We thought we’d head out for a brisk walk in the park, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the start of the year, continuing a week of walks enjoyed in bright, if a tad chilly, conditions. Oh:
A lovely view of downtown – it is there, honest!
The view from where we live looks out over the downtown, and at night we can enjoy the lit up Calgary skyline, even if the waste of electricity makes us wince a bit. Yesterday, it was as if Calgary had disappeared!
Bright on other days, low winter sun and all
We’ll be disappearing ourselves for a little while, as we head out into the mountains for a short stay. Looking at lots of snow, quiet trails, and a warm cabin at the end of the day! New year, same old us…
Essential cabin supplies. Dry January? Nope.
Thanks for reading, happy new year, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Short, chilly, bubbly and a bit festive. No, no, not me – this post. Enjoy the season, and happy holidays to you if you choose to celebrate!
“I’m not pulling this – where are the reindeer?”Festive cheer? Oh yes! We might even have another in the next little while. ‘Tis the season, and all that!
Style – if you haven’t got it, then there’s no need to worry about it. That’s what I tell myself. Belgian style? Not sure what it is exactly, but having investigated, I think I could get to like it?
From up on the bluff, and it really was a bit chilly
Oh, ok, this isn’t a fashion thing, you’ll be relieved to know. It’s a beer thing, you’ll be shocked to read. We set off on a quite chilly late morning last week to discover for ourselves a nearby microbrewery promising beers in a Belgian style. Given the properly seasonal weather, we were hoping for a glass (or two?) of strong, dark, monkish beer, and we were not disappointed!
A strong golden, and a strong dark, my strong recommendations
Should you be in the area, and you like a well made big beer, then Two Pillars could be for you. We liked it! If we were feeling the cold and had to move fast to keep warm on our walk over, we were well insulated (or even ever-so-slightly inebriated – those were some mighty big beers in small glasses) and taking extra care in the slippery conditions walking home. We might have dozed off for the rest of the afternoon – must have been all that exercise…
We bought a few fireside sippers home with us in preparation for a couple of winter cabin trips we’ve got coming up soon, and they’ll be just the thing after an hour or two of snowy playtime. Yum!
Imperial porter and a Christmas red ale – yum
Let’s keep it short and sweet, not unlike a shared after dinner winter porter. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Phew! We got through the somewhat dull days of November, helped enormously by the very much appreciated end of month snowfall – for us, everything looks better with a light (or heavy) dusting of snow! Once the last leaves drop, it might as well snow, and, for now, it has!
Happy dog dance and an odd gnomish-looking fellow. (Photo: Mrs. PC)
So it’s goodbye November and welcome to winter!
Did someone say winter? Woof! (Photo: Mrs. PC)
I’ll keep it brief for this post and limit things to a few photos taken out and about the past week or so.
A light dusting
We have our fingers crossed that the temperature dip to more seasonal numbers is consistent, and that the promised snowy winter predicted by forecasters this season comes to pass…
Cool temperatures and a layer of ice beginning to creep out from the shore
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I’m working hard to stay patient, same as always this time of year. The most colourful part of the fall season is behind us, and it’s not quite properly cold enough for snow and snow related activities. November is, or has been, my boredom season!
An empty head? Don’t be childish, PC…
Boredom season? That’s quite a childish approach to an entire month, but I’ll own it – years of teaching mostly Junior High and elementary school means childish is often my comfort zone. Still, this November I’m trying something different, and going for a glass half full (or more) month – it won’t be empty, not this time…
Fill my glass! Trust me, this one was excellent!
Getting out and about in the city, we’re aiming to fill the month with music, coffee, hockey, and some new beer haunts. We’ve already been to see a friend’s band, Magnolia Buckskin, play, and an added bonus was a new to me performer, Rory Makem, on the same bill. Both recommended if you get the chance to catch them live.
Coffee! And perhaps a flaky almond croissant to go with it?
Getting along to watch some junior hockey is always a fun afternoon or evening, and our first Calgary Hitmen game in years was a good ‘un, with a fine home win!
Good game, good win
Since the last time we lived here, it appears umpteen – possibly more – new microbreweries have started up, with at least three within walking distance of us. More to follow on those!
Ok, not within walking distance, but this was pretty good!
So perhaps November won’t be quite the empty month I sometimes think it is, and maybe I won’t have an empty head. I’ll go steady on the new beers though – wouldn’t want a sore head…
Winter will be just over the far side of this month
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I’ll start at the end this week, with a short piece on a day out last week, spent visiting a nearby park under bright blue skies. We’ve been able to enjoy so many blue sky days this fall, we feel most fortunate. The day last week ended with this little beauty:
Small but mighty fall flavour!
I like the big Belgian style beers this time of year, particularly the doubles and triples made by monks, so this one above, a different take, intrigued. A single? A tiny monastery? A baby Belgian? A lot of questions? Why not?! A suitable saison for a splendid season, very good, not too strong, and probably perfect with a picnic lunch if you weren’t going to drive shortly after. We did drive to the park, so this was enjoyed at the end of the day back at home. A suitable saison for a splendid season enjoyed at supper time with soup. Super.
The day started with this big beauty – ranch land park in the the Bow River valley – perfect fall flavours!
No idea what I’m on about in that last paragraph. Let’s get back to the park visit – we were after mountain views without driving all the way to the mountains, so into the foothills and a nearby park it was! We got there mid-morning, parking in an almost empty lot. Scout could not get out of the truck fast enough, likely because she’d remembered this place, a favourite of hers when she was a pup. We did what we could to keep up…
Captivated by her fall favourites
We wandered the trails through tree lined hills, stopping to listen to the last of the leaves rattling and rustling in light winds.
The very last of the leaves
As we climbed to the top of the valley, the trees were almost totally leafless, their tough and twisted trunks and branches quite the arresting sight.
Tough trees
We didn’t spot any of the bald eagles that can sometimes be seen from the top of the valley, but we did enjoy sweeping views across to the Rockies.
Captured in wobbly-zoomarama…
What a day of brilliant big sky Alberta-style fall flavours! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Can you hear the wind sighing through the grass? A contented sigh?
Silly? Silly?! Oh no, dull, dull, and dull… What’s going on? Have you had a vocabulary breakdown, OldPlaidCamper? Silly? Ugh… is silly the new dreary? It’s not a word I use very often – most likely because I’m distantly acquainted with one or two people I’m not overly fond of who do use it (they’d probably say I’m silly if they were being kind, although kindness isn’t really one of their strengths…) Anyway, why silly? What prompted this silliness? Why, because I couldn’t resist this beer:
Reappropriating silly. The new sensible.
We’ve certainly found the weather a bit silly throughout September, in that it was way above seasonal almost every day. Trips along the river and to nearby parks have been pleasant enough, and the planted gardens have certainly held on longer – perhaps due to the silly weather?
Very warm days, but fall is here
In just the last few days we’ve seen more of a fall arrival, and most definitely on our quick trip earlier this week to see friends in Canmore. The cool fall temperatures were a relief, and the dashes of colourful larches on the slopes were very pretty. A deciduous conifer? Is that a bit silly? Not at all!
Very sensible (taken a different day, west of Canmore)
We’re off to K country for a few days of quiet camping – no cell coverage or wifi, some beer, some short hikes, a few good books, and maybe spotting a bear or two in the distance. Not too silly…
On watch – beary sensible
Thanks for reading – I’ll aim for a wider vocabulary next time – and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
It took a week or two, but I eventually remembered we meant to try a beer or two from Ol’ Beautiful Brewing, having seen their delivery van at a nearby beer store. As we were making our choices, we learned that the taproom at Ol’ Beautiful was closed after a fire, but they were still brewing. OK, we’d best do our bit to keep ‘em up and running…
Still brewing
The Japanese-style lager came highly recommended, at least by the enthusiastic vendor, who told us it was the brewery’s biggest seller – well, chalk up another sale! It was pretty good, smooth due to the rice added from left over sake production (it doesn’t taste like a Bud) and fine if you’re after a lightish taste on a sunny day. Decent, but I prefer a beer with a bit more edge – and this leads us to beer number two!
Yum? Yup!
The second beer we tried was their American Pale Ale, and, if you’re a fan of hop-forward flavour, then this beer is a winner. Perfect for a hot summer day, or a mild fall day, or a crisp winter day. Oh, I’d probably (definitely) drink it in the spring, too. Yes, I liked this one!
K-country summer
So, where did you sample these ol’ beautifuls, OldPlaidCamper? Glad you asked – we took them with us on our recent trip to Kananaskis, camping near the Sheep River. The beers were just the refreshing thing after lazy days of reading, short hikes along or above the river and deciding if we needed a campfire or not. (Not, too hot!)
Definitely no campfire needed today – too hot
As for Sheep River Provincial Park, a new to us spot in K-country, how could we describe it in a word or two? Oh, beautiful. Perhaps I’ll share more about it another time.
Oh, beautiful
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful (long) weekend!
PS As I finish up here, writing on an unseasonably warm late August Wednesday morning, a long V of honking geese has just flown over. It might feel like high summer, but those geese and the occasional rust tinged leaf suggest otherwise… Is this farewell pale linens and hello plaid flannels? Soon, OPC, soon!
But not too far from home – we’re trusting the medium term forecast is accurate, and by the time this is posted we’ll be somewhere down the cowboy trail SW of Calgary and camping in the foothills.
Let’s hitch up and head out!
We have a new camera – nothing fancy, a replacement for our old not so fancy one that seems to have disappeared – so expect a few out of focus and wonky photographs with odd framing next time we post here…
Level
I keep saying it, but summer is speeding by – so we’d best get out there and make the most of it? Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Let’s get out there, or here, or somewhere like it!
I’m still not walking any great distances, and certainly nothing with significant elevation gain, but we did take a brief trip into nearby Kananaskis last week. Why? Mountains!
Reaching up
We parked up at what we still call the Delta Lodge (it’s had a makeover or two, a name change and has sometimes hosted the great and not so great and good since we last stayed there – looking at you, G7 1/2) and trotted off at a brisk pace – well, Scout and Mrs. PC managed a brisk pace – to take a turn around the hotel perimeter walk. Hmm, that last one was a messy sentence. Oh well. Let’s look at a photo.
Things are looking up…
If one has reduced or restricted mobility, then this is a place to come and see many mountains from an already elevated perspective. The pathway is paved and mostly flat. You’re above the river (the Evan Thomas Creek that flows through the golf course and beyond) and beneath the tallest peaks, and it is spectacular! We were quite dizzy…
Dizzy
We couldn’t believe how quiet it was, visitor-wise, and sat on a bench eating our lunch with no more than a few passersby. The sun was warm but not too warm just like our cheese sandwiches, and it felt like a very pleasant way to return to a favourite spot. We aim to be back in the not too distant future and venture down some of the very inviting trailheads we passed heading back to the truck!
“We were snowshoeing last time I was here! Can we do that again?!” Soon enough, Scout, soon enough! (Photo: Mrs. PC)
Let’s leave it here for this week – dizzily optimistic! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
OldPlaidCamper 