The Giant Avocado

I've been working for a while on a restaurant listing and rating website on the site. Check it out: it works well for Edmonton and Calgary. Stay tuned for some lucky draws for restaurant gift certificates! :) If you create an account, I'll email you when the draw starts.

http://www.giantavocado.com/

Oregon

Here are some images of my trip with Tanya to the Oregon coast this past weekend. The pace is quite slow, but the scenery is sublime.


A windswept coastline south of Yachats



A beach/sand dune scene near Reedsport on the southern end of the Oregon coast.


A couple on the beach in Yachats


Waiting for a plane at the massive San Francisco Airport



A Puffin in non mating colours at the Oregon Coast Aquarium Aviary


Me vs. Crab

Oh god!!

It's been 10 years since I graduated. Man, I feel old. But I guess its' a good time to get back together with some people I haven't seen in a while. If you went to McNally High School with me, check out this link:

http://www.mcnallyclassof1996.blogspot.com/

Larch Valley and Sentinal Pass near Lake Louise

Waterton

Waterton National Park is one half of the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park which straddles the American/Canadian border at the foot of the rocky mountains. Featuring stunning mountain views, an emerald lake, and a touristy town centre.

I think I've visited at least 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the past couple of months. It's either a sign that I'm really lucky, or they give out these designations quite liberally. The senery in Waterton, however, is definitely unique, and the fact that it's not as touristy as banff is definitely a plus.

When Tanya and I we arrived, I was enamoured with the sight of a deer crossing the road. In the city, the closest thing to wildlife I see is the homeless person that pees in my parking spot. The shock of the deer wore off quickly though once we found out the truth: the deer were an infestation. We saw nearly 40 to 50 deer in the town throughout our visit. Tanya figures that it has something to do with the lack of predators, and abundance of food around the town.


The Prince of Wales Hotel. (We didn't stay here -> $$$$)


The infestation...




Achtung!!


The shores of Waterton Lake


The townsite



The view from our hike

Pincher Creek

An agricultural centre, and now centre of renewable energy generation, Pincher Creek lies in the windy Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta. Named for a pair of pinchers found in the creek, the town is quite small, and surprisingly does not have a Tim Horton's outlet!!

On a recent car trip down to Waterton National Park, Tanya and I stopped in the region for a day. We originally intended to stay in Waterton for two days, but instead ended up in the Pincher Creek region since there were no park campsites available for our first night. This was a pleasant twist of fate since the country was beautiful and natural, and the campsite was quite nice. Here are some pictures from our trip. I will have some pictures from Waterton Park up soon.





Our lovely campsite at the Oldman River Dam


My dinosaur fuelled car looking and a windmill


The Oldman River flowing past our campsite




A Pincher Creek highway scene

The pincher of Pincher Creek

The Great Wall...Part 2

Mr. Jiao crested the gigantesque turret at the end of the horizon. And the waiting started: we were a bunch of foreigners in the middle of nowhere...What could we do to help?

After about 10 minutes, we heard yelling in the distance: Mr. Jiao was trying to get a hold of someone in his village. Our group then knew that someone would be coming -- unfortunately not soon. Again, it dawned on us that we were helpless without our Chinese guide.

Half an hour later, a villager with a cell phone and a small first aid kit arrived without Mr. Jiao. In elementary Chinese, I tried to describing the injuries of the lady who fell. The tumble onto the jagged rocks and trees below had hurt her: she almost fainted from the pain in her hip when she tried to stand up, and her shoulder was in agony. The villager assured us that a stretcher was on its way. As the day progressed, the sun got higher and higher, and the temperature increased steadily.

At the same time, we could see the elderly Mr. Jiao down on the hill. He was ripping a path through the forest with his sickle...intended to be used to carry the injured woman down the hill to the village. With the energy of a man half his age, he continued for over an hour -- cutting a path through the wild brush.

Another hour passed, and we saw some figures in the distance coming towards us on the wall. They continued towards our position, quickly and steadily: a man and a woman..yet, to our dismay, no stretcher. Our afternoon was about to get longer, we thought. When they arrived we found out that the woman was actually an english tutor, and she had come to help us translate...her first command was to instruct the injured woman to get up..it was very important she said. After about 5 minutes of trying, an amazing thing happened. She was able to stand up..and hobble down the path. It was lucky that she had no problems with her back. Slowly, we went down as a group down to the village, and promptly took off to the Beijing Friendship Hospital.

.........................................................

Later that evening at the hostel, her son came back with some happy news: other than a few scratches..she was fine. A middle aged woman falling 4 metres onto jagged rocks without major injury was an amazing feat. In a bizarre way, I feel somewhat jealous of her: she probably is one of the few in the world who could say they fell off the Great Wall of China.