Category Archives: North America

“Pic of the Week”, January 20, 2023: Bighorn Sheep, Highwood Pass, Alberta

I came across this herd of bighorn sheep while exploring Kananaskis Country, a stretch of the Canadian Rocky Mountains south of Banff National Park. Bighorn sheep aren’t rare, but also aren’t see every time you hit the road.
The groups consisted of a bunch of ewes and their lambs who seemed to be on the road to lick salt. Traffic stopped as people got out to photograph them. Especially cute were the youngsters.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge)

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Karl on Jan 19, 2023 | Comments Off

Focusing on Hawks and Falcons, Fairbanks

Karl on Jan 17, 2023 with Comments Off

While visiting Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge we attended a short talk and demonstration on hawks and falconry given by two of the local residents. They had their beautiful birds on hand. I believe the bird shown above is a red-tailed hawk, although I’m not 100% sure about that.
The birds were hooded and carried on thick leather gloves, as expected. The owner of the hawk gave us a display of how the hawk flies and tries to catch prey while in flight.

(Releasing the hawk, Fairbanks)

Once unhooded and untethered, the hawk took to the air and began soaring, elegant and graceful. A leather decoy was whipped about and the hawk repeatedly caught it.
The display ended when a bald eagle …

Tagged bird-watching, Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refu, Fairbanks, Falcons, Hawks

.All Trips / North America / Northeastern USA / Pennsylvania

“Pic of the Week”, January 13, 2023: Liberty Bell, Independence National Historic Park, Philadelphia

Karl on Jan 12, 2023 with Comments Off

I’ve only visited the Liberty Bell once but that was at a difficult time in my life and in American history. It was just a few weeks after 9-11-2001, and the Bell was under high security and partial lockdown (being only open a few hours a day as I recall). It was so unusual to see armed soldiers standing by the entrance to a National Park Site. Still, I found the sight of the Bell to be inspiring and waited in line to see it.
The Liberty Bell rang in the tower of the Pennsylvania State House (a,k.a. Independence Hall), and became associated with American Independence. The Bell probably developed its crack in the early 1840’s after nearly 90 years of …

Tagged Philadelphia

“Pic of the Week”, January 6, 2023: Heather Lake, Sequoia National Park

Heather Lake is a popular day hike destination in California’s Sequoia National Park. The trail begins from the Wolverton parking area, heads north (part of the Lakes Trail) and over 4.1 miles climbs about 2,000 ft to Heather Lake (situated at 9,280 ft). It’s considered a moderately difficult hike.
There are two options to getting to Heather Lake from the Lakes Trail: 1) The Hump Trail requires more elevation gain (about 200 ft), is shadier, and doesn’t have the exposure of the Watchtower Trail. It is the safer option, even if it is slightly longer.2) The Watchtower Trail is not for those with a fear of heights as it takes you on a ledge blasted from a sheer cliff for a half mile, …

Karl on Jan 5, 2023 | Comments Off

.All Trips / Central Canada / Manitoba / North America

Seven Sisters Hydroelectric Dam, Manitoba

Karl on Jan 3, 2023 with Comments Off

Almost all of the electricity generated in the province of Manitoba is clean hydroelectric power. Some argue that the plants are large and unsightly, but once they have been built, they churn our clean power. There are a number of such plants in Manitoba, many of them located on its eastern edge.
The Seven Sisters Generating Station is the largest hydroelectric plant on the Winnipeg River. I’d first visited this plant when I was a young boy and have been back a few times since, my last visit a few years ago.

Constructions on the Seven Sisters station started in 1929 and the plant was operational, generating power, in 1931 — 75 megawatts from three turbine-generators. An expansion of the station began …

Tagged Hydroelectric, Seven Sisters, spillway, Winnipeg River

“Pic of the Week”, December 30, 2022. Hayfields near Anola, Manitoba

I spent many years of my life on the Canadian prairies, so the sight of harvested hay is nothing unusual.
In the old days we saw small rectangular bales (about 70 pounds) dotting the hay fields, but more recently it seems most farmers are storing their hay in these gigantic rolls; these can weigh over a thousand pounds and require heavy equipment to be lifted and moved.
I enjoy seeing and smelling harvested hay — something about it appeals to me.
(Click on thumbnails below to enlarge photos)

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Karl on Dec 29, 2022 | Comments Off

.All Trips / California / Southwestern USA

Sherman Library and Gardens, Newport Beach

Karl on Dec 26, 2022 with Comments Off

The coastal city of Newport Beach is known for its beautiful sandy beaches, swimming, surfing, beach walks, a nice harbor, and trendy homes (and the beautiful people who populate them).
We were surprised to find a small garden and library complex in the city adjoining the Pacific Coast Highway that was most pleasant to visit and explore. We visited in the winter, before the CoVid pandemic, and while some plants weren’t in bloom many were and we really enjoyed our visit!
SHERMAN GARDENS

(Orchids, Sherman Garden)

The botanical garden is thoughtfully designed and is a lot of fun to explore. Arnold Haskell was the founder of Sherman Library & Gardens. He was a businessman who enjoyed gardens and education. After accumulating the land over a …

Tagged Sherman Library

“Pic of the Week”, February 4, 2022: Lady in the Park, Winnipeg

I enjoy interesting pieces of public art. Sometimes a bookish scene like this can qualify as interesting, at least to me.
Located in Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park, inside the English Garden, you can find this statue known as “Lady in the Park”. It’s a bronze created in 1994 by Prince Monyo Mihailescu-Nasturel, a Romanian-American artist. For years the statue was located at the Winnipeg home of entrepeneur Izzy Asper. After he and his wife Babs died, the Lady in the Park was donated to Assiniboine Park by the The Asper Foundation.
The cold and snow make the setting interesting, more so than a warm green summer scene. I like how someone placed a woolen hat on the lady’s head.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right …

Karl on Feb 3, 2022 | Comments Off