Hockeyville? Why, Edmonton Of Course!

One last reminder of Winter on my way back to the house last weekend, as I came across one heck of a backyard rink. Boards, lighting, and regulation nets, this guy had it down to every last detail! I might have to stop by for a pickup game late next Fall when it turns cold!

More University of Alberta From Last Weekend ... Yes, I Miss College (Except For The Work)

Pic 1: The Butterdome at the University of Alberta, where much of the school's athletic contests (basketball, volleyball, wrestling, etc) are conducted.

Pic 2: Looking out at a quad of the U of A campus from Hub Mall. A mall on campus, you say? In the next pic, you'll see the kind of largess that could only be possible with the oil money that has flowed through this school in the past 50 years!

Pic 3: The Hub Mall in all its glory. It has over 60 shops and services, faculty lounges, and no shortage of places for students to hang around and "study" :P

Pic 4: Yep, those are student apartments you see above the Hub Mall. These kids have it sweet!

Pic 5: The main central quad at the U of A. You can't really see them, but there are (were) students throwing around footballs and frisbees, as per the usual Spring tradition, when res rats come out of hibernation and experience the glory of the end of Winter and the upcoming Summer!

Pic 6: Graffiti art makes an ugly block of a building into something worth taking a picture of...

University of Alberta

My destination for the day was the University of Alberta, west of 111 Street and north of Whyte Ave. The first pic is of the ever-expanding University of Alberta hospital, and its research facilities. Very big complex, but it falls short of the U of Michigan health network! The second pic is of one of many high residence/apartment towers here in the University neighbourhood. They need every one of them, as the university population exceeds 35,000 students. The last two pics are of older buildings on campus, making the concrete blocks erected during the 60's and 70's more tolerable by contrast.

Big City Views

From my neighbourhood here in Edmonton, the skyline is visible from quite a few spots. These two pictures attempt to capture the skyline from Calgary Trail (pic 1 from the top) and Gateway Boulevard (pic 2). Be sure to move your cursor over the pics after you click on them, then click on the expand pic button that pops up in the lower right hand corner. Not the best pic, but I thought they would be more visible!

Spring Has Sprung In Central Alberta!

This past week was mainly spent as I have usually have over the past few months, building the infrastructure for my independent consulting practice. On Thursday though, I went to a professional gathering for Edmonton ACE members. Only one person besides myself showed up. She brought her adopted daughter though, who is a sweet little girl with boundless energy. Spring has been arriving in Central Alberta in recent days, so I managed to get out today and take pictures around South Edmonton. In the post below are the pics that I took, followed by descriptions. Enjoy!

Wandering Around South Edmonton ... My Neighbourhood

Unlike last week, where it was snowing and raining, this weekend was bright and sunny, making it possible for me to start snapping photos of where I live in South Edmonton. Below, a pic by pic description: Pic 1 denotes the picture at the top, Pic 2 denotes the picture below Pic 1 and so on...

Pic 1: This picture is of the cul-de-sac where my house is located, officially denoted as 105A Street. The city almost never plows in this corner of the residental grid, but the storm of 2 weeks ago finally drove them to clean out almost a foot of snow from our street. As a result, the sun from this week has made the pavement bare, as opposed to a bunch of snow still being there!

Pic 2: This is the alleyway behind all the houses on my cul-de-sac. For the first few days before our cul-de-sac was plowed, I parked back here.

Pic 3: This is the elementary school one block north of my house, bearing the name of my neighbourhood, Allendale Park. Once the snow melts and the field dries up, I think I will be re-honing my soccer skills here!

Pic 4 & 5: A couple of houses alongside 106 Street, the closest street that runs north-south from my house. These expensive houses lie beside working class apartments and bungalows, which is one of the great things about South Edmonton.

Pic 6: Princess Alexandria school, a huge school two blocks south of Whyte Ave.

Pic 7: Heading down into the River Valley. That's alot of stairs to walk down (and up!)

Pic 8: Looking up at condo towers from the base of the River Valley. To a first timer, the amount of these towers are absolutely shocking. They line both sides of the river, all the way into West Edmonton!

Pic 9: The Kinsmen Rec Centre at the base of the River Valley. This is one of the cities most premiere recreation facilities, hosting a Olympic-sized pool, a diving well, and a fieldhouse. Also, there is a pitch and putt area behind the building. The city centre is also visible from this pic...

Pic 10: A sychronized swimming competition going on inside the Kinsmen Rec Centre when I went in to take a look. The future of our sychro swimmers looks bright!

Pic 11: Picture of the High Level Bridge from the Kinsmen Rec Centre parking lot. In the summer during Capital Ex, they turn the bridge into a waterfall. It looks pretty good from pictures I've seen, can't wait to see it in person!

Pic 12: The clearest shot that I could get of the city skyline, from the climb back towards 109 Street.