Canmore

Went to Canmore recently with Mandy, she took the picture on the left. She's becoming quite the photographer. When this picture was taken, her camera was poised on the edge of a bridge and held up only by some pebbles. A risk-taker, that one. The trip was wonderful, we relaxed in Canmore at a cozy bed and breakfast and then spent the next day travelling through the park, stopping to sight-see along the highway and heading as far north as the Athabasca Glacier where it descends from the Columbia Icefields. You can stroll up the foot of the mountains to the glacier and walk over part of it. It's incredible to see the glacier up close like that, seeing them from the highway it's difficult to understand how massive they truly are. We also strolled through Johnson Canyon which was a fun hike, lots of walking and taking in the landscape and no working. It was great to get away from the city for a while and just take a short break before the nightmare of work that is September, when I have to write Clockfire, begin teaching, prepare an issue of dANDelion, organize and promote an event with Nicole Brossard, study for my forthcoming PhD candidacy exams, and live a regular life, and also prepare a paper for an academic conference in Regina. And I still haven't unpacked everything after moving last month. So thanks to Mandy for being so wonderful and helping me relax, and also for being such a clever little budding photographer.