Yikes 20 Below

I landed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada this morning just shy of 10 am.  And damn it was cold, -20 below Celsius, which for the Americans reading this  is -4 Fahrenheit.  I'm glad l brought my gloves this time.  It was so cold the trunk of the rental was almost frozen shut and took a bit of finessing to get it opened.

I landed in Calgary, but l am heading to Creston, British Columbia, 6 hours away.  It's a bit of a drive but with the scenic mountains to drive through, l didn't really mind, and l wasn't disappointed.

[caption id="attachment_235" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rocky Mountains"][/caption]

On the road, still on the Alberta side l was flagged down by a desperate guy with crutches on the side of the road.  His leg was in a boot cast, hood of his van up, looked like he was in need of some help, so l stopped to see what l could do.

His van wouldn't start.  He had pulled over to sleep and left his head lights on and killed his battery.  He had cables sort of, which isn't saying much. The cables that he had, had alligator clips on one end, and just a circle connector on the other, like l said, sort of.  They wouldn't fit from his van to my rental car.

Two other guys stopped to help, no cables either - and of course, none in the rental l was driving.  They had been hunting and had a deer in their truck; we went over to take a look.  Not a big one, but enough to feed them for a winter. It was kind of sad, the deer had been shot in the head and had been gutted.  I guess it was better that way then being hit by a car and being in agony on the side of the road.

Between all of us, we got the van started and all went on our way.



The mountains were beautiful here, and went on and on.  There were more trees on the mountains then on the mountains down in Colorado, and more snow too.

And one point l was driving and noticed a bunch of boulders piled high on both sides of the road.  It looked like huge dump trucks had dumped load after load.  I've never seen so much loose rock, it was strange.  Then about 500 meters down the road, it was all explained to me.....it was the deadliest rock slide.



 

[caption id="attachment_240" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Boulders piled high"][/caption]

This is what Wikipedi had to say about the Frank Slide.

"Frank, Alberta is a coal mining town in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. On April 29, 1903, at 4:10 a.m., 90 million tonnes (30 million cubic metres) of limestone crashed from the east face of Turtle Mountain and covered approximately three square kilometres of the valley floor. The slab of rock that broke free was approximately 650 m high, 900 m wide and 150 m thick.^[1] The slide dammed the Crowsnest River and formed a small lake, covered 2 km of the Canadian Pacific Railway, destroyed most of the coal mine's surface infrastructure, and buried seven houses on the outskirts of the sleeping town of Frank, as well as several rural buildings. Frank was home to approximately 600 people in 1903; it is estimated that 90 of the roughly 100 individuals in the path of the slide were killed."

 

[caption id="attachment_241" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="View from the top"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_243" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Theres a hole in the top of the mountain."][/caption]

Leaving Gunnison Tomorrow

Yep.  Time to move on.  I came, l saw, l'm going.

My visit to Gunnison, Colorado is over tomorrow.  I stayed here shorter then my normal work trips. It is a small town.  Most places l visit are small towns.  This one seems to be a bit more financially challenged then most lately.

People l talk to here say that it took a while for the recession to hit this area, but now they are feeling the full brunt of it.  It's too bad, they are nice people here.  In this area and Crusted Butte there are a fair amount of homes that are second homes to others.  It is a tourist area with great summer and winter activities and apparently great hunting in Gunnison. Well worth the visit.

Please, when you come, stop by and rent a room at  the Season's Inn and ask for Laveta.  She's a great lady and the motel is clean and well cared for.

I wrote more about Gunnison on my Squidoo page, check it out!

 

Stealth Photo of an Elk in a Truck

Well...it's not the head shot, that l just couldn't do.  There were quite a few pick-ups today of the hunters in Gunnison driving around town with the same cargo as this guy.  It was like a little convoy.

This Elk didn't make it out alive.  If you click on the picture you can see part of the antler and one leg sticking out of the bed of the pick up.

 



 

 

The Hunters Are Back

The hunters are back in Gunnison, Colorado.  How do l know you ask?  Lot's of orange and camouflage crawling around town again.  Not to mention the odd Elk Head in the back of a pick-up truck, with a mighty fine display of antlers.

I'm sure the body of the mighty Elk are at the butchers, and not back in the woods left for the wild animals to eat.  At least l'm hoping.

I couldn't snap a photo, for a couple of reasons, 1. It was kind of sad to see the life-less eyes staring at me from a decapitated head.  2. I couldn't do it stealthily 3. My camera was in the car.  Not upset about #3, just refer to #1 to know why!

I'm not judging.  I love to eat a good steak too.  I just can't think about where it came from before l put it in my mouth.  Detached, l know.

Hunters coming to Gunnison, Colorado

They are calling for another dumping of snow tonight into tomorrow afternoon. I guess l need to go buy those mitts!  That's not discouraging the hunters that are piling into town with their 4 wheelers and campers.  This is a big hunting community and one of the final weeks for them to get out there.  It's done by a draw system, so the ones that pulled this week are going.

The stores are displaying signs welcoming the hunters to town.  Hoping for some of their dollars coming their way.

I'm sure their campers have heaters, and they have all the latest gadgets to keep warm while they sit quietly waiting for their prey to come into range.  I wonder if l will see they coming back nto town with their catch strapped to their pickup truck.  I will keep you informed, with maybe a picture of two, if l can do it stealthily.