No it's not a pair of hooligans about to rob the local 7-eleven, and it's not a pair of deeply religious ladies from the middle east either... this is Janet and Linda going out for a 10 minute stroll. 10 minutes, that's all and they have to disguise themselves as the Michelin Man and Sir Ranulf Fiennes. All of this, 4 layers of everything, just so that they don't get frostbite and lose patches of skin, parts of digits or even entire limbs on the way to fetch a loaf of bread, frozen bread of course. This is no exaggeration... It's medical fact that at or below zero degrees, the blood vessels in the extremities of the body start to constrict. This helps the body to maintain it's core temperature and is like an inbuilt defence mechanism against extreme cold. The body wishes to protect the vital organs inside and so it sacrifices the bits furthest away from the heart. At or below zero, remember that's what I said... This picture was taken at -26. Yes, -26! In the glorious Alberta sunshine!
That wasn't the coldest we felt or witnessed from inside the cuddly warmth of Janet and Eamonn's home. We saw -33 one night and the windchill apparently made it effectively -42. We didn't feel that one for ourselves, we just peered out of the window, and then into the bottom of a warming glass and plate of something delicious, and hot . On average, it took us all about 20 minutes to get dressed with thermal base layers, fleece layers, woollen layers, outer layers ranging from goose down to sheepskin, two layers of gloves, hats made from Moose Ox, scarves made from cashmere, socks thicker than the cast of Emmerdale in a particularly poor episode and boots that wouldn't look out of place on the moon. Still... with all of this, one couldn't protect ones eyes.... cheeks... lips... and within minutes, seconds even, you could start to see ice crystals forming on each others eye lashes and you could feel the sharpness of the air inside your nose and throat, so unnatural compared to the rest of your hot-water-tank like lagged body, that it felt as though someone or something was forcing you to inhale and swallow cold steel, very cold steel.
Still... It was SO pretty! The fresh dusting of powder snow glistened in the sunlight every time we turned a corner or rolled another step. No, I do mean rolled... it isn't actually possible to walk wearing that many clothes so you just have to kind of roll from side to side until you get a slight forward momentum, like one of those amazingly obese Americans that feature in all the latest round of reality TV shows. The snow is gorgeous! I smiled to myself and sometimes completely overtly every time it crunched under our feet with every step we took, and the sight of the Rocky Mountains in the distance looked somehow unreal against the pure white foreground and the beautiful powder blue sky. This photograph below is Linda and I, or was it me and my Sherpa, Tense-ing?, in front of the Beach House in Crystal Shores. The lake is completely frozen now and the residents spend hours and hours every day clearing snow from the ice, spraying water onto the exposed ice, and polishing the new ice layer to enable the children to play hockey for, oohhh... 10 minutes maybe. Maybe 12 minutes at the weekends... The best sign I saw which was in the middle of a 5 foot snow drift, just inside the gate to the now completely frozen snow covered lake, read "Danger! No Swimming. No Life Guard On Duty!".
The place looks so different in the snow, to me it is far more beautiful with its white coat on and somehow it has a great deal more dimension and far more colours and different shades and shadows. Only a few months ago we strolled around here in our shorts and sandals drinking copious amounts of water to stay cool. Now we shovel snow from the drive, a many times a week chore for poor old Eamonn, but for me... I'm on holiday, and PLAYING in the snow with a great big spade! It's like being 5 years old again :-)
Linda and I decided to go out for a short walk up towards the golf club which in the summer would take perhaps 15 mins. It took us more like 30 mins and we didn't get that far as it was just too cold and genuinely worrying at one point as we took off our gloves to take pictures of an icy overhang, and within no more than 90 seconds had to put them back on, and head back home where Janet and Eamonn very kindly didn't say "We told you so!" although there were one or two raised eyebrows and bitten lips.
We did get the pictures we wanted and here's one of them, but we didn't actually go out again unnecessarily until the temperature got to around, oooohh a balmy -17.
Eamonn chauffeured us about every day and along the way we saw many cars abandoned in the road and on the verges. This scene below is very common as well as very comical and we speculated that these vehicles hadn't been used for a day or two, but no more than that.
The town of Okotoks looks stunning in the snow, it kind of suits it even though it's not up in the hills and isn't a skiing resort. A wonderful place of comfort for us was the 'Tea and Time' tea rooms, a splendid little cafe where you can get every possible flavour of tea, and the most spectacular home cooked food. The soup and scones were a particular delight. As you can see from the next picture, it was particularly tricky to park outside as is usual in these parts and we had to walk perhaps 16 feet from the truck to the front door of the cafe. We were all starving by the time we got there after our hike.
This is the gang all warmed up and full of fresh mushroom soup and a Scottish Breakfast variety of tea. See... No hats!
I scared everyone one morning by announcing that as it was only -17 that I was going out for a walk to take some pictures. I wrapped myself up like a baby and headed out saying that I'd be back in about two hours. They however all heard me say that I'd be back in well under ONE hour and when I eventually arrived back they were just about to call for the Search and Rescue.Ignorant of this panic I was happily wandering about Okotoks marvelling at the sheer beauty of the place and I noticed that after the first 20 mins I got used to the cold and as long as I breathed in through my nose, it didn't hurt anymore. I also noticed that my moustache, beard, scarf and collars were completely frozen up which amused me. Either that or I started to lose my mind in the cold?
The picture above is of the Sheep River. In the summer every time we passed by here there were people swimming and playing in this river. Amazing to see it now with foot prints all over it, some human and some not so.... Maddest of all is that you can still hear the water rushing by underneath and where it occasionally breaks through the surface, it causes steam clouds to bellow up. Fascinating! I didn't brave it out onto the ice... not with all the added weight of my clothes and cameras ;-)
This is a lovely little track which runs parallel with the Sheep River and the sun played all sorts of wonderful tricks with the light as it peered through the frozen branches, bounced off the powdery snow and burned through the icicles. It was very romantic and really awe-inspiring to wander along this path with no other noises than my foot falls.
The trees kept catching our eyes for all the time we were out and about and my solo walk was no exception. Every tree stands out against the sky and there was absolutely no wind to disturb the scene.
This scene is just around the corner from Janet and Eamonn's near to the Fire Station.
The highlight of this walk was coming across a sparrow roost in a road just behind the Tea and Time building. There were several hundred of these little birds huddled together in one tree to keep warm as they settled in for the night ahead. My presence didn't disturb them at all and even when I pointed my lens at them, they gave no more than a slightly irked flutter between them. The noise of them all chirping was lovely. I stood and watched them for a while, all communicating with one another and jostling for the best positions. I only moved on when I started to feel the cold through my arctic outfit. At this point I realised how and why people and animals die from cold. I started to imagine how tough life must be for people who live on the streets and tried hard to imagine, without success, just how they could possibly survive. Then as I walked up the hill back to Crystal Shores and a lovely warm home and welcome I thought to myself just how lucky I am not to have that knowledge.
Katie thinks that this picture should be our family Christmas card for next year :-)I'll write more soon. Next will be the Rockies... Our fascinating and breath-taking trip up to Lake Louise for Christmas Eve - Boxing Day.
