Moose family on Gantahaz Road.

Morfee Mountain Summit looking East toward the Pine Pass and Powder King.  One positive of the recent recession was the make-work-project initiated to clear trash off the mountain and old vehicles from the bottom of the bowl.  People still feel the need to litter as evident by the numerous empty cans found on the way up.  A trait more characteristic of a developing country.  

Gantahaz Subdivision.  My home is down there somewhere.

Morfee Mountain ptarmigan.

Morfee Lake perspective courtesy of a new trail created from recession make-work money.  Forget ad-hoc trail construction, this baby is professionally built and connects into the new mountain-bike park and trail system.  I wish this stuff was around when I lived town…I just had a bunch of cattle-tracks to bike on when I was growing up.  I’ve inherited my dad’s old Garmin Etrex GPS unit and have started to map out some of the trails one openstreetmap.org (possibly more on that soon).  This old yellow-clad black and white LCD beast cannot run internal maps but it seems to grab points fairly accurately.

My brother being chased up the chair-lift by a mean black animal.  We found a couple of dollars in the hill parking lot and under the lift line.  Searching for lost money was a former childhood spring activity.

Azouetta Lake and Murray Range.

Still no jobs or interviews.  Frustrating, which would probably explain the relative lack of blogging…I’m also quite familiar with these areas and Mackenzie life and should have more to say about them.  Often the things one is most acquainted with need less words.    

Technorati Tags: azu, canada, gantahaz, mackenzie, moose, morfee lake, morfee mountain, murray range, photography, pine pass, powder king

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Snow patch.  One of the useful aspects of summer snow is that it creates a rather convenient bridge over alpine scrub allowing access to regions that might otherwise be painfully difficult to get to.

Looking down the Murray Range in the Pine Pass.  I don’t think any of these suckers even pushes 2500m and the side I was only probably is only about 2000. The Pine Pass itself is the lowest pass in British Columbia, with the summit barely reaching 900m.

Didn’t make it through the winter.  

Mackenzie is behind the range in the horizon.  This would be looking West.  Unfortunately there was quite a bit of trash up in the alpine.  I carried a fully backpack full of cans/bottles courtesy of your lazy neighborhood snowmobilers/skiers/boarders.   Folks don’t realize that the area is also used in the summer…and yes…just because it is covered by snow doesn’t mean it’s gone. 

Murray range within the Pine-Le Moray Provincial Park.  The park was created in 2001 as part of BC’s push to allocate 12% of provincial land-base as park.  To meet this goal, the Province appeared to just circle a bunch of land on the map without actually thinking very hard about what they were doing.  It’s kind of a map room park as I don’t think the boundaries have ever been laid out by a field team and the only indication that one is nearing park land are several run-down signs near a few of the trail-heads.  Apparently a management plan for the area doesn’t exist. 

This dog loves sticks…loves them.  She found this rather log-like stick on one of the snowfields and carried it all the way down to the bottom of the mountain.  Every so often she would drop it and wander down slope a dozen or so metres…only to notice that she had left it behind.  This sudden realization would send her racing back up the slope to pick it up.  She climbed the mountain twice for this stick. 

Technorati Tags: azu, british columbia, mountains, pets, photography, pine pass, powder king, travel

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Jasper, Alberta is the exchange point between The Canadian and The Skeena, with the latter running between Jasper and Prince Rupert.  I remember when I was about 10 years old I decided that I wanted to live in Jasper.  That hasn’t changed.  Young population with everyone zipping around on mountain bikes.  My kind of scene.  Too bad they don’t hire planners.  

  Jasper Train Station

My first year of planning school we were told that small fridge = good city (a remark regarding local foods).  I think that full bike racks = good city.  As a resort community within a National Park, there are a lot of reasons why Jasper is the way it is.  Still, as far as resort communities run, I find Jasper remains a real community.  The ‘tourist’ centre is actually quite small and embedded within the greater townsite.  Everything is scaled and designed properly.  It’s a real place, relative to Banff, Tremblant or Whistler. 

China is everywhere these days.

Mount Robson, highest point in the Canadian Rockies.  I’ve visited it numerous times and have trekked Berg Lake, but the view is quite different from the rail line which is on the opposite side of the valley.  Robson is a baby by Himalayan standards, but what makes it interesting is it’s imposing mass…it dwarfs all surrounding peaks and dominates the horizon.  When I visited the Chinese side of Mount Everest, I couldn’t help but think of Mount Robson.

The Skeena is tiny…only four cars, one of which is baggage.  There were about only 30 people on the train (95% tourist) to Prince George meaning everyone gets a seat in the dome car.  The train also slows down for bears and stops for Mount Robson.

Technorati Tags: jasper, mount robson, rockies, the skeena, travel, traveling, urban planning, via rail

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Actually, there were more trees then I thought there would be.

Technorati Tags: canada, photography, praries, sunset, train, traveling, via rail

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Moving up through northwestern Ontario I received the impression that this section of the province isn’t doing to well.  The train didn’t stop that often (maybe only thrice) but each of one of these communities (Hornepayne, Longlac and Nakina) were considerably rundown around the CN station.  Boarded up, or abandoned buildings were the norm.  Rail remains a fringe form of transport in Canada, so I wasn’t expecting Union Station qualities, but the towns were not looking too hot.  The murals near the Hornepayne station didn’t seem to offer much in the way of economic assistance to the town.  Definite echoes of Siberia and the Soviet Far East as the train moved past closed up sawmills and abandoned industrial buildings. 

I think it was going past Longlac that I noticed a Northern outlet.  I didn’t think that company still existed.  We used to have one in Mackenzie.  We also used to have Boots Drugstore in that town as well…I didn’t think those existed anymore either until I ran into one in Bangkok (I believe it was in the mall that was recently torched during the riots).

I was surprised at the large amount of rail waste along the sides of the track.  Thousands of discarded rail ties stacked up and thrown over the right-of-way.  Equally numerous numbers of creosote (or some kind of oil) buckets scattered everywhere.   Rails, concrete ties, shacks and white trash (probably from work crews) was quite common.  The old telegraph lines still follow the track but probably won’t be standing in ten years time.

The first major stop was Winnipeg, and I had about three hours to take in some of the city…meaning the downtown area.  Being Victoria Day, the place was a ghost-town and it was hard to find even a breakfast place at 9am.  I quite liked what I saw though.  There are quite a few heritage buildings in the downtown area, some gentrified (The Exchange District) and some in a serious state of dilapidation.  Lots of old murals which I thought added a layer of uniqueness to the buildings.  Where can I get stomach powder?

One of the first buildings one sees from the train while arriving in Winnipeg is the Mr. Nutty building.  It seems at one point in history, Mr. Nutty controlled some prime real-estate in the downtown.  Presently, I suspect his famous high-quality candy empire is no longer dominating Winnipeg’s downtown core.  I also randomly wandered through Winnipeg’s Chinatown which appears to have seen better days…although there is a rather interesting modern-styled Chinese mixed-use building anchoring the community.

Winnipeg also has a Union Station.  Union appears to be the default name for train station in North America.  Apparently the name is used to describe the ‘union’ of several rail companies that shared the facilities.

Technorati Tags: chinatown, manitoba, murals, Ontario, the canadian, train, travel, traveling, via rail, winnipeg

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May 22-23 2010 –

I like to believe that train travel is a higher form of travel in contrast to the sardine can nature of economy-class flying.  In some cases, it isn’t as I can think of a few Chinese train adventures in hard-seat class that left me questioning humanity.  Those trips were before China’s ambitious high speed rail days.

Traveling on The Canadian (as VIA’s flagship line is known) is in the former class.  It is a sleepy, relatively comfortable way (even in economy) to move across the country…providing one has the time.  In my case, from Toronto to Jasper, and then from Jasper to Prince George. I think the comfortable aspect is helped considerably by high popularity of the sardine class Toronto-Vancouver economy flights.  No sane person would consider a 4.5 day journey in favor of a 4 hour flight. Suckers.  Thanks to those folks, passengers on The Canadian enjoy probably a 60% vacancy rate in the economy coaches.  This translates to everyone getting their own seat +1. $400 one-way to my destination…the sleeper equivalent would have set my back almost $1600 (meals included).  I had a first class ticket on the Trans-Siberian from Vladivostok to Moscow…$900.  Strangely, both my ticket to Jasper (from Toronto) and my ticket to Prince George (from Jasper) were exactly the same price…but the Toronto to Jasper leg is probably three times the length.    

The seats are giant and rival the foot&body room on the Japanese, Chinese and European trains I’ve taken. There is also access to the dome car, which seems to be a uniquely Canadian rail service (maybe Amtrak has these?). Even with these features, it still remains a challenge for one to discover their optimal sleeping position.  Two seats are perfect for a child, but present some challenges for adults.  Most people seem to prefer the ‘curled ball’ position which spans the two empty seats.  There are several variations with the head either being angled against the aisle arm rest or the window wall. One may also rest on their side, facing either the back of their seats, or the rear of the seats in front of them.  The odd maverick passenger might be bold enough to stick their feet right out into the aisle, threatening the wrath of the coach attendants.  I’ve been told that smaller folks have climbed into the over-head baggage shelves, slept under the seats or commandeered the dome car.  I always thought that sleeping under the seats (with newspapers) was strictly a Chinese characteristic in their hard-seat class…but we do it in Canada too.

It takes awhile to find your position.  I think I’ve decided on a combination of curled ball (head on aisle arm rest) and side sleeper (head facing my seat).  Kind of reminds me of pass-the-pigs positions.  The razorback is when one just lies down on their back in the middle of the aisle.

Northern Ontario is a lot like northern BC…mountains absent.  The forests are of similar species and size and in some cases I feel like I could be driving highway 97 from Prince George to Mackenzie.  There was some sections…I really don’t know where, that also had Siberian characteristics…low scrubby trees, open fields and run down rail line buildings and communities.

VIA trains are at the mercy of freight movement and play second fiddle to the 150-car behemoths that race down the track.  Freight train size may also be a North American characteristic.  I don’t think I ever saw a freight train in China and Russia that was larger than 50 or 60 cars.  There were a lot more of them though.  Canadian trains are exclusively diesel (although I believe there is some electric business going on in BC), in contrast to the heavy electrification of their Russian, Chinese and European counterparts.  I was always under the impression that electric train motors offered more power than diesel engines.  If the Russians can electrify their entire Trans-Siberian and associated spur lines…I’m not sure what our deal is…wait…we can’t even put in a high-speed rail line between Montreal and Toronto.  That is probably why.

Boarding The Canadian was my first time in Toronto’s Union Station (my urban planning buddies will probably laugh at that).  I was quite impressed with the size, architecture and relative efficiency of the boarding process. I was annoyed that I had to pay an extra $21 for my bag that was 7lbs over the 50lbs weight limit.  I understand weight and aircraft…but weight and trains?  Stop squeezing me for cash.

The silver HEP1 Coach Car is in good condition, but the style (blue pastel interior…carpet, walls, roof) is beginning to look dated (especially in comparison to the uber-modern and sleek Asian trains).  It has been retrofitted with electrical sockets which is a welcome addition (but no wireless yet).

The train is stopping to dump of some fishermen at the town of Alsace…that is where I am…but I don’t know where that is.  

I think I’ll dig out my camera.  My old Pentax K100D died in India.  Circuit board problem that would take weeks to repair (I brought it in in early May) and cost upwards of $300.  The camera store had a second had Pentax ist’D…which is the step down from the K100D.  I picked up the body for $200.  Resolution is a bit less and it doesn’t have an anti-vibration function…but it works fine and the shots come out great in RAW.  They also had the latest Pentax X for $700…maybe next year.

Tasty coffee on this train.

* after checking with Wikipedia…most of the passenger cars on VIA are over 50 years old.

Technorati Tags: Ontario, the canadian, toronto, train, travel, traveling, via rail

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I picked up Gavin Menzies second book 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance  for eight clams (hard-cover).  Mr. Menzies is most known for this highly controversial 2002 book 1421: The Year China Discovered the World.  I’ve always digged stories about exploration…and remain puzzled why I haven’t read 1421 (it’s always been a hefty price everywhere I’ve seen it…) 

Many of the criticisms are listed here, but generally I get the feel that the exclusive academic community got its knickers in a knot over an ‘outsider’ drafting up a theory that didn’t conform to their notion of proper history.  As John Ralston Saul writes in A Fair Country (which I also picked up for 10 big ones…great read too) "The higher your studies go, the more they are built around narrow exclusionary ideas of truth, tightly tied to a world of people footnoting one another” (Ralston Saul 2009; 36). 1421 also ties into A Fair Country in the sense that both books are advocating a version of history that distances itself from (without necessarily marginalizing) a European-influenced story of Canada (A Fair Country) and China (1434). 

That said though, after reading a few chapters, I can see where some controversy might lie.  Mr. Menzies is quite fond of the “If A, B, C, and D occurred, then E must have been the outcome” logic used to create conclusions about Admiral Zheng He’s naval expeditions.  It can be quite inferential at times, especially when one considers that something this logistically large escaped solid, undisputed documentation (on both the European and Chinese sides).  Still, the theory is tantalizing…even when one remains skeptical, there is some evidence to suggest that it might have happened.

Ralston Saul, J. (2008). A Fair Country: Telling Truths about Canada.            Toronto: Penguin.

Technorati Tags: books, canada, chapters-indigo, china, gavin menzies, john ralston saul

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I do like beer and was quite happy when I heard that Big Rock Brewery was holding a beer-tasting event on campus.  The only thing I know about beer is that I like it better than wine. It’s a portable, cheap and diverse beverage of the people. $15 gets one an hour an a half with a Big Rock beer professional, a handy style guide and five samples of Big Rock brews.  Grasshopper, Warthog, Traditional Ale, Pale Ale and some kind of Cider. Also included are interesting beer factoids like reason behind the bottle colourings and why MGD uses genetically modified ingredients.

The problem with beer tasting and broader beer appreciation is that one falls directly into stuffwhitepeoplelike.com. Just substitute ‘wine’ with ‘beer’. 

This becomes even more true when it was revealed that there is a growing movement seeking to pair beers with food.  One can’t just drink a beer anymore.  Oh well…I guess there is a little white person in all of us.  Well, maybe not if you like your wine in a box.  Or a cooler.  You’re still safe with that choice.

Technorati Tags: alumni, beer, beer tasting, big rock brewery, queens university, wine

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*tangent* – recently (past three months or so) I’ve noticed that I’m becoming more ambivalent (than usual)  toward planning research.  As identified in a class last night, planning research is not linear often leads to yet another “$50,000 dollar study to explore the causality between walking and the number of movie rental stores in the neighborhood”.  Can research be  an excuse not to do anything?  That is where science, tech and engineering deep-sixes the pseudo-sciences…they seem to go places with their knowledge.  

The point is, while I should be diligently scribbling away on my Master’s report,  I finding wandering around Portsmouth Village far more fulfilling and useful.  Taking crappy photos, thinking about the space and then forcing my thoughts onto the internet feels like a better and more tangible use of time and energy than reading yet another article (complete with Chi2, R2 and other advanced numbers) about why walking, affordable housing and growing food etc.  is good for us.

So, this is Portsmouth Village (est. 1784).  It’s got everything one needs in a complete, mixed-use village.  Pub, pharmacy, secondary suites, sidewalks, places of worship,  sushi, sandwiches, hardware store, giant anchors, sailors, the 1976 Olympic summer games, ample green-space, some brown-space, museums, water, houses, mini-vans, trucks-on-blocks,  traffic, trees, shrubberies, convicts, boats, small dogs, trash,  home businesses, bikes, a general stores, movie rentals, a laundromat,  an insane asylum, modernist buildings, new urbanist stuff, old limestone homes, old wood homes, underground parking,  graffiti, government hacks, empty park benches, ducks and other small woodland creatures and most importantly, a Yonge Street.

Unlike Kingston’s other attempt at New Urbanism, the Portsmouth development actually seems to work…kind of.  At best, it jives well with the older architecture, at worst it adds another layer of diversity to an already patchwork of buildings and styles.

One of the nicest parts of Portsmouth Village is the waterfront trail which bypasses the old (and very creepy) psychiatric hospital and links into Lake Ontario Park.

If one is not down with limestone architecture, there are a couple of lakeshore condos.  Not much too look at, but they offer a killer location.

   …and so does Kingston Pen.

Had a bad day?  Or maybe you just want to ask your girlfriend to marry you.  There is plenty of old concrete wall space @ the abandoned crazy house for all of your public message needs.

This inukshuk is guarding against American invasion.

Lake Ontario Park shoreline.  There is a small graffittied cavern near the boulder on the horizon. 

Delicious and nutritious Lake Ontario water.

A message to God, enshrined on stone.

Back in the day the old psychiatric hospital obviously wasn’t big enough.

Did you take your meds today? 

It’s even creepier at night.

Heavily modified limestone home, next to a post-war house, next too a duplex.  All kinds of homes here.

Presently, Tim Horton’s is the heart and soul of Portsmouth Village, providing nourishment to thousands of downtown commuters, local residents, St Lawrence College students and prison staff each week. Unfortunately, it is also the ugliest addition to the community and has brilliantly succeeded in destroying the historic value within the center of the Village. 

The main drag.  Must like traffic to live here.  

It’s just a good, interesting and nice place to live which embodies pretty simple and basic planning principles.  Building diversity, mix uses, functional green spaces, tight and multi-modal transport friendly, good connections to the greater community.   Nothing fancy here…no over-designed, over-planned, over-researched, over-budged approaches.   Sure it has it’s bad eggs, the Tim’s, the traffic down the centre, some inefficient land uses and strange parcel designs, some gentrification,  but it is fairly obvious that the community works.  I’m sure that most people would agree.  Keep it  simple.  Planning doesn’t need to be rocket science.  90% is just observation. Good spaces have been around for centuries…Portsmouth is testament to that.

Technorati Tags: Kingston, kingston penitentiary, lake ontario park, photography, photos, portsmouth village, urban planning

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@ The Duke – Kingston, Ontario with my friends and colleagues from SURP.

We were a little preemptive with our celebrations when Team USA slammed one passed Luongo to tie it up @ 2/2 with 30 seconds left in regulation time.  That means all that is left is one 20 minute overtime followed by *gasp* a shoot-out.  Dangerous.  Nail-biting.  Our team had two unanswered goals and Team USA was clearly on fire.  I wasn’t confident.

Sidney Crosby…comes out of nowhere.

I’ve never seen a bar explode like that.

In retrospect, the little overtime plot twist added a level of great drama that made the victory even better.

To be honest, that game couldn’t have ended any other way.

I thought the closing ceremonies were quite good, although a little heavy on cheesy Canadiana and Nickelback.  Shatner had a tough crowd, but good to see Michael J. Fox out there – he looks really good all things considered.  I’m sure that the sexy Mountie outfit will be very popular for Halloween 2010 and Alanis…wow…

I was aware that the old Soviet anthem was back in use, but the closing ceremonies was the first time that I had seen all its former glory.  Hmmm…I was half expecting the ole Hammer and Sickle move up the flag pole.

I can’t help but notice how close Sochi is to Chechnya…Vancouver thought they were going to have security issues…

I’ll admit, I was doubtful a week ago, but we managed to kick it into overdrive during the last few days and bag 13  gold and 26 medals which = an improvement on Turin and a successful team.  That said though, I still remain annoyed with Own the Podium.

Only Pyeong Chang, Munich and Annecy (France) are bidding for the 2018 Games.   I predicting a South Korea win.  Pyeong Chang made a bit for 2010 and 2014 and came close both times.   It will have been 20 years since the Winter Olympics were in Asia.  There were quite a few interested cities, including Santiago in Chile and Bursa, Turkey.

Technorati Tags: closing ceremonies, gold medal, hockey, olympics, russia, sidney crosby, soviet union, the iron duke pub, vancouver, vancouver olympic games

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