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Canada is a huge country which contains, arguably, more than its fair share of natural beauty. The Girl and I frequently  find ourselves overwhelmed by its ravishing gorgeousness – and that is just here on Vancouver Island. Should one explore further afield within in the province –  or, indeed, venture into the great expanse of the nation beyond – one finds one’s breath taken away on a regular basis.

There are some parts of the country, however, that go beyond any glories that I have thus far experienced. Lake Louise – in the Banff National Park – is one such area of staggeringly dramatic beauty! So epic is it that I should at once stop trying to capture its perfection in words – and just let the gentle reader goggle at the images.

Without further ado…

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidThe colour of the waters of the lake seem almost unreal. All of the glacier-fed lakes in the area have similar distinctive hues – a result of the particles trapped in the ice which remains in suspension once the ice has melted.

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There is much to see in the Banff and Jasper National Parks. Aside from Banff itself one would probably wish to devote some time at least to the following: Johnston Canyon, the Lake Louise Gondola, Lake Louise itself, Moraine Lake, the Icefields Parkway, the Athabasca Falls and Jasper.

On our recent trip to the Rockies The Girl and I had three days in Banff and one in Jasper and we aimed to cover as much of this as was feasible. Naturally The Girl came up with the smart solution. ‘Hop On Banff‘ operate a clever schedule with a couple of old yellow school buses which enables one to choose which sights one wishes to see and in which sequence. As you might expect – given The Girl’s involvement – this all went very well.

This first batch of images takes as its subject the Johnston Canyon.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidI was most taken with the elevated walkways which extend more than a kilometre and a half up to the lower falls. As can be seen from the photos the engineering feat that enables one to walk through the heart of the canyon – above the raging torrent – is most impressive. Construction must have been a spectacularly difficult task, but now results in an easy stroll practically through the heart of the rapids.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidBeing out in the heart of nature we were – naturally – seeking wildlife. Armed with bear-spray and a little learning (dangerous!) we were on the lookout for eagles, ravens, moose and bears!

Not a one! Plenty of these cheeky little chaps, though.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidNo – not a chipmunk (though quite similar in appearance). This chap is a ground squirrel – and there are gazillions of them in the mountains.

Bold as brass, too!

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As trailed in my last post The Girl and I recently returned from our splendid adventure in the Rocky Mountains, the which also featured (as part of the full supporting program) exploration of some much loved parts of Vancouver Island. As promised in that post am now in a position to offer the gentle reader, over these next few weeks, a selection of images from that trip.

Having flown to Calgary and transferred by bus, we kicked off our tour in Banff – whence came these initial images:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidAs expected, Banff was dramatic and striking. What I had not anticipated was that it would also be as crowded as it was.The fact that the G7 summit was to take place in the environs the week after our visit went some way to explaining the crowds – as did the huge media conference in progress at the iconic Banff Springs Hotel.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidThe town’s restaurants and bars thronged each night with media executives frantically hawking their wares to each other. Leaving such matters to the gentle reader’s imagination I will head rapidly for the tranquility of the surrounding national parks.

Before I move on, however, a quick shout out to the exquisite Beaujolais Boutique B&B at Thea’s House.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidThis was one of The Girl’s finds – naturally – and she will certainly be doing a full review of it later which I may well feature on this forum. We cannot praise them enough for the lengths to which they went to ensure that our trip started well.

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Photo by Andy Dawson Reid“Many a trip continues long after movement in time and space have ceased”.

John Steinbeck

Back at the top of the year, in my customary “What are we planning for the new year?” posting, I wrote – amongst other things:

“We are hoping to host some friends this year – which is always fun when it also turns into a holiday for us”

I am delighted to report that – following a considerable period of discussion and an even more extended phase of planning – the visit has duly taken place and did – as posited above – turn into a holiday for the Girl and I just as much as it did for our guests. I think it is safe to say that we all had a great time.

In the course of our pre-visit discussions – the aim of which was to establish what might be seen, done and otherwise experienced in order that we all feel that the visit had been a success – we settled on the fact that – The Girl apart (who, naturally, has history of her own in such matters) – none of us had visited the awesome Rocky mountains and their surroundings from the Albertan perspective. We might have approached them from British Columbia – flown over them on our way to the coast and even gazed at then from afar from the environs of Calgary or Edmonton. We had not, however, traversed them  – and in particular we had not done so by train!

These – and other omissions – we set out to rectify on this excursion. The results of our endeavours may be measured by viewing subsequent posts in which I will share the photographic evidence of our meanderings.

 

 

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“Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.”

Samuel Johnson

A couple of days back The Girl and I drove up island to the small but quaint town of Ladysmith – to luncheon with The Girl’s mother. It was a splendidly sunny day and we had a really good time on the Mill Bay ferry, cruising up the Trans-Canada Highway and enjoying a very agreeable lunch in a somewhat unexpected ‘English’ pub called the Fox and Hounds, the which is in the middle of Ladysmith.

It will probably come as little surprise to anyone who knows where we live that ‘authentic’ UK and Irish pubs can be located quite readily on the island – and they do tend to be pretty good facsimiles of those across the pond. This one offered home-made steak and kidney pies (long time since I indulged!) which were more than satisfactory. They also did a really rather splendid sticky toffee pudding (particularly excellent when they acceded to our request for additional toffee sauce)!

Yum!

On the way back to the ferry we saw on the road something that I have never seen before. A dude passed us on the highway on a big bike – and on the pillion seat there sat a big dog! The dog was wearing some sort of harness – though I couldn’t make out the details – and had his front paws on the dude’s shoulders so that he could see the road ahead…

…and ‘Yes!’ – the dog was wearing goggles!

I would love to have been able to take a photo, but neither dude nor dog where hanging around – and we had a ferry to narrowly miss (though we did have a most pleasant wait in the sun for the next crossing).

When I got home I leapt upon the InterWebNet to see if I could locate a suitable image to head up this post. What I found was – of course – that our sighting was by no means a rarity and that dogs on bikes are quite a thing.

Who knew?

Any road – here are a few snaps taken in Mill Bay whilst we lounged about waiting for the ferry.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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A final batch of photos from our recent trip to Puerto Vallarta.

We admired this Gaudi-esque public space which puts one in mind of the Parc Guell in Barcelona – though, naturally, on a somewhat smaller scale.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

Our all-inclusive resort was – unlike many others in PV – not directly on the sea front. It did, however, own a beach resort a mere five minutes away by car, the which included a very decent restaurant to which we repaired several times for our evening repast. As you might expect the sunset vied with the fare to provide the greater attraction.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

When we returned to Victoria from Puerto Vallarte The Girl and I were accompanied by a new member of our entourage. Gentle reader – meet Coyote:

Photo by Andy Dawson Reid

Coyote is an Alebrije from Oaxaca. The Mexican art site – Viva Mexico – has the following:

Alebrijes are creatures carved out of wood and painted with Zapotec patterns and fantastic designs from the artists own imagination. These colorful one-of-a-kind carvings are handmade using wood of the copal tree which is grown in the surrounding fields of the towns and is considered a sacred tree which only grows in the region of Oaxaca. This wood is sustainably sourced from the branches of the tree in order to preserve the life of the tree and ensure a continued source of wood for the future. Alebrijes are traditionally made in Oaxaca in the towns of San Martin Tilcajete as well as San Antonio Arrazola. These beautiful works of art have become very popular over the years among art collectors worldwide and are highly sought after. Add a splash of color to your home with one of our unique wood carvings by Oaxacas best artists!

He is – of course – a trickster, but he is also gorgeous… so he gets away with it!

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Here on Vancouver Island it is raining. No surprise there of course, though it is also true that temperatures are beginning to creep into double figures and Mother Nature is clearly signaling her intention of getting cracking on spring without further delay.

Why do I mention this? Well – The Girl and I are still in that state of travel denial that causes us to check over-frequently the current temperatures in Puerto Vallarte (as much or more than we do those in Victoria). Sadly we are just missing the warm sun on our shoulders!

Anyway – here are some more random photos from our recent trip to the land of our fellow recipients of the tangerine one’s tariffs (bah!)…

These pictures were taken around our resort:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid
This chap was pretty impressive too – and, as far as one could ascertain – harmless!

Photo by Andy Dawson Reid
None too shabby – I hope you will agree. Not our usual sort of establishment, in many ways. We (by which I mean The Girl, of course) normally prefer to find places to stay that enable us to cater for ourselves should we so prefer. This resort was all inclusive – which on this occasion suited us fine.


Photo by Andy Dawson Reid
This was one of a number of plaster masks that were mounted above the bed-head in our room. Spooky – some might think – but actually rather lovely.

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Guess where we are!

Yes! As trailed but a few short weeks ago in an earlier post we are taking a brief restorative break in Mexico; in Puerto Vallarta to be precise.

There will be more time for the writing of words shortly, but I thought you might care to peruse some images of what it is like to be here in the warmth of the Mexican spring.

Jolly lovely it is!

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

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“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future”

Yogi Berra

At around this time last year I was following my usual custom of looking ahead to the coming year and outlining – in a post to this journal – the plans and projections that we were making therefore.

When I first sat down to write that post my mind was still clouded by the chaos that we, personally, had endured during 2023. At one point – towards the end of that year – we thought that 2024 would inevitably be a quiet year, with little travel or other like extravagance – and that a period of retrenchment was probably called for.

As it turned out – and as can be determined from this recent post (What just happened?) – the year was full of activity both on the travel front (our splendid trip to Scotland) – on the work front (particularly for The Girl at her First Nation) and with regard to our creative efforts (a new Anam Danu album and an unexpected pantomiming!). Perhaps the only area in which we felt that the year had not lived up to expectation was that we did not get to do as much socializing as we would have liked. The poor summer weather contributed considerably to this less than ideal state of affairs.

Though our 2024 turned out to be better than anticipated, for the rest of the world it could well be argued that the year took a dramatically retrograde turn. We are, naturally, not immune to these external pressures and it may prove – as a result – that 2025 turns out to be the quiet – heads-down – dig-in – sort of year that we might have expected last time around.

These things, however, we are anticipating:

  • A week in Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, during the College’s reading week in February. Right now The Girl and I both need to feel some sun on our shoulders
  • Some overdue maintenance on our lovely home. We need a new hot water tank; the roof needs to be de-mossed; I am contemplating putting underfloor heating in my studio and we are long overdue in making a start on dealing with some of the clutter that seems to accumulate through modern living
  • We are hoping to host some visitors this year – which is always fun when it also turns into a holiday for us
  • The will be music-making – no doubt – and I may serve a turn on the executive of the Peninsula Players (who presented the pantomime with which I was lately involved
  • We will definitely aim to entertain in our garden just as much as the weather allows

 

On a side note – I observe that this blog has just passed 1200 posts – this being number 1201. At the same time the blog has also just reached its thirteenth anniversary. Happy Birthday!

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By ‘just‘, of course, I mean ‘over the last year‘ – this being my customary catch-up-at-year’s-end posting…

My post of last January 26th – entitled “Getting started” – contained the following good intentions for 2024: (progress reports in red!)

  • The pursuance of an extended visit to Scotland during April/May – including a stay in Edinburgh – a visit to the central highlands (whence originated my clan) – a sojourn on Orkney and another on Skye – and visits to Fort William and Oban on the west coast

…a glance back at the posts to this forum of April, May and June will furnish the gentle reader with all that he or she might wish to know about our splendid visit to the land of my forefathers

  • Continuance for my of teaching at the College – starting with a new course that I was busy preparing at the time of writing

…on this very day I have started teaching the new course again for the third time – now as a blended course. It would be good if the Chair of my department were to acknowledge the fact by arranging for me to be sent a contract!

  • Following the shortest ever retirement (minus two days!) The Girl was about to commence a new employ, the details of which I was not at that point at liberty to reveal

…as I write The Girl is a few weeks short of completing a year’s contract working for her First Nation, helping to set up a new family preservation service. The year has been both rewarding and difficult, not least because of the extensive amount of travel that she has been obliged to undertake (visiting previously un-experienced corners of British Columbia and beyond). She was offered a full-time post and promotion but has decided – for now – to revisit the world of retirement. For how long remains to be seen…

  • Planned further musical exploration on the part of Anam Danu  – with a view to expanding our number and preparing – at some point – to play live. We also anticipated the release of a new album at some point during 2024.

…now a three-piece (though presently looking to add a guitarist!) Anam Danu released their fourth album – “Euphoria” to considerable acclaim at the end of November. More on these exciting times as the year progresses

  • I also included this, slightly nervous, prediction:

“As ever at this time of the year there are many other exciting prospects bubbling under and – though there are also many very good reasons to feel nervous about 2024 – I like to approach the year under an umbrella of optimism.”

…one thing that I had not anticipated was being asked to take on the musical direction for a local theatre company’s pantomime – either side of Christmas – at the Mary Winspear in Sidney. I do not like to say ‘no’ to such proposals – so I didn’t! As I believe that all concerned consider the run to have been a considerable success, I am glad that I did not.

So much for 2024.

Keep your eyes open for the companion posting to this one in which I will hazard wild guesses as to what the new year could bring – and indeed to those things that we will do our damnedest to bring about.

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