Sorry, I meant to add.........
I think I have managed to change the setting so that anyone can post comments on here without having to register. Feel free to add whatever you like.....
Cheers,
Rob
Friday, February 8, 2008
Construction starts.............
..........on the (model of the) house, but more about that later on!
Let's start back in 2007. Christmas with Simo, Arin and James was very relaxing, and a lot of fun. We were also joined by Arins mum and grandparents, so it was house full. Luckily Arin managed to get through Chritmas without the arrival of the new baby, so there wasn't too much screaming for us to put up with.
Christmas Eve was taken up with a trip to the aptly named Windy Point. The last time I had been here was the day of Simo and Arin's wedding, where Arin was lucky to retain her veil, and Simo nearly lost his hat, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Unfortunately the temperature was probably 20 degrees lower than my previous visit, and the wind stronger. This didn't make for too much fun, but we stuck it out for a while as the scenery was amazing. The lake was almost completely frozen over, and the ice getting on for 6 inches thick.
We also bumped into the resident flock of bighorn sheep, so I did all I could to hassle them in my quest for the perfect photo of them. Sadly I didn't get it, so you will have to make do with the distinctly average one below......
Christmas Day passed in a haze of beer, turkey, cribbage and playing with lots of new toys. James is an amazingly well behaved kid, and kept us all entertained. However such a sedentary lifestyle can't be good for the health, so on the 27th we attempted the second winter ascent of Coliseum Mountain (For those who don't know, the first winter ascent of Coliseum Mountain was attempted on Christmas Eve 2006, and ended in glorious failure when it started to get dark, and we were well short of the summit).
This time we were not to be defeated and bushwhacked our way in a straight line from Simo's front door towards the summit (having learned nothing from doing exactly the same thing the previous year!). This year we succesfully negotiated our way past the extent of the previous years expedition, and were confident of strolling onwards to the top. Cue Simo leading us on a wild goose chase across snowy slopes, up icy scree slopes until we reached the ridgeline. At this point we reached the trail which runs up the mountain (from somewhere a mile from Simo's front door, but in the wrong direction. Anyway, trails are for girls, right?). Once on the ridgeline it would have been an easy hike up to the summit. Two things however, prevented us from making it. Firstly, our supplies of festive chocolate were running low, and secondly we were knackered, having taken on too much gravy in the preceeding days. Looking for an easy route down, we selected the trail (they're only for girls on the way up!), and started our descent. The sun was starting to disappear behind the mountain at this point, and made for some fantatsic photography. Only one thing stood in the way of me bringing you these great photos. Namely, 3 hours at -20 is not very good for camera batteries, so the only pictures I have from the trip are near the bottom, on the way up.
After getting a taste for some exercise, Lea and I decided it was time to leave sleepy Nordegg and head off to Jasper for some skiing. Having taken a tip from Simo and Arin for a hotel, we arrived to be told that our room was directly above the nightclub! Luckily this didn't spoil our time there; we were only there for 2 days and wanted to be skiing as much as possible. Jasper is a great resort, small, but with some great runs. Also, due to it's relative isolation (Edmonton being 4 hours away) it didn't seem at all busy. Lea hadn't skied for 4 years (since Bansko) so was very excited to be on the slopes again, as was I.
Sadly our time in Jasper was soon over, and it was time to head back to Saskatoon, via Nordegg. Driving the 3 hours to Nordegg after a long day skiing, in the dark, on atrocious icy roads was not the most fun experience, but I am sure it is something that we will have to get used to. After a quick overnight stop we were back on the road, and back in Saskatoon for new year. It was one of the quieter new year celebrations (we didn't bother going out), and we had a couple more quiet days before we had to be back at work.
The new year at work started in a perfect way for, with a trip to Uranium City on fieldwork. Flying there was an experience. Starting in Saskatoon, on an 8 seater plane we flew via various isolated communities, dropping of a few people here, picking up a few people there, and watching as the pilot tried to fit a 52" TV into the back of a small, already full, plane. After 5 hours we eventually arrived in U City and started the preparation for our week there. Work involved drilling holes in the ice of Lake Athabasca (18 inches thick) and collecting mud from underneath. I had been told to expect temperatures of -40, but was very relieved that we only had one cold day (-15 and windy) and the rest of the trip was unseasonably tropical (-6 and bright). U City itself is a very strange place, once a city of 5000, now only 50 people live there. Driving around what actually is a ghost town some houses are boarded up, some have roofs missing, cars are abandoned, there is even a whole block of flats which was abandoned just prior to completion (someone must have lost an awful lot of money on that!). The people who live there are a very friendly bunch. We were not short of dinner invitations (their home brew is lethal!) and I hope to go back in the summer when I have been promised a fishing trip from one of the locals. Sadly our work there went very smoothly and we only stayed for 3 days instead of a week. I did however jump out of our truck in order to get the classic tourist shot from U City......
Since Uranium City things have settled back into our Saskatoon routine. Lea is still working hard on the house plans, and to get more involved in the project I have decided to make a 1/50 scale model of the house. This is far more time consuming than I had anticipated (but nowhere near as time consuming as the work Lea has had to do), but when it is all finished the photos will be on here for you all to marvel at.
Additionally, on Jan 13th Arin eventually gave birth to Neve Kathleen Anne Dyer, and everyone seems to be doing well. At the moment we haven't made it over to see them, but are looking at Easter being a possibility.
Enough for now though, as I am tired and have had enough blogging for one day.
Laters,
Rob and Lea
Let's start back in 2007. Christmas with Simo, Arin and James was very relaxing, and a lot of fun. We were also joined by Arins mum and grandparents, so it was house full. Luckily Arin managed to get through Chritmas without the arrival of the new baby, so there wasn't too much screaming for us to put up with.
Christmas Eve was taken up with a trip to the aptly named Windy Point. The last time I had been here was the day of Simo and Arin's wedding, where Arin was lucky to retain her veil, and Simo nearly lost his hat, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Unfortunately the temperature was probably 20 degrees lower than my previous visit, and the wind stronger. This didn't make for too much fun, but we stuck it out for a while as the scenery was amazing. The lake was almost completely frozen over, and the ice getting on for 6 inches thick.
We also bumped into the resident flock of bighorn sheep, so I did all I could to hassle them in my quest for the perfect photo of them. Sadly I didn't get it, so you will have to make do with the distinctly average one below......
Christmas Day passed in a haze of beer, turkey, cribbage and playing with lots of new toys. James is an amazingly well behaved kid, and kept us all entertained. However such a sedentary lifestyle can't be good for the health, so on the 27th we attempted the second winter ascent of Coliseum Mountain (For those who don't know, the first winter ascent of Coliseum Mountain was attempted on Christmas Eve 2006, and ended in glorious failure when it started to get dark, and we were well short of the summit).
This time we were not to be defeated and bushwhacked our way in a straight line from Simo's front door towards the summit (having learned nothing from doing exactly the same thing the previous year!). This year we succesfully negotiated our way past the extent of the previous years expedition, and were confident of strolling onwards to the top. Cue Simo leading us on a wild goose chase across snowy slopes, up icy scree slopes until we reached the ridgeline. At this point we reached the trail which runs up the mountain (from somewhere a mile from Simo's front door, but in the wrong direction. Anyway, trails are for girls, right?). Once on the ridgeline it would have been an easy hike up to the summit. Two things however, prevented us from making it. Firstly, our supplies of festive chocolate were running low, and secondly we were knackered, having taken on too much gravy in the preceeding days. Looking for an easy route down, we selected the trail (they're only for girls on the way up!), and started our descent. The sun was starting to disappear behind the mountain at this point, and made for some fantatsic photography. Only one thing stood in the way of me bringing you these great photos. Namely, 3 hours at -20 is not very good for camera batteries, so the only pictures I have from the trip are near the bottom, on the way up.
After getting a taste for some exercise, Lea and I decided it was time to leave sleepy Nordegg and head off to Jasper for some skiing. Having taken a tip from Simo and Arin for a hotel, we arrived to be told that our room was directly above the nightclub! Luckily this didn't spoil our time there; we were only there for 2 days and wanted to be skiing as much as possible. Jasper is a great resort, small, but with some great runs. Also, due to it's relative isolation (Edmonton being 4 hours away) it didn't seem at all busy. Lea hadn't skied for 4 years (since Bansko) so was very excited to be on the slopes again, as was I.
Sadly our time in Jasper was soon over, and it was time to head back to Saskatoon, via Nordegg. Driving the 3 hours to Nordegg after a long day skiing, in the dark, on atrocious icy roads was not the most fun experience, but I am sure it is something that we will have to get used to. After a quick overnight stop we were back on the road, and back in Saskatoon for new year. It was one of the quieter new year celebrations (we didn't bother going out), and we had a couple more quiet days before we had to be back at work.
The new year at work started in a perfect way for, with a trip to Uranium City on fieldwork. Flying there was an experience. Starting in Saskatoon, on an 8 seater plane we flew via various isolated communities, dropping of a few people here, picking up a few people there, and watching as the pilot tried to fit a 52" TV into the back of a small, already full, plane. After 5 hours we eventually arrived in U City and started the preparation for our week there. Work involved drilling holes in the ice of Lake Athabasca (18 inches thick) and collecting mud from underneath. I had been told to expect temperatures of -40, but was very relieved that we only had one cold day (-15 and windy) and the rest of the trip was unseasonably tropical (-6 and bright). U City itself is a very strange place, once a city of 5000, now only 50 people live there. Driving around what actually is a ghost town some houses are boarded up, some have roofs missing, cars are abandoned, there is even a whole block of flats which was abandoned just prior to completion (someone must have lost an awful lot of money on that!). The people who live there are a very friendly bunch. We were not short of dinner invitations (their home brew is lethal!) and I hope to go back in the summer when I have been promised a fishing trip from one of the locals. Sadly our work there went very smoothly and we only stayed for 3 days instead of a week. I did however jump out of our truck in order to get the classic tourist shot from U City......
Since Uranium City things have settled back into our Saskatoon routine. Lea is still working hard on the house plans, and to get more involved in the project I have decided to make a 1/50 scale model of the house. This is far more time consuming than I had anticipated (but nowhere near as time consuming as the work Lea has had to do), but when it is all finished the photos will be on here for you all to marvel at.
Additionally, on Jan 13th Arin eventually gave birth to Neve Kathleen Anne Dyer, and everyone seems to be doing well. At the moment we haven't made it over to see them, but are looking at Easter being a possibility.
Enough for now though, as I am tired and have had enough blogging for one day.
Laters,
Rob and Lea
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