The afternoon of October 19th in Lethbridge is wonderful for the last half of October – sunny skies, better than tenish degrees Celsius, and barely a breeze to cool you. What a perfect time to take a walk to Henderson Lake Park.
My initial route getting to the park left something to be desired. Walking north along the path just off of Mayor Magrath Drive is pretty noisy, not helped by the large number of dick trucks roaring past. For those of you reading from more liberal climes, a “Dick Truck” is a truck typically driven by a young male, who is out to advertise his virility and resource gathering skills. The truck is big and loud, sure to attract the attention of the ladies. To really emphasize the point (with a bit of humor), some even hang “balls” off the rear hitch, swinging around to make the point abundantly clear. Yes, there is sarcasm in the previous explanation, I leave you to figure out where.
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| Election signs the day after |
Aside from that, there are many remaining election signs from the previous days civic election. I had voted early in Calgary for my choices – the results were a mixed bag of stupid and good. “Hyggen” is pushing the safety pitch in his sign here – always a sign the cops may be supporting this particular candidate, or that the candidate has no problem whipping up the paranoia we seem to live in these days. I walked five blocks to my junior high – kids these days mostly get driven to school on the parental fear of the boogie man around every corner.
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| Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden – closed for xmas prep |
Unfortunately the Japanese Gardens are closed for preparation of the Xmas light show. The weather being so good this year, they could have stayed open longer to tour through with the fall colors hanging on.
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| Chain link passage |
Instead, I cut south to pass between the gardens and the golf course. The gardens are all fenced off to keep people from sneaking in. The golf course is also fenced off to keep stray balls from hitting people on the path. Unfortunately for this short section, it creates a prison corridor effect of stay on the path or else vibe. But this is Lethbridge, where the golf course is only fenced where needed to keep stray balls in. The rest one can easily wander in and shoot a rogue ball or two while it is closed. Again, with the long fall season the golf course could be open too. Lack of staff in these COVID times, or just lack of business acumen?
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| Henderson Lake first view |
But passing the chain link prison I come to Henderson Lake. It is a bit bigger than I expected – but that is a good thing as it will make the perfect walk around for the time I have. The path is all paved, with the golf course on my right, and lake on the left. Just stay on the path, no wandering into the golf course!
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| Bridge over Waters |
The water from the lake feeds the golf course too. There is a bridge you cross over, arching over the stream that drains to the golf course, and its water features. These bridges are all the same arch pattern, built on a template all around the lake.
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| Garbage Prop |
The garbage cans in Lethbridge are also all of the same bear proof design, made in Lethbridge! You can see some additional innovations here, like the recycle bin you can drop your deposit cans into. The prop? That is a new thing in these COVID times, all garbage cans in Lethbridge are propped open with those little rods so you can throw your garbage away without touching the lid. Obviously, not bear proof now. But bears are a rare sight in Lethbridge, so I’m told.
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| Howitzer Guarding the Lake |
I walk around to the east side of the lake, having started on the west side. There is a display of historical military gear here. The old howitzer fascinates me, pointing out into the lake as if to defend it from aircraft onslaught. This would be a WWII or possibly Korean War piece, but I’m no expert on this so research and verify my half assed claims. All I know is that it makes for a flash fill picture to fill in the shadows covering the bits not seen. I continue my way back around the lake to the east, photographing the fall colors and bits I find interesting.
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| Shortcut Bridge East Side of Lake |
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| Fall colors along path |
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| Full Yellow Fall Color |
I leave the lake, photographing some more things I see along the way.
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| Japanese Garden Fence |
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| Waterslide |
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| Water Tower Grill |
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| 50’s Dodge Truck |
Then we have the bonus material, from the next day – a little trip to send me off on my camping adventures with a night out at “The Owl” pub. Photography of the neon kind was right next door during the good blue light after sunset.
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| Shanghai Sign in fading blue sunset |
Lori’s version, photographer alert!
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| Meta photography |
A step outside the pub to get a full building pic further into the dark
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| Shanghai full frontage neon |
And lastly, one more tourist picture
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| The wind gauge is stuck on 120km/hr, no blowing today! |
At the Lethbridge tourism board stop, the wind gauge is a bit whimsical, but the dump station beside it was top notch! It was time to leave Lethbridge. Heading to BC now and my first real camping on my own – Edwards Lake, here we come!
