The Grain Elevator is a one of those prairie symbols which are slowly disappearing from the landscape. Farmers used to bring grain to the elevators to sell and then rail cars would pass by and pick up the grain and take it to the mills.

Almost every town in the prairies had at least one of these elevators.

Edmonton's five favorite sons are soon going to be six. In this upcoming week, Mark Messier number 11 will be lifted up into the rafters and no oiler will ever wear that number again.

These numbers hang at the top of Rexall place.

Home after a day of sliding

After a hard day on the slopes, these kids are heading home to tell Mom and Dad all about it..

Edmonton Light Rail Transit...

Faster than a speeding flash blub, the Edmonton Light Rail Transit crosses the North Saskatchewan on the way to the University of Alberta.

In the summer, this walkway is light until 11 pm.

Happy Family Day

Family Day is the third weekend of February. This civil holiday was established about 10 years ago and intended to give everyone a day off during the winter.

This holiday was intended to provide family of Alberta with an opportunity to spend time together. This is one of the fun way in which can close to both family and friends. There are not many thing which will get you to hold on tighter than sliding down a hill together.

I hope that you got some time with your family and enjoyed Family Day.

What am I?

On a weekend outing, I took my parents to a local greenhouse with exotic plants.

This is one of the flowers which we saw but did not get the name of. Does anyone know that this is? My mother now wants my father to building new house so that she can have a green house.... The next family get together may have to be homebuilder.

OPEN 24/7

It is 4 am and you are in downtown with a car showing empty, what do you do? Go to Petro-Canada's gas station and fill up. Most of the gas stations are open 24 hours a day and are self service so you pay only for the gas. Full service stations cost usually half a penny more per litre.

And if you careful, you can see an independents station next door. Gas at the independent's is 4 cents cheaper per litre. Unfortunately, their station closes at 10 pm.

By special request...

Tonight the temperature was just above freezing and so it was time to head out into night and find a picture or two. Well, I needed to get home before CSI hit the airwaves and so this is the picture that I came up with. This is the legislature building for the province of Alberta. For those who do not live in a Federal system, this is capital building for the province of Alberta. As a province, the natural resources of this area are governed by the province.

This is one of the warmer days of February and so it was fun to finally get out.

An eyesore... it depends on your perspective

Refinery Row at minus 20 Celsius...
At minus 20, the refineries around Edmonton expel a lot of water vapour used during the refinery of oil. Many of Canada's largest oil companies have operations in the area including this small refinery on the eastern part of the city. This PetroCanada refinery produces gasoline for many of the PetroCanada stations in western Canada.

Off to work... Don't forget to bring your skis

Edmonton has two ski hills within the city's bondary. These ski hills are usually very busy during the weekend and most evenings during the week. However, when the temperature dips below minus 15, the hills stay surprising quiet. This morning, the temperature reached minus 30 Celsius and even the lifts decided to take the day off.

The Edmonton Ski hill is right across the valley from down town. At its base, one finds the four glass pyramids. The Muttart Conservatory is the premier horticultural attraction and is nestled in the river valley. The conservatory features more than 700 species of plants in arid, temperate and tropical climates.

On the other side, one has clear view of the Shaw Convention Center. If you are looking to have a massive party in Edmonton, the convention is the place to host it. A versatile Centre offering concert capacity for 4,700, bleachers, dressing rooms, support rooms, and sound experience.

Look up ... way up..

While standing at the LRT (Light Rail Transit) station, I looked up and this light fixture...


This is the last of my artistic images for awhile. The next few pictures will show some of the Capital main attractions; however, I got lost in this piece and had to share...

Exiled from the family...

With an economy firing on all cylinders, many Albertans are upgrading their household items.

In this case, this sofa which has likely been part of the family for years finds itself outside looking in.

In most cities, commercial and large apartment buildings have their garbage handled by a private company. In most cases, they pickup once or twice a week and usually they only pick up their own bins. If this is the case, this sofa may be sitting in the cold for a few more days....

Here is another picture from my Niagara Fall's visit.

As hard as it is to believe, I felt colder standing at the falls than I felt walking in minus 40 degree temperatures.

The mist generated by the falls was incredible, and coated most things in the general vicinity. Just ask the trees in the top left hand corner of the picture.

How cold is it?

I woke up this morning to minus 16 and the windows frosty. After a quick walk outside, it was time to come in a warm up.

Alberta's temperature can vary from minus 45 to plus 33 Celsius during the year. It starts getting cold in October, the true cold arrives in January and February.

I am back!!!!

I finally made it home!!!

This picture is taken on the approach to Edmonton International Airport (YEG). This picture was taken from a rear airplane window and shows Edmonton and the winglet from the Westjet airplane.

This picture has not been altered in any way.

Only a few steps from...

Not only was this cold, it is wet and costs just over 10 dollars to visit. Now, next time, I just have to get there before 6 pm. Fortunately, they don't shut off the falls.

Not in Alberta... but the reason for my disappearance

Niagara Falls: It is definitely a place worth visiting in the summer, but it was a challenge this winter day. I have been many places during the winter but this is definitely the coldest! The mist freezes you down to the bone.

This telescope provides an incredible view of the falls. Here are a few facts for those who haven't made it to Niagara Falls...

- the Canadian Horseshoe Falls plunges 52 metres (170 feet) into the Maid of the Mist Pool.

- at the American Falls the water's vertical descent ranges from 21 to 34 metres (70 to 110 feet) to the rock at the base of the Falls.

- more than 168,000 cubic metres (6 million cubic feet) of water go over the crestline every minute during peak daytime tourist hours.

How Cold is it???

How Cold is Niagara Falls in November?

This light stand is covered in ice even though the lamps are more than than 200 watts and are on from 5 pm until 6 am every day.

So what happened here... well the falls run 24 hours a day and the mist from the fall lands on the posts and freezes... so as long as the temperature stays below minus 3, the post remain icicles.

Let me introduce you to the Neighbours

Most of the pictures from Niagara Falls are of the Canadian side; however, these pictures are from the American Side.

It is nice to see one of Canada's exports to the America, I hope they enjoy the ice as much as we do!

One Big Step...

When you get to the edge of the stone wall, you look over and see this... it drops nearly 170 feet down and there are thousands of gallons flowing past you every minute.

This is one of the few places that has ever taken my breath way... Nature truly is beautiful.