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A photo of Floe Lake with a clear reflection of the mountain in the lake.

Hiking the Rockwall in Kootenay National Park

A scan of my travel notebook, a Seaform green Leuchtturm1917 Hiking the Rockwall. 5 days. Not rushing, soaking it in. In late August, feeling the last weeks of summer sneaking up on us, we set out on a long-awaited hike - the Rockwall, a 55 kilometer journey over 5 days. We didn't know how it would work out - a fair ...

Glimpses of COVID Summer in Edmonton

I don't have much to say on this post, but rather showing some glimpses into COVID summer in Edmonton. To be sure, it was different; no festivals, less friends, less family, more hand sanitizer. But there were some special moments and I'm infinitely grateful for the community we have here. It was also oddly familiar to my ...

Battle River Valley Map with Indigenous Landmarks

Indigenous Histories of my Homeland

Have you ever wondered who lived on the land of your hometown before your ancestors? I really started to wonder in earnest this summer. Four generations ago, my family were Norwegian homesteaders that came to the Alberta prairies, some even by covered wagon, from states such as Minnesota and North Dakota . I thought, ...

The view from the top of Whistling Pass

Back Country Mountain Hike – Healy Pass Trail in Banff National Park

Summer 2019 - the year we made our foray into back-country hiking. Billy was enthusiastic and excited. I was ... pensive and a bit nervous. Thankfully, Billy's enthusiasm is fed by research and my nerves are soothed by preparedness. Research + preparedness = good times in nature. We started with a 'practice trip' of a ...

A photo of my linocut print of Nude Woman in the Mountains. The image is black and white.

Book Club – Women and Great Outdoors

This year, I was lucky to do a few back-country hikes in Canada's national parks. Leading up to these adventures, I was doing some researching; 1) to keep me safe in the wild and 2) to tap into my inner wilderness explorer. There are some really fascinating books out there of brave women, who love the outdoors, sharing ...

Homemade black and white linocut card of mountains

Mountain Reverence Card Set

Mountain design by Jonatan Billiau I'm a big fan of the handwritten note. Some say its a dying art but I KNOW there are lots of us out there keeping this intimate and personal way of connecting alive and well. A well-timed thank you card to a friend, colleague, or family member is incredibly powerful - a gift of self-care ...

an illustrated drawing of Edmonton's River Valley facing west towards the High Level Bridge. The drawing highlights Cree stories that were told by Dr. Dwayne Donald.

Indigenous History in Edmonton’s River Valley with Dr. Dwayne Donald

A couple years ago, I went on an INCREDIBLE walking tour to learn about local indigenous history in Edmonton's River Valley. It was led by professor Dr. Dwayne Donald who is a professor at the Faculty of Education for the University of Alberta. His ancestry is Papaschase Cree and also has connections to the Blackfoot. The ...