Lethbridge part 2

A little closer to home this time, we are in Carstairs, Alberta - a charming little town only about an hour north of Calgary. I've only ever seen Carstairs once before, from the cab of a locomotive I took north to Red Deer during my railway days. It's a much nicer town from ground level!!

Here are some other photos from Lethbridge I didn't bother to post last time. We got hit with a freak snowstorm, so the photos aren't the greatest... :(

One of the landmarks in Lethbridge is the famous High Level bridge, the longest steel

railway bridge in Canada, and one of the longest in the world. A train heading
towards Lethbridge Yard puts on a nice, smoky show.

The bridge is so long, it often times can hold an entire train... as evidenced here.

The bridge crosses the Oldman River valley, a spectacular river cut west of Lethbridge.

Lethbridge Part 1

Just a couple of Photos from Lethbridge. We're staying here for a couple of days, and I must say its great to be back in Southern Alberta!!

Lockheed T-33 (Canadiar CT-133 Silver Star) on display at the Lethbridge Leigon

Ric's Grill, a unique restaurant built inside of a decommissioned water tower

Microwave Relay tower northwest of Lethbridge. Even though the tower is rather short,
the high winds in the area require it to be securely guyed down

Cute little guy

It all comes out in the wash...

I was cruising the net today, and came across this site: http://www.aboutairportparking.com/park-2-go-YYC-airport-parking

Park2Go is my previous employer, of whom I worked for between the time I was laid off by CP Rail, and my current job. Ironically enough, the day before I was to resign to take my current job, they ended up firing me for something I didn't do, and they refused to prove.

Why they fired me is a pretty funny story... In mid-February, a car parked in our lot received a lot of damage from an apparent hit-and-run. I happened to be working when the poor owners of the car returned home to find the trunk of their car caved in, which was my only involvement in the situation. I took photos, took their statements and informed management of the incident.

An 'investigation' was launched by the general manager, which apparantly concluded that I was the cause of the damage. I was called into the manager's office, and told that after doing some 'investigating', it was determined that I was the one who damaged the vehicle, and that I covered it up. When I asked to see the evidence he had collected against me, he said he was under no obligation to show it to me (which obviously meant he didn't have any.)

I was then requested to pay the company $2000 to cover the 'deductible', or... in his words... 'today would be your last day'. Naturally, I refused to pay any money to the company (especially for something I didn't do), and left.

Now, what puzzled me was why he even bothered to go through the process of possibly putting his reputation, his company's assets and his job on the line by fabricating this story. After all, during my 'termination' meeting I was told not to bother pursuing any legal recourse, since I was still under probation and he said he could 'fire me because he didn't like my hair'. If he really wanted to get rid of me, he could have just said 'it's not working out, thanks for everything, see you later' and that would have been the end of it. He said that he had 'many other reasons' why he could let me go on the spot, so that it didn't matter what I did ... I'll let you draw your own conclusions on this one, and trust me... I have a few that I'm certain are correct.

If you need to know what kind of a company this is, just take the word of a few of their satisfied customers.

Back from Edmonton after a few days, off for a bit and then off to Lethbridge for a spell. I'll try to get some photos online soon.

Back home

Well, I'm finally back home in Calgary after two weeks in Saskatchewan. Our time in the Land of Living Skies saw us visiting churches in Paradise Hill, St. Walburg, Livelong, Makwa and Barthel. Based in a very charming Bed and Breakfast in St. Walburg (Hummingbird Haven B&B, which I highly reccomend if you are ever in the area), we travelled to churches in surrounding communities taking photographs. It took some getting used to, living in a town as small as St. Walburg (especially being born and raised in Toronto) - it seemed that every community we went to was even smaller than the last..!! Barthel turned out to be just a church and a community hall located about 10 kilometers off of the main road - no stores, no gas station - not even a post office.

We were greeted in Makwa by having no cell phone coverage.

Portable studio setup in Makwa Lions Hall/Gymnasium/Bingo/Auditorium

Downtown Makwa

Abandoned house in Makwa

Hotel and tavern in Makwa

Grain Silos in Makwa

Sigh.... I've had those days too... More than I can count...

Turtle Lake Four Squares Church in Livelong

Who said Saskatchewan was a flat province?

More photos from St. Walberg

Just a few more photos from St. Walberg. We got the word that our last day here is the 19th. I'll be back home in Calgary for a few days, then heading up to Edmonton for a couple days. It'll be nice to be back home, but St. Walberg is a nice little town, and would probably be beautiful in the summer.
The weather has finally improved, from a nice few days down near minus 40 Celsius, we finally got above zero today - it's almost like spring!

As with all of the photos on this site, click on them to see larger versions.

Other towns could follow St. Walberg's example and provide
municipally-run skateboarding parks.


Poor Bruce.


Most small towns I've been to have at least one Sears Catalog shop.


St. Walberg Town Hall

You know you're in a small town when your GPS doesn't
know the streetnames.



St. Walberg Inn... local restaurant/motel/bar/internet hotspot/cop hangout.
Good food, but I don't recommend their beef dip.

One Ticket to Paradise...

My first assignment for my company brought me to Northwestern Saskatchewan, for a two-week stint at various towns and communities in the area. It would be a beautiful area if it wasn't so bloody cold.... western Canada is currently under the grips of a rare mid-March cold snap, bringing the outside temps down to minus 40.

We are currently staying in the charming little town of St. Walberg, SK - about an hour northwest of Llloydminster. With a population of less than 700, it's the archetype of a small Saskatchewan farming town. Our first few days found us in Paradise Hill, an even smaller community 20 minutes west of here. For the next two weeks we'll be visting a few other small villages and communities in the area.

Twin Grain Elevators in St. Walberg.



What's left of the railway in St. Walberg. CN pulled up the rails
in 2005, closing the community off from the rest of Saskatchewan.



Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Paradise Hill, SK.
Paradise Hill is a village of 400 people and has a Ford dealership
that sells nothing but huge Dually pickups and Combines.


A gas station in Paradise Hill, SK


The road between Paradise Hill and St. Walberg - the typical
winter vista in Saskatchewan.

Welcome Welcome Welcome

Welcome to my newest blog...

I have recently been hired as a photographer for a portrait company, a job which will take me across Western Canada going from gig to gig.

I'll be posting photos and other stuff from my travels for you to enjoy... because, I am that egotistical that I think people will care. Honestly, it'll give me something to do.

Bookmark, and come back often. Thanks for visiting!!