Indian Summer

Fantastic weather lately! ("Indian Summer")

Late September is THE time to visit Canada. Just look at these colours! (Picture from Calgary, followed by today's hike to Galatea Lakes.)

Note the reflection in the water. 

P.S. Thanks to an exceptional salmon catch in Vancouver, I could get my hands on a fresh wild sockeye salmon. Unbelievable taste, surreal texture (very much like scallop / St-Jacobsschelp), and very different from the wild salmon we have in Belgium. I told a friend to taste it. "No thanks, I hate fish." After insisting: "Mmm! Can I have more?"

Drumheller

Quick update from my trip to Drumheller. The dinosaur museum was awesome. It must be THE most impressive collection on this planet. As it turns out, Alberta is one big dinosaur graveyard. If you study paleontology, get your ass over here and start digging! Chances are you won't even have to dig, the stuff is everywhere! Much of the material in museums around the world (London, New York, ...) comes from here. This must be the first time ever that I've taken more than a few pictures in a museum.

Pictures 1 and 2 are T-Rex-alike species, 3 and 4 is Mister T-Rex himself:

We also drove around in the area, which is mostly badlands, but with great views from the top of the hills (see pictures). The rough skies were a great match for the landscape. We also saw pump jacks (which pump for oil). Click on the third picture to see gas being "flared off" (burning). 


From the road we could smell (deadly) sour gas (H2S) from the oil wells. While this is not unusual, the concentration was high enough for both of us to get 'car sick' (nausea, slight headache). The cause was definitely not the car. First thing I did when I got home? Reach for my course book and check the H2S symptoms table. Apparently our symptoms indicated a borderline (un)safe H2S concentration. One step higher in concentration causes "loss of breathing, death within hours" - seems like we missed that! Hello Albertians?! Poison gas is blowing around your public roads!

Waterton

I'm accompanying Davy, a cop from Ghent who's on holiday here. I ask if he knows a friend of mine from high school who went on to become a cop as well. He does: "Ah, de rosten!!" ("Ah, the redhead!").

Today's destination: Waterton National Park, on the border with the US. The 300km drive to it alone is worth the trip: 

By the time we've gotten to the park, we've pulled over countless times to look around us and take pictures. I thought I took a lot of pictures (50-100 per day, which equals 2,000 on a 1-month vacation), but this guy averages 8,000 on a 1-month vacation.

Finally we arrive in the park. Look at those clouds!

At the end of this lake (Cameron Lake) is the US border, where Waterton changes into Glacier National Park. Another thing on my places-to-visit list! By the way, 500km further South is Yellowstone, also on my wish list, together with Alaska, and the many places closer to home (Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Fort McMurray, BC).

A great thing of living abroad is you can do cool stuff like this every weekend. We have another (small) trip planned next Wednesday. Check back next weekend!

Moose Mountain

Amazing weather! Geert (another Fleming here) and I went to hike to the top of Moose Mountain, 2400m. We came by car, Geert's car, a red Mustang convertible, so the day started good :-)

Then came the hike. Some fresh snow along the way.  

From the top we could see Calgary, 60km away, in the middle of the plains - which go on for 4000km all the way to the East Coast! For some reason it doesn't show in the picture below though, so you'll just have to imagine Calgary's downtown towers somewhere in the plains:

Right ahead, our destination, the top:

The snow is fresh. Half an hour later we're at the top:

Looking at the mountains around us, the travel bug bites... hard!

Click to enlarge the next picture:

Back to school

I just finished 3 days of training. Now I have my First Aid and H2S (the deadly gas ;-) certificates, which is the minimum you need to work "in the oil patch". The lessons themselves weren't easy, and I had trouble staying concentrated all day - either I'm not used to classes anymore, or it's just the effect of a few short nights. The test/examination was a joke though, so I got my tickets!

Cold!

It's cold, cold, cold tonight, and we're only late August (so what's Winter going to be like?!). First thing I do when I get home: check if brought my warm red fleece from Belgium. Bummer! Someone's going to be buying warm clothes really soon!

Forest fire smog

No news from the job hunting, but you should see this:

There's a dense fog in Calgary and it has a burnt smell. It's smoke from the forest fires in Britisch Columbia, 1000km away. Yes, it's the worst fire season in a decade, there. A few pictures from the Calgary Herald (one picture of BC, two of Calgary):

A few weeks ago I informed about fire fighting in BC this Summer (unique, exciting job!) but it turns out you have to apply a year in advance and go through serious training. For next Summer I already have other plans. So no fire fighting for me - I guess my parents won't mind, though! ;-)

Ha Ling Peak

Today Benjamin and I drove to Canmore, just an hour away, for a hike in the Rockies. Ha Ling Peak, 2407m high, but 'only' 819m on foot. It was a good hike, a very good one! My legs were sore for days after, and Benjamin... I could tell a really juicy story here, but then I probably won't get to join him on another hiking trip again ;-) let's just say he was in heaven when he reached the parking lot ... or rather, that he reached the parking lot!  

The previous picture is (small) me on my way up. The rest of the pictures were shot from the top. Yes, the view was hazy (mistig):

The last picture was shot while driving back into the valley. 

Someone's going to sleep really well tonight!

Mountain Bike

I bought myself a bike, to get around faster in Calgary. Second hand - that way I can just sell it instead of having to take it with me if I move to a different city. Some of the bike-for-sale advertisements were quite funny: "tires require air, but in very nice condition." I guess not everyone here has been introduced yet to the magic of the pump.

After picking up the bike, I biked from downtown to home. 10 km, half an hour, right? Took me an hour and twenty minutes, thanks to the many traffic lights and steeply aborted sidewalks (that could give you a bump in your rim). That's if you follow the route cars would take. Fortunately there are some great, dedicated bike paths, shortcuts. The problem is staying on track when they seem to disappear (and continue somewhere out of sight, like on the other side of a wide road. So I've found myself guessing and erring. Next time I'll plan my route better.

Blueberry season

Every time I go to the store, these are laughing to me, so I finally succumbed! They come from British Columbia (province next door) and now's the season. Don't they look mouth-watering? Believe me, they are! They taste like, err, in Dutch, ergens tussen de smaak van rijpe braambessen en niet-zure stekelbessen ...als ge u daar iets bij kunt voorstellen! ;-)

North American portion, as you see, but I'm not complaining ;-)

Last week I had cherries, also a seasonal fruit from BC, and equally tasty.

My dear Canadians, why go to the fastfood drive-in if you can have these?

Speaking of drive-ins... some banks have drive-ins here. It looks like a fastfood drive-in but instead of McDonald's it says "Bank of Montreal" Apparently that's how you gain customers here! :D

This place is HUGE

I can tell you, in this country you've got some breathing room. Imagine, you're in Ghent and you see Brussels on the horizon! 

(click on the picture to enlarge)

First job interview

I had applied for a position that was actually internally advertized in the company, but they were willing to see me anyway. So I sat at a table in front of three guys (operational people, not HR), and it was fun, laid-back, informal. The interview itself went almost too easy. Imagine: no tough questions whatsoever??!! Pretty much giving away a salary range?! I've had tougher interviews than this one. Granted, they weren't professional recruiters, but still, how often does it happen that you feel more seasoned than the interviewer? 

That doesn't mean I nailed it, though. Apart from the fact there are internal candidates, they need someone who will stay for a long time, and frankly, how stable is an adventurous kid who just landed here on a 1-year visa, with several job changes behind him. They know that too.

The position I was interviewing for: instrument technician in a lab at an Oil & Gas company. I have some of the skills they need and it would get me in the industry.

Flemish Picnic

Once a month, the Flemings in this city get together for an activity. This month: a picnic in Stanley Park (what an 'activity', eh?). 30 Degrees, blue sky. All of a sudden I had a nice sun tan (bordering on sun burn). 

We were about 20 people in total (there are more Flemings here but not everyone could come). Among those present where the BBQ'ers from last week, some other folks, some kids (some of whom would rather speak English than Flemish) and a family on vacation/prospection (dilemma: do I sell my business and home in Belgium or not?).

Quite a few of these people compromised their 

Note to Koen and Allison: the girl in the chair in the first picture is Koen's age and doing her PhD in veterinary medicine at the university here.

Elbow Falls

This is not like the Ardennes in Belgium. Wilderness as far as you can see. Ain't that right, wolves?

Hey, I can't risk to have a whole blog about me without a single picture of me! Also, this for those who asked if I'm enjoying myself here. I am! See, I (am trying to) smile! 

 The pictures show a white sky, but in reality it's getting dark, and the sky is turning a little purple. Beautiful.