PLEASE bookmark this page and check daily.
Older Blog: https://cuencaupdates.blogspot.com/
Please see my best artworks for sale at my websites: http://souvenirphotostudio.neocities.org/ or http://saccc05.tripod.com/
******
Monday, I was up to 5am, did chores as the day continued with rain and read my book while resting to try to get rid of a cold that I must have picked up Canada Day. Don, from the 10th floor, brought me down a stew which I watered down to a soup to sustain me through Tuesday.
Tuesday morning I was up early and ran to Save-On Pharmacy for cold and flu caplets. They are helping a lot.... Don's soup was a godsend for my scratchy throat.
My friend Keith had asked me to greet his friends from Holland, Kees (Casey) and Mildred, who are in a hotel only 7 blocks away for a week, and to show them some of the sights...
We made contact at their hotel and went over a list of things we thought might interest them and came up with a few ideas. I had to admit to them that I have been away from Edmonton for 23 years so many things have changed since then and I was feeling a little inadequate. They picked a few items off the list that they can do on their own as they are very experienced world travelers. They really wanted to see Elk Island Park and the bison that roam there, so I had to try to find transportation, possibly for Thursday. One quick call to my friend Brenda upstairs and it was all arranged...
Wednesday, I conquered my cold by staying in and reading and taking the drugs properly. As 9:50pm rolled around I had a solo vigil for my first wife Patsy who passed away this date and time in 1996. It is hard to believe that it has been 27 years already. RIP my dear Patsy.
At 9:30am today, Brenda and I went in her Ford Escape to pick up Kees and Mildred and Brenda was fantastic in giving a guided tour as we passed through town to continue 35 kms east to the park. Going into the park on a weekday was great as it wasn't that busy and we lucked out with nice weather.
The Park visitor information building was helpful and they had a lovely stuffed bison in one corner (first 3 pics below).
We went through the park gate and turned in at the first trail and immediately encountered some buffalo which gave everyone a thrill.
There are many hiking trails in the park and our visitors had picked one they wanted to try, not too long and strenuous. Brenda and I joined them for part of the trail to a boardwalk onto a stinky lake with a lot of algae. The birds did not seem to mind. Kees and Mildred went on their hike while Brenda and I sat in the shade to solve all the world's problems, petting almost every dog that went by.
2 hours later the guests returned, had a bite to eat and we exited slowly. Kees was sure that he had spotted a small herd of bison to our left, so we reversed and parked and walked in a ways to find them. Kees has very good eyes for spotting wildlife. Park rules say to stay away from them at least 100 meters so I was thankful for my zoom lens. Bisons are notoriously unpredictable as my friend Keith can attest, having been slammed in the chest by one many years ago... Luckily, the big old bull looked a little tired and the others were happy to ignore us.
Near the park gate we came across the same bunch of bison as before, and a few vehicles had stopped, so we went in again. As we looped out to go, this group of 4 bulls came onto the road in front of us to pose for more photos. We were excited to get nice close-ups from the safety of the vehicle.
On the return into Edmonton it was decided that good coffee was the order of the day, so we stopped at The Italian Center Shop near my old small house. We all had delicious cake with blueberries and our guests got their good Espesso coffee. Brenda and I enjoyed the lemonade. And more plans were firmed up for the days to come.
Our guests are enjoying our fair city, with the weather cooperating, and many many thanks to Brenda for all her knowledge and experience. So it was an immensely successful day..
I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.
Al
******
© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission.
If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.
NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.
Stuffed bison 
The real bison 
Waterfowl around this one lake 
People paddling on the lake away from algae 
A pelican showed up 
I don't know how Kees spotted this herd 
Big old bull was wary 
He looked so tired.... 
Kees, Mildred and Brenda 
Meanwhile, back near the gate... 
