BT Edmonton Blogs

For people who insist they don’t like winter – show them this.   

Breathtaking

As you can see, Old Man Winter has a soft artistic side if you are up early enough,..AND if you are tough enough to brave his elements.    Jerry-The-Brave saw this sunrise over the Clear River Coulee in northwestern Alberta.    It’s about an hour west of Peace River, not far from Worsley.    Jerry was looking for a buck or two, and lucky for us he did ‘this’ kind of shooting through the lens of his Panasonic Lumix.    Truly spectacular.

DID YOU KNOW?    If Jerry had taken his skis or snowboard with him, he would have had one great skiing adventure!    The Whispering Pines Ski Hill is 25 km northwest of Worsley.  http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ehpeters/            They have a ton of great snow this year(like every year), and the beauty of the area is included in the lift pass.    Oh – and the food in the chalet is home-cooked.

TAKE US ALONG ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!    POINT, SHOOT, UPLOAD, AND SEND.    WE OF THE FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION ARE WAITING FOR YOUR PICTURE – DO IT TODAY!

In the Wisconsin woods, hunters are using their cameras to shoot the white deer. Not the white-tailed deer, but the head to toe, completely white – Albino deer. Need to see it to believe it? Thought so. Take a look and then blog me with your thoughts!

In case you missed this on BT this morning!

Notice the clouds?

The valley has a "roof"

We thank Megan for capturing these shots that are a PERFECT ILLUSTRATION of a TEMPERATURE INVERSION.    Marmot Basin at Jasper gets a lot of inversions.    Here’s the scoop:  As you can see in the pictures, the clouds are literally trapping cool air at the surface — allowing the skiers at higher elevations to enjoy a wonderfully mild temperature.    Usually,..normally,  the warmest air is found near the surface of the Earth and air gradually becomes cooler as altitude increases.     But sometimes, an unusual situation develops when layers of warm air are formed above layers of cool air .. hence the temperature inversion - cool air sandwiched between the Earth and a layer of warm air, or between two layers of warm air.

Oh — and check all those fantastic, amazing, and awe inspiring conditions at Marmot!    They deserve to brag about their deepest base in years, still new areas of powder to discover, and their brand new Canadian Rockies Express – the biggest high speed quad chair in the Canadian Rockies.    Screaming deals on the hill and in town can be had during Jasper in January which runs until the 31st.     http://www.skimarmot.com/

Mt. Kerkeslin - Jasper

Hey Mandy – welcome to Canada!     She and family were at this very spot in Jasper National Park on New Year’s Day at about 2 in the afternoon.    In her own words:  “We are from the UK and have lived in Stony Plain for 3 years and this is why we love living in Canada“.    On behalf of all Canadians  – thank you.    The big mountain on the left behind the trees is Mt. Kerkeslin, the three tiny peaks right beside it in the mist are:  Mt. Christie, Brussels Peak, and Mt. Lowell.

DID YOU KNOW?    AT 2,956meters(almost 2miles high), Mount Kerkeslin looks over the Athabasca River south of Jasper, and is the highest peak in the Maligne Range.    Kerkeslin is visible from the Icefields Parkway, from Marmot Basin ski area, and from the east side.    It was named by James Hector in 1859 while he was on the Palliser expedition.    No record was kept as to the source of the name … but I did find one article that says:  “Kerkeslin is believed to be a Stoney Indian word for wolverine”.

IT DOESEN’T MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE – WE WANT TO HEAR – ER, UH, SEE FROM YOU.    UPLOAD YOUR FRESH AIR PHOTO TODAY, AND YOU COULD SEE IT ON BT TOMORRROW.

The year was 2003.    It was a hot Thursday August afternoon in Calgary.    I had just donated my 1988 Chevy Cavalier to to the Kidney Car Foundation.   

Yes, for 15 years my Cavalier was my identity, my life-line.    My most prized possession, she was my accomplice in adventure - my motel when I got rained out of my tent.     Would you believe me if I told you I cried as I drove her to the recyle depot?    By then, the door didn’t close properly, the clutch was squishy, and the breaks — were broken – but I loved that car.

So I knew my next vehicle would have to reflect what I like to preach … being kind to the environment, good gas mileage, road worthy – and able to handle all my camping gear.    I decided on the Subaru Forester & we have been inseparable since.    So when Subey’s odometer clicked over to the big one, I thought I had better share her mileage milestone!

Whether you think your car is a “Christine”  or a “General Lee” — we’d love to see a picture … even hear your story.    Blog me!

Baristas

But first, say hello to Nicole and Jayson from Second Cup on Jasper Avenue and 103rd Street.    We are on first name basis — I guess that happens when you see them almost every day.    Do you like the smell of freshly brewed just a little too much??  YOU KNOW YOU DRINK TOO MUCH COFFEE WHEN:
~You’re the employee of the month at the local coffeehouse and you don’t even work there.
~You can take a picture of yourself from ten feet away without using the timer.
~You introduce your spouse as your coffeemate.
~You answer the door before people knock.
~You just completed another sweater and you don’t know how to knit.
~All your kids are named “Joe”.
~Juan Valdez named his donkey after you.
~The only kitchen appliances you own are made by Mr. Coffee.
~You can’t even remember your second cup.

Enjoy safely!    Plus, send me a picture of you with your travel mug and you could win a prize.

Fill 'er up!

CONGRATULATIONS to ATCO .. in particular, the generous souls who raised more than 2 million dollars!    What?    Yep, $2.97 million.

Here are some of the ATCO Rock Stars jumping for joy:  Susan Fulgueras – ATCO Electric,   Ryan Jabs – ATCO Gas,   Tracey Gledhill – ATCO Group,   Bernadine Schlender – ATCO Power,   Michelle Desnoyers – ATCO I-Tek,   Trevor Klein – ATCO Pipelines

EPIC Fundraiser!

ATCO has a company-wide fundraising program called:  ATCO EPIC (Employees Participating in Communities).
Just days ago, they pledged $2.97 million to more than 500 charitable organizations in our province!    The featured charity in Edmonton - Homeward Trust.    In Calgary - Inn from the Cold.

Here’s what ATCO EPIC is:  A unique, employee-led fundraising initiative where employees donate to the charity of their choice and their donations are then matched by the company.    This gives employees the benefit of making an impact on the communities where they live and work.    Employees from all 9 ATCO principal operating companies participated in the program.    Fundraising events included everything from on-line auctions to Wii competitions.    I was thrilled, honoured, and pleased to emcee the luncheon in Edmonton for the second year in a row(so naturally, I snuck in for the photos)!    Siegfried Kiefer, Managing Director, Utilities weighed me down with lovely parting gifts.

Generous group

Wow thank you!

Great pics!    Thank you to Christy at bluefishstudios   http://www.bluefishstudios.ca     Congratulations to ATCO EPIC once again – keep up the fabulous work.

In case you missed the forecast this morning!