Pincher Creek
I was just looking at some photos that Jac sent me of Australia Day. How healthy and happy everyone looks!
Every place is known for something, and for Pincher Creek it may be that it's in a particularly windy part of Alberta. Due to the strong Cinook winds that blow off the mountains, it is said to have the highest average wind speed of any town in North America. The strong winds have given rise to a significant amount of wind farm development in the area as you can see from my photo in the previous post.
I made the walk from the hotel down into town to use the computer here at the library. Wandering through the tiny bit of suburbia that exists, I feel like I'm in a
Gust Van Sant flick; looking around at the houses, my guess is median houshold earnings may be below the national average. The blanket of snow that fell overnight and the struggle of the sun to break through the dark clouds makes it kinda surreal. The lack of human existence also contributes.
Yet, the heads over at Bentonville, Arkansas, obviously feel it is thriving enough to put up a
Walmart. And within it is McDonald's where I will start my first shift at 2pm today. Now working at McDonald's in Banff is excusable; I'm there to finance my skiing trip. But working at a Walmart McDonald's in but-hole Alberta is just not what I had in mind.
It would be enough to make you drink. But that is something I'm not participating in for the next 2 weeks as I see beer prices are as high here as they are in Banfff. Having said that, I think this town would lend itself nicely to a bit of petrol sniffing.
Live & Let Die!
Rick and Daz will probably find this of most interest: the copy of the email below came after a month of phone calls trying to get hold of someone at the LA Metro Lost & Found:
"Hi Joshua.
We checked the articles left on the Red Line in December, and while there were a couple of CD cases, they only held either Latino music or Rap…no Red Hot Chili Peppers, unfortunately. Some passenger probably took it home with him and is enjoying your choice of music.
April"
What is most dissapointing about this is, as you aware, the CD contained not only replacable CDs but the entire catologue of home movies I made in the two years I was in Adelaide. 100s of hours of work that were to serve as a reminder of the times. The copies were of course the only that exsist.
Live and Learn!
Business Trip!
I thought I would start this entry with a Fun Fact: the Antarctic, Artic and Alberta are the only places in the world that rats do not inhabit. For the poles it's by chance. In Alberta it's by design. They've had a plan since early white settlement which has helped to keep them out.
So, I'm leaving Banff...today! I'm going on a 2 week "business trip" with McDonalds. (I'm probably going to get myself a brief case for it). Yes, as a hard working employee I've been asked to go down to Pincher Creek. Picher Creek is a town of 3,500 inhabitants located in ranching country on the Albera/Montana (USA) border. (see above photo). I'm not that excited about going but I will work a lot for 2 weeks and hopefully raise some funds. I also hope to get good comments to help speed my way to a managerial position with the McDonald's corporation.
I had mentioned in the previous post that I was going skiing at Lake Louise and Norquay, and I did. And Lake Louise is probably one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. At the top of the mountain is a 360 degree view of the Rocky Mountains. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face skiing that day. I travelled there on the bus just before dawn - sitting with my jaw wide open. It's an amazing place! The next day I skiied Norquay. I did a 10 hour day as I stayed there for the night skiing which was good fun. That's it for my familiarisation days and now Im going to have to buy a pass or get a job on one of the mountains.
Of course, Australia Day was big here - probably bigger on the 25th than the 26th. The Aussies were out in full force with their flags and blow up kangaroos. I saw one get pepper sprayed (an Aussie, not a kangaroo) by the Royal Candian Mounted Police as he tried to resist arrest. Another lot got kicked out of a bar when they pulled the plug out of the jukebox after someone tried to play a track - interrupting Triple Js Hottest 100 which had been playing. Yes, they're a weird mob!
It's time for me to wack on the old 10 gallon hat and head south. Heehaa!
Lake Louise and Norquay
Warn here today - it's risen about freezing to +5.
I had a sausage roll the other day. Was really quite good. Don't know why they have sausage rolls here. Could be the Australian influence or maybe Canada is a sausage roll country. Im not quite sure.
My decision to move out of the Ronald McDonald House is timely as I have a new person in my room. The boss/owner needs a 2 week notice so I will have to wait it out till then. I think my new room mate was a bit shocked about the 24 hour goings ons within the house. Being full of shift workers the house is active at all times. And that activity tends to be blaring music around 3-6am. Nah, it's goooooood!
Despite these concerns I must focus on the reason why I am here: to ski. And I have the next 2 days off work to do just that: Lake Louise and then Norquay on Australia Day. By the end of the week I will have experienced the three nearby resorts using the 'famiarisation' offer. From then on, I will then have to consider how I am going to pay for my skiing days.
Livin' the Dream!
I thought, if only for my own sake, I would add a few pics Rick sent me from the USA.
This one, with the exception of my head, turned out well: Dusk atop Rockefeller Plaza in midotwn. Great view of the park (which Im facing) and the Empire State Building behind me.
Here we have Rick and I up on the Hollywood hills. Behind us is the San Fernando Valley. We are looking out towards Los Angeles.
And in The Flamingo in Vegas
Lastly, with Rockin MC downtown
Ahhhhh!
I am moving out of the Ronald McDonald house. Not that I find it that bad, despite the array of beer cans strewn around the place, and the 4am wake up calls when it's that time of day in Yves nocturnal existance to start drinking. But there's an empty bed in my room that will invariably be filled when McDonald's decides to employ another spotty person - so Im getting out before that happens! I wasn't looking to move, but three French girls asked if I wanted to fill the spare room in their place and I think all up, its a good deal. Not having a camera of my own, I have been rellying on the web for pics. For this entry I searched 'Three French Girls' but the images Google found were a tad too blue for this blog. So instead of three French girls, I decided to go with this picture. It's a good one - it's me dressed up as Ronald. This is how I feel about working at the Golden Arches. Now granted, my intelligence may not suggest that I'm about to split the atom anytime soon, but these 8 hours shift of repetitive mind-numbing tasks are just too much, or too little. I generally don't mind customer service but there is no social component to the interaction. They bark the orders and I fill them. Somethimg needs to be done about this!!!
More Banff
Before I forget, here is the link to
A Traveller's Guide to Mt Gambier. Look for the links to Volumes 1-4. There are a few of you who may enjoy Volume 3 as it is about
Caffe Belgiorno.
And hello from yet another country where Australian wine may be less expensive than at the cellar door. The case in point (actually it was just one bottle) is a Wynn’s 2003 Cab Sav I lashed out on the other day for AU$20. I wish I could write the same for beer as life here seems conducive to consumption (another reason why I need to try and get work during the late shift). Despite the expense, I have enjoyed the novelty of leaving my bottles to chill on the doorstep (as opposed to the fridge). Problem was the other night they almost froze over before I could get through them.
Based on comments I had received form people back home, I calculated that Adelaide was 59C warmer than Banff earlier this week. Rainfall, I’m sure, is quite similar.
I’m penning this blog entry on paper in my bedroom as I only get half an hour on the computers at the library. Looking out my window, which is almost completely frozen over but does have a few peep holes, is my small backyard. Yet from this angle, its expanse seems limitless as there is a forest of spruce that backs onto it. Today, I have time off from my monkey work at Macca's so I plan to go down to the train tracks to look for wolves. Apparently they hang out around there. I presume the tracks are somewhere near here as I often here the trains chugging through the woods.
I also had yesterday off so decided to make use of the cheap ‘familiarization days’ offered by the mountains. When I arrived at the ski hub early yesterday morning I was surprised to hear that my name was not on the list. Despite this, they added me to it. I later realized why it was not on there – I had my dates confused and this bus was heading back to Sunshine Village (I was supposed to be going to Lake Louise). But that was ok as it meant extra ‘familiarization’ at Sunshine. Next week I will go to Lake Louise. Last time I was on the mountain there was a lot of powder – yesterday it was a bit icy as it has not snowed for a few days. I think the best conditions for myself are somewhere in between.
It is ridiculous how few people were on the slopes. It may be a relatively big resort and sure there are a number of them around for people to choose from. But there is no waiting time for lifts or the gondola. You come down the mountain and instantly you are able to hop on a lift. It seems strange that one of the premier skiing areas in the world could be so quiet. I guess the reality is that Christmas is over and most people in the world have to work for a living. I hear that visitor numbers in the resorts greatly increase over the weekends.
The picture above is of the gondola at Sunshine Village. You ride it to get up the mountain and from there take different chair lifts to different runs.
Sunshine Village
It is cold today: -20C.
I had my first day on the mountain yesterday. There are three big skiing mountains around here ("Big3"); Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Norquay. (Sunshine Village is where Kate and CJ worked). I was able to go as I had learned about a special deal they have for people who deal in customer relations here in town. Each of the three mountains are offering a deal for $20 which includes transport, breakfast, ski pass, rentals, tour of the mountain, and beer at the end of the day. What a deal! So yesterday I did Sunshine and soon I will do Lake Louise and Norquay. You can just do it once at each mountain. The mountains do it in hope that you will go tell your customers how great it is. And it was great! It was -20C yesterday but I was well prepared and did not feel too cold. I stuck with my guide the whole day. Infact, I was the only one who did. So I had my own private tour of the mountain for about 5 hours with a guy who's been skiing it since the mid 1950s.
You can see on the map above where Banff is located. I didn't realise how close we are to British Columbia until I was skiing yesterday. I was riding up a chair lift where on one of the poles read a sign "Welcome to beautiful British Columbia", and then the next pole read a sign, "Welcome back to sunny Alberta". My host told me that we were heading alonf the continental divide. So on the way down we were criss-crossing going from one province to another. My host was so excited about skiing yesterday. There has been so much snow and thus a lot ofpowder is on the hills. I fell a lot as I have never skiied powder. The fresh snow softened the falls.
I have the 3-11pm shift at Macca's today and then a few days straight.
Banff Springs
Banff is notoriously expensive. I am emailing at the public library where there is a charge for using the web.
So I have donned the Macca's kit and feel like a right twat. I have worked two days thus far. It seems I must being doing an ok job with customer service as they have kept me up front on the tills. I have also moved into the Ronald McDonald House on Cave Road. In the house are 8 young employees, and being young and possibly away from home for the fist time, the place is a bit messy to say the least. However, I am happy that I have a place to lay my head and it is in a room of my own that I get to do that. Well it will be a room to my own when the guy who was in there comes back and gets his stuff.... and before McDonald's recruits a new staff member, who will invariably be placed in my room. The house is about a 10 minute walk from work. Bow River, which sits across the road from home has frozen and now acts as a land bridge. It looks fantastic – what is usually a body of water about the width of the Yarra or the Torrens is now a blanket of white.
I am not at work today. I would like to think the next day off will be my first day on the mountain - I am itching to get up there. Before then I must go and buy some ski equipment which I think I have found at a fairly reasonable price. I will do this when I leave the library. I am also going to apply for a part time position on the mountain. Not so much for the money (altho that will help) but for the fact that all employees are given a free season ski pass and free transport.... quite a few thousand $s worth.
Im off to McDonald's now for my daily half price deli sandwich - Im sure that will grow tiring very soon.
Oh, i failed to mention the photo above is of the Banff Springs Hotel I went for a walk to this morning
Banff Life
Thought I might as well post again as I have some free time left on the computer here at the hostel, and nay as well use it before I move to the Ronald McDonald house tomorrow. I started my fist shift at the Golden Arches today. I started off on fries but moved on to cashier for most of my shift ("soon, I'll be on lettuce...").
Wildlife is abundant here in the park. Well, I haven't seen too much yet except a little deer and some big black crow-like things. However, from research I find that Banff is home to creatures such as elk, moose, deer, bighorn sheep, wolf, coyote, mountain lion, cougar, bald eagle, black bear, grizzly bear and my personal favourite, the mountain goat. They have special garbage bins here (actually they arent that special, they just have lids on them) to keep the grizzlies out. The bins have stickers saying "Keep the Bears Wild").
As well as a mix of wildlife, many nationalities make up the population of Banff. Most common would either be Canadian or Australian. It's probably safe to say Canadian, but Aussies would certainly represent a large slice of the population pie. They're everywhere! Infact there's three standing beside me right now.
Mmmm, that's about it. Oh yeah, its cold: -5C now with a wind chill of -11C. Wont get any warmer than that for the next 5 days. One of my room mates is here on holidays from the Northwest Territories. He's come for the balmy weather
"My quiet Mountain Town"
It is Banff's "slow season" at the moment. While the place is now packed with tourists, it is apparently even busier in the summer. While I was getting my hair cut today I was told that the town thrives on tourism pretty much 11 months of the year. (The slow month being November when the summer folk have gone home and the skiiers are yet to arrive). It was a long overdue haircut but one that was necessary to help aid gaining employment.
It was important that the first thing I do was look for work. I was told that finding work would not be a problem. Instead, the concern should be acquiring accommodation. I went down to the job centre and drew up my resume. There are a lot of things to consider when looking for employment which I wont go in to as it will only bore you. Short of the story is, it's not the greatest of ideas to get work on the mountain - its poorly paid. Anyways, I took my resume to Macca's. It's known as the best paid hospitality gig in town and also comes with cheap accommodation. I decided to go back and bug them today (as I hadnt heard from them for 24 hours and it was with them I was resting my hopes). So today I got my interview, my orientation and tomorrow I start at the same place that gave me my first employment experince - some 14 years ago. Im garunteed 40 hours a week, and I get 2 days a week off work, and I can choose my hours. Soon I will move out of the hostel and into the McDonald's house!
The haircut is crap!
Banff, AB
Banff (51°10′N 115°33′W Elevation: 1463 m/4800 ft) is the largest town in Banff National Park, located in southwestern Alberta within the Canadian Rockies, making it the town with the highest elevation in Canada. With a population of around 8,000 (of course that fluctutaes), Banff is located about 135 kilometres west of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway.
It was snowing when I pulled in on the bus, and thus Banff is enjoying one of the best starts to its snow season which officially started on Jan 1. Man, what a place! No matter what way I gaze I'm surrounded by mountains. The town has a main drag and I am staying in the hostel which is about a 25 minute walk up a hill. Or a pricey $2 bus ride. I like to save my coin and take the walk.
Walking back to the hostel last night I was presented with what I have always felt to be the visual representation of utopia - a full moon beaming slightly above alpine trees along a winding road. Yeah, you know the one!
Canada...Again
So I made my early flight to Calgary. The only way to get to LAX at that time of the morning was by way of an expensive taxi ride. It proved cheaper to go to the airport earlier in the day (using public transport), hire a car for the day and then drive myself there. The cost of the rental was $11.91 inc taxes for 24 hours. But I took a bit of insurance out which bumped it up to about $20. Certainly still cheaper than the taxi.
My greatest concern of late has been my luggage. Everytime I go to get on a flight I have to juggle the weight of my two bags and then hope that I dont get stopped for my oversized carry on. Both stow aways weighed in at 50 pounds exactly. Of course its customary to take the shoes off when going through security at the airport but I was told that I was selected by United for a "special security screening".
So I get to Calgary and my luck improves as I get through customs and awarded my visa in less than 15 minutes. I opted to take more public transport to get to the hostel which was not easy with all my luggage. However, I was lucky enough to find an abandoned shopping trolley so I loaded my bags in it and took them for the ride.
I made good use of my hockey skates as I was using them within an hour of being in the city. I've found that both Toronto and Calgary have free public skating areas. Besides this, Calgary did not seem too appealing.
The next day my luck continued with Canadian government officials. I walked form my hostel to get my social security number and walked back to the hostel - it took a total of 30 minutes. Then I left for the two hour bus ride to Banff.
