Holy Tornado!

Just wanted to share some pics of this amazing cloud that was in the sky the other night. I've been told that it's called a funnel cloud and is the cloud formation that brings tornadoes if the spiral of the could touches down on land. It was incredibly big and it was quite an eery feeling looking at it. Gradually the center of the cloud moved downward but fortunately it moved back up again and the whole cloud slowly dissolved.

Tornadoes are rare here compared to the US however about 10 years ago a similar cloud brought a tornado that killed 27 people, injuring 300 just outside Edmonton and was considered one of Canada's worst natural disasters.

Fabulous Fernie

Over the weekend I took a trip to the mountain town Fernie, British Columbia. In the winter it is a major ski town but with any town in the Rockies there's a heap to do in the summer as well. The mountains are so beautiful and I was so lucky to be able see them from the air in a small plane. What is normally a 3-4 hour drive to Fernie took an hour and a half with the most amazing views of Alberta farm land and the Rocky Mountains. It was an awesome experience!

After arriving in Fernie we set out on a hike. I was pumped to go on my first hike in Canada. It was amazing scenery but my excitement soon wore off when I realised that the uphill very vertical climb was not going to let up anytime soon. It ended up being three hours of steep hiking (think 3 hours of the 1000 steps in Vic) to the top of Mount Hosmer (about 8000 ft). It was probably the hardest thing I have done physically but the views from the top were breathtaking and looking back on it I loved it! Hopefully more to come!

At the top!

Mt Hosmer at sunset (If you look closely you can see the shadow of the horse and rider)

The Calgary Stampede - Yee Haww!!

Named 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' the Calgary Stampede sure is quite an experience! It was held July 9 -18 and had it all!! Not only to most city businesses shut down for the 10 days of the Stampede, but there are free Stampede Breakfasts and BBQ's everyday, country music blares from every restaurant and cafe and its difficult to spot someone who's not wearing a plaid shirt or cowboy hat.

So after a visit to the mall to find some country shirts I spent a few days at the Stampede with friends and had an awesome time. It reminded me a little of the Melbourne show with the rides, game booths and agricultural sheds and livestock showings however they go all out and also have an circus shows including and acrodunk show, freestyle extreme motor cross, an acrobatic ice show, circus comedy, a high dive show, big name live music acts and I'm sure there was more. The thing that sets the Stampede apart is the Rodeo and Chuck Wagon Racing events. During the week are the heats and I was lucky enough to get a ticket with friends for the rodeo finals on Sunday. The main events included, Tie-Down Roping, Steer Wresting, Bareback, Saddle Broc Riding, Barrel Racing and Bull Riding. Each winner took home $100.000. It was great to have a better understanding of the rules and and scoring process. The riders were extremely skilled, it's much more than just hanging on!

The other event the Stampede is known for the the Chuck Wagon Races. It's not quite as simple as racing four horses attached to a wagon as each wagon and driver also has four out-riders who have to set poles, a tent and a stove, get around a barrel and get over the finish line with the wagon all without incurring any number of time penalties. The race was even more exciting as one of guys started taking two-dollar bets. We betted purely on the wagon colour not knowing anything about the skill of the driver. It certainly made things interesting. Kind of reminded me of the Melbourne Cup and happy to say I came out on top!

Every night after the Chuck Wagon Races is an amazing Grandstand Show with singing, dancing, motorcross jumping, amazing circus acts, and an amazing fireworks display.

People come from all over the world for Stampede however some only come for the partying. Every night of the week the clubs are packed. With names like, Stockmans, Ranchmans and Nashville North, you can guess that they only pump the country music and are crowded with wannabe cowboys and cow girls. Its like a week long dress up party! I can stay that some country music songs have gown on me, who would have thought that I'd enjoy dancing and singing along to country music! I did attempt to two-step and line dance but was far from getting it right! (I've put a few songs on the IPOD to the right).

All in all a busy but super fun week! There are more photos on my facebook page but here are some photos from the Stampede that I love taken by professional photographers.

Photo: Bill Marsh

Photo: Bill Marsh

Photo: Bill Marsh

Photo: Bill Marsh

Photo: Bill Marsh

Photo: Chris Bolin

Photo: Mike Ridewood

Photo: Mike Ridewood

Photo: Mike Ridewood

Kick it to me...

I've met some great people so far and yesterday watched one of the guys play in an AFL game. I was really surprised to learn that a Canadian was playing AFL in Calgary. Who would have thought? Aussie rules in Canada!! Was great to watch, even if the field was rectangular and at times the goal posts had a slight lean. The league is just getting started but it was a great standard. I got the feeling that there were quite a few Australians playing and it even felt like back home as it was cold and rainy all day. AFL will take over the world!

Also this past week I experienced another code of football. Here in the town I'm in at the moment they're trying to get a regular community game of American Football up and running. It was modified rules with tag not tackling. I ended up playing and despite not knowing any rules people still passed it to me. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of rugby but was a definite fan of that fact you could pass it forward!

Get ready for the 30 degree heat wave!!

Apart for the odd day here and there most of the time the weather has been lovely and sunny, averaging around 22-26 degrees. My Canadian friends however aren't quite on the same page and think that anything above 25 is scorching. I've found this to be the general attitude over here and think its hilarious. On several occasions I've wanted to cook dinner or do some baking for friends but no one will let me turn the oven on because 'it's too hot' and it will heat up the house. I'm hoping for a few days over thirty but I think I might be alone in that.

This is an article posted online yesterday for Toronto, which is on the other side of the country however the weather forecast for the next week here is a lovely 30 degrees most days. People are bracing for the heat, trying to get their houses as cool as possible and not allowing any indoor cooking!

City issues heat alert

Sweltering hot, humid days expected this week

A heat alert is in place and will likely continue as temperatures are expected to soar above 30 degrees this week. Toronto’s medical officer of health issued the alert Sunday, said media spokesperson Susan Sperling. A heat alert is issued when the likelihood of excess weather-related mortality exceeds 65 per cent, Toronto Public Health manager Elaine Pacheco said.Several factors are considered, including temperature, humidex, dew point and cloud covers, she said. Staff also compare conditions with historical data.“We’re anticipating very hot and humid conditions for the next little while,” Pacheco said. People at risk are encouraged to go to air-conditioned places, stay out of the sun and reduce strenuous outdoor activity between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. They are also advised to check on seniors, infants and anyone with chronic health conditions, as they may be at a greater risk of suffering from heat-related illnesses. The city’s seven designated cooling centres will open if the alert is upgraded to an extreme heat alert, Sperling said.

Canada Day at Shuswap Lake

For the last 4 days I was lucky enough to tag along with a group of new friends to their family's cabin on Shuswap (pron shoe-swap) Lake in southern British Columbia. It's located halfway between Calgary and Vancouver and you travel through the Rockie mountains and through spectacular scenery around Baff, Yoho and Galcier national parks. So many huge mountains in every direction. Its about a 6-7 hour drive and a very popular holiday location as it's massive in size with plenty of room for cabins, houseboats and skiing. I worked out that I think I listened to a total of about 10 hours of counrty music on the drive their and back. (You know you've listed to a lot when you start to recognize the songs and despite the long playlists I can still confidently say that I'm not a fan. I think a future blog on country music is in order. When it's not painful its hilarious)

The forest around the lake is quite dense and therefore the only way to get to the cabins is by boat access. The lake reminded me alot of lake Eildon in Victoria except for the fact that mountains tower every side of the lake and there was snow on the tips of the mountains in the distance. While it was a little cooler than we all would have liked it's truly a beautiful spot and the water was so glassy and smooth at times. However at one point we traveled about 40 minutes by boat in very choppy water for some good cliff-jumping but when we got there most of us were too cold to give it a shot. There very a few brave souls tho!

Thursday July 1 was Canada Day so we all huddled in the boat and braved the cold, wind and rain to watch the fireworks over the lake closer to the town. It was an impressive display. For the rest of the weekend we hung around the cabin, read, had campfires, threw rocks, did stuff behind the boat when it was warm enough and lay in the sun when it was out.

Apart from being such a beautiful spot I love the names of the places in the area.. there was Sicamous (pronounced sick-a-moose), Salmon Arm, Kamloops, The Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk and closer to Calgary is Deerfoot Trail.

Overall a great weekend and I look forward to heading back into the mountains again to take a closer look.