Interregnum: trip update

Calgary housing sprawl

I was in Calgary for about ten days, working on finishing a book project. The project is done, and I am ecstatic to have that behind me and be back en route north. So while these notes are from a time that I'd just as soon not write about, there are a few interesting things. Maybe.

New house in a new housing development

Notes from the Crowfoot library:
The first day I was there, it was "Neighbor Day." LOTS of kids, families, people. Librarians walking around with a pushcart with drinks and cookies. Coffee and tea stations. Had a delicious almond cookie that was about four inches in diameter. Delicious!

In order to use the wifi at the library, I had to sign up for a "non-resident Calgary public library card." So anytime I go back, I'm all set, especially since it's good for all the libraries in the Calgary system.

This library is is the loudest, most well-used library I have ever been in. Lots of students (school is still in session); lots of toddlers, kids, adults. Two 20-somethings across from me were collaborating on and insurance take-home test. I've learned more about insurance overhearing their heated discussions than I cared to.  If you really need silence, go into the "Quiet Room."

You can eat and drink in the library, too. One girl brought in fast food from somewhere and the smell of the french fries was mouth-watering!

There are lots of tables and desks for work; most of them have electric plugs, which makes it very convenient to work for a long time.

Poutine is everywhere

After a few days: evidently I have been in the library too long. Yesterday a patron asked me where the Spanish thesaurus was. When I said I didn't work here, she said, "Oh! You just looked so... " Like a librarian?

Canada

Thought I would give a few very random observations from my three weeks (so far) in Canada.

- Poutine! Had never heard of this dish (originated in Quebec, supposedly), and now it's everywhere. French fries with gravy and cheese curds. I've yet to have it, but swear I will before I leave. Even Costco has it.

- Bathrooms are called "Washrooms."

- Highways and expressways are called "Trails." First encountered these on the maps: "Redcoat Trail," "Cowboy Trail," then Dinosaur Trail, and now in Calgary there are "Trails" everywhere.

- "oot" accent is not as pronounced as I'd expected, but you can hear it if you listen for it. I find it's more of a rolling in the back of the throat sound.

Older alley - no cars!

- Backing in is the preferred method of parking, I guess so you can just pull out when leaving. If possible, cars will pull forward through a double space to achieve this; generally there is no "stop" preventing this. Makes for ragged lines; if you don't have a backup camera, it's hard to see where your rear is.

- Parking lots are called "car parks."

- Parking lots in malls: Baffling. Twisty. Maybe this prevents speeding?

- Parking lots in malls: In the States, our malls are central, with parking lots surrounding the central mall (often indoors). In Canada, the parking lots seem to be in the center of the set of stores. I haven't come across an indoor mall yet (why? in an area that is cold in the winter and has frequent rain?)

Alley in new subdivision - no cars (well, one in a garage)

- Unpaved alleys are everywhere in both older and new neighborhoods. These alleys are lined with garages and recycling/garbage cans. The garbage trucks use the alleys for collections. Mostly, cars don't use the alleys. Instead, everybody parks on the street, making for very crowded streets. But then, would you want to drive your nice shiny car on the gravel, and in the winter the mud and ice? Some of the new "upscale" developments have houses with attached garages in the front, similar to like we have in the States, but this really didn't seem to be the norm.

If I were living in wintery, cold, snowy Calgary, I'd want an attached garage! 

Wall-to-wall cars on the street

I'm not understanding why developers continue with this alley model, as it seems peculiar to take all this space is taken for what essentially is another whole street! 

Calgary city walk

Had breakfast in the upscale Uplands "Hawkwood" subdivision one morning, and walked the neighborhood fitness path. Walking a neighborhood is the best way to get to know it. The only thing I was missing was a dog.

House in upscale Uplands.

Actually, there weren't that many people with dogs, which kind of surprised me. I saw ONE (1) person throwing a ball for a dog on a soccer field. No one else. (It's a different story in Canmore.)

But there are squirrels and magpies and rabbits. Everywhere. The squirrels have skinny little tails and are smaller than our fat California squirrels. The rabbits (and there are a LOT of rabbits) are white-tailed jackrabbits. Long and lean, they come out at night and the early morning to nibble on grass and flowers. I saw one taking a dust bath. Could there be anything cuter?

Larkspur growing along a pedestrian path

Most of the subdivisions have incorporated walking paths. I was pleased to see that as a pedestrian, you can often walk to the end of a cul-de-sac and find a pedestrian alley at the end of it that will connect to the next street, so residents can safely and quickly get from their houses to shopping or bus stops without making circuitous routes along car routes. Really wish that American developments did this same thing. It certainly would encourage people getting out of their cars!

Although I talked to another Calgary resident, and she said that for vehicles, there is only one way in and out on these developments. No throughways. She said she thought that was one of the issues with the Ft McMurray evacuation was that there was only one way of egress. Something else for our planners to take note of, especially when planning for disasters.

One peony bush!

Flowers of Calgary

Flowers are everywhere, and they are gorgeous, I guess because of the long days and frequent rain showers. There are often volunteers that escape onto the alleyways and pathways. And sometimes you can see secret gardens through the fences and gateways.

I found larkspur and harebells, poppies and peonies. They are amazing.

Bicolor peony

So that's about all I'm going to say about Calgary, although I'm sure I might add to this after wards.

Interim trip report

Some of you might remember by frustration with technology at the beginning of this trip. I thought I'd give a report on how things are going.

CAMERA: I'm having fun with the new camera; really LOVE that I don't have to deal with shiny iPhone glass to see what I'm taking (but I still have that option if I want it). I have more to learn and would like to take some time to figure out some of the cool stuff it can do (night shots, especially). And I have to figure out how to take movies! Downside: last week's flurry of photography at the Birds of Prey Centre used up about half of one battery pack. I was having such a good time taking lots of pictures! Unfortunately the battery pack has to be plugged into an outlet to recharge; it cannot be recharged via USB, so I just have to watch it. Lots of little things to think about.

Harebells along a pedestrian path

iPHONE: Being without a phone in Canada is fine, as long as I have wifi. Google Hangouts is working okay, but it is better from my computer than from the phone. I have been able to make phone calls (again as long as I have wifi) to pretty much anyone in the US. I also can receive calls at my Google voice number (again, as long as I have wifi, and have the Hangouts app running).

WORKFLOW: My own photo and writing workflow is getting easier. I load the photos taken with any of the three cameras onto the computer, label the pictures that I think are the best, then write for this blog. Some I post right away to FaceBook or Instagram, but try to not double post. As long as I have power and wifi, life is good. I just wish I were more confident about writing; or faster about it!

WIFI: The trick is the wifi. It is not as easy as I'd expected. Some places have wifi available, and it appears to be "open" but when you go to connect, it's not — it requires a password. So sometimes it take several tries at different places to find a connection. N0MAD's navigation system will find nearby Walmart stores, but I'm finding as I go north that I'm running into more times that it tells me that roads are unverified. For instance, it could not get me to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, sending me down a dead-end road past a sketchy saloon...

EMAIL/DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS: For whatever reason, some wifi connections don't allow my email program to connect. Not a big deal, as I can work around it with web mail, but still... what's with that?

POWER: Still have not received the replacement mega-battery. (Note to self: must write about that.) I'm getting power either from (1) wall sockets; (2) car battery; or (3) solar (for small devices). Haven't really been in one place long enough, with enough sun, to use the big solar charger. Still nervous about plugging the MacBook Air into that, so the jury is out.

YETI ICEBOX: Awesome!!

KOWA SPOTTING SCOPE: Awesome!!

And this concludes this blog... more in the next one, coming soon!