The 2030 NHL Expansion

Sean (and many others) were quite happy about the latest Edmonton Oilers win in the current NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. During a text discussion, the Florida Panthers were misnamed the Florida Planters. I jumped on the typo, saying that Atlanta should have a team called the Georgia Planters. Sean responded with some AI-generated art, including an adorable mascot (above) and a couple of jersey designs: 

Inspired, I turned to Bing Image Generator and asked it to create some jerseys for hypothetical future teams. Sports fans, please welcome

The Saskatchewan Saskatoons! 

The Halifax Schooners!

The Tijuana Fiesta! 

And the Reykjavík Vikings! 

Dad on the Left

Here are two recently rediscovered photos of Dad, on the left in both images. The boy on the right is George Wells. This would have been shot in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, sometime in the early 1940s; maybe 1944, assuming Dad is two years old in these images. 

Father's Day 2019

It's our first Father's Day without Dad, and it's hard. Here's something Mom found online a few months ago: a photograph of the church and manse in Rocanville, Saskatchewan. Dad was born in that manse in 1942. Miss you, Dad. 

George and Elizabeth in Saskatchewan

This photo was taken by one of my paternal grandparents back in June 1939, possibly in Moose Range, Saskatchewan. Stepping up to the rail we see King George and Queen Elizabeth I; this would have been shot during their 1939 tour of Canada. Grandma's writing on the back suggests that her brother-in-law, Lawrence Woods (yes, Woods; three brothers married three sisters), is in this photo somewhere; perhaps he's the fellow at the far left?

Pretty amazing they could get this close to the reigning monarch.

EDIT: Not Queen Elizabeth I, of course, but Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Elizabeth I reigned from 1558-1603. 

Saskatchewan Sunset, 2006

Shadow Over America: Antumbra

Fargo bustles, but we are too tired and short on time to explore. For us, it's a way station, our last stop before heading home.

The road home is long but familiar. We're treated to a particularly gorgeous sunset over Saskatchewan before pulling over for a few hours' rest in the car. After that fitful sleep we push on for home. And just like that, it's over - a once-in-a-lifetime experience we'll carry with us forevermore.

Shadow Over America, Prelude: Sunset in Sedley

To Estevan, after the sunset at Sedley, Saskatchewan, where I find in the dusty soil of the convenience store parking lot a Lego head, defiant on one face, grinning on the other. Kept as our talisman, we store our trophy in the crossover's console and journey on, pausing to recuperate just before the border, passports sweating nervously in my G&G travel bag.

Tonic Water

Somewhere between Edmonton and Flin Flon our old brown station wagon chewed up the kilometres one by one, headlights carving our way through the night. It was hot and I was thirsty, and in the darkness of the back seat I rummaged for a soda. I found a cold, tin cylinder, pulled off the ring tab and took a hearty gulp of the contents.

Instantly, my face twisted and contorted as my tongue recoiled.

"Eeuuugghhh!" I cried. "What is this?"

I looked at the can:

Tonic water. Tasted once, and never again. Apparently Mom and Dad used it for drink mix, once upon a time. 

Under the Bridge

Somewhere on the Hanson Lake Road, 2006. 

Here is a super-wide shot of the McDougall campground on the Hanson Lake Road in Saskatchewan, shot on my little point and shoot Pentax when Sylvia and I drove to Leaf Rapids in 2006. It's a really beautiful, blink-and-you'll-miss-it spot. Click to embiggen!

Saskatchewan Bob for the Atari 2600

Pillars of Lloyd

Saskatchewan Sunset

Review: Amy's on Second

Amy's on Second in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, offers homey decor, excellent service and hearty, flavourful meals. Sean and I shared a pair of sandwiches - a Cajun lobster po boy and a California chicken with cherry bacon and avocado. Sean's fries were of the standard to be found at any number of roadside attractions, while my beef barley soup was a little on the thin side. The sandwiches themselves, however, were delightful, though Sean, sadly, managed to spill mayo all over his crotch. 

Before heading out on the Hanson Lake Road to Flin Flon, stop in at Amy's on Second before the five-hour journey. You'll be glad you did. 

Yorkton Follies

Here's another photo of our early 1970s trip to Good Spirit Lake near Yorkton, Saskatchewan. It's funny how I didn't mind getting dirty as a child, but I'm sure fussy about it now. 

The Dirt on Good Spirit Lake

Here I am sometime in the early 1970s playing in the dirt at Good Spirit Lake near Yorkton, Saskatchewan. 

The Long Road Home

Just some more experimentation with time-lapse on the iPhone and Magix video editing software. 

Breakfast in Saskatchewan

The Road to Nowhere

Both Mom and Sean asked if I were going to include a Saskatchewan cover in the Nowhere series, so here it is. Initially I tried to include Saskatchewan's shape much as I had the other provinces, but because Saskatchewan is a rectangle I just couldn't make it work. So instead I used the provincial flag as a base; it, too, is rectangular.

Initially I had ambitious plans to make the road through Saskatchewan resemble a heart rate monitor signal, with a peak in the middle. Instead, I wound up using Google Maps to plot the route from Lloydminster to Flin Flon, hit the "print screen" key, selected the route, copied it and applied the pillow emboss blending effect. I think it looks kinda cool.

Cypress Hills Pelican

When I posted a photo similar to this one on Facebook, I misidentified the bird as a heron. It is, apparently, a pelican, as my friend Bruce immediately pointed out. Well, I'm no biologist, I just take pictures and write stuff. In any event, I photographed this fine pelican as it was floating on Reesor Lake in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park - a gorgeous place. I'd planned to visit the official dark sky preserve on the Saskatchewan side of the park to try my hand at astrophotography, but the sky was too cloudy. Still, I'm pretty happy with the snaps I wound up with.