June 30

Red Earth camp-site outside Bozeman, Mt. Leading a non-techno life for a couple of days. Driving gets in the way of walking but I managed 4 or so km. Livingston tomorrow and hotel life at the Murray.

June 29

Managed to walk 6 km even though I went on a road trip to Old Man River Dam, Twin Butte, Waterton Park, Cardston and Head-Smashed-In. Beautiful day, hazy in the morning with spectacular thunderstorms at Head-Smashed-In, and a brilliantly sunny and hot afternoon. Stopped at different places for short walks, viewing of natural and manufactured wonders, and throwing sticks for dogs. Lunched at Waterton townsite and visited site of 8000 years of continuous First Nations habitation.

June 28

Spent the day at the university. Tree planting ceremony. Lots of politicians. Walked 9.81 km, mostly between the tree planting site and the university. And then back. And back again. And again. Got so used to walking back and forth I went home and mowed the lawn.
Went to an exhibition reception for Isabelle Hayeur at the SAAG later on in the day.

June 27

Decided to go for a real walk today, and not just walking to a beer store that was farther away. In a small city like Lethbridge it would seem that it would be difficult to find somewhere that is new to walk but it was surprisingly easy. I walked over to Crowsnest Trail and along the highway across the Old Man River. I cut through the nature reserve, around the golf course and up Bridge Drive, a road that I have never seen anyone walking along the entire time that I have lived in Lethbridge. I imagine that one reason no one walks there is the fact that there is no accommodation made for pedestrians or cyclists. Bridge Drive passes by old coal mining works as it winds up the side of the coulee. As I recall the coal site spontaneously combusted last year and burned for quite some time. I stopped at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery on the way home for an artists talk by Camille Turner, who is doing a project in town titled "Final Frontier." Today's total walk has been 17.05 km.

June 26

Cold yesterday, hot today. Strolled 4.37 km mostly by mowing lawn and going to beer store. Sat in the back yard and read fiction. Got an e-mail from St. Norbert Arts Centre requesting support for the maintenance of the Trappist Monastery ruins and surrounding area. A golf course is being constructed adjacent to it and there is concern that this might destroy the peaceful character of St. Norbert. I had intended to walk out to the Arts Centre while in Winnipeg but time ran out.

June 25

Bitterly cold wind blowing from the west, 10-15 degrees colder today than yesterday. Another day of errands getting ready to leave for Texas on Saturday. Walked down to the supermarket and then home with bags of groceries. Saw a number of potentially interesting photos but I had forgotten to take a camera with me.

June 24

8.65 km, walking and bicycling. Walked down to Canadian Tire and bought a ladder so I could finish installing a ceiling lamp. Walked home carrying the ladder. No newspaper today but I leafed through last Sunday's New York Times and found an article about the threat of leprosy re-emerging as a scare tactic in anti-immigration rhetoric in the U.S.

June 23

Gutters today. Started to clean them out. Leaves, sticks, dirt. Strong wind blowing dust etc. into eyes. Climbing up and down ladder, dumping gutter material into compost, doing errands etc. added up to 5.1 km. Remarkable. Article in todays Globe outlining the population boom in the driest parts of North America accompanied by multi-year drought in same regions. Water. Only $1.75 for 500ml at the U of L.

June 22

Stella got me out of the house in the early afternoon for a walk in the coulee. We went to the area across from the University of Lethbridge where there is a great view of architect Arthur Erickson's University Hall. The sightlines have been somewhat ruined by apartment buildings that were built behind the campus but you can still get the full impact of the structure from below. The coulee remains as stunning as ever. Stella got great pleasure in diving into and swimming in the Old Man River but it was too muddy for me. Stella enjoyed it as she always does. 8.33 km.

June 21

7.35 km today. Erratic walking, don't quite know where, but the university and a video rental were involved.

June 20

Walked 6.54 km. Errands mostly. Bought more bandages for yesterdays damage to my leg. Took it easy. Pruned the roses. Read the newspapers. Depressing article in the Globe and Mail about the disappearance of the eulachon fishery on the west coast.

June 19

Decided to walk up to the University and collect my mail. After pausing to take a photo of Fort Whoop Up from above, I slipped on a steep path and abraded all the skin off my left calf. The paths on the steep edges of the coulee are deceptively dangerous, appearing safe but dust settles on the hard packed trails and make for very treacherous footing. I believe that it's a sign that combining something I enjoy with the business of the University is something I should avoid. Walked 10.50 km despite injury.

June 18

Back in Lethbridge. Walked 4km. From 9th ave N up 13 Street N to 2nd ave, west on 2nd to 12th street N then back up 12th to 9th ave., carrying about 15 kilos of groceries on the return trip. Thunderstorms alternated with sunny periods.

June 17

Drove all day today. Sheridan, Wyoming to Lethbridge, Alberta. Saw a beautiful pheasant just before it flew into the grill of the car and disappeared in a cloud of feathers. No walking today except around the Central Montana Museum in Lewiston. It had an interesting exhibit of documentary drawings by Ben Steele of his experiences as a prisoner of war in Japan and the Philippines during WWII.

June 16

June 16 - Sheridan Wyoming. Walked more than 13 km throughout Sheridan and Dayton today. Wild weather - mixed sun, wind, cloud, lightning, rain, more sun. Tornados predicted tonight. Who knows. Visited Don Kings Western Museum. Biggest collection of saddles I've ever seen. Spurs too. And guns.
Walked by the apparently nameless river/canal that meanders through the middle of town. First time it's been full of water in a while, according to local walkers, of which there were few.
Ate at Los Agaves restaurant with TM and CW who had just finished the 50 mile Bighorn Wild and Scenic Trail run. Lots of groaning.

June 15

Drove from Livingston, Montana to Sheridan, Wyoming today. Along the way stopped at the Medicine Wheel, a Native American site of great significance, historically and currently. It's more thatn 800 years old and is located in the Bighorn Mountains at an altitude of 9,642 ft. (2,939 metres). After parking, it's a 2.25 km walk to the site.
Sheridan's a nice enough place as well. Walked a total of 5 km today.

June 14

Drove from Lethbridge to Livingston, Montana today. We're becoming regulars at the border. Drove all day and stopped at the Murray Hotel - "the wild west at it's civilized best". Had a very good dinner at the hotel restaurant and wandered around town a bit. There's a great artist run alternative book store -"The Independent Media Room" - beside the movie theatre. Walked about a km and a half today.

June 13

Drove from Helena back to Lethbridge. Didn't walk much. A bit in the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Great Falls and mowed the front lawn back at home. Ran into some interesting traffic though.

June 12

Last day in Helena. I walked north to mall country, straight up Davis Ave. to the northern edge of town then east to Interstate 15. From there I strolled back through mall country, a universally anti-pedestrian territory. When I got to Last Chance Gulch Street, I turned and headed back towards the town centre. The contemporary part of the street is marked by strip malls and other forms of unsightly car- culture development. Closer into the town centre, the part of the town formed in the nineteenth century, the street became much more pedestrian friendly, with businesses oriented towards a street culture rather than a parking lot culture. 16 km today.

June 11

9.23 km today. Walked straight out 6th Ave. to the eastern edge of town, interstate 15. Turned north to 11th Ave. and then east to Davis St. This route took me past the Capital building and museum and into a relatively contemporary suburban area. This is also where the sidewalks disappeared. Didn't see anyone else walking either. Back along 11th st. was a walk through a commercial strip: motels, casinos, pawn shops and fast food restaurants. It's canker worm season in Helena. The worms are much bigger than they were in Winnipeg.

June 10

12.5 km today - Hiked up Mt. Helena to the sound of automatic gunfire from the Military Base below. The return to town by a slightly different route was accompanied by the sounds of thrushes and warblers singing. A pleasant day in all. About 4.5 km from the centre of downtown Helena to the top of the mountain. A very reasonable transition period from the urban to rural and back.

June 9

Although I only managed to walk 4.18 km today I did make it out to the Archie Bray center, a foundation dedicated to the production of ceramic art. There was a slide lecture by one of the resident artists.
Amsterdam comes into this again in an oblique and coincidental manner in that today's image reflects an image that DVvGD sent yesterday from Arnhem, just outside Amsterdam.
There was also a good article in the today's Wall Street Journal about the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas and the Renzo Piano building in which the collection is housed.

June 8

I only walked 3.78 km today but I also bicycled a bit. While walking in Helena I was thinking about walking in Amsterdam, a city I have never been to but am vicariously experiencing through correspondence with DVvGD. I find it remarkable that two cities such as Helena and Amsterdam can exist simultaneously. Helena is a lightly populated city rich with a relatively recent history of gold mining and the American colonial frontier, whereas Amsterdam is densely populated and immersed in the complex histories of Europe. The experience of perambulation in these two cities couldn't be more incongruent yet there is a thread of similarity that is exposed through certain images.

June 7

A day of lists in Helena.
1. Spend the morning tending to the plumbing.
2. Find a wine store which turns out to be excellent.
3. Get allergy pills.
4. Find locksmith to get key cut.
5. Find cash machine in order to pay for getting key cut.
6. Go to bakery for bread. Wild rice and cranberry wheat bread.
7. Go to coffee house for tea.
8. Go to reception at Turman Larison gallery. A very good local gallery.
9. Wander around and find Myrna Loy Center.
10. Back to apartment for dinner.
13.53 km.

June 6

Up relatively early this morning. Sat with my feet up reading the morning paper and drinking coffee while CW planted the potatoes. Drove down to Helena in dreary, rainy weather.
Walked 1.22 km, mostly in the Barnes and Noble in Great Falls.

June 5

Another beautiful day that ended in a much needed rain. Thunder and lightning. Walked about 6km in the morning before my pedometer broke and I had to go find another one. Put another 2.5 km on mowing the lawn and other assorted errands. Nothing memorable in the newspaper today except for an article in the NYT discussing the popularity of "black rifles" in the U.S.
Off to Montana tomorrow. Haven't planted the potatoes yet.

June 4

Interesting article in the Lethbridge Herald this morning. Wild turkeys have been invading Detroit, getting accustomed to city life. Winnipeg, of course, is leading the way with its downtown turkey. Got some more potatoes to plant. Getting sedentary.
Walked 6.31 km.

June 3

Sunday. Slow day. Went cycling a couple of times on my new bicycle. Sat in the garden. Walked around a bit, 2.56 km.

June 2

Interesting article about Chilean black widow spiders in the newspaper this morning. Struck a chord as my cottage in Australia in April had a civilization of red back spiders living in it. Australia's version of the black widow.
Walked down in the coulee today, but just a short walk. The day's total was only 6 km. Everything is remarkably lush. The area of the coulee that suffered a grass fire last year has regenerated. Even the burnt cactus had sprouted new buds.
Stella enjoyed herself as she always does, but was a little restrained as it was her second walk of the morning. However, she did throw herself in the river energetically.

June 1

In pause mode today, an interim period. Mowed the lawn. Went to work. Managed 8km today though.