Hairy Marmot's and other creatures
Banff truly is a place of two seasons. With resorts operating for around 6 months, it has one of the longest ski seasons in the world. It is timely that I soon leave as the winter season is coming to an end with Sunshine being the only mountain still operating. Many of the Australians whom I speak to are either leaving in the next week or have just arrived. Those that have just arrived will enjoy Banff's temperate summer which brings about an even busier tourist season. It is 7C today so I made my trip to the rec centre with just a light coat (it seems one acclimates quicker than I would have suspected), and on my walk I was thinking of the cool time-lapse videography that they do on those Discovery type programs to show the changing of the seasons.I was heading to the rec centre for some ice skating, but upon entering the janitor paused from his duties to inform me 'no ice!'. This threw me as I didn't exactly know what he meant by 'no ice', but I got the point when I gazed over to the rinks to find their floor was bare cement. As I walked home along the train tracks I laughed to myself as a pair of unidentified rodents (they may have been Hoary Marmot's), were closely following my move - their heads would pop out of one of their holes in the ground, pause momentarily, and then scurry back through their network of underground tunnels before their heads would pop up in another location. I wish I could see more animals but unfortunately many have been in hibernation - although the local paper has written of one Black bear that has risen from its slumber. Black bears are considered to be a threatened species in the park with only 35-40 left. Suprisingly, their bigger, more feroscious cousin, the Grizzly, is somewhat more prevelant. I spotted a Bighorn Sheep on the way up to Sunshine the other day but am more intent on finding a Mountain Goat - I love the Mountain Goat so I thought I would pull a few pics from the web and post them above.
While Banff is getting busier, so too is McDonald's with over $15K in sales over Saturday and Sunday. Nice news for the owner who also owns a store down the road in the town of Canmore, where I'm sure sales were similar. A great reminder that while I will be sorry to say goodbye to Banff, the same can not be said for the workplace.
It was race day last Friday and unfortunately Team McDonald's did not place in the top 10 of the 32 teams involved in the Giant Slalom. This was not suprising as we were competing against a number of ex-Olympians and a group of youngsters (the eventual winners) who were decked out in their Team Canada race apparel. Ah, it was great fun all the same! My boss, Terry, thinks he will just make a mockery of it next year and call head office for the Grimace and Hamburglar outfits to wear on the day.
I had thought poor old Sunshine was slowly falling victim to the warmer weather (the top of the mountains are quite icy while the ski out is mushy) but a dumping of snow the other day has made some repairs. Hopefully we can get a little bit more to keep them in good shape for the final 4 or 5 times I will hit the slopes. It's been a blast - skiing is such a thrill.
While Banff is getting busier, so too is McDonald's with over $15K in sales over Saturday and Sunday. Nice news for the owner who also owns a store down the road in the town of Canmore, where I'm sure sales were similar. A great reminder that while I will be sorry to say goodbye to Banff, the same can not be said for the workplace.
It was race day last Friday and unfortunately Team McDonald's did not place in the top 10 of the 32 teams involved in the Giant Slalom. This was not suprising as we were competing against a number of ex-Olympians and a group of youngsters (the eventual winners) who were decked out in their Team Canada race apparel. Ah, it was great fun all the same! My boss, Terry, thinks he will just make a mockery of it next year and call head office for the Grimace and Hamburglar outfits to wear on the day.
I had thought poor old Sunshine was slowly falling victim to the warmer weather (the top of the mountains are quite icy while the ski out is mushy) but a dumping of snow the other day has made some repairs. Hopefully we can get a little bit more to keep them in good shape for the final 4 or 5 times I will hit the slopes. It's been a blast - skiing is such a thrill.
posted by Joshiesmoov @ 9:15 PM
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