Cold and wet was the day that greeted me for my 49th birthday. The rain had stopped over night but everything was very wet at our campsite. Dave and I had planned to make breakfast every morning and eat where ever we happened to be for lunch and or supper. That plan went out the window in a hurry. So back to Three Bear it was. Our waitress from the previous night had told us she would be in for the breakfast rush. We were disappointed not to see her as she was a very good waitress and pretty funny as well. When we asked about her we were told that all the temporary foreign workers had to go home that day as their visas would soon expire. When I had asked her about her accent she told us she was from Estonia. I thought that was pretty cool as my wife was working with a girl from Estonia back home. The restaurant had lost 5 workers in one day. The service was still good, just not the same.

We decided to go check out Grand Teton National Park. It was an overcast day with not very much to see along the way but we did find something cool to check out.

Grand Teton Vodka Distillery in Driggs, Idaho looked interesting so we stopped to get a tour (and a couple of samples). Although we were outside the normal tour hours we got to check it out. Pretty neat process they have there. Since it was raining there really wasn’t much too see when we rolled into Jackson, Wyoming and I got wet enough filling up the truck to not want to wander around.

We drove north towards the Tetons and the weather did improve as the rain stopped but the clouds hung very, very low.

So I’m not totally convinced the Grand Tetons exist, but I did enjoy the fall colours.

We headed back to Yellowstone and drove quite a long ways before we saw anything that seemed worth getting out to take pictures of. Unfortunately the photo I saw and the one I got by the time I could stop and get the shot had changed a lot.

As we drove along the river I could see this herd of buffalo crossing the river but by the time I was close enough to get a photo of it most of them had gotten out of the water. I still took a few photos but it just wasn’t as cool as seeing them all lined up in the water.

Our next and what turned out to be final photo stop for the day was the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone. The rain was an intermittent problem, but it did make for some nice even light which made getting photos of the canyon a lot easier than when the sun is out.

The colours in the rock were stunning. There was also a spot on the left side of the falls that looked to be emerald green and try as I might I just couldn’t seem to capture it the way I saw it. We got tired of getting wet so we headed into West Yellowstone for supper. And once again, it was pouring rain when we got back to the tent. I was starting to make a friend of the gas heater in the men’s washroom by this point. It was so nice to stand in the heat for a few minutes, then bundle up to tuck into all my layers of sleeping bags and blankets. I’d still wake up cold, but it was good to start out warm.

When I decided to go away for my annual birthday road trip I mentioned it to my friend Dave and he asked me if he could come along. He had come to Quebec with me 3 years before and since we had both survived that I figured, why not? Since I had been planning to camp in my truck it meant a slight change in plans. I bought a tent so we’d actually have room to sleep. The plan was to leave early and drive to Yellowstone National Park, find a camping spot and spend 4 or 5 days there. It was a beautiful sunny day as we left around 6 am. As we approached Lethbridge the battery light on my truck came on and I made for the nearest garage. I have to say that I’ve never been convinced that Canadian Tire could do a good job on auto servicing despite the name. But, even though it was Sunday and my choices were very limited, I was very impressed with the staff and the fairly quick repair time replacing my alternator. Sadly though, the delay, coupled with the emergency pit stop I needed to deal with my Fatburger lunch put us about 4 hours behind schedule. As we approached Bozeman, Montana it was getting pretty dark and the highway was lined with deer and antelope so a nice warm hotel room was in the cards as neither of us fancied setting up a new tent in the dark.

After our complimentary breakfast (which was pretty good) we started heading for Yellowstone. We didn’t get very far when we spotted an bunch of old building near the train tracks so we stopped to take some pictures. 

I’m not sure what all used to be there. It’s not all abandoned as there were people coming and going out one of the doors opposite the tracks, but I really liked the look of the building and especially all the glass. We spent almost an hour there before we hit the road again. It wasn’t very far to Livingston where we turned south and followed the Yellowstone River towards the park. We saw a big herd of Elk just hanging out in a field.

 They were not at all concerned that we were stopped taking their photo.

Next stop was Gardiner where we checked out the information centre and looked at the Roosevelt Arch. 

So with that we had arrived at the north entrance to Yellowstone. Heading south we were soon in Wyoming and then at the Mammoth Hot Springs. When we got there the rangers were out keeping, well, trying to keep the tourist out of the way of the big bull elk chasing some cows around. It was pretty entertaining watching people trying to get out of the way as he ran around.

Since the road to the Madison campground was closed and we had to take the Grand Loop Road scenic route there we headed out before there was any elk porn to shoot. Normally it isn’t all that far from Mammoth to Madison but with the road closed for another 2 days it was quite a drive to go a few miles. Since I’d never been to the park I certainly didn’t mind at all.

 I got this fellow along the road and Dave had a couple on his side of the road that were even closer. We only made one more stop along the way which I think was Beryl Spring.

 It was pretty impressive how many hot springs and steam vents that we saw in just our first day. Yellowstone was an impressive place so far.

We finally pulled into the Madison Campground and there was space for us so we booked for 2 nights to see if we liked it as we could always stay longer if we wanted.

 Our home away from home for what turned out to be 4 nights. 4 very cold and wet nights at that.  It wasn’t raining but it had been and by the time we got set up it was time to eat. Since it was chilly and wet we decided to go into West Yellowstone for supper.

 Along the way I spied this fellow fly fishing and really liked the river with the burnt timber in the background so we stopped. I don’t think he knew we were there as he never turned far enough to see us. It was getting dark so we headed into town to find some food.  We found the Three Bear Restaurant along main street and decided to check it out. Was a good decision as we returned there for more meals then we’d planned on.

When we were leaving the restaurant it was dark and raining so there wasn’t much to do but head back to camp and go to bed. We sat in the truck for about 10 minutes waiting for the downpour to slacken, but it wasn’t happening so we ran into the tent and tried to keep warm and dry. I slept pretty good, but it was a cold night.

The mind is an amazing piece of engineering. Some things that we learned or saw oh so long ago can come back to us with so much detail it’s like it just happened. Sometimes it’s song lyrics, like the title to this post. I remember the first time I heard “Looking out my back door” by CCR and thinking that there was no way I heard what I heard, but I had and it stuck in my head for later retrieval. “Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.” Sometimes we look at people or places and remember them how they looked the first time we saw them, no matter how many years have passed. The latter is the subject of this post.

While I still had access to the Leica T camera I took it to Kin Kanyon park early one August morning. For many years I lived across the road from the Kanyon and spent a lot of time in the park. I have seen it change a lot over the years. Change is inevitable. Some say; “Change is good.” I know the first one is true but I don’t always agree with the 2nd one. Maybe the aging process has skewed my perspective of life. Or maybe my mind remembers things as better then they were. Either way, I don’t always appreciate change.

When I first went to Kin Kanyon in the late 70’s it was a rural park in the city. There were more trees in the park than some areas of the city it seemed. Narrow paths led through the bush to different areas of interest. Having lived in the country my whole life; I loved it. From climbing up in the metal rocket and then using the slide to get out to running around in the wooden fort to using the big metal rocking horse that was tucked away in the trees. I loved all of it.

If I tried hard enough I could probably find pictures I took in the park back in the day, but that would just reinforce my change isn’t always good stance.

There used to be lots of people playing frisbee or throwing a football or softball around but now you are more likely to find someone sleeping on a picnic table. They might be burning the table or trees as they can’t make a fire with provided wood.

The trail up the hill is still quite worn but it just isn’t the same without that “hazard” at the top.

The fort was old, but it still looked better than the scrubby bush.

I walked down to the creek so  I could walk along my favorite trail.

For some reason the path was repaved recently and the pavement is now very thick

Just hang a left at that corner and you are on what used to be the nicest trail in the park. Since it isn’t paved I never see anyone on it so it is a nice quiet walk. Over the years the trail have gotten harder and harder to walk on. The creek has eroded parts of the bank and caused some of the trail to disappear. Lots and lots of trees have fallen on it so climbing and weaving is the only way through now.

After I fought my way thought the trees I went looking for easier walking.

Our society keeps getting heavier so it’s good to see the Participark equipment has been replaced by a bench.

I followed the trail down to the other bridge and found a bench in another Participark equipment area.

I’m off the pavement and on the shale trail at this point so I followed it for all of about 100 more feet till I get to the bush trail I’ll follow back towards the parking lot.

As I make my way along the trail the only company I have is a squirrel who chirps at me. The solitude comforts me even as I think back to all the fun times I’ve had in the park.

By now the mosquitoes have found me and there is no one else around to distract them so it is time for me to go home. I got to play with a cool new camera while I visited the memories of my youth so it was a good day. I still enjoy going to the park, but it sure is different then it used to be.

I know this looks a bit like a red wart but it gets better, I promise. If you know what this is you either saw me with it or you are a psychic and won’t need to read any further.

Another red dot. Maybe it’s spreading.

A Leica you say.

Who says you can’t shoot shallow depth of field with a micro 4/3 camera? These were taken with my Panasonic GF2.

Et voila, the beautiful Leica T.

Our Leica rep, Doug French, left us his sample camera for a couple of weeks last month and I took it out for a spin on my lunch break one day. Over the years he’s left us a few toys to play with and I always try them out. This camera is stunningly beautiful in my humble opinion. The body is machined from a solid block of aluminum and hand polished when it is finished. A Leica with a touch screen is a bit unsettling but it is easy to use and pretty comfortable to hold. The touch focus was the only thing to give me any issue and once I learned that you touch it once to select the spot and touch it again to lock the spot in it wasn’t so bad. That works differently than any touch focus I’ve used before, but then again Leica is German.

My first shot with the T. I know I know, it’s epic. Lol. I was having lunch at Vietnamese Sub and I couldn’t wait to get outside and use it so I took this through the window.

Setting up for the Wednesday downtown market.

The market wasn’t open yet so I decided to wander over to the Ross Street Patio to see if there was more exciting stuff around. (There wasn’t).

It wasn’t all that exciting on the patio so I moved over to City Hall Park. With such a short zoom I was a bit limited on what I could do and by now I was running out of lunch hour so I grabbed a couple of shots, well 3,  and went back to work.

All in all I found using the little Leica T to be a pleasant enough experience that I will be taking it out again soon to try some different things with it.

Now I just have to convince Lynda to buy it for me for my birthday. I’m am certain the $4k price tag won’t be a problem. Ok, it looks like I won’t be getting a camera for my birthday this year.

Near the end of June I took mom down to Calgary so we could go to the farmer’s market. Since I was driving we took the scenic route and stopped at Big Hill Springs Provincial Park. Mom had never been there so we did a short walk around. I love going there early in the day. It is so peaceful and virtually no one else is around.

3 small waterfalls.

Looks more impressive when you get closer and slow down the shutter speed.

Breeze picked up so it was hard to get them when they weren’t moving.

It’s so much easier to shoot there when it is a cloudy day but I still enjoyed it.

Mom checking out the water.

I don’t know what most of the flowers are but I take pictures of the ones that catch my eye. The water flowing through the forest and flowers and the wildlife in the area make Big Hill Springs one of my favorite places to visit. It is different every time, even if you visit 2 days in a row at the same time of day. Early in the day is the best time for the nicest light and no one else around to get in the way. I don’t know if I’ll get back there again this year, but I am going to try.

I know it’s been 2 months since Father’s Day but I am very slack in getting things ready to post.

Lynda and Adam took me to the Ellis Bird Farm for an outing. Well, I drove, but they technically took me. We had never been there and it was a nice day for an outing. I’ve driven past is a few times but it was always at times other then when it was open.

It was a fairly windy day but that kept it from being too hot.

We wandered around the farm for a bit taking photos along the way.

These little guys are not only hard to spot, but they move so fast.

Bird on a stick.

Sentry in a tree.

She doesn’t seem too concerned about the eggs behind her.

The calm after a Merlin visited the colony.

There is so much to see in such a small area. We went to the butterfly garden and didn’t see any butterflies but plenty of flowers and plants.

Shot with a Sony A6000 and lens adapter with my Minolta 100mm macro on it.

About as close as I could go without getting in with them.

As it was getting later in the afternoon we went into the Tea House for lunch. We had no reservation but got lucky and there was room for us. Mind you we had to switch tables, but still room. The lady that runs it is very nice and the food was terrific.

Nice cozy little place

A “selfie” of sorts.

Adam and I with our lemonade.

The missus and I again.

Adam and lemonade.

With lunch over we wandered back outside and were in time to join a walk to the West Woods with Myrna Pearman; the farm’s biologist. I’ve know Myrna for many years and she was genuinely happy to see us at the farm. Usually she comes into my work and I help her with stuff. It was nice to be on the other side for a change.

Bird on a wire.

Ready for takeoff.

Liftoff

Gone

I totally enjoyed the day with my family. It was a nice distraction from the stress we were under getting ready to move.  I would recommend checking out the Ellis Bird Farm to anyone. It is a very relaxed place to visit.

My bride.