Potash Plant
Potash Plant
This large industry in the Guernsey/Lanigan area in Saskatchewan towers above the vast flat fields that surround it. The land in the area is grain country and is unbroken except for a few scattered farmsteads, and, of course, this looming giant.
Flat prime prairie stretches out for uncountable miles in the area of Saskatchewan. Here and there in ever diminishing size and intensity small clumps of farm buildings break the skyline. This is a place where if your dog runs away you can watch his departure for days. Reports in the newspaper headline stories such as "Local veterinarian charged with luring deer onto his property with grain" or "A recent ruling by Saskatchewan courts may soon outlaw any expression of the Christian faith". As a pick-up speeds along straight country roads, a plume of dust rises like the tail on a dog.
At Home
At Home
Bears live in the rugged area near Maligne Lake, Alberta. We were thrilled to be lucky enough to spot this fellow as he ambled down the mountain side ignoring the tourists, as well he should.
As part of our preparation for a new book of my paintings from across Canada, we spent an enjoyable interlude in the Jasper area. We did a needed visit to a laundromat in Hinton, Alberta, just east of Jasper National Park on our journey to Vancouver Island. I was surprised to find an Internet hook-up ($1 for 10 minutes). This busy place also had a bulletin board that I perused while waiting for the laundry.
Kicking Horse Cascade
Kicking Horse Cascade
Noting a group of people from an elevated ledge, I decided to scramble down the steep incline to get really good photos of the waters as they rushed through the pass. Once down there, I realized that I was not nearly as young and fit as the other people beside the torrents. I knew that I was going to get old. I just didn’t realize that it would happen so soon.
The Kicking Horse Pass was first mentioned in the report of the Palliser expedition in 1860. This team was investigating various routes for the C.P.R. between what became Lake Louise and Golden, B.C. Dramatic scenery draws armies of tourists today. Although the spiral tunnel (that engineering wonder that eased the gradient for train traffic) is much talked about, I found myself more impressed by the natural wonder of the pass itself.
A Comfortable Establishment
Comfortable Establishment
Built between 1830 and 1839, Lower Fort Garry, thirty-two kilometers north of Winnipeg, served as a depot for the fur trade for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Now restored to a like-new condition, this garrison is staffed with costumed interpreters.
I suppose, like most taxpayers, I get a little steamed when I see the amount of money that the government wastes on various boondoggles. I do not know how much money our fearless leaders in Ottawa spend on Parks Canada, but I'm sure that within any large organization there is some waste. I am pleased, however, to realize that some of the money that this government department receives actually makes its way into projects that restore these sites to a living state.
Buffalo Jump
Buffalo Jump
Plains Indians stampeded Buffalo over these cliffs many years ago. On one of our many journeys in the west of Canada, we visited this place that has an interesting interpretation centre to explain just how the stampede process worked. I hope that someday this painting will be a part of a coffee table book that we have been planning since 1989, that will tell of our travels from coast to coast in Canada.
On a recent visit to the Canadian West, we noticed that buffalo meat was frequently offered on restaurant menus. I was fortunate as we drove across the gentle undulating prairies to see the source of those steaks so strongly recommended in these dining rooms. I had the opportunity to chat with a farmhand seated on a tractor near a herd of buffalo scattered across a large fenced field.
Below Castle Mountain
Below Castle Mountain
A relaxed drive north from Banff on the highway to Jasper brought us to a roll out of scenery almost like a movie. Each turn or break in the trees along the road invited me to plunge into the woods to photograph the endless beautiful scenes.
Almost forty years ago when I decided to turn my attention to paintings of the Mennonites, I found, to my naïve surprise, that many of our friends and acquaintances thought the idea a poor idea. Now it is hard to remember a time when this genre of art work was non existent.
Transported Elevator
Transported Elevator
When this grain elevator became redundant as many have in Saskatchewan, a farmer living near my cousin, Ross, bought the structure and moved it to his farm which entailed a six-mile journey.
SPOOM is an organization that has an interest in the preservation of old mills. As a member of their Ontario chapter, I was saddened to read in their newsletter of the sale of milling equipment from a local landmark. The Blair Mills Corn Mills, which operated until September 2002, is selling its equipment and real estate. This historic mill is offering for sale corn grinders, shakers and cleaners that date from the early 30's. It is inevitable that changes like this take place, but it makes me sad.
Indian Camp
Indian Camp
Looking across Lake Katherine in Riding Mountain National Park, visitors can clearly see the Indian teepees. The tribe has set up a camp experience so that people can spend a night Indian style.
Growing up in Waterloo in the 40's and 50's, my exposure to North American Indians was minimal. The closest that I got was the occasional black athlete who came here to play for the Waterloo baseball club. My exposure to race was limited to stories and to Tonto (Jay Silverheels) who came from the Six Nations Reserve at Brantford.
Dot's Café
Dot's Café
Every small western town hosts a restaurant or café that is almost always run by an oriental family. This café is located in Arrowood, Alberta.
Small towns attract, comfort, and amuse me with their often plain spoken and unsophisticated ways.
Hippie Haven
Hippie Haven
Wells, B.C., a small former mining village, is just down three miles of road from Barkerville, an historic pioneer-style tourist village restored at great cost by the government of British Columbia. While Barkerville is neat and orderly, Wells is ramshackled. Casual is the word I would use to describe the building mode. We stayed at the hotel in Wells and occupied the bridal suite. Our digs were cute but eccentric, and that pretty well sums up this remote village.
This view of Wells, B.C. shows only seven of the two hundred buildings that their website claims are being restored. That works out to one building per person in this 1930's village, 66 kilometers northeast of Vancouver. Picturesque and quixotic are two words that come to mind when I think about this village just three miles down the road from the legendary gold mining village of Barkerville.
