced. I had been looking forward to two weeks of quiet rest, working on personal projects, sleeping, watching movies, …
Home for a rest
You’ll have to excuse me, I’m not at my best. I’ve been gone for a month, I’ve been drunk since I left. These so-called vacations will soon be my death. I’m so sick from the drink, I need home for a rest. — Home For A …
CBC TV 50th Anniversary VIA Rail train, Edmonton
[This entry written by Geoff Sowrey, ©2002 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Text used with permission of CBC. The opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of the CBC, employees, affiliates, or …
CBC TV 50th Anniversary VIA Rail train, Jasper
[This entry written by Geoff Sowrey, ©2002 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Text used with permission of CBC. The opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of the CBC, employees, affiliates, or …
Flying from Calgary to Prince George
T-Minus 8 days There’s nothing like trying to plan one and a half months of a chaotic life in excruciating detail. It’s a little easier when someone else does all the dirty work, but ultimately, it’s you that will make …
Chasing CN 6060 Stettler to Big Valley
It’s been about nine months since I last saw 6060, when I left Jasper for Calgary. That’s about eight months too long, I figure. Mind you, many haven’t seen 6060 since early November, since we’ve all been off living our …
Easter in Calgary with my Family
Third year running: Lots of family, lots of activity, and way too much food. This year’s events started Thursday evening, when my mother arrived from Ontario, as did Chris’ parents for their first (and possibly only) …
The Inaugural Run of the Steam Locomotive CPR Empress, CP 2816
Most of you know how hard it is sometimes to catch a train. Sometimes you’re running late, or the train’s early, or your watch stopped and you’re not really sure what time it is — any number of a dozen reasons why you’d …
Raider's of the Lost Ark, Rowley and the Horseshoe Canyon
Another summer has come and (almost) gone. Luckily, it wasn’t a summer spent indoors, stuck in front of my computer (as much as it might have actually felt like that). Given, I had hoped to get out more to places I …
Steam Train with CN 6060, Stettler to Big Valley
I have a new girlfriend. She’s a little temperamental, though. She gets hot really fast, she’s always blowing steam, and at the moment has a nasty tendency to run around mostly naked. That, and she weighs 637,540 pounds. …
Reunion with Steam Locomotive CN 6060
Once upon a time, you couldn’t go very far out here without running into a railway. Tracks criss-crossed the land like a bad hair weave. If you had to get somewhere, you went by train. There were no highways, except for …
Visiting Bragg Creek and Elbow Falls, Canada Day in Banff (Bamf!)
Everyone needs a break from time to time, and Critical Mass was more than willing to give us a little time to breathe. So in addition to the statutory holiday on Monday, they decided to give us Friday off as well. So of …
Janine and Dory's Wedding, White Water Rafting on the Kicking Horse River
I need a weekend from my weekend. Every so often, I get involved with a very busy Saturday and Sunday. Not necessarily physically demanding, but no less a drain on one’s energy level. I’m fortunate in that I don’t get …
Stag Party in Innisfail, Strippers in Red Deer
Note to self: Never let anyone hold a stag party for me. Stuart, Chris, and I were invited to a stag party for our friend Dory. (Dory is Janine’s fiancée; Janine is one of Therese’s best friends.) Chris opted out, as he …
Kathryn comes for a visit
It’s amazing how old friends can make you feel young. A week and four days ago, Kathryn, one of our closest friends, came out to visit us (Chris, Stuart, Therese, and myself). The five of us all went to OTHS, and though …
Touring Alberta, Calgary Stampede, Columbia Icefields, Lake Louise, Banff (Bamf!), Drumheller
Owing to a very hectic week, I really haven’t had a chance to get to this one. Hopefully my workload will drop a bit in the not-too-distant future so I can return to the simpler things in life … like writing …
A Whitewater Rafting Adventure on the Kicking Horse River
It all started when I received an email during my stay in Cincinnati. (This was a couple of weeks ago, obviously.) It was entitled “Kicking Horse Blazing Paddles”. It was a call for those interested in …
My First Entry from Critical Mass
It is said that the best things come to those who wait. I can safely say that I’ve got good things coming. It’s been a month since my somewhat dramatic departure from Vancouver and I entered into obscurity. It’s high …
Left Vancouver, Job, and Girlfriend for New Start in Calgary
[Ed. Note: This is the actual message I sent to most everyone I knew, letting them know what had just happened.] Today, I completed two of the most traumatic experiences of my life. One was leaving Radical Entertainment, …
Visiting Friends in Calgary, Deciding to Leave Vancouver
I get by with a little help from my friends. In this case, it was Stuart and Therese, two of my oldest and closest friends. I ventured to the wilds of Calgary to say “Hi” and check out the sights. Well, at …
A Boys Night out in Calgary, Drumheller, Banff (Bamf!), and Star Wars
This weekend, I did something a little different than usual. I went to Calgary. Alone. Well, not totally alone. I went to visit Stuart, who I had only seen for a whopping six hours at Christmas. Ideally, I would have …
Weekend in Calgary, Banff (Bamf!)
This entry is long overdue — I should have issued this sometime last week. But it’s been one of those weeks where I’ve barely had time to check my email, let alone write any. It all started a few weeks ago, when I heard …