final days of February

My goal was to complete my blanket by the end of February. On the final day, I finally finished stitching all the knitted squares together. Good thing this is a leap year as I needed that extra day.  Voila!  This is my blanket!  It measures 6 feet by 4.5 feet.  It is big, it is heavy, it is cozy!  I am very pleased with the outcome.  My plan is to take it with me next week while on another westerly winter wonderland escape. Upon return home from that escape, I will investigate the idea of either knitting or crocheting a trim around the entire blanket.  I did declare it complete but the more I look at it, the more I feel it looks unfinished. 

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The number of kilometres needed to reach the finish line of the Grand Canyon Virtual Challenge are dwindling.  It was to be a frosty cold morning yet with sunshine and blue sky.  Through the night, we received a new thin layer of white gold. As I was first to be walking in the area, the bit of snow was enough to provide a blank canvas.  As I exited the Birth Forest this was what I witnessed!  A sun dog!  I could see how the colours circled out from the brightest spot.

Along a section of Nose Creek, I spotted these so carefully worked my way down to the creek side to get a better view.  As I have not hiked down the slope in this area before to see what I could see, I can only assume these are small bushes that the water and snow collected and froze on.

They measure about two feet tall.  

making my mark along the untouched pathway 

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This week I was gifted numerous possessions that belonged to my friend who passed away on December 30th.  We had much in common, enough so that we understood we were kindred spirits.  At times throughout the 38 years that we were friends, she came through as my guardian angel, when I needed one that most.  We had a place in our lives for hearts and enjoyed finding them and believing in them.  Angels had meaning too! This now hangs on my fairy light tree!

In her younger years she was a skater!  She still owned her white figure skates and at times mentioned she wished she could lace them up again and skate away.  She enjoyed seeing my skating photos and hearing my skating stories.  The last photos I emailed to her the last week of December, remain in her mailbox unopened.  These skates hung in her home, they now hang on my fairy light tree.

My friend was creative yet in a very different way than me.  We understood we had this in common and enjoyed what each other had to share. One of her books I received was about how to see and interpret what you see.  I opened to the very first lesson to see this!  I did not have the opportunity to tell her about my upcoming trip to The Netherlands (where I will visit the windmills) and Austria.  In my heart, I believe she wanted me to know that she knows!

There are numerous other items I received that I have yet to devote time with.  

The time to do that will feel right another day.   

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The smart thing was to get out early today!  The forecast was calling for a drastic, quick change in weather.  I aimed for Nose Hill with a plan of covering ten kilometres and get home before that drastic change occurred.  I timed it right!  The Hills remain baron of moisture but that will change later in the day. 

That's the storm brewing on the horizon.  

The mountains were no where to be seen as they were already getting hit. 

The only exciting thing I saw up on The Hills was this Grey Partridge!   It blended in quite well with the surroundings. There was another one off in the bush.  A split second after I captured this shot, they both vocalized their disapproval of me being in the area and flew off.  

Nearing the end of my hike, just before I began the descent, I had an experience that scared me.  Two very large dogs came running out of the bushes directly at me.  I froze in the spot, they circled me barking the entire time.  I yelled at them and tried to shoo them away.  They were relentless in their barking and circling me. Then came a lady running around the corner calling them.  I screamed at her to get them away from me.  The words I screamed at her were not nice and I will not share them here.  She could not control them and get them away from me.  I continued to scream at her and I could tell now, she was scared. If I had bear spay with me, I would have used it on the dogs.  The number of very violent dog attacks in the city the past few days played out in my mind.  Finally she was able to control her dogs by offering treats to them. I walked away with every bone in my body shaking.  I kept looking back while the dogs stood by her eating treats.  When they began to walk away, one was still off leash and the other she had a hold off by the collar.  There are on lease and off lease areas on Nose Hill and I was in the off lease area yet dogs need to be under the owner's control no matter what part of the Hill they are on.  I hope she learned a lesson! I did, I will bring my bear spray when I hike up on Nose Hill. 

 

Banff Virtual Challenge COMPLETE February 23, 2024

Taking on the Banff Virtual Challenge was a short sweet escape from reality! 

I got to relive so many of my amazing adventures throughout Banff National Park!  

Of all the challenges I completed over the past three years, this one resonated with me the most, even more so than the Cabot Trail Virtual Challenge in my born and raised province of Nova Scotia.  Over the past few decades I spent so much time hiking, skating, scrambling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and ice hiking in Banff National Park.  I am familiar with tonnes of nooks and crannies.  For these reasons, while I truly enjoyed this challenge, I did come away with some disappointments.  The major one would be a glitch of some sort with the app, or my devices or I don't know what, but my marker would not move off Tunnel Mountain Road to cross the finish line even though I completed the distance, received my finishers certificate and confirmed the information so my medal can be mailed to me.  This is a snapshot of what shows as my finish. I refreshed and refreshed and refreshed but I am stuck where I stand.

This was the final postcard I received.  

This is my photo from roughly the same location.  On this day, Banff just opened up with major restrictions during the height of the pandemic. Provincial plates were all that were permitted at this time.  I took this photo mid day while sitting on the street divider savouring a latte, the scenery, the peace, the quiet and sensing such a surreal feel.    

This is the route of the Banff Virtual Challenge.  The start is where you see my marker at middle left and you see the finish line at bottom right. I drew the red line over top of the blue route the app provided.  The actual virtual route is only a part of the red line and the parts are scattered here and there.  Much of the route was a grey broken line which went over mountain tops and along roadways, I do not believe those sections were counted as part of the distance but I am not positive.  

Another thing I was disappointed about was that I emailed The Conqueror Support Team with a question about this virtual route.  The automatic reply came back stating they would reply within 48 hours.  I sent that question on February 14th and I have still not received my answer. Previous to that, I penned a post to the private FB Conquer Community wondering if others who already started the challenge could answer my query but my post was declined by the admin staff.   

The start of the Banff Virtual Challenge was at the end of the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail near the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse.  I stood in that  spot many times.  This is one of my photos from when I did that hike in June of 2021.

This is my photo of where the virtual challenge finish line was. 

There were two major areas where the virtual route went. I broke it down and made a close up of each.  The blue lines are mine but I do not believe the entire stretches make up the distance of the challenge.   This first map shows the start and the route it went and ending along the Bow Valley Parkway.

This second map picks up the route along the Bow Valley Parkway and carries on until the finish.

Like I mentioned at the start, this challenge resonated with me!  I may be biased, but it had the best views the entire way, of all the challenges I completed.  I do wish the Team answered my question and I do wish my marker moved to the finish line.  It is now time to move on and continue making my way floating down the Colorado River.  I hope to complete the Grand Canyon Challenge in a week's time.  

embracing that spring-like feel

With the sun up earlier along with a spring-like feel in the air, the spring in my step came easily to get out the door for my fill of nature, fresh air and exercise.  It was an unusually warm start to the morning.  My timing was that I made my way through the Birth Forest as the sun began to peek above the horizon.  Ahh, the dawning of another beautiful day!  Days like this in February are unheard of, we should be....

.....pushing our way through loads of snow.  This was this day's reality!  With views like this, no wonder February 20th marked the beginning of wildfire season.  It's an early start this year due to the drought.  Some fire restrictions are now in place within Alberta.   

While covering kilometres along the creek and up on the hills, I heard a ruckus so headed to where the howling was coming from.  It appears one of these coyotes is chasing another one away.  I made an assumption! With January and February being mating season for coyotes, the male coyote is guarding his lady friend and chasing another male coyote away who probably was looking for a lady friend too.  

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Before heading off to lace up and etch away, I have been checking the website to be sure the ice surfaces are still open for skating. It is touch and go these days.  With a forecast of winds to come in and bring the temperature up to plus double digits,  I made an extra effort to get out the door early on this day so I could enjoy the ice before it received too much sun.  Enjoy I did!  

As I skated towards The Canal, I did notice the table and chairs on the deck of the restaurant were set up.  Nearing noon and into the afternoon, this would be a lovely place to sit as the sun shone on it on this spring-lake day in the month that typically has the biggest snowfalls.  

a skating video along The Canal

I need to skate 16.13 kms to surpass the number of kilometres I skated last season.  I hope in this coming week, the temperature does drop as it is forecasted to do.  If so, you can be sure I will skate that 16.13 kms to reach 209.9 kms skated to date this season.  I hope early March will be open to additional skating opportunities!

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When it's not the season to stop and smell the flowers, it is always the season to stop and listen to the birds!  With that being the focus while "out & about" on this day, I found lots of entertainment.  I could name that tune of each one:  Black-Capped Chickadee picking at something in the tree, Northern Flicker showing of its shades as they caught the sun, House Sparrow peeking out at me, Downy Woodpecker giving me the double eye, Black-Capped Chickadee with a sway in its tail feathers, House Finch glowing red.   

Soon the birds will begin to trickle back from their months of snow-birding in the warmer climates.

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It was a hold onto your hat kind of day when I ventured up the hills at Nose Hill!  It’s been quite some time so I was looking forward to this visit. The landscape certainly did not have the look of a February Day!  I felt like I should check for crocuses peeking out through the ground cover.  

Yes, hold on to your hat!  It's these strong winds that are worrisome!  No, not because I might loose my hat, but these strong winds paired with very dry conditions, that's why fire restrictions are in place.  After enduring the wind while ascending the hill then hiking along the wide open ridge, it was time to hit the trail......

.....that would lead me to the forest section where I could seek shelter.  Being sheltered, this area has lots of ice and scattered snowy sections here and there.  As I stepped to the side of the trail to stay away from the ice, I spotted this formation!  It took stepping to the side and looking down from the side, that I saw the love! 

I believe there is love here too!  While standing are enjoying the reflections in the iced-over pond, these two mallards flew in from behind me and landed on the ice.  They slipped and slid for a few seconds then just stood there looking around.  They appeared puzzled. It was odd that I was able to get very close to them without them flying off.  As they started to waddle away..... 

.....I began to record them! They waddled for a minute or so and stopped on a specific spot.  As I walked away and looked back, being at another angle, where they stopped looked like open water but rather was just a different colour of ice.  I made an assumption!  I believe they expected to land in water and when they did not, they waddled about looking for water!   

After embracing these spring-like days, I am glad I did, there is cold and snow in the forecast!  

Yet, I know how to embrace that too and I look forward to it!  

skating : knitting : conquering

The days are numbered for having decent ice skating conditions!  We are on the verge of another extended warm spell with no snow in the forecast.  My new skates arrived and I wanted to test them right away to see if they would be keepers.  They are the same make, the same model, the same size as my blue skates which I purchased some time before January of 2010.  This is the new 2024 look for that same make, model and size.

I put the pedal to the metal and got out there to skate while the going was good.  I went for The Ice Trail.  It's easier to get on the ice there than it is to get onto the ice at The Lagoon.  From the bench where I sit to lace up, to The Ice Trail, is a few inches.  

I slowly and gingerly glided back and forth in front of the bench.  

Once I felt confident enough with this new feel, off skating down The Ice Trail I went.   

The groomer drove off from flooding the ice and then I stepped on it.  Because it was a cold morning, the new flooding froze immediately.  It was a beautiful bright shiny sheer canvas to make the first carvings with new skates.

I skated the roughly just short of two kilometre route around and upon arriving back at this section, I shot a video to capture my first carvings. There is something so satisfying to see the design in the ice.

I also took a photo of the design.

After skating roughly fifteen kilometres, I knew I would be keeping my new skates!

35 Squares are knitted and I refuse to knit even one more!  Enough is enough!  I thought I properly and precisely figured out how many squares of each colour I needed to make the pattern I planned.  I failed!  The pattern is off at the bottom.  While I do have enough yarn left to knit more squares to correct the bottom, I am squared out, no more squares for me!  What's next?  How do I attach all these squares together to make a blanket?  Time to start googling!  

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On the ice again, it's time to get on the ice again!  The forecast for this day was to be cold in the morning then warming up to above freezing before noon.  I have come to know the flooding schedule at The Lagoon, The Canal and The Ice Trail.  I arrived at The Ice Trail just as the groomer was driving away with the empty tank of water.  The ice looked inviting!  It was picture perfect on the back side by the river.  The front stretch was rough in spots due to the warm temperatures into the afternoon the past couple of days. 

Having fun and testing out my skate brakes!

I hoped for a little more snow splash!

The fire pits were rip roaring and it was nice to sit awhile early on when it was still cold.  

After just short of two hours and seventeen kilometres later, sharing The Ice Trail with a few others, the temperature rising, the ice conditions were beginning to decline. I felt fulfilled, it was time to give thanks for a gorgeous morning of skating and head on home.  We will see what the next few days have in store and whether it will be worth it to lace up and etch away!  

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It's time to post an update on my progress with conquering!  Now that I have less than 100 kms to go on the Grand Canyon Virtual Challenge, I am motivated to get to the finish line.  I know I won't need the 37 days that I have remaining, my hope is to complete it in two weeks time.  

The map shows in blue what I covered so far and the red is what is left.  I left my pacer in the dust or I should say the rapids. While I am at 80% complete, the pacer is back there at 60%. 

There I am, still floating down the Colorado River.  The views all look the same so I have not been checking in each time I post my distance covered.  I have been venturing off the river at times just to see what else is around.  There are numerous hiking trails that lead up along the Canyon walls.  I will do an update once I have crossed the finish line.

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I jumped the gun and joined the crusade for the Banff Virtual Challenge and I am going great guns of fire on it.  When this new challenge was announced on Valentine's Day, it called my name loud and clear. It opened for registration on the 15th, I jumped on board and started the challenge on the 16th.   This one resonated with a lot of the members of the conqueror community from all over the world.  Many have been to the area, lots have plans to go and the rest will virtual enjoy Banff National Park. 

The plan is to reach the finish line by the weekend.

The route for this virtual challenge displays different than the others I have done.  Parts of the route are on roadways and one mountain peaks and that is where the broken grey lines are.  The start was at the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse and the finish line is downtown Banff.  The route worked its way up to Skoki Lodge after exiting the village of Lake Louise.  I thoroughly enjoyed that section as I have hiked many trails in that area and even up a few of the Passes, a Ridge and a Mountain. 

After entering today's distance from being "out & about" birding at Carburn, 

it puts me virtually walking along Vermillion Lakes Road. 

I received three postcards so far with long stories attached to each. 

I spent loads of time looking back at my photos of the places I have been that I am now going to virtually.  So many wonderful memories came flooding back.  I shared with the Conquer Community that I have in reality lived the stories that go with these postcards.  This virtual challenge has captured my heart!