The month of April

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This was the month that was meant to be a bit quiet as the weather transformed from snowy to sunny conditions and as I have found out, most places of interest don't open until after the May long week end, but yet I found myself again dipping into some new adventures and seeing different places. With each place I visit and the more I get comfortable in Calgary the more I wish I could stay here for an extended period. I have had new challenges at work, experienced Calgary during NHL play offs and may have rekindled the spark to play Aussie Rules football one last time in Calgary.



LAKE MARA - BRITISH COLUMBIA

After recently blowing any form of budget that I had put in place for myself for this whole experience, I had planned to take the month of April off from any adventures. It wasn't until my mate Doug invited me to join him for an Easter long weekend get away to Lake Mara resort where he had a shack. He was going up there to get it ready for the summer season where he would stay and soak up all its treasures during the summer months. For me, this was another place to investigate and explore and get a taste of the hidden beauties that Canada possesses.



The drive was once again amazing. I had wanted to do the drive past Yoho national park and explore those parts on me last big journey but had run out of time. While I still have Yoho national park to explore, I was able to enjoy the Highway 1 drive that mirrors the experience of the Rocky Mountaineer. Doug stopped and showed me Spiral Mountain where the trains actually go through the mountain and spiral in and out before returning back into more permanent sight. Unfortunately no trains were driving along these parts at this time but I am told this is a great place to stop and watch the train ride through as it actually looks quite awesome. The other wonders that I experienced were driving past a number of water runs that trickled their way through the mountains and flowed to the edge of the road. They were quite regular, particularly after Golden and had me quite taken each time I saw one. We even drove through the road cut through the mountain which was quite a neat little experience as well. This drive however is not for those who are not knowledgeable about this area as this is where avalanches can occur, particularly during the transition of winter to summer. Doug pointed out where one avalanche area had no protection and mud, rocks and trees slid across the road and blocked your way to go to Revelstoke. You also had places where canons where put in order to create controlled avalanches to help prevent more serious danger from occurring. On parts of the road, you drove through tunnels which were more like caves that protected you from avalanche areas along the way which made this drive beautiful yet quite dangerous. Driving past Revelstoke I was able to see beautiful lakes, one where a little house built on its own little island has one of the best views in the valley of the three lakes. We also stopped at a huge rushing waterfall that had a suspension bridge you could walk over to have a closer examination of the rushing water. Unfortunately the walk on the bridge didn't open to May. There were also some adventure parks, go kart tracks and you can stop at the Last Spike at place where the rail road that goes from ocean to ocean was completed on your way to Sicamous which was the closest main town before our final destination.



As we drove towards Mara Lake resort it was easy to see why Doug loved this place so much. We drove along the river which was accompanied by beautiful small range mountains (compared to what I had seen earlier in the drive) that were covered in trees. Their reflection added to the peaceful and calm water of the river and was our guide for the rest of the journey. Mara Lake was a great place to have your own boat and go water skiing or to get in a kayak and paddle endlessly or just sit in your boat and fish. The 82 little cabins were neat and in some cases had quite nice patio settings but were a great size to comfortably fit small families who would go there for the summer. The place had its own gym and pool and was more seclusive only being available to those who owned or rented the facilities. Doug shack was pretty cool. Like all the others it had a fire pit and a nice little kitchen patio and a small little shed that had a bunk bed, toilet and basin which would be my new home for the next few nights.



This trip was learning how Canadian's like to relax, and apart from helping Doug adjust his drains to redirect rain water into a newly purchased rain water tank and clean up the winter mess from the yard, that is exactly what we did. Doug's friend Terry was staying with his family and we spent most of our time with them. We sat and played cards, mainly Crib, 'Ratchet' and 'screw your neighbour' while sitting by the warm and mesmerizing fire with the sweet sound of 70's and 80's music playing in the background, which happens to be some of my favourite music I like to listen to. We feasted like kings two of the nights, with Doug cooking one of his famous smoked ribs which melted in your mouth and every bite leaving you wanting more than your stomach could contain, and a steak that just had my taste buds tingling with delight. However, there is one part of Canadian life style I was found wanting and may let down my Aussie patriots. These guys know how to drink. One night we had crown royals and they would pour nearly half a 500ml glass and have it on the rocks and not even flinch. I had it with a mix and well found out on one of the nights that my stomach was indeed not suited or trained to hold such quantities of alcohol. There is a story that while is quite entertaining for the reader, is probably not one to mention on this particular blog.



It was a nice relaxing time and it was great to sit back and enjoy the beautiful Mara Lake. This has got me very excited for the camping season fast approaching the summer activities that will accompany it.



DRUMHELLER

It was only two weeks later that another week end where I planned to stay home and saved money was revitalised by an opportunity to partake in adventure had presented itself. I had contemplated maybe heading to Drumheller by myself this particular week end but it was only if I was feeling a bit bored or needed to get out of the house. It wasn't until Danielle, one of my fellow Aussie Exchange friends, sent me a message and mentioned that she, her cousin, Clare and Liam where heading to Drumheller for the week end and asked if I wanted to come along. Before I knew it, I was in the car and on the road and ready to explore quite a different type of Canadian landscape.



The drive is tedious, even though it is only 90 minutes or so but well worth the drive. Drumheller has a number of little hidden surprises that you can explore and is a great day trip if you go early in the morning. I unfortunately arrived there about 12 and this impacted on what we could get done during the day. Our first stop was the Hoodoos which is a bizarre rock group of rock formations just on the outskirts of the town. The drive there was surrounded by what looked like extremely large ant hills made up of a number of different soil types that were evident the further your eyes observed the hills. I am not sure if they were created from the mining that took place or had just naturally developed as Drumheller was once a very profitable coal mining town but they were quite unique and interesting.

Our next stop was to the suspension bridge that the coal miners used to walk across to transport coal from one side of the river to the other. The suspension bridge was like walking on a swaying ship. This particularly day was quite windy and each time you took a step, you would sway towards the edge of the protective mesh on the side of the bridge. Take a step left, you would some how end up close to the right. You felt like you had consumed a few too many alcoholic beverages and had no control of your swaying, staggering style of walking but climbing the steep hills on the other side made for quite a nice view. It actually reminded me of the River Murray back home with its murky waters and dull brown colour surroundings but was still a nice little spot to read up on a small part of the local history.



A journey continued across the 11 bridges to a place called the Last Chance Saloon which is a little pub that has to be seen to be believed. With the outdoor feel of being in the wild west, the inside is decorated with all kinds of historical objects from the last 120 years or so. Apparently a place where the local minors would go back in the day, the place was also rumoured to have bullet holes from the odd gun fight that may have taken place there many years before hand. Some of the amazing decorations were hunted animals which included badgers, weasels and even a bear skin that was attached to the roof. It also had a 1940's Band Box which is said to be one of the last of its kind and was restored by a local man so that its historical magic could once again be played for all that visited this little pub. There was also this game that I had seen in a movie before but have no idea what it is called. It is a game where palm sized metal discs are guided along an extremely large bread board that is about fifteen feet long covered in salt. The idea is for you to get your discs as close to the end as possible without them going into the gutter that surrounded this intriguing game. The board was divided into a scoring zone of 3, 2, 1 and no score. Liam and I had an intense battle of this game after sitting and talking in the pub for a good two ours before we ventured off to find our next little adventure.



On this particular day, we did not get the chance to see the coal mines museum where you can venture into an old coal mine and the Royal Tyrrell Museum which is said to be an amazing place to visit dinosaur fossils and bone structures as we ran out of time. We only had enough time to climb the big T-Rex which has a similar unique appeal to it as the Big Rocking Horse back in the Adelaide Hills at home. Although you paid 3 bucks to climb it, the view from the mouth of 'Rexy' was quite awesome. The inside walls of the structure are also quite well painted with dinosaur pictures and ecosystems of where they may have once lived. 'Rexy' is not the only dinosaur sculpture you will see in this town famous for its Dinosaur history. There are a number of shops and street corners with dinosaur sculptures and even the main entrance to the town greets you with a sign with a Raptor attached to it. One final place I visited once I left my fellow Aussies for the day was Horseshoe Canyon. The view is quite spectacular and you are able to walk in and out of this quite differently mother nature design for a canyon. Unfortunately for me I daylight was against me and the freezing, biting wind that crushed into your body and chilled you to the bone damped my motivation to explore it.



As I mentioned before, Drumheller is definitely a place to visit and I will definitely head back to finish the rest of my little adventures that I am still to see.



BADMINTON TOURNAMENT

As part of my work expectations I was given the task of coaching the Year 8 Badminton team for a one off tournament against 5 other local schools. We had been training 2 nights a week and I had a group of 4 singles players, 3 boys and 3 girls doubles teams and 3 mixed doubles teams prepared and ready to try and win the overall pennant for the night. I went and watched the Year 7 and 9 tournaments that were held a couple of days before hand to see how the tournament was run and what to expect in terms of the talent we could be up against.



Lord Beaverbrooke High school had a very impressive gym set up. Walking down the hallways towards the gym, you could be mistaken for being in an elite sporting team walking gallery as all their sporting teams, both junior and senior were represented by professional poster size photos on the wall. Their gym was equally as impressive as they had their logo on the floors, the Volleyball court a different shade of colour to stand out from the other sporting activities played in the gym and high up towards the ceiling they had the history of their success for all sports on the walls for all to see and be intimidated by.



The tournament was run like a well oiled machine. Each game was a first to 15 match with singles games played over 3 courts, the boys and girls doubles played on 2 courts each and the mixed doubles in a separate gym a little further into the school. They had 7 courts in action in the main gym which also had the bleachers pulled out over the 8th court for the large number of parents to watch and cheer on their students. The mixed doubles was played in separate gym which had 4 courts. Kids were given the responsibility of listening to their team number boy called to report to games and report their scores to the scorers desk out in the hall. They also umpired their own games which impressively worked quite well, although some of the calls I saw may suggest they should get their eyes tested or may need to be more aware of the rules.



I was extremely proud of my year 8 teams as I had 1 girls singles player who was very talented and gave me a run for my money when we had a hit win overall with a girls doubles teams and mixed doubles team finishing runners up. I also had two singles players finish 3rd and another a doubles girls team make the 5 verses 6 play offs. While you had the excitement of scoreboard and results success you had the disappointment of results not going the way you would like. One mixed doubles team lost 3 games 14-15 and one 13-15. If luck or one less mistake had gone their way they probably make the top 4 play offs. Another singles player also had 3 14-15 results which saw him finish 6th rather than top 3! The big results for me are the players that have improved from the first training right up to the tournament. One girl really improved to a point where she was implementing strategic play quite consistently. Unfortunately she didn't get a play offs birth but as I said to her, the improvement you made far and away out does any place ribbon you get. She didn't quite share the same view point as me but like my volleyball back home, sometimes that is the best reward you can have as a coach, seeing the development of your players.



CALGARY - FLAMES, HIDDEN TREASURES, AND AUSSIE CULTURE

I have been able to explore a little more of what Calgary has to offer. It is funny but the more I explore this place, the more it feels like home. I actually spoke to a Calgarian on the week end who had been to Adelaide to study and he made the same conclusion that these tow places, while words apart in geography are very similar in their design. I actually drove by myself through the city for the first time which I was quite proud of and explored a couple of nice little walking areas in Prince's Island (my island) and McHugh Bluff where a sit of step stairs entertain those attempting to challenge their fitness goals. I also was lucky enough to head to the Saddledome on Wednesday night to see Def Leppard in concert. I had seen them before in Adelaide and thought they were awesome then and they still have the goods. I sang loud and proud to a number of their hits that I could remember the words to along with approximately12,000 other die hard fans that varied from the middle aged to teenagers. At one point I thought I had slipped into the hot tub time machine and I was back in the 80's the way a large number of people were dressed. The pink fishnet stockings, tight denim jeans, long haired (and in some case natural long hair) wigs with bandana's tightly wrapped around their head. We were even surprised by the large number of fans purchasing $50C shirts which showed that the true die hard rock music fan was well and truly still alive. Probably the most interesting part of the night was before the concert at the Japanese restaurant in Zen 8. While we were enjoying our Japanese delicacies a large drum boomed throughout the restaurant, instantly grabbing the attention of all in the room. Suddenly the waitress yelled out 'Who want's saki, saki," followed by the table behind us yelling 'I want Saki, Saki'. I must say I did question whether I was in a Japanese restaurant or another type of establishment for a small moment!!!!



On the week end I was able to experience the 100th Anniversary of what is one of the most important days in our history in Calgary. While the Anzac Day dawn service may not have occurred at the rising of the sun, 300 people surrounded the shrine in Central Memorial Park to pay their respects to those who made their sacrifices on the battlefield so that we can have the life we live today. It is an event I have been going to for the last decade and was so glad that my aussie exchange friends, who had come over for the week end, told me about it. It was still emotional, still had the minutes silence (except for the disrespectful sounds of traffic and hoons in the background) and when the last post played it still sent shivers up my spin and made the hair on my neck stand to attention. Although this event was quite important, Liam, my fellow exchange teacher mate, had come to Calgary for a different purpose - to play Aussie Rules football!



The Friday night we went out to Kensington to Side Walk sports bar and grill to meet up with a few of the members of the Calgary Kangaroos Aussie Rules football club. They were running a streaming of the Anzac Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood on the big screens there and since we were all craving a taste of Aussie rules football again we went and watched the game. It was great to have a few beers with a mixture of Aussie and Canadian footy enthusiasts and watch a fairly entertaining game of footy. Liam had actually gone to introduce himself as he was going to play in a scratch match the next day with the idea of playing in the local competition that they run on the odd Saturday throughout the summer months. The Kangaroos is the name of their major team that plays against Edmonton and Vancouver throughout the year, but in between time they play under the banner of 3 teams amongst themselves - The Bears, last years premiers, the Cowboys and the Wolves! I had sworn to myself that I wouldn't get involved in anything Aussie as I was here to experience the Canadian culture but once I saw Liam and the other boys running around on the Saturday afternoon chasing the oval shaped inflated pig skin, the urge to play the great game was starting to run through my veins. It was also finding out that these boys go to Texas later in the year to play against other Canadian and American Aussie Rules football affiliations that had me a little excited to involved. The boys seemed like a great bunch of blokes and one of the major coaches was a player that I played with at Encounter Bay 10 years ago. It seemed like a great way to meet more people and the more I type words on the blog, the more the thought of playing football again starts to excite me. I'm heading out to training on Wednesday night and I'll take it from there. Will I play football again?



I can definitely say that I will be seeing the Calgary Flames in the playoffs again as last night I watched an amazing game of Ice Hockey and also saw what the simple game of grow men skating around the ice chasing a thick black disc meant to the people of Calgary. The pubs throughout town were packed full of people as well as the Saddledome that was full of 20,000 screaming fans that gave the illusion of a sea of red surrounding the ice rink where the Vancouver Canucks would attempt to remain alive in the best of 7 series against the mighty Calgary Flames would take place. I was out to dinner at a restaurant/pub on Stephen Ave with Scott and Jackie as they were both celebrating their birthdays. Scott is a passionate Flames fan while Jackie proudly and bravely wore her Canucks jumper were eagerly anticipating the result of the game. The restaurant was indeed quite silent when Vancouver scored 3 goals in the first 8 minutes of the game and there was an instant fear that this series would have to go to the game 7 decider on Monday in Vancouver. The one aspect I love about the flames is they just keep on fighting to the end. A quick change of goal keeper and a bit more luck and urgency the flames brought the score back to level half way through the second period. A late goal to the Canucks had the flames down by 1 before the final period. Calgary had the best record of any NHL side in 3rd periods so optimism was still evident throughout the bar. The Flames got the score back to level and with 5 minutes to play the game appeared to be heading into overtime. That's when it happened! Another flames goal and suddenly the bar erupted. Strangers high fived each other, and the alcohol started to taste alot sweeter. It wasn't until Vancouver pulled out their goal keeper to try and use a 6 on 5 advantage to score and the flames claimed the puck to score an easy goal into an empty net that this city knew it was moving into the next round of the play offs. Waitresses and bar tenders stopped serving in the final minutes, to excited by the final few minutes. No one dared go to the toilet or buy a drink as they counted down the final moments of the game.



What I witnessed later on this evening had to be seen to be believed. The famous red mile of 17th Avenue has had a reputation for big public celebrations in the past as it is the major area for pubs and bars. I had seen the commotion that filled the streets of Adelaide when they won their 1997 and 1998 AFL premierships but this put it to shame. The street was blocked off by police as anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 flames fans pranced around the streets, jumping, singing, hugging and cheering for joy over the result that had just taken place. It took 40 minutes to walk along the street and back and while the atmosphere was so euphoric and made you feel good inside, there was a hint of drunken and dangerous behaviour that stirred in amongst the crowd that had you a little on edge. If it wasn't so cold we may have stayed out there to enjoy it for longer, but after exploring the avenue for an hour or so we called it a night and allowed the remainder of the fans to continue to beep their horns, cheer, and sing with delight for what would be the early hours of the morning. Even from Scott and Jackie's apartment the noise was vibrating through the windows and they had only made it to the second round (final 8) of play offs. What will it be like if they go further?

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Photos

The Anzac Day memorial service in Calgary
Service was held at 2pm not the traditional dawn service

Out the front of the National on 17th Ave.
This was the craziest part of the celebration.