Farmer's field

This is a field I photographed near High Prairie, Alberta in early fall.  I like the colours.

The Oil Sands

Giant shovel loads oil-laden earth into giant truck in the heart of Alberta's oil sands.  The loader in the bottom left of the frame is not a small machine so it will give you an idea of just how big this mining equipment is.

MacKay River, Alberta

Here's a meandering river in Northern Alberta.  The lushness of the forest gives it an almost tropical look but it will be much different in winter.  I didn't have my GPS turned on when I took this photo but I'm fairly sure it is the MacKay River just west of Fort MacKay in the heart of the Oil Sands.

Blackie, Alberta

Flying by the town of Blackie in Southern Alberta, I was struck by the flatness of the land and what seems like an abrupt transition to the Rockies.

The red structure in the centre of the photo is a grain elevator.  As you can see, the roads are very straight.  Blackie is actually a Hamlet, not a town and was named for Scottish author, John Stuart Blackie.

Where I live...

Bragg Creek, Alberta taken from a Cessna in the fall of 2010.  In the foreground is the Hamlet, with the foothills and Rocky Mountains in the background.  The Elbow river snakes through the area on its way to joining the Bow River in Calgary, 40 kilometres to the East.

It's a Hiker's/Biker's paradise in the summer with x-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter.  All in all, a nice place to hang out.