Tag Archives: Terwillegar

Autumn in Terwillegar with Stella

Gorgeous walk around Terwillegar with Stella and Sharon this morning. (Part of my ‘interloper’ period while we await possession day on the 15th.) A bit of rain last night so everything smelled fresh and spring-like. Absolutely gorgeous. Too cold for Stella to have a dip, but she would have been more than game.

About 1C when we left, 7C now.

A Summer Walk in and around Fort Edmonton

The newly reopened Fort Edmonton Park

Beautiful walk this morning with Tom from Fort Edmonton to Terwillegar and back.

Because of extensive renovations and expansion, Fort Edmonton has been closed for three years. It just re-opened on July 1, so there were more cars in the parking lot. As a kid, Fort Edmonton was one of the less enjoyable outings, which was often a yearly event or whenever relatives visited. It was literally a fort and not much else, but I liked the train, whose distinctive whistle can once again be heard through the trees. With a cost of $165 million, I’m guessing it’s a lot better and more kid-friendly now, and there’s a ferris wheel. We’ll have to check it out.

View from the Fort Edmonton Footbridge

Lots of fresh coyote shit on the trails but we didn’t see any of the furry dispensers. Not sure if that’s good or bad. I love seeing coyotes, especially if they’re close enough to get a good photo, but not too close. Not being a snack dog or a young kid, I don’t fear them, but I also don’t want to be seen as potential prey, however remote. The vast majority of the time, they don’t want to have anything to do with humans, and I don’t blame them.

Fun fact: you can always tell the difference between coyote and dog shit by the amount of berries. Obvious berries, I should add, no microscope required. Also, most people pick up after their dogs, whereas coyotes have no such service. Thankfully, Tom didn’t notice. I was afraid if I told him he would want to turn around. He loves coyotes too but the amount of berry-filled shit shimmering in the bright sun at regular intervals was a little alarming.

Lots of grasshoppers. We’ve had everything else this summer, why not a plague of locusts? (Seriously though, I love them).
Hello hard-to-spell footbridge

Cool to start (12C), and warm by the end (21C), but the breeze helped to keep the temperature down. Although it seems like a much longer walk than our usual walk around Glenora/Ravine Drive, it’s actually only about a 1,000 more steps. I got about 13,597 steps in total that day.

Fort Edmonton Trail in the Spring

Fort Edmonton footbridge

Beautiful walk this afternoon along the Fort Edmonton/Terwillegar trails, featuring two of the city’s newish footbridges. It’s a beautiful walk, although the foliage is not quite there yet. Last year when I walked on this particular trail for the first time with Sharon and Stella, it was a revelation. We are so lucky in this city to have such beautiful, diverse trails.

The river, from the bridge
Woohoo!

About half way along the trail, we ran across a tree decorated with Oilers gear. The playoffs are about to start. Let’s go Oilers! Addendum: they were swept in the first round 🙁

Terwillegar footbridge, looking in the direction of the dog park

Sunny, about 12C. A slow but steady recovery from the $&!?@! mini cold-snap. 14,024 steps.

Park patrol

Mini-Holiday, Maximum Heat

On the way to Terwillegar via the Fort Edmonton Footbridge

We’re in the middle of a gross heat wave. I mean, some like it hot…I like it moderate. Moderately cold, and moderately hot. About -5C in the winter, and 21C in the summer. With sun and blue sky.

June was very wet, as was most of July, but this last week the temperatures have hovered near 30C with unusually high levels of humidity. Ugh.

Today, the first day of a mini five-day holiday, Sharon, Stella and I visited the newish Terwillegar bridge via Fort Edmonton, our starting point (just off Fox Drive). Once we hit the footbridge we went left (instead of my usual right) to the river so Stella could have a swim, and then on to Terwillegar.

Stella with stick
Beautiful, undulating wet sand
Sandbar below the Fort Edmonton Footbridge

We left at 9:00 am, but it was already warm and humid. The walk itself was brilliant. The sand bar where Stella had a swim in the river was surprisingly large considering the amount of rain we had prior to the heatwave. She had a blast. Wish I could have joined her.

Unbelievably gorgeous
Gorgeous views on both sides of the trail to Terwillegar
Gorgeous views II
Gorgeous views III

The view on either side of the trail leading to the Terwillegar footbridge was spectacular. I’ve said this a thousand times, but we are so lucky to have all these trails and green space in the middle of the city.

Terwillegar Footbridge

The walk was about two hours in total, give or take many stops to let Stella play in the water and check her peemail. Will definitely go on this walk again…and again.

Terwillegar Footbridge view of the river

Sunday in the Park with Stella (again)

It seems my only substantial walks these days are with Stella. I didn’t used to need a dog to go for a walk – but a walk is a walk and Stella is always good company.

Stella’s mom (my sister Sharon) and I wandered around Terwillegar with about a thousand other dogs. I’ve never seen so many dogs – tall dogs, short dogs, brown, black and blond dogs, racing dogs, ambling dogs, ball-dogs like Stella. Everybody getting along, everybody happy to be outdoors on a beautiful day.

In my estimation, we are having another crap winter, by which I mean a roller coaster of freeze and melt, and a lot of grey, overcast days which always leave me feeling blue and lazy. My memory could be faulty, but we’ve had more “warm” winter days in the last two or three years – where the melting snow leaves giant swaths of ice once the temperature falls (which is always does) – than we ever used to have. Maybe a bit of a melt in late January or February, but really only one or two episodes. Now, rain is a regular feature of our winters. On the surface, this would appear to be a good thing, but also on the surface is ice. Lots and lots of ice.

Sharon retrieving the ball that Stella lost down the hill.

My dream winter would be short and mild, and by mild I mean around -5C to -10C. Not too warm, not too cold, with just enough snow and lots of blue skies. Not what we get these days, which is black ice, grey skies, and annoyingly timed snow (like when I’m driving).

I also think that because I walk a lot less than what I used to, I’m not out finding ways to enjoy it. In 25 years of walking in the ravines and river valley of this city, I’m not sure I ever had one walk I regretted. I always found something beautiful, even on days when all colour seems sapped from the landscape. That’s what’s missing. I’m not out actively hunting for beauty.

Well, today was beautiful. Yes it was.

About 0C. 

Terwillegar Stella

Stella posing in front of sculpture

Part of Resonant Progression, by Royden Mills

Finally, a clear blue day. The last week has varied from shades of grey to orange. Mostly orange, thanks to the fires in BC. Most of those days, the sun has been a gold orb. You can stare right at it and not go blind. Sunday, however, the skies cleared. It was a spectacular day. Lots of wind, but I’ll take that over a burnt orange horizon.

Stella doesn’t care, although she loves her orange balls. We went to Terwillegar dog park because it’s a great walk, but also because the new public art installation has opened up – Resonant Progression by sculptor and UAlberta sculpture instructor Royden Mills. Interesting, but difficult to fully take in without some background. It’s interactive, interrelated and involves sound, but the only one who interacted with it was Stella. I will investigate further and return, ready to interact.

The walk was uneventful but beautiful, with some crispiness underfoot and a few daubs of yellow in the canopy. It’s inevitable. Autumn is on the way. Stella loved the river, as usual, and only lost her ball 5,000 times. A good day. A very good day.

11:00-12:00/20C (28C today!)