Last Edmonton Post

Some more architecture in Edmonton. I do not know who designed this building but it was interesting and the City Council seemed to be very supportive of the Arts by showing large paintings and some sculptures. The Rowan Tree outside Carol and Richards was just so pretty. I wish mine was even half as lovely. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Canadian Thansgiving

While staying with Carol and Richard Selfridge I was invited to join another family to celebrate Thanksgiving. What a feast and what wonderful company. These pumpkin buns were delicious.

Some Pictues from Inside the Muttart Conservatory

Here are just two of the many pictures I took inside the Muttart Conservatory. If you are near Edmonton and enjoy flowers and gardens, especially exotic ones, don't miss the opportunity to see this wonderful conservatory.

Other Interesting Places in Edmonton

Four spectacular glass pyramids make up the Muttart Conservatory. Each pyramid contains a display of plants from around the world. The Arid, the Temperate and the Tropical are self explanatory - the forth is the Feature Pyramid which shows flowering plants and seasonal displays. The architect was Peter Hemingway from the United Kingdom who has, I believe, unfortunately died. WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

Chris and Enzien's Work

More of Chris and Enzien's work can be seen at www.urbanforestdesign.com and if you are anywhere near Wildwood, Alberta, Canada you should give them a call and make a visit. Lovely people, lovely pots and a lovely area to visit.

Christian Barr and Enzien Kufeld

Chris and Enzien built this lovely "Off Grid" house starting with a large trailer home and extending it to become a liveable space with room for workshop and the display of their pottery. Chris has built and fired large wood fired kilns and there is a seam of good pottery clay on the property.

Another Day with Carol and Richard

I'm sorry I cannot show you Richard and Carol's collection of other people's pottery which amounts to over nine hundred pieces. If one of your pieces is not amongst the collection I am sure you would recognise the work of many of the well known potters there. These guinomi are just a very small part of their own work on show in their gallery. One day while I was with them they took me out on the prairie to visit two other potters - I am glad we were not travelling in the other direction as the traffic seemed to be at a complete standstill.

Richard and Carol's Kilns

How Richard and Carol can produce so much work in the small space of their suburban section I do not know. As well as the kiln shown there was a noborigama with a salting chamber. They have an "Open Day" each year and this year it will be their thirty fifth time. Check the internet if you would like to know more.

Richard and Carol's Place

Richard and Carol's house was situated on a lovely tree lined street. The second evening I was with them they took me to a dance recital by the Brian Webb Dance Company. One part of the programme was danced against a computer generated background which I thought was incredible although others thought it distracted too much from the dancing.

More Architecture

Two more images of the Randal Stout designed Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton. While I was there my friends took me to a wonderful theatre production done by Mump and Smoot, two clowns but not of the circus variety. They were extremely cleaver and funny. I wish I could have photographed them and be able to share the fun. They are on the Internet so take a look there.

Calgary and Beyond

Before leaving Calgary I took this picture out the hotel window. As the bedroom clock was an hour slow it was about all I saw of Calgary before rushing off to catch my flight to Edmonton. My potter friends Richard and Carol Selfridge met me and we had a wonderful three days together. They took me to a photographic exhibition by Edward Burtynsky called "Oil" which was excellent. Seeing the Art Gallery of Alberta helped fulfil another of my interests - that of architecture. This modern building was designed by Randal Stout and was all curves of stainless steel and glass but containing very large exhibition spaces. Wonderful!

The Last of the Train Trip Images

The trip through the Rockies was fantastic and I have many more images but I think that there is so much other material from my trip that I will make this the last of the train trip images. Hope you have enjoyed them.

More Lovely Scenery

It is getting near the end of the daylight part of my train trip - from Banff to Calgary was mostly in darkness. Some parts of the river were still pretty wild but the lakes and trees were lovely to see.

Spiral Tunnels and a Very Rocky Mountain.

There are two spiral tunnels on this section of the mountains. Unless the train stops it is hard to grab a picture of both entrance and exit. The height difference is about 50 feet and 56 feet (15 and 17 metres). They did not seem to be aware that we also have spiral tunnels in New Zealand built for the same reason - to reduce the gradient to more acceptable levels.

From Kamloops to Calgary

After leaving Kamloops at a very early hour we started our journey to Calgary. The scenery changed as we headed into a more mountainous area. Although I was on the last scheduled trip before snow ploughs were fitted there was only snow to be seen on the mountain tops. It would have been exciting to travel through this area after a heavy fall of snow.

More Images from the Rockies

From the top image the rough sides of the gorge can be seen but as we approached Kamloops the lake-side scenery was very beautiful. The overnight stop at Kamloops was rather disappointing - the hotel was not very good and the evening entertainment aimed at younger people. The food was good though!

Reflections

This bridge over the waterfall is the last of the bridge images. The shape and its situation was most attractive. Where the river widens there were often lovely reflections but it was not always easy to get sharp images.

Wildlife in the Rockies

From the first picture it is clear how much more difficult laying the track must have been on the other side of the gorge. Where the river widens there were a number of bald eagles and osprey. This one was flying along with the train. They are huge birds with a wing-span of up to 1.83m/6 feet. There was an huge osprey nest on top of a telegraph pole beside the track which was said to have been there for about 100 years and still being used. Later we saw two black bears alongside the track. No one was quick enough to get a good photograph of them, only their tail end disappearing out the edge of the picture.

Another Bridge

There were numerous bridges across the Fraser River as originally two different companies built the rail lines. The first always took the easiest side of the gorge crossing the river whenever necessary. The second company had to use the opposite side of the gorge which cost a great deal more because of the more difficult terrain. Now the two companies are merged so the service is much better and safer with east bound going one way and west bound services the other. The view looking towards the front of the train only shows a few of the twenty-two carriages used on our train.

More from Through the Rockies

The autumn colour was giving the scenery a much greater interest than without it, although it was not always easy to photograph from the moving train. Often there were power cables strung just at eye level which seemed a shame on such a renowned tourist journey. The second image is of one of the many bridges over the Fraser River, this one at a point called "Hell's Gate".

Welcome Aboard

We were welcomed on board the Rockymountaineer Train by very friendly staff and this lovely flower arrangement. Fresh flowers were also on the dining tables each day. The views from the train were spectacular and this was of the first lake we passed. I cannot be sure of its name. Our journey from Vancouver to Calgary over two days covered 1112 kilometres or 676 miles. I took many photographs but many opportunities were missed as well as things just went past too quickly.

Setting Out on the Rockymountaineer

This was just one of a number of very early starts on my trip. Quite why such early starts are necessary I do not know. However, the day was fine and, after waiting until nearly 8am., we set off backwards until we reached the set of points that sent us off in the right direction.

Farewell to Nanaimo

This is one of Gari's pieces fired in the wood fired Tozan kiln which I rather like. On the way back the evening light was wonderful reflecting from some of the very tall buildings in Vancouver but the soft sunset on the clouds and hills of Horseshoe Bay was indicative of the fine weather coming for the next few days.

Some Pictures of Gari and Ian's Work

With all our best intentions, and some quick driving by Gari, I missed the ferry back to Vancouver by two minutes. So we had some time to fill before the next ferry, which was good, as we were able to visit a new shopping mall and see the gallery where Gari and Ian showed their work along with other potters and painters along with a good cup of coffee and more talk before arriving in plenty of time to catch the next ferry.

Where Cathi Lives

The Cowichan river runs past Cathi's place and has some good fishing spots. It was a very pretty area with some autumn colour showing. Cathi's cat seemed to like Gari.