After almost 4 weeks here, I’m starting to love the Chinook winds that every week bring the spring over from across the Rocky Mountains. Yesterday was quite dreary and cold (-11) and today sun is shining and it is +3C outside. The air is fresh smelling of melting snow and imminent awakening of nature.

Bow river is breaking free of ice on a spring day

I went for a walk at the Prince’s Island that is close to our home to breathe the fresh air. I took my time reading the info plaques on the way and discovered that in the 60’s they actually wanted to build a railroad and a highway right where the park is right now. Thanks to some nature enthusiasts that this did not happen and now instead of highway there is a nice park, a skating rink and a venue for summer parties. There are also miles and miles of hiking and biking trails that we haven’t started to discover yet. But we are looking ahead to the time when the spring stays for longer than a day and our bikes arrive from Estonia.

There is also a bridge in the park that is related to the Millenium Bridge in London – the Peace Bridge. It is a helical steel structure with glass and it does not have any support in between the banks of the river. (The Millenium one does, of course, but the Thames is a lot wider than Bow river). The Peace Bridge is only for pedestrians and bikes and looks nice during the day and night. It does look a bit like a bullet train, doesn’t it?

On my way through the park I also saw quite a few black squirrels that came expectantly closer when I moved my hand into my pocket, but to their disappointment it was just camera that I took out. One of them decided to pose for my picture after all.

Black squirrel on the tree

The Peace Bridge