MY FLOOD STORY

One of my favorite things about living downtown in Calgary these past three years has been the simple act of taking a walk. Downtown is made for pedestrians and the sights are always interesting.  So when we found out that we were being transferred to Houston, I promised myself that on my last day in town I would take one, long, final, glorious walk.

That day was Friday, June 21^st, during the height of the flooding. It wasn't the walk I had imagined so many weeks before, when the streets were dry and the sky blue.

The keys to my condo were already in my landlord’s hands, so my walk started from a hotel room on 7th Avenue, down near the old Science Center. I headed towards The Core, rain pelting me on the sidewalk which runs beside the train tracks. I wasn't sure how much would be open, but I was hoping to visit Devonian Gardens and the shops on Stephen Avenue one last time.

As I navigated puddles, I wondered if I could hop a C-Train because all of my rain gear was in a moving van headed to Texas. I didn’t even have an umbrella. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to figure out that no trains were running. The platforms I passed were eerily empty and the only vehicle moving down the tracks was a lone RCMP van. Oh well, I decided, I'll just jump into the Plus 15 to get out of the rain.

I had heard on the news that all offices were closed and I suspected stores might be closed too, but I had no idea the Plus 15 would be locked up tight. I've never seen that before. Signs were taped to the entryways stating that for security reasons, the Plus 15 was closed.

So far I hadn't seen any flooding but the city was changed. An unusual quiet filled the streets. On any given Friday afternoon, Calgary is always alive with commuters running for public transportation or friends meeting for a drink. In warmer months the streets explode with diners at outdoor tables, window shoppers and tourists. But this Friday, the only soul out and about was me.

 

I passed Holt Renfrew and since nobody was there to hear the music they pipe out into the street, it was kind of creepy. The whole city felt like a movie set from one of those disaster flicks. And apparently the cast was taking five. Or maybe I was the entire cast? Yeah, my mind goes to weird places when I don’t have buskers or hurrying crowds to distract me.

Anyhoo, I gave up on Devonian Gardens and Stephen Avenue and turned north towards The Bow River.

Again: Friday Afternoon. Downtown. Empty!!

The walk from Eau Claire to the West End has always been one of my favorites, the paths snaking along the calming river, in the shade of the trees. If you ever passed an annoyingly happy woman on this path who literally stopped to smell the roses, I'm sure it was me.

I passed the Eau Claire YMCA, shocked to see the yellow police tape which closed the path and Prince’s Island Park to the public.

But then I saw the river and gasped out loud. It was high, muddy and fast. Not calming in any way. Every now and then a log or a chair floated by.

Respecting the yellow tape, I walked behind it, in the soggy grass, towards The Peace Bridge. I snapped photos on the way, wondering how The River Café was faring. Frankly, it didn’t look good.

The River Café across the lagoon.

People gathered at the bridge, watching the rushing water. A quiet crowd, but there wasn’t much to say, anyway. 

Further down the path, where it dips beneath the 10^th Street Bridge, folks were acting differently. Stupidly, if you ask me. Everyone had to pose in front of the flood waters- some gripped a guardrail and leaned over the churning river. Maybe they suddenly realized the danger, or maybe it was the police headed our way, but I was glad to see the crowd begin to behave.

Since the sign said “PATHWAY CLOSED” (ha) I walked back up to the road, and stood on the bridge briefly to take in the scene.

Looking west from the 10^th Street Bridge

Looking east from the 10^th Street Bridge.

I continued walking along 4^th Avenue, stopping to look back at the path my husband and I had taken just about every day while we lived here. I have lots of photos of that exact scene, recording the way it looks at different times of the year and in different light.

They’re some of my favorite images of this fine city.

 But now, on my last day in Calgary-maybe forever- I had a new image to add to the collection:

And it breaks my heart.  Seeing my city this way is kind of like seeing a friend in hospital. You know they’ll get better, but still, you worry.

I left the next day, my taxi taking an alternate route to the airport because Memorial Drive was closed. As we sped away from downtown, we passed RCMP on horseback. Add that to the “Things I’ve Never Seen Before” list.

People have told me it was ridiculous to hold myself to that promise of having one last walk before moving away from Calgary. That now, instead of happy memories of her streets and paths, I have sad ones. I tell them, how could I NOT take that walk? My dear friend was sick. I had to check on her.

The Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant

When I was in High School, I participated in a protest against a nuclear power plant on Long Island. My memory of it is sketchy but I know we drove to a certain point where we parked and then boarded buses to the beach. Rumors swirled that celebrities might be there and though I don't remember for sure, that's probably what tipped my vote in favor of going out there.

I wasn't a particularly political teenager but a nuclear power plant on a long, skinny island that would be difficult to evacuate sounded like a bad idea. I remember crowds, not being able to hear what was going on and finally just checking out the guys. (No celebs.) 

I found you some facts and figures in case you're into that sort of thing. From Wikipedia: The plant was built between 1973 and 1984 but never operated. Most Long Islanders opposed it. In 1992, Shoreham became the first commercial nuclear power plant in the US to be dismantled.

The other day I found myself back out on that very beach. I knew the impotent* plant was a short walk away, so I headed down there just to have a look-see. Call me a tree-hugger, a misinformed liberal or a big, fat baby but that place gives me the creeps. 

  

If you're interested in learning more about this expensive bonehead idea power plant that never was, read here:
http://archive.longislandpress.com/2009/06/11/nuclear-waste-20-years-after-the-closure-of-the-shoreham-power-facility/

*I just totally humilated the plant. haha!

A Bitchin' Beach

Mom and I found ourselves with a free afternoon today. She wanted to chill out with some knitting (her words) (not really) but I wanted to see if I could find a beach we discovered on one of my previous visits. It was a town beach, which means you can only get in with a purchased sticker, which Mom has. It was less crowded than other beaches and it had a natural, untouched feel. Kind of like me in high school.

I headed out alone, leaving Mom to get jiggy wit her knitting. I remembered every turn, so there was no problem finding the entrance. The first time we came to this beach, there were two Nazi park rangers manning the guard house who didn't care that Mom's car had the requisite sticker. Mom wasn't with us, so they wouldn't let us in. We returned with her but since she wasn't in the driver's seat, they almost asked us to turn around again. grr!!

So, I was psyched- and skeptical- when I saw that the guard house was not only empty but boarded up. The gate was open. I wondered what kind of trap those sticklers were setting for me. "YOU VIL EXIT!!" I expected them to cry, as they jumped from the bushes. I entered slowly.

Sorry the photo is blurry. I was scared.

Branches and leaves littered the road as if a tornado or a stray elephant had just come through. And then a deer walked by. This was no public beach, my friend.



I admit the whole scene was strange, but I continued on. The parking lot was completely empty, perhaps due to the zombie apocalypse I assumed I'd find on the shore. Or maybe it was the rain.



So here's the part in a well-written story where all is revealed- why the whole place seems to be abandoned. Perhaps Hurricane Sandy washed away the beach? Maybe this stretch was taken over by a pack of wolves? Or worse- a real estate developer??

Heh- joke's on you. I never promised a well-written story. The beach seemed to be abandoned because it kinda was. That's all. And I loved it.

The only other living thing as far as the eye could see was this unfriendly seagull. He refused to pose for a picture. Hmpf!

I dove in head first!! No, silly, not into the water. What are ya, crazy? I jumped right into my favorite past time: beach combing. You see, I've got a plan. When we retire, I'm gonna make these awesome things using the gorgeous shells, rocks and beach glass I find and then sell them to the snooty rich people in The Hamptons. I can't tell you what these "things" are because you'll totally steal my idea. They're that good. No lie. For realz.

Oh and eventually those snooty rich people will be my neighbors. It's all part of the plan. And on an unrelated note, can I borrow a couple million dollars?  

Anyway, scouring the beach netted some incredible booty. Blue beach glass, y'all! BLUE! One of the hardest colors to find. Don't be jealous. Totally worth the two hours it took to find it.

While I raked my raw fingers through the stones (nothing worth having comes easy, people), I noticed helicopters flying overhead. In Calgary, we only saw choppers when there was a news story or wicked traffic for them to cover. I wondered what could be so interesting? Perhaps the blue glass? "Old woman finds awesome beach glass. Hamptons Mavens all a-buzz."

Yeah, right. Let's get real! You can't see beach glass from a helicopter. But if they could, man, they'd be all over it. Anyway, it finally dawned on me that those helicopters were probably headed to the Hamptons. It's a long, congested drive out there from the city. My future neighbors take a chopper. If they were smart, though, they'd save some of that helicopter money for my must-have things.

I didn't get a photo of the helicopters, but, trust me, they were up there.

And their passengers were probably looking down at me with envy, wishing they were on that wild, abandoned beach. Or maybe they were wistfully thinking that their big, old houses could use something really special on the walls. Preferably made with shells, rocks and beach glass. Just you wait, you rich people/future neighbors, just you wait.

Au Revoir

 (I wrote this in May but didn't post it. Life became hectic!)

 

I haven't been writing because I've been sad. And busy. My husband's assignment here in Calgary ended abruptly and we're being sent back to the states. The snow is (mostly) gone, there are buds on the trees and it's once again a life-affirming act to walk along the river.

And we have to leave. I can't tell you in one blog post what living here has meant to us. We love the urban life style: walking everywhere, living close to work, church and friends. Calgary is built for exactly that. When the weather's bad, you just jump into the Plus-15 (the enclosed walkways that snake throughout downtown) where all the action is anyway. On Friday nights, we meet whatever friends are available for dinner and never have to worry about having a second glass of wine. Our home is a short walk away.

I've gotten into the habit of looking up towards the sky for the Calgary Tower when I'm walking in the city. I have no idea why it makes me smile to see it there. I guess it's comforting to see it rising up like the moon, leading me in the right direction.

My husband and I moved here without the kids. Both of our boys had lives of their own by the time our transfer to Calgary was offered. In fact, we left the dog behind, too. For the first time in a very long time, we found ourselves the only two warm bodies moving through the space we lived in. We developed new routines that involved just the two of us. We took off on weekends and stayed in hotels. We made each other laugh. Calgary has been good for us.

I don't want to go. I like our routines. I like this city. I like knowing our favorite waitress by name and all of the shortcuts through the Plus 15. I love that I can see the mountains from my balcony.

Calgary will barely notice when I’m gone. I was just another magpie soaring through her air. But as I moved through the city, I breathed in her cold crispness in winter and the scent of flowers in the spring. She became a part of me and I’ll never, ever forget her.

The Capital of Alberta

Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, is only three hours north of Calgary, but until last weekend we had never been there. Greg had that Monday off because it was a statutory holiday- Victoria Day. We decided to avoid the mountains for the long weekend because the locals told us it would be a madhouse there.

We picked two outings that sounded fun: The West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest shopping mall in North America and Elk Island, a national park that boasts free-roaming bison. Not super-exciting, but it was something to do and we were only staying one night.

We hit the mall first, after checking into the hotel. The place is huge! It has a movie theater, indoor lake, regulation size hockey rink, restaurants, an indoor amusement park, mini-golf, penguin tank and a hotel. Oh, yeah- and there are stores.

We walked around and  had dinner. We didn't have a room IN the mall (not at $300 a night!) but we were staying right across the street. It was a low-key, pleasant day.

One of their theme streets- this is Europe:

The next morning we headed out to Elk Island. It's not really an island. It's a National Park that's completely fenced in. Bison, moose and elk roam free. It sounded like a pretty sure thing that we'd see some animals. My favorite thing to photograph!

We stopped at the info center, asked for advice on where to go to see these beasts and headed out. After about two hours of driving around and hiking a bit, the only living thing I snapped a photo of was this butterfly:

And the poor thing turned out to be dead. :(

We had seen some bison waaaaaaaaaay off in the distance, so we drove around to where we thought they were, parked the car and started to walk across a field to see if they might be on the other side of a hill (behind a fence). BIG MISTAKE!! We quickly became covered in mosquitoes. Not just a few- we looked like we were wearing mosquito jackets. When we ran, they followed us like a black cloud. Amazingly, I didn't get a single bite. Greg had about ten on his neck- his only exposed skin.

That pretty much ended our enthusiasm for the place. Driving out, we passed a beaver. Whoop-de-do! I half-heartedly took some photos but of course, the beaver can't be seen.    

We drove out of the park, pointing the car towards Calgary on the highway. And wouldn't you know it? Bisons everywhere behind the fences lining the highway! Turns out the highway, Yellowhead Trail, goes right through the middle of the park.

We stopped to take a look at this guy...

...but he gave me a dirty look and walked into the trees.

I guess even animals get tired of the paparazzi.

Baby On Board!

I'm so happy to share the news that my son, Jake, and his wife, Yifei, will be welcoming their first child (and our first grandchild) into the world in August! We found a way to involve all of our friends and family in a project to show this new little boy (yes- it's a boy!) how much we already love him. Please contribute to a "100 Good Wishes Quilt."

Friends and family from China, America and Canada are asked to contribute colorful patches of cloth and good wishes for the baby. 100 patches of fabric will be sewn together into a colorful quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from around the world. (The photo included in this post is an example of a 100 Good Wishes Quilt) Your good wishes will be collected into a scrapbook for Jake and Yifei.

HERE IS WHAT WE ASK YOU TO DO:
Send a colorful piece of 100% cotton fabric (at least 12" square). It can be cut from a piece of clothing or purchased from a store.  Include a "good wish" note (what you wish for his life). You can send more than one. The notes and a scrap of fabric will be put in a book for Yifei and Jake and the fabric will be used to make a quilt, to wrap the baby in love and good wishes for the rest of his life.

Send your fabric and good wishes to (Aunt) Nancy Meyer at home or at PO Box 142, Harvard, MA 01451.

Thank you!

Three Day Drive From Calgary to Houston

Greg and I wanted to bring the truck back to Texas, so we drove it down from Calgary. I was diagnosed with mono a few days before we left, but my doctor said it would be OK to go as long as I got a lot of sleep on the way. Those moments when I was awake, I snapped some pictures:

DAY 1, April 5th
Alberta-Montana-Wyoming

1pm

DAY 2, April 6th
Wyoming-Colorado-Oklahoma-Texas

5:30am

"Oh give me a home..."

OK, no buffalo, a few deer but A LOT of antelope:

6:30am

Weird land formation:

Denver, 11:30am

4:30pm

Don't let that "Welcome to Texas" sign fool you. We still had whole day of driving ahead of us on Day 3 from the Panhandle of Texas, all the way down to Houston.

Three days of driving. Total hours on the road= 33. Total hours I was conscious= 10