We Never Tire of Those Mountains

On the drive down to High River this morning it was hard to keep our eyes on the road.  The sun was just coming up, making the mountains look pink.  It didn't last very long and unfortunatley the photo doesn't really do them justice.  It was one of those "so lucky to live here" moments!

J&E

Our Christmas Trees Are Up

We put up our Christmas Trees last weekend and have finally got around to taking some photos.

Bonus Room Tree

Downstairs Living Room Tree

They certainly brighten up these snowy days!

J&E

Snow Storm - The Aftermath

After the amount of snow that had fallen yesterday, it was understandable that there would be some consequences today. 

Snow drift on our covered front porch.

 This is our drive taken from the bonus room window.

Drifts from the front of the house...actually, this is after clearing away most of what was a snow drift about two and a half feet tall!

And the Shovelling begins!

Snow piled up afer shovelling - one side.

Snow piled up - both sides.

A sprinkling of snow on the road!

Kids off Sledging.

Our neighbours used to have a basement window here!

This is our poor tree, we can't see anything of its trunk!

Snow drift in the back garden.  We would estimate that to be about three feet high.

The lake is probably well on its way to being deeply frozen now!

And finally, we can't tell you the number of vehicles we have seen in this situation...

J&E

Brutal Weather Today

Well in our time here to date, today is probably one of the worst storms we have experienced.  A weather warning has been in place since yesterday. The wind and snow started early this morning (around 9am), and within a couple of hours visibility was poor on the highways and deteriorating rapidly. As conditions were one of the most extreme we have experienced, we decided to take a short film.

We were told that some schools have been closing and the local police are encouraging people to stay off the highways.  The Christmas parade, due to be held in High River this evening, has been cancelled along with the Festival of Lights in Airdrie.

The snow is blowing around so much that the houses at the other side of the lake are no longer visible!

The windows of our house are so covered in snow that we cannot see out of them properly - this has never happened to this degree before.

The following highway alert has also been issued:

"R C M P in the Calgary area are asking motorists to stay off of the highways. The Queen Elizabeth Highway 2, northbound and southbound is closed between Calgary and Airdrie because of a motor vehicle collision. Highway 2 at the highway 7 intersection near Okotoks is closed due to a multiple vehicle pile-up."

We just hope all our friends take lots of care and get back safely today/tonight.

J&E

Once Upon A Christmas at Hertiage Park

Each year Heritage Park puts on its Christmas event.  As there has been a lot of work and upgrading of the park during this year, we thought we would go, not least because we wanted to see some of the changes and new additions.

This picture shows the entrance with its new "ice" rink which is comprised of a synthetic material which is a close alternative to ice. It will never melt or become lumpy.

Also new are shops, restaurants, a train station (restaurant) and the new gasoline alley.

Gasoline Alley used to be housed in the red barn in the park, but the collection has now grown and it is housed in this huge building.

Here are some of the new statues which are really lovely.

One of the many old style vehicles you see driving around.

There are horse and carriage rides around the park.  Here, the horses are just passing the Prince House, one of our favourites in the park.

This is the tree inside the house.

And of course, the lovely Wainwright Hotel.

 

The perfect place to post those letters to Santa.

And carol singers, dressed in traditional dress.

This picture shows the beech twig they used as a Christmas Tree in years gone by. There wasn't always a plentiful supply of trees in these parts.

Big red barn that used to be Gasoline Alley.

Grain Elevator with remnants of the Chinook Arch that bought us such mild temperatures on the day.

Reservoir, just starting to freeze.

What a nice way to get in the mood for Christmas!

J&E

Drive Out Over The Weekend

The wide open spaces of Alberta still totally amaze us.  Understandably, when people visit here, the Rockies tend to get all the attention, but there is much beauty to be seen on our own doorstep.

We often go for little drives, take a "new" route home or just go down a road we haven't been down before.

Why are horses always so curious about what is on the other side of the fence!

Sometimes, you just feel really good about where you live!

J&E

Spruce Meadows Christmas Market

Feeling the need for a nice day out, we decided to take a stroll around the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market.

It was another beautiful day, but the firepits were still lit and lots of people were making good use of them.

Before we started our shopping, we watched the chap doing ice sculptures for a short while.  This guy is incredibly talented.

Here are just a few shots of the Spruce Meadows grounds.  We really must make it a priority to go to a tournament sometime soon.

http://www.sprucemeadows.com/

It's a terrific place to visit and is so convenient being right on the southern edge of Calgary.

J&E

Light Up Okotoks - Update

Apparently there was a record turn out at the Light up Okotoks evening this year, with around 7-8,000 people attending (if they were all locals, we're talking just under half the town). This was probably due to the exceptionally mild weather.

J&E.

Light Up Okotoks

Christmas has officially arrived in Okotoks.  We went to watch the lighting of the tree down in the Okotoks town plaza on Elizabeth Street last night.  We were very fortunate with the weather, so there was a very good turn out.  There were firepits, hotdogs, popcorn, carol singers and of course Santa and it was great to catch up with so many of our friends.

This is the lighting of the tree countdown:

Horse rides

Carol Singers

Reindeer

As we were walking back to the car, we had to stop for a freight train which was passing through.  We filmed this for anyone who has not been to Okotoks.  The train passes through on the tracks in the old downtown core, in the Sheep River valley and it's horn can often be heard all over Okotoks - it's one of those sights and noises that really lets you know that you live on the North American continent. It isn't really a disturbance - it is strangely comforting!



J&E.

Chuck Wagon Cafe in Turner Valley

As today is a public holiday in Alberta, we decided to take a drive down to Turner Valley, and the Chuck Wagon Cafe was the perfect spot to stop for lunch. We have heard a lot about it, and we can safely say, we'll be back.

Jan had Huevos Rancheros which was very tasty and I had the most delicious burger.

As we were eating, we saw a really cute red VW Beetle drive past the window. Later, we were fortunate enough to see it parked around the corner so we managed to get these pictures - we so love this car with its wind up key!

After lunch we decided to drive on a bit further into Kananaskis.  Driving closer to the mountains from the sunny, snow-free roads of Turner Valley, it felt like we were passing through the seasons at pace and so few miles from where we had started our drive, we were surprised to see so much snow up there.

All in all, it was a lovely, relaxing day off.

J&E