Long Overdue Ottawa Photos

Alexandria Bridge which I crossed to get to Quebec from Ottawa

view of Parliament from the Gatineau side

Fancy spires... on a not so fancy looking church. 

One of Ottawa's museums... and a giant spider that lives outside of it. 

Another fancy-spired church without the fancy church. I have to go back and get a picture of just the spires from further away. It's the only part truly worth photographing and this photo is terrible.

Ottawa Update #2 - Starting from the Bottom

I don't even know where to start. This has been a very crazy week. I arrived in Ottawa, found a place, moved in, signed up for classes, and now have an interview set up for tomorrow for a job I applied to this afternoon.

my new bed and the crap surrounding it

I am, however, still on the bottom rungs of just about everything. My bed is pathetic, but it's a bed. It's a very thin mattress, but that also made it much easier to carry on the bus from IKEA back to my place in Alta Vista. It's an hour long ride to begin with, add in the fact that on my return trip I hit rush hour traffic on the bus at 3:30pm. Not a pretty sight with me and my mattress and the rest of my bedding tucked in a bag. I also didn't make things any easier on myself by ignoring my own directions and taking a different bus. The problem was totally fixable, but it took me a while to realize where on earth the stop was that I needed to get back on track at the Transitway station I ended up at. I'm not sure which was worse, the bus with the bed or having to walk another 10 minutes trying to maintain speed while it was boiling hot out. At least it wasn't raining.

organized chaos

So, now I have a bed. And a home. Adjusting to that has been a bit weird though. I like my roommates, well, two of the three for sure, but it is odd having to adjust to living with so many people and act like this is my home, too. It's not helped by the fact that no one was home when I arrived, so I had to kind of figure certain things out on my own, and others have just left me confused. I thought Jess was buying a mini-fridge to help alleviate the clutter in the downstairs fridge. Her fridge is purchased and set up, but still the fridge is a nightmare of no space. This is making it difficult for me to want to purchase groceries as there will be nowhere to put anything that requires refrigeration.

the only things on my wall so far

Other than that, things seem to be going relatively well. I have signed up for the French course I wanted to take, which included a bit of a nightmare of an assessment test. I knew I'd have to endure something like that, but I didn't realize how awkward it would be. I could understand about 3/4 of what was said to me, but often could not respond or very, very awkwardly respond with the limited French I could remember off the top of my head. Unfortunately though, there were a few times where the 1/4 I didn't understand, was precisely the most important part of the question. As it turns out, very unsurprisingly, I will be starting at level 1 and trying to work my way up to level 5 or 6 (whichever will get me to pass the TFI with a 305 for admission to Glendon).

Now for the fun part, starting back at basically where I was before I left Victoria: sitting for hours on end writing cover letters and submitting resumes in hopes of finding a job. I do not relish the thought of this; nor of the very real possibility that I will have to work for Subway again. Food services and retail are high on my list of options right now as anything truly worthwhile here, including becoming a library clerk, requires some bilingualism, which I have clearly proven I do not have. However, it seems today that hanging out at the library was not the place for me to spend my time. I received two phone calls while there, one after I'd turned off my phone. It seems that because my phone was off when I got the call, I get only the voicemail left and not the phone number that actually called. It made for a bit of a puzzle just now because I also did not recognize the name of the store it was from. I applied for two positions on the Indigo website, one for Smith Books and the other for an unnamed store at 128 Bank St. It was only after I Googled the name of the store left in the message that I put two and two together. I found the number and called back and I now have an interview set up for tomorrow afternoon at The Prospero Bookstore in downtown Ottawa. So much for proximity, but it is certainly a much better prospect than Subway. 

Ottawa Update #1 - Saying “Yes” and taking Ottawa by Storm

So, the past few days have been… crazy. I was feeling really overwhelmed when I first arrived, then I went and walked around Ottawa in the light of day without the entirety of my belongings in tow and it wasn’t so daunting anymore. The city centre is not that big, although there are a lot of people… everywhere. Ottawa is busy. It has amalgamated several former towns into Ottawa suburbs, plus all the people living in Gatineau and Hull that cross the river every day.

I am finding the weather to be more confusing here than in Victoria. It is cloudy but extremely warm on one day. Then rain, lots of it, for the next two days. Yet still mostly warm and now the sun has reappeared with a vengeance now that I finally have proper shoes for the downpour and even bought an umbrella. It figures. Oh well, at least I am prepared now.

I’ve been doing things in bite-sized steps because otherwise I truly will have a meltdown and not get anything done. On day one, I went to Ottawa University in hopes of finding a posting board with people looking for roommates. I wandered around there for at least an hour, maybe two, with little luck. I came away with two phone numbers, one of which sounded very unlikely to satisfy. I also figured out how to go about changing my phone number and did just that.

I also intended to try to properly orient myself within Ottawa, downtown Ottawa at least, and took a walk. I ended up venturing all the way into Quebec, which really isn’t that hard to do. It amuses me greatly that one can cross any number of bridges and be in the next province. Promptly after my arrival on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, I was given the opportunity to prove just how poor my French is. There was a group of girls walking ahead of me and I stopped to sit down for a bit, they came over and started speaking to me in French and, without meaning to, I looked back at them in utter confusion. Thankfully, they switched to (fractured) English and asked me whether I’d seen someone texting on a phone because apparently one of them had lost their phone and someone had picked it up and tried to notify the girl through her friends. It just made me feel like I had to stop lingering on the French side of things as I’m clearly out of place in Quebec at the moment.

To whoever questioned why I would move to Ottawa in order to learn French (and I know there were a few) must not have spent much time here. Honestly, there is French everywhere and it seems like with a lot of jobs, if you don’t speak French, you won’t get the job. Besides, Quebec is literally a walk away for when I want to practice.

It was also on my first day here that I found an ad on Craigslist for a room in a house with three other girls. Normally I’m quite wary of all things related to Craigslist, but this sounded like exactly what I was looking for and the ad had only been posted that afternoon while I was wandering back and forth between Ontario and Quebec. I answered the ad and over the past few days have had contact with one of the girls to set up a time to meet and see the house. I did a dry run to get out to the area yesterday because I know my tendency to get lost, and also my tendency to get extremely anxious when I don’t know where I’m going and have an appointment to keep. I set a time to meet the girls for this morning… and realized after setting out the time that I did not have the exact address, only the area. I got the address emailed to me at 10:30 this morning; I was supposed to meet the girls at 11:00am and it takes twenty minutes on the bus to get out to Alta Vista from my hostel. Well, thankfully for my wandering around yesterday, because I knew where the library was located and with my new library card I was able to check my email and acquire the address. The directions were to head toward Heron Gate Mall because the house is directly across from there. I had walked there yesterday as well and knew it was no more than a 10-15 minute walk and, therefore, knew exactly where I was going this morning. I met the girls and saw the house. It’s small, but nice; and getting my own room again after two weeks of shared accommodation is going to be absolutely wonderful… even if I don’t have a bed or blankets or even a pillow. And just to prove how much this is providence and God’s hand at work: precisely when my time at the hostel will be maxed out and I will need to find somewhere else to stay is when I get to move in to my new home! There is some room shuffling happening over the weekend and come Monday I will be residing in greater Ottawa officially, and not just as a guest.

After getting my phone number changed and initiating contact with Jess, one of the future roommates, I spent my second morning in Ottawa getting a library card and getting my resume, without a proper address, to two temp agencies: Man Power (who thanks my aunt and uncle for telling me they exist) and Kelly Services. I am not entirely surprised by what happened at Kelly’s: if I don’t speak French, it’s unlikely I will get a job through them because the federal government tends to require bilingualism. However, it is a step. Now that I will have an address, finding a job will be much easier to do as well.

Now for the fun stuff: My plans last night had been to shower and read then go to bed early because I have been exhausted these past few days. A fellow staying at the hostel, Akshay, started trying to chat with me last night. When I told him I was trying to settle in Ottawa, he asked me if I’d care to join him and his friends who live in Ottawa. Of course, I said yes. I may have been tired, but I know I need to meet people here so I can’t afford to turn down an opportunity like that. Having done so, I felt a bit like Jim Carrey’s “Yes Man”: you never know what may happen.

We ended up doing a tour of downtown Ottawa mini-pub crawl, but the weather was horrendous so we chose to initially bide our time at the hostel bar Mugshots. I got to meet Akshay’s friends Julianne and Sean. Initially, I felt a little weird because they hadn’t seen each other in a while and so they were trying to get caught up with a stranger in tow. In the end though, I ended up having a good chat with them both and with a few other friends of theirs who showed up a bit later. Sarah will laugh at me for this, but I ended up having a bit of a conversation about Dostoevsky with one of them, but there was a reason for it. I am not just obsessed. Jennalee had said to her boyfriend Fraser something about him only liking books that have unhappy endings; I couldn’t help but ask if he liked to read Dostoevsky in response to something like that. Considering I had started the evening out as a stranger, I was a bit surprised when Julianne said she wanted me to bond with her friend Amanda that night. We didn’t talk much, but I look forward to speaking with her again and seeing more of her artwork after hearing Akshay rave about how great a painter she is; and from what I’ve seen so far, I have to agree. I could certainly learn a thing or two from her. Julianne has also decided she will take me for my first poutine after she returns from Belgium in a couple of weeks.

So, indeed this has been quite the whirlwind three days. I can’t believe it’s only been three days since I arrived in Ottawa! And already I have a house to call home soon and well on my way to making friends. This just proves that I was meant to be here and not in Victoria at this time. As with when I was in Spain, if I could transport you all here with me, it would be simply perfect. As it is, I am glad Sarah was correct in calling me gregarious; I will be just fine making new friends because of that fact.  

Day 13-14: The Rough Road to Ottawa

A day and a half on the bus is a long time.

I didn't take any pictures while crossing Ontario, so this will be a text-only post. Ontario is mostly just trees, punctuated with lakes and short walls of salmon-coloured rocks. And really, they don't call Ontario the Land of a Thousand Lakes for nothing.

My ride across Ontario was mostly uneventful. The only things of interest were the occasional roadside giants I saw:

• Gorilla (or more likely Sasquatch) with a fish dangling from a fishing rod
• Moose and an eagle perched on a wooden lawn chair
• Mosquito (that I at first thought was an airplane) with a man hanging by straps while the mosquito held a knife and fork in hand (and looked very angry too)

After leaving Sudbury (where the bus route splits off from those headed to Toronto), where I did not see the giant nickel, the road got extremely rocky. Quite literally. My bus travelled along a highway that was under construction and parts of it were occasionally even just dirt. It also didn't help that every time were were on anything but smooth pavement all the seats rattled loudly like they would come off their hinges or whatever was bolting them to the floor. Not pleasant for attempting to sleep. Thankfully, I did most of that while on the previous bus.

The highlight, aside from my excitement of finally getting closer to my final destination, was passing through Pembroke. We zig-zagged quite a bit through the small city, which was perfect because I was dying to see the place because that's where my grandpa was from and I have much I need to dig into when I get the chance regarding the family history on his side. I think in a matter of the five or ten minutes meandering through Pembroke on the bus, I fell in love. It is quaint, but didn't seem to be overly small either. The houses are mostly small brick buildings, and yet have so much character to them. As did the lovely old churches. I really can't wait to go back once I have the chance.

And once again... I arrived in a city and got lost. I managed to get on the bus alright, and get off at the right stop even. I also lucked out and got a free bus ride as the driver's transfer machine was broken. The problem this time was that in the directions I wrote for myself, I wrote south rather than towards such-and-such street. I don't know my directions well, particularly in a new city. Anways, to explore and get properly oriented tomorrow.

Reflections

I’ve been feeling for a while like I’m simply on vacation, not starting all over again on the opposite side of the country. So, with each step closer to Ottawa, I have a moment where I wonder what the hell I’m doing and whether I can really pull it off.

A few things have kept me sane over the past week and a half. As I left Jasper and crossed Alberta to Calgary, it was remembering the conversation I had with Becky about bravery the day before I left Victoria. Everyone seems to think I’m brave to embark on this journey, but for the most part I haven’t been afraid; and you need to have fear in order to be brave and overcome the fear. Now, I am having ‘moments of bravery’.

Again in Calgary, my resolve started to waver once I had purchased my ticket to Winnipeg. I wanted desperately to hear my mom’s voice. And I got my wish a couple of hours later when she “accidentally” called me back while checking her voicemail. She encouraged me, after asking first if I wanted to come home, as she did again yesterday while I was in Winnipeg.

Today I wasn’t necessarily feeling upset or weird about this whole thing, but I did start to really pay attention when Vince Vaccaro started to play on my mp3 player.

Find more fireandsun songs at Myspace Music

Coco

Staring at my feet so full of stories

Starting from the time I left this city
It's such a big world for the taking
All you need is just to leave
And all the things that try to keep you here
You know that they ain't real

Whoa, all you need is just to go
Whoa, all you need is just to go

Sometimes nothing feels like it's going
If you still believe, anything can happen
Under the sun we're all the same
And all the boundaries we made are keeping us away
There's something better, feels like the sea
They call it freedom 
and I want to be Free


Don't you want to be free? Free.
Don't you want to be free? Free.
Free.
 Whoa, all you need is just to go
Whoa, all you need is just to go

And if there's something that you want
reach out and take it
And if there's something that you need
reach out and say it
Life is a colourbook and I, I want to fill it
Life is a colourbook and I, I want to fill it

Day 12 - Winnipeg

To be honest, I’m really tired. It’s partly due to having a terrible seatmate last night who was trying to take over my seat as well as his own. I managed to stake my ground a couple of times. After he got off to stretch his legs in the middle of the night, I put the armrest down so there would be a boundary between the two of us and I could get all of my seat back, not just most of it. Just because you’re big and I’m tiny, doesn’t mean you get to steal part of the seat I paid for! He later started encroaching on my space again, so I pushed his leg to get it out of my way. Plus, the driver kept announcing the stops over the PA system in the middle of the night, so I couldn’t sleep for very long chunks at a time even if I could get comfortable.

This morning, the only place I stayed awake to watch pass by was Portage la Prairie because I knew there was family history in this little place. Mom reminded me this morning that this is where my grandma went to work when she was younger. The ‘big city’ to someone from High Bluff, Manitoba (which you can miss if you blink as you drive through it).

I also woke up very unhappy when I discovered that my ankle had swollen up again. I got a few mosquito bites on my feet and ankles while in Jasper and ended up scratching one open. The result has been that my ankle has been swollen for days, but it had finally gone down. I was really not impressed to have it swell up again when the wound looks like it’s finally starting to heal. Then, after collecting my bags, I noticed that my suitcase was darker…and wet. While still in the bus depot, I grabbed one article of clothing to check if the suitcase had soaked through. It appears it had. Yet, when I got to the hostel and was able to check my things more thoroughly, everything is mostly just cold and some things a bit damp. Not quite as big of a problem as I had initially believed. Also, after walking around for a bit today, my ankle seems to have mostly returned to normal again. Apparently lack of movement is not good for it at the moment. I shudder to think what will happen on my day and a half journey to Ottawa starting tomorrow.

I am now in Winnipeg and boy is it ever hot. I’m pretty sure it was 20 degrees before noon. Quite a rapid change to all the rain, rain, rain I’ve had everywhere else it seems.

Arriving at my hostel around 9:30am, I was just hoping to store my bags because check-in time is not typically until 2pm. However, I was in luck and have my room key and everything. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to see or do here. I’ve mostly taken pictures of old churches spread throughout downtown and then visited The Forks down by the water. It reminded me of Granville Island in Vancouver… but not as cool. 

Riel Esplanade going across Red River

statue of a constellation... I'm not quite sure

I stopped to find somewhere to get out of the heat outside and managed to find a bench in the shade and was promptly joined by two older men seeking to do the same. One fairly quickly got busy with a phone call and the other decided to be friendly and chat. I was a bit nervous when he first asked if they could join me, but he really did seem nice enough. He also didn’t want to be spending time with his friend in the park. An introvert, ex-alcoholic and self-proclaimed Jesus freak, he said he’d rather be fishing. He left and then so did I… to escape all the bugs. I still feel like they’re landing on me.

After a couple of hours at The Forks, I was pretty much bored. There is very little of interest in Winnipeg. Now I know why everyone kept telling me as much. I don't forsee returning again anytime soon. 

For more photos of Winnipeg

Day 11 - Emerald & Gold: crossing the Prairies

The skies are big out here… and mostly full of clouds today. I like that going across the Prairies you can tell what the weather is like from miles away. I’ve been trying to get some good photos, but it’s been difficult because we’re driving past so quick and the dark clouds are not serving me so well for lighting either.

 

Just a few highlights from the trip:

Shortly after leaving Calgary I saw a Canuck-flag laden car drive past the bus.

Strathmore, AB – Our first quick stop after leaving Calgary, we’ve been on the road for an hour, and two guys nearly got into a fight in the store here. If this keeps up, it’s going to be an eventful ride… and not in the good way.

Giant stop sign at the re-entry point to the highway. It amused me how big it was.

I wish I was quicker with my camera, I missed a cool shot of a shack leaning at a forty-five degree angle. 

 

Oil rig in Alberta

Medicine Hat, AB – We stopped here a short while ago and I think next time I’d really like to make a short stop there. There doesn’t appear to be a lot to do, but I would definitely like to take some photos there. There was some cool old architecture and a giant chess board, too.

Saskatchewan was not kind. The weather was terrible pretty much from the point we entered it to the time we left it in the middle of the night. It’s too bad, because I was really looking forward to seeing a prairie sunset.
 

view from my rainy window

The view after the rainstorm passed.

I have immensely enjoyed crossing Canada. I am maybe halfway through my journey, but there is something utterly beautiful about this country. Last time I crossed Canada I travelled straight through by train. I am so glad that this time I chose to stop along the way. There is so much you miss when you just watch the scenery go by. And yet, even staring out the window has been a pleasure. I’ve spent much of the past 9-10 hours happily watching the rolling hills and prairie flatlands pass me by. This has been partly so I could take photos, but mostly just to relish in the beauty that is Canada. 

terrible exposure, but the colour is what I was after

the long and winding (dirt) road... into the hills

Days 9 & 10 - Calgary

Calgary Saddledome

As I prepare to leave Calgary, I have mixed feelings about the city. While it’s really not a bad city, like everyone tried to tell me before I arrived here, it really doesn’t seem like a great place to visit solo.

in the Olympic Pavilion? Pink prairie dogs... I don't get it.

in the Glenbow Museum

It probably didn’t help that there was construction everywhere, making it difficult to get to get to anywhere (including my hostel), and the weather was crap. I am ill-equipped for rain at the moments and, for the most part, that’s exactly what Calgary did: rain.

On my first day in Calgary, it started out nice enough and I set out to do the tourist thing, starting with the Glenbow Museum. I really enjoyed the exhibits and was there for the last day of the Karsh portraits. His work is stunning; I could appreciate even the photos of those people who I didn’t know or recognize even by name. The only problem with the museum was that apparently I chose to go the morning it was field trip day, so there were kids absolutely everywhere. I also visited an art gallery, but it was very sparsely filled and mostly uninteresting. Thankfully, that was free.

one of the 8th Ave. skywalks, with strange decoration

After winding my way through downtown, I made my way back to the bus depot to get my ticket to Winnipeg. As I was returning along the Bow River bike path I wanted to cry. I tried calling home, but got no answer. Then just all the being tired and sore and moving further and further away from home got to me. And then it started to rain. How fitting. I got back downtown as quickly as I could to avoid getting totally drenched, including my sandaled feet. One of the things I love the most about cities that get exceedingly cold in the winter is their skywalk system. And a lot of Calgary’s look funky. I used this maze to stay out of the rain as much as possible before heading to Original Joe’s to watch the hockey game.

I don’t know if it’s just because I’m away from home or that it’s the playoffs (and the Canucks are in it), but I’ve suddenly become very intent on actually watching hockey not just checking the score online. However, by the third period I was barely paying attention and instead writing up postcards which I can’t send now thanks to Canada Post’s strike situation.

Upon returning to the hostel, I had a lengthy conversation with my chatty, older American roommate about hockey and, oddly, politics.

Hearing and reading about the rioting in Vancouver made me want to cry. My province is better than that!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My second day in Calgary was mostly uneventful. At least this day I knew to expect more rain and put on slightly more suitable footwear: stiletto boots. Not exactly weather appropriate, but it was the best option at my disposal. I spent most of the afternoon navigating the system of skywalks while in search of a birthday present for my mom. And when I was on the street, these footsteps came in handy for keeping me from slipping through the cracks. However, I noticed in the evening that if you follow the footsteps on the longer vents, they make you walk like a cowboy.

I ventured only by accident into the artist’s block full of art studios and shops. And later, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dine at a place called The Unicorn Saloon.

For more photos of Calgary

Day 8 - A Day with the Aussies (or Leaving Jasper/Arriving in Calgary)

Instead of going to bed and worrying about getting up on time and groping through the darkness with my bags, I opted to stay up all night. Since I’m a natural night owl, all it took was a little caffeine to keep me going through the long hours. I was meaning to get my blog up-to-date, but instead got into a lengthy and greatly enjoyable conversation with a girl from Australia who was not tired. She ended up keeping me company until 4am, talking about why we were on our travels, relationships that just don’t work and I can’t even remember what else. I realized shortly before she decided to go to bed that I didn’t know her name and yet had had this incredibly deep and somewhat thought-provoking conversation. So now, she has a name: Emma.

After Emma went to bed, I was feeling particularly antsy to get going, especially because some random guy showed up at the hostel at about 3:30am and was wandering the common room and making me a bit uncomfortable. I called my cab at 5am and was asked if I had made the reservation for 5:45am. Prior to this, I had no idea you even could make a reservation for a taxi.

Because the hours for the Greyhound depot in Jasper do not correspond with when the buses actually run, I had to sit outside at 5am waiting for my bus to leave at 6:25am. I heard some geese making some noise and was trying to figure out where they were only to discover two of them on the railroad tracks several feet apart, honking at each other while approaching one another. I finally got some real company around 6am, from my fellow hosteller who had the taxi reservation.

We got talking a bit and it turned out he would have to travel the same route as me and then some to get to Banff. When the bus arrived, it was already quite full. I went to go sit next to this one guy who later, when I took longer to look at him, really creeped me out (Tattooed hands and neck and a very hard look to him. I honestly think he might have been in a gang). He ended up switching seats before I sat down so he could sit with his friend. My new Aussie acquaintance from the hostel asked to sit with me and we chatted a bit more. After staying up all night, the lack of sleep finally started to catch up with me and I kept dozing off until Edmonton, as did my handsome seatmate. 

I was also hoping to recreate a photo that was taken when I was 5, the last time I passed through Edson; however, the bus station for Edson is in the middle of nowhere and there were no taxis in sight to take me to see Eddy the Squirrel. I’m a bit disappointed that we never even passed him along the route in or out of Edson. 

During the two-hour layover in Edmonton, the two of us set out to find food and souvenirs. It was only over lunch that I finally asked for his name and found out what he does back in Australia. Now, he is Carl in the Australian Air Force, not just a random bus-mate. Although he was certainly enjoyable to look at, we didn’t have a lot to talk about and both spent much of the ride to Calgary in silence and sleeping.

I arrived in Calgary with little clue how to get to my hostel because I forgot to write down the directions from the bus depot before leaving Jasper. I asked for directions at the bus depot because that’s the smart thing to do. However, I believe the instructions were unclear, because I got beyond lost after following what I understood from the directions I was given. Plus, the directions on the hostel website that I forgot were pretty much useless because there is so much construction going on in Calgary that a lot of routes are just not possible at the moment. I spent two hours wandering around NW Calgary when I wanted to be in SE Calgary near the city centre. I finally decided I wanted to call a cab, only I didn’t know any numbers for the cab companies in Calgary. I asked at the Safeway that I kept circling in my befuddlement and, thinking now, it might have been smart to ask for the proper area code too. I tried both numbers I was given to no avail. I finally opted for 411, my new friend. I got through to a cab company and had a bit of an argument about where I was and how to find me. I swear not 10 minutes later, I saw my cab circling around a block and a half away from me and then they gave up. I got annoyed and called 411 to start the process all over again and finally was able to arrange a proper pick-up location: back in front of the Safeway. I barely had time to make it there when the cab showed up, but this time I didn’t lose the taxi. My driver was very nice, but totally baffled by how I managed to get on the other side of town in trying to find the free train to the hostel.

 After taking the time to get properly settled, I finally set out to find dinner. It seemed like pretty much everything but bars and super swanky places were closed for the night. The downtown core looked interesting despite being dead and, well, full of still more construction sites. I really don’t know why everyone so far has told me how terrible Calgary is, that there’s nothing to do there. I found Edmonton to be mostly grimey looking and too sprawling and unattractive. Calgary at least has style.  

Wildlife Interlude

Magpies, the little crow-like birds in tuxedos (and more in Calgary, even indoors!):

 

My cab driver to the bus depot asked if the ones I saw had made any noise. Now, I know what noise he spoke of. There is at least one magpie hanging out in the food court of the downtown mall keeping up quite a lot of squawking and chatter.

Red squirrels:

One of the few that I saw was clearly trying to warn the others in the forest that I was in the area on one of my ‘detours’. I find it curious though that he made noise only every time that he tapped his head with his tail.

Elk:

I saw one of these just grazing while walking back from the hockey game… and saw either another one near the same area at 5am on my way into town, or else the same one had stayed put.

Coyotes:

I did not actually see one of these, but my taxi driver pointed out where he had seen one on the way out of town to pick me up.

Bears:

Thankfully, only saw these on the train into Jasper. However, I had major difficulties after first arriving to town in getting the garbage cans to open. Later, when I didn’t have all my possessions with me and I took the time to figure it out, the garbage cans made sense: we are in bear country up here, so complex manoeuvres will keep them out of the garbage. 

Also, someone I met while leaving Jasper ran across some fresh bear tracks and smartly decided to turn back from the trail he was biking.

Day 7 - Patricia Lake & the Stanley Cup...

I know, I really wasn't expecting hockey to factor into this blog, but it was an important part of my day.

I was going to wait for the shuttle into town, knowing that I would be hiking later and walking back to the hostel after the hockey game. Instead my luck improved: two Australian sisters offered me a ride into town as they were leaving, so I didn't have to pay for the shuttle or wait in the cold for it to arrive. I bought my bus ticker to Calgary for tomorrow morning.

After stumbling over people's things in the blackness of the dorm late last night, I am feeling a bit nervous about getting up at 5am and trying to get my things out without disturbing anyone too much…or hurting myself in the process.

Patricia Lake

Cottonwood Slough

I planned to hike to Patricia Lake this morning, after discovering last night that Maligne Lake is probably way too far away to walk and too expensive to get shuttled there and back. I was expecting a two hour hike to Patricia, but it took me just over an hour; although, I didn’t end up going to the main beach, or following the road for that matter.Instead I followed one of the trails up through the woods and passed the Cottonwood Slough. I was hoping to spend the afternoon sitting lakeside and catching up my writing. The weather had other plans. Instead of clearing up by the afternoon as it did yesterday, it continued to lightly rain. It was freezing up by the lake, but still beautiful despite the weather. I have never seen water look so clear and green on a cloudy day. But, because it was so cold, I left after an hour to head back to town.

I spent part of my afternoon at a café that advertises itself as an “internet-free zone” where conversation is encouraged. My postcards are now caught up, as is my journal at this point.

I later returned to the Dead Dog to watch the Canucks game. I was happy to see Canucks jerseys and t-shirts on even the Germans who were sitting nearby me. And I just realized that I never mentioned the fellows I was speaking with on the train from Vancouver. I was in quite the international train car as my neighbours across from me were from the UK, there was a couple behind me from Spain, and I was speaking with a guy from the Netherlands and another from South Africa. The South African was headed to Edmonton before heading back to B.C. for work. The two of them were drinking and tried to get me to join them, but mixed drinks from strangers are not my thing. The reason I mention all of this now is that I later ran into the South African at the Dead Dog during the Canucks game. I had not expected in the least to see him ever again, yet there he was. We chatted for a bit before he headed off to go join his friend.

I left the bar early to make sure I wouldn’t be walking up the mountain to the hostel in the dark. And it seems I didn’t miss much in the way of the hockey game. Thanks to Jen, I got kept up-to-date on the score as I headed back. Along the way, instead of getting lost, I ran across an elk by the side of the road. The rest of my walk was uneventful, it was only when I returned to the hostel and had prepared my things to make a quick getaway in the morning that Ing, the South African, showed up at the hostel, too. I was not quite as surprised to see him the second time that night because there are only so many places to stay in Jasper.

For more photos from Jasper

Day 6 - Experiencing Jasper

I think the only things I don't like about Jasper are:

1. The bus depot's odd hours
2. The mosquitoes



part of the trail on the way into Jasper

3. How far the hostel is from town

Even that last one is tolerable. It's about an hour and a half walk, or a 15-minute drive if the shuttle is running. I spent the better part of my day walking to and from Jasper, but the walk itself was quite pleasant. The view up here is amazing. I love being surrounded by mountains and trees. It feels like Granisle, but not as achingly small (although Jasper is small), and therefore, a little bit like home for me. Being 'forced' to spend an extra day here is certainly not a punishment.

I've passed through Jasper only twice before that I remember: once with my dad when I was five and again four years ago as I took the train from Vancouver to Toronto, but that was only an extremely short stopover. This is the first time I think I've actually experienced Jasper. 

Jasper Public Library

I spent my day being a tourist, buying a couple of small souvenirs and postcards for everyone I could remember. I also visited the local museum. It’s quite small, but there is lots of information to read. Some pieces of information more interesting than others. I learned that the process of making moccasins is disgusting to me, the former police station is now the library, and nearby Lake Patricia was the site of a top secret project during World War II to build a submarine out of ice! 

Jasper the Bear, version 2.0

I also found Jasper the Bear, but he’s not how I remembered him. It’s not just that I got bigger, but he actually got smaller, too! And I’m pretty sure they changed the material he’s made out of. When I asked for directions to find Jasper, I was told the reason for his smaller stature: vandalism of the old Jasper.

I had dinner at the Dead Dog Bar & Grill (what a name!) before starting my long walk back to the hostel. Along the way I kept taking accidental detours, but found wildlife: magpies and red squirrels. With all of my detours, it took me nearly 3 hours to get back, double the time it took to get to town.


For more photos from my day in Jasper

Day 5 - Arriving in Jasper

I always seem to end up frustrated whenever I enter a new location. The train ride from Vancouver was fine, just achingly slow. I remembered it was very slow going getting out of Vancouver last time, but I forgot how many stops and starts and just how slow the train goes even before reaching the Rockies. 





Mt. Robson under cloud cover

Oh, but the Rockies. Still gorgeous, and massive. Of course, I wasn’t able to capture quite the same photos I had last time. Most of those photos had turned out so perfectly that there was no way these would turn out even half as good. Plus Mount Robson was half covered in clouds when we passed by it this time. However, there was one exciting thing that I did not see last time: black bears. There was a baby that ran back into the woods when the train went by and later an adult that just stared back at us as we passed. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of either of them.

My arrival in Jasper gave way to frustration almost immediately. I had forgotten to write down vital information prior to arriving in Jasper, but was luckily able to access the internet in the train station to get what I needed. Then I discovered that the Greyhound station (in the same building) was already closed. They are only open for 3 hours on Saturday, 10am-1pm and closed on Sunday. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem as I like to have my tickets booked ahead of time, but the website was not cooperating with me and so I was relying on getting my ticket upon arrival in Jasper. I had wanted to leave at 6:25am on Monday, but because the ticket office doesn’t open until 9am on Monday, that was not possible. The other ridiculous bus depot hours: Monday to Friday 9-2 and 5-7. I have never heard of such ridiculousness… except maybe in Spain. It’s like they take the Spanish siesta in Jasper. Who knew?

I then lugged all my things through a very small, and very busy, grocery store to collect food for my short stay at the hostel. The shuttle to the hostel was one of the highlights of my day initially. I was the only one in the shuttle and my driver was very friendly, and not the usual shuttle driver as he explained. We talked about Rwanda and he even spoke to me in Russian when I mentioned that as my minor in University. It was a very cool ride. I then made the mistake of going up the stairs instead of the driveway with both my bags. Really, really not fun. I then also had to wait for about 20 minutes just to get checked in because just as I was arriving, the girl on desk left for what was supposed to be only 10 minutes. I really was baffled. How long could it possibly take her to check me in? I had a reservation, it was all set. I just needed my information about the room and my bed. So, I waited.

The kitchen was very busy by the time I was settled and I wanted to wait until it calmed down a bit… but I’ve learned something here, dinner time goes right to 9:30pm for people around here. It is almost always busy. I finally did deal with a smaller crowd because I was feeling a bit dizzy, and not just because I still felt like I was in motion on the train. I ended up dining with a group of ladies in their fifties who had biked from Lake Louise to Jasper. I think I actually saw them walking their bikes up the hill to the hostel as the shuttle drove past earlier.

Later, because I was travelling solo, I got recruited to play a game of Cranium with a bunch of Germans and a few others to even out the teams. We were sitting out on the patio, which was nice, until it got later and started to get much colder and the mosquitoes were out in full force. The game ended with everyone giving up and letting the team that was furthest ahead just win.

All in all, not a bad day.