Grain Elevators, the prairie sentinels
Grain Elevators were the link between the farmers of western Canada prairie and the railroad that carried away the grains to towns, ports, and ultimately consumers. We consume grains every day in many forms and in many products without knowing how they are grown or come into our homes. Bread is only one of such products, wheat flour is used in many other consumables from Chinese style seasoning to powder detergents.
Old and abandoned elevators are part of the landscape around Calgary and a group of volunteers, in the town of Nanton are working hard to save the elevators that sit by Highway 2 and goes through Alberta to Montana. Their goal is to create and develop a discovery center to preserve and promote the history and culture of farming, grain elevators and the associated rail roads.
I spent a full day with the board of that organization. As a humble member, I was invited to participate in a strategic planning session facilitated by a great pedagogue who enlighten me on what goes on in the board room of corporations.
I learned a lot, not only about strategic planning, but also about wildlife, rail roads, farming, snow, horses, Canadian constitution, the Crown, and many other topics too numerous to recall. This was a full fledged experience. that gave me more than an insight on the kindness, hospitality, generosity, of the people of Nanton. And of course, I ate too much...
If you are in the area, go check the town. The hotel downtown has live music most nights, the food is great and the people are fun. The antique shops are full of treasures while the landscape towards the foothills is magical...
Heritage Park
Even though the temperature was quite cool (-22C, -8F), we went to visit Heritage Park with some friends. It was really interesting to see all those buildings that have been transplanted from different parts of Alberta to recreate an historical experience.
If you go there, I encourage you to stop by the bakery and taste a couple of sausage rolls. They were delicious and quite unique.
Bragg Creek
This afternoon, we drove to Bragg Creek, a small town south west of Calgary. It is a very pleasant community hidden among tall evergreen trees. I took some pictures and I must say that I wish that I could have pressed the shutter button through my glove. The temperature was -23C (-10F) and even without wind, you can feel your fingers getting cold (and red) after only a few minutes.
Houston vs. Calgary. Houston wins.
All right, I have now been in Calgary for four months and I can tell you right now, without hesitation, that Houston is a much better place to be. This is based on my own experience, do not believe anybody else since I am the quintessence of objectivity:
- In Calgary, my commute is so short that I barely have time to listen to my IPod. Houston is much better from that standpoint because I enjoy listening to my IPod.
- I have to commute by bike, this is not as comfortable as a car, especially in my body most sensitive parts. It takes me a while to change when I arrive at work. This is clearly not efficient and sometimes my legs hurt.
- My trousers are too loose, no longer fitting and I will soon need to add an extra hole on my belt. I clearly did not have this problem in Houston. Loosing weight can be troublesome.
- I now enjoy Sushi because it is very difficult to find a TexMex restaurant around here. I used to avoid Sushi because it was not nutritious enough. Now I love it. What's wrong with me?
- Wasabi green color is not as nice as Tabasco red color. Which reminds me that I need to try Sushi with Tabasco.
- Chopsticks are not as convenient as your hands when eating.
- Last time I ate Salmon it had been caught in Alaska by the cook's husband. This is less convenient than going to Rock Fish Seafood Restaurant.
- There are no Becks Prime in Calgary.
- I have trouble finding Tabasco in stores and many restaurant do not serve it.
- Food portions are smaller in Calgary
- There are too many pedestrians in Calgary and I have to stop for them when I drive my car. Houston is much simpler from that standpoint. You don't have to stop for pedestrians and this greatly simplifies driving.
- I feel unsafe in Calgary because there are no police cars at every street corner.
- The sky is often without clouds and the air is quite dry. This is disturbing because I like clouds and humidity.
- You barely notice when there is a federal election in Calgary. In Houston, you at least know two years in advance that something is coming up.
- There are many political parties in Calgary and the Green party is growing in size. It is much easier in Houston where you only have the republican party.
- George W. Bush is from Houston and John Stephen Harper is from Calgary. I guess we have a tie on that one.
- Calgarians insists on recycling. In Houston, it is much simpler to trash your stuff.
Please comment if you have additional useful comparaisons that shows how Houston is so much better than Calgary.
Fall in Southern Alberta
I know that some individuals—who I will not name here—wishes me to freeze to death in Calgary especially when they live in a warm climate such as Houston.
But, let it be known that winter is not here quite yet and I am exorcising the dreaded season by posting some photos on my Flickr account. Photos were taken in October in Southern Alberta at an elevation greater than 1000m. I will insist on the fact thet there is no snow on those photos.