a bear.......

finally got to see my first Grizzly bear on Saturday morning, as we drove down Highway 40,(roughly where the green arrow points, for a hike into the mountains

there he was, sitting on the edge of the forest, his coat shining in the fierce sun & looking rather sleepy

we turned the car around for a second look but he was gone, dissapeared into the vast forested wilderness that the highway cuts through

the hike up at the Highwood Pass was strenous as we climbed several hundred metres in elevation, but at the the top a series of cascading waterfalls offered some respite from the heat

all good fun & wholesome exercise

the following day i starred for Canmore United in our 7-1 demolition of Caribou in the Bow Valley League, actually i saw stars as a nasty clash of heads forced me off dazed & confused shortly into the 2nd half - it was odd, i kind of felt OK but my head was swimming & i couldn't walk for a while - needless to say my head hurt for the rest of the day but i hope to be fit for our final game of the season on Sunday, a win guarantees us the league title

bloody Brazilians....

I am on the Island for a couple of days, as ever it's a lovely place & the weather is good - i flew into Comox today from, Calgary - a route that took us over the Coastal Mountain ranges of BC in pristine blue skies

then a pleasant drive down from Comox, via Nanaimo to Victoria with a few work stops on the way

which brings me here to a hotel in downtown Victoria, temporary home to the Brazilian National Swimming Team competing in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships & currently running riot in the hotel, worryingly close to my bedtime

i'll have to go & shout at them - maybe I'll remind them of their dismal World Cup

on second thoughts, as an Englishman I better put the stones down or my glasshouse will be well & truly broken

so what is Portuguese for "SHUT DA FUCK UP!!!"

sunset over the mountains....

this summer seems to have lasted for ever, it's another lovely evening & i am sat in the lounge of our new home with a beautiful view of the sun setting over the mountains - the few wispy clouds slowly reddening as darkness nears

the new house has brought with it nothing but hassle & expense in terms of actually buying it - thanks to an idiotic buyer of our UK house turning out not to have the money to fulfill the deal, she so happily entered into & an estate agent redefining the boundaries of incompetence - but enough - we are here now & on a balmy August evening that's all that matters

recent weekends have been spent at festivals

the Calgary folk festival was headlined by Kris Kristofferson - a true legend, but also a legend who refused to leave the stage & was still playing after about 3 hours by which time our initial spell bound attentiveness had succumbed to weary, cold boredom

the weather was gorgeous - hot, dry & with much lighter evenings over here - it was a truly wondrous day - my 21mo old daughters first festival & an experience that spilled over from the cool bands playing (the great Son Volt, Robbie Fulks, Dave Alvin) into the craft stalls, ethnic food vendors & of course he beer tent/garden - not a chav in sight

the following weekend was our very own Canmore folk festival, a smaller, more family oriented affair - but again, perfect weather & lots to do outside of the music, including a small enclosure filled with tiny sheep, goats & pigs which the kids could stroke - i never knew pig's had such wet, slimy noses

so back in the Uk for 2 weeks hols at the end of September - really looking forward to it - hopefully all this stuff about the planes & security will have calmed down

out here in sleepy, balmy Canmore it seems a long way away