Devonian Gardens (Calgarian Oasis)

Rebecca's brother was in town, I believe from Victoria, and he mentioned that he made his way to the Devonian Gardens and recommended we do the same.  As a result, Rebecca and I made our way downtown and found ourselves in the Devonian Gardens, not before passing a few sights.  It only took about 30 minutes to walk downtown.  Also, it was surprising to see such a large amount of green inside a building.  There were some interesting plants and a few water features.  A great Oasis for downtown employees.  However, if you are short on time I would skip the Devonian Gardens, take a quick tour downtown and head out to the mountains.  We had plenty of time and here are a few photos:

(Train as we made our way downtown)

(Buffalo, because it is Calgary)

(Fort Calgary sign we passed as well as Fort Calgary)

(Sign as you enter Stephen Avenue)

(Metal Horse)

(Devonian Gardens at first glance)

(They had a few interesting masks around the Gardens, wood masks at that)

(We tried to do a few jump photos and this was the best one we got)

(A few of the flowers and they were planting a lot more while we were there)

(Rebecca jump shot.  I think she throws her legs up to make it seem as though she jumps higher)

(We took a few photos where we tried to match the faces of the wooden mask we were standing beside)

(Me trying to match this mask)

(Another jump shot in front of the plant wall)

(The Plant Wall - with Rebecca taking a photo for a stranger)

(Reflections)

(Inside the Core Shopping Centre - glass roof)

(Another shot of Stephen Avenue - always seems to be a character or something happening)

(A shot of... a tree?)

(Rebecca has some very bad ideas when we take photos.  For some reason I was supposed to give the Kanata - Canada store 2 thumbs down, may have been because of the Olympics)

(1 of the 5 ladies and countless others who fought for women's suffrage)

(Great focus on this photo)

(Another great idea - Rebecca joking)

(18th of October 1929 - Women are Persons...)

(Some interactive artwork)

(And a bird...)

Cross Roads Market

Playing catch up and will be for quite some time.  Still on my trip to Calgary which was back in April if I remember correctly.  It's amazing how easy it is to stop blogging.  I guess it's like most things in life, you either find time for it or you don't.  So, going to try and get back into it and see what happens...

There was a little market a few blocks from Rebecca's place.  It was called the Cross Roads Market.  Perhaps the most exciting part for me was the realization that Americans are not the only ones who value 'junk.'  I say this with the idea that one person's trash is another person's treasure.  I am just not a stuff kinda guy.  There was some fresh foods as well - eggs, produce, meat, and other tasty treats in the food section.  Anyway, here are a few photos.  

(Cross Roads Market)

(Here was a store with some stuff in it)

(This was mainly hockey stuff)

(More hockey stuff, because we are in Canada of course)

(Say Cheese, great name for a cheese shop)

(Candy Candy Candy)

(Honey - you either love it or you don't)

(More stuff)

(A little food hut)

(Banana Dog)

(More stuff, in the forms of comics or records)

(Rebecca before we left...)

(Not sure what this look was for...)

Johnston Canyon

One of the places we were lucky enough to go while I was in Calgary was Johnston Canyon.  I guess it is a pretty popular tourist destination and even winter we still saw quite a few people out and about on the trail.  Speaking of the trail - it was horrible.  It was packed snow that had turned into a slush/ice.  We only made up to the big fall before we had to turn around.  Then again, we had a bit of a late start and found ourselves lost for a bit before evening getting on the trail.  We took Basil with and he held his own on the hike and was romping around.  Anyway, photos...

(Johnston Canyon here we come...)

(Basil looking spry...)

(The hike begins, well, sorta...)

(I do believe we made it up to the Upper Falls)

(Rebecca)

(Rebecca and a curved tree)

(Us in front of the curved tree)

(Bas and Rebecca taking a stroll)

(Can't quite remember what was happening in this photo...)

(A few ice formations as we hiked)

(That is one happy lady...)

(I just liked the color of this broken tree)

(BAZ)

(The trail looked awesome and I'm sure it would be awesome in the summer)

('Hey!  What is this?')

(Why it's a ketchup packet, left on the trail...)

(Photo shot)

(Tunnel, which was actually misted over and a bit slippery)

(Camera fun = artsy shot)

(Somebody needed a walking stick and it wasn't this guy...)

(And she got it)

(A ketchup packet and a soda can...)

(Now she was looking for a walking stick for me...)

(Found one, but it snapped after 2 minutes - A+ for effort)

(Upper Falls frozen)

(Some more camera fun)

(So smooth...)

(Jump shot)

(Group jump shot)

(Minus Basil of course, he is just watching)

(Dance party)

(Minus Basil - he just wants the stick)

(So we had a little bit of play time)

(This is the hill I slide down, with camera in hand.  Was only supposed to be a gentle slide but it turned into much more and rather quickly.  Luckily no bones were broken...)