Posted by DS on December 23, 2002 at 14:46:12:
In Reply to: Re: Ho Ho Holton II (or III?) posted by Mary Ann on December 23, 2002 at 13:54:07:
There is life north of the 49th, and no, we do not live in igloos!!!
Actually, we are having a very weird year here. I live in Edmonton, the capital of our province (population 850,000) and just about smack dab in the center of it, and it is normally quite dry here. We have four distinct seasons and it does rain and snow but the humidity is very low. Some people would argue one of those seasons is TOO distinct (winter). We have gorgeous deep blue skies and beautiful sunsets (our province is nicknamed Sunny Alberta for good reason), but people visiting from your neck of the woods find they get dry throats and very chapped lips here. Now in a normal year we might have our first snowfall at the end of October, beginning of November and it usually snows and melts away several times. Winter hits hard in December and snow often stays on the ground until late March. We do get cold snaps two/three times a year where the temp dips down to -35F. Add windchill to that and - well, let's just say even the Salvation Army won't do outside stints then. Without a block heater your vehicle will NOT start at that temperature.
This year we had a very dry summer and still have virtually no snow that has stayed on the ground, also above average temperatures. For example two weekends ago I rode my sportbike for a couple of hours (although temp was in the high 40's F - yep, we is hardy folk)! Nice for me, but terrible for the farmers in our province.
So, what DO we do? Well, we have a very fine orchestra, and a great music scene in general (maybe people have more time to ppractice because of long winters!) We get big name artists here regularly - the Canadian Brass is here every two years or so, and one of their recent trumpet players (Jens Lindemann, '96 - '01) is a home-grown. The current horn player (Jeff Nelsen) hails from just outside our city. For most people not in music, life revolves around the oilpatch (Houston is like a twin sister), and I have numerous customers in Texas.
Four hours east of us are the Rocky Mountains, and I've heard people from places like Colorado say there is nothing to compare to their majesty and grandeur! Banff is well-known but a little too commercialized for my taste. Jasper is just the thing to get away from the crowds and see nature at its finest.
So plan a visit - you'll love it!!!
Dietmar :-)