Alaska Views: The View That Asks Nothing of You

A couple of years ago I stood on a hillside in Alaska and took this picture. Mountains rising in the distance with late snow still clinging to the peaks, a wide river braiding its way through the valley, forests turning gold and green below, and a bright sky full of big, slow clouds. In the moment I wasn’t thinking about what came next or what I had left unfinished. I was just looking.

That is the strange gift of a view like this. It does not require commentary. It does not ask you to improve it or to extract a lesson on the spot. It simply is, and for a few breaths you can be with it. The wind moves through the trees in the foreground. The light shifts across the slopes. Somewhere far below, the river keeps moving whether or not anyone is watching. All of the ordinary noise—deadlines, opinions, the next thing that needs doing—has nowhere to land for a little while.

KassDays has always been about that kind of travel: not just the places themselves, but the way a place can clear the head if you let it. You walk, you stop, you look. The camera comes out, but the looking comes first. Sometimes the video that results is about the trail or the road or the unexpected turn. Sometimes, though, the real footage is the pause itself—the stretch of quiet where the mind resets because the landscape is larger than whatever you carried up the hill with you.

Stress has a way of shrinking the world until everything feels immediate and personal. A wide valley does the opposite. It reminds you that most of what occupies the mind is temporary, while the mountains and the river have been arranging themselves for a very long time. You do not have to solve anything while you stand there. You can simply notice the colours in the trees, the way the clouds rest against the ridges, the small bright plants at your feet. A deep breath is enough.

Then the moment passes, as moments do. You put the camera away, start walking again, and the ordinary concerns return in their own time. But something has shifted, even slightly. The view stays with you. It becomes a place you can return to in memory when the day feels crowded—proof that the world is still larger than the next task, and that beauty is still available if you are willing to stop and see it.

That is all this photograph is: one quiet minute on a hillside in Alaska, offered here in the hope that it gives you a minute of your own. Look at it. Let the rest wait. Breathe. The river will still be moving when you come back.

How to Shop the Okotoks Christmas Market

The Okotoks Christmas Market is a good place to knock out holiday shopping with local makers. Here’s a simple way to approach it. 

Know the basics first
It runs two weekends at two locations (Viking Rentals Events Centre at 204 Community Way and D’Arcy Ranch Golf Club at 376 D’Arcy Ranch Drive). Both spots are open both weekends.  
- Weekend 1: Nov 7 (4–8 PM) & Nov 8 (9–4)  
- Weekend 2: Nov 14 (4–8 PM), Nov 15 & 16 (9–4)  

Tickets are $5 for one weekend or $8 for both. Kids 12 and under are free. Get them at Market Square or at the door. Vendors change each weekend, so the selection is different the second time around.

What to look for
Focus on handmade items you won’t find in big stores: jewellery, candles, woodwork, soaps, pottery, baked goods, kids’ clothes, and décor. Check the quality of the materials and finish. Ask the maker how something is made or cared for — most are happy to talk. Look for pieces that match what you actually need rather than grabbing the first shiny thing.

Can you bargain? 
Usually no. These are fixed-price artisan markets, not flea markets. Prices are set by the makers and generally stay that way. Being polite and chatting is fine, but don’t expect to haggle the price down. If something is out of budget, just move on.

Simple shopping tips  
- Go with a short list so you don’t wander aimlessly.  
- Bring cash as a backup even though most take cards.  
- Hit both locations if you can — they have different vendors.  
- The second weekend often has a fresh lineup, so it’s worth going again if you missed something the first time.

The full walk-through video of this year’s market is here:  
Okotoks Holiday Market 2025

It shows the setup, the kinds of stalls, and the overall vibe so you know what to expect before you go.

Video by KassDays

See the Beauty, Carry It With You

This is one of those still mornings when the water is glass. The clouds sit low and heavy, the spruce line is sharp against the far shore, and the mountains fade into soft grey behind it all. Everything doubles in the lake. The reflection is almost perfect, as if the day has decided to hold still for a minute and show you what is already there.

You do not need a perfect blue sky for it to matter. The beauty is in the quiet surface, the way the trees stand straight in the water, the soft light that does not demand anything from you. It is easy to walk past these places or only notice them when the weather is ideal. It is just as easy to stop, breathe once or twice, and let the view settle.

Take the calm with you. Not the whole mountain range, just the feeling of the still water and the open sky. When the rest of the day gets busy or ordinary, that small piece is still there. You saw it. You can recall it. It does not fix everything, but it reminds you that beauty shows up in ordinary light too, and that noticing it is already a better start than missing it.

Helen  
Helen’s How To

 

Blue Resin Skull — Making Time to Make Something

There’s a blue epoxy resin skull sitting on my work surface right now. The colour is mine, mixed and poured. The eye sockets hold a metallic copper tone that catches the light differently every time I move it. It’s not finished. The surface still needs work, the photo doesn’t quite capture it the way I want, and I’m not sure when I’ll get back to the last steps. That’s fine.

I made it because I wanted to. Not for a market, not for a deadline, and not because anyone asked for a resin skull. Just because the idea was there and I had a stretch of time that wasn’t already claimed by something else. That small choice is what this piece is really about.

The practical side

Epoxy resin rewards patience more than speed. For a cast like this:

- Work in thin layers if you’re building color or inclusions. Thick pours trap heat and can yellow or crack.
- Colour thoroughly before you pour. Transparent dyes and mica powders behave differently; test a small batch so you know how the shade will look once it cures.
- Keep the workspace dust-free for at least the first few hours. Once the resin starts to gel, anything that lands on the surface stays there.
- Demold only when it’s fully hard. Flexing a soft cast is the fastest way to leave fingerprints or distort the shape.
- Finish work (sanding, polishing, additional pigment) can happen later. The skull doesn’t need to be perfect the day it comes out of the mold.

None of that is complicated, but it does require showing up when the resin is ready rather than when the calendar is convenient. The same is true of most handmade things.

Why the unfinished version still counts

A lot of creative work gets abandoned because it doesn’t look like the version in our heads. The blue skull is a good reminder that the value isn’t only in the polished final object. Part of the value is in the decision to mix the resin, pour it, and let it cure while the rest of life continues. That decision says the time belonged to me for a while.

Most days are full. Work, family, errands, and the general maintenance of living leave little leftover. The leftover is usually small — an hour after dinner, a quiet morning, a stretch when no one needs anything. Those fragments are easy to spend on scrolling or nothing in particular. They’re also the only time most of us will ever have for making something that exists only because we chose it.

The skull doesn’t solve anything large. It won’t organize a week or finish a project that actually needs finishing. It does prove that a person can still decide, on an ordinary day, to turn a material into a shape that didn’t exist before. That choice is small and it is also complete.

If you have a half-finished piece sitting somewhere — resin, wood, fabric, clay, or something else — it doesn’t have to be perfect to have already done its job. The job was to claim a bit of time and use it for yourself. The rest can wait until you have another small stretch.

That’s the part worth keeping.

Pumpkins After Dark at Canada Olympic Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

KassDays headed out to Pumpkins After Dark at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park to see what the Calgary edition looked like this year. The result is a relaxed, self-paced evening walk that delivers more atmosphere than scare.

The pathway is lined with thousands of hand-carved pumpkins—some real, many durable synthetic pieces—shaped into larger scenes and smaller details by Canadian artists. Once the lights come on, the carvings glow from within and the whole route comes alive. You’ll pass classic Halloween figures, pop-culture nods, dinosaurs, dragons, and plenty of photo-friendly setups, including an oversized pumpkin throne that practically invites you to sit down. Music and lighting effects run alongside the displays, but the tone stays family-friendly: no jump scares, no aggressive actors, just a steady glow and the occasional live pumpkin-carving demonstration.

Most people take one to two hours to wander the roughly one-kilometre route at their own speed. Food trucks offer seasonal treats, adult drinks are available, and free parking makes the logistics simple. Tickets are sold by timed entry, so booking ahead is the safer move on busier nights. The event runs on select evenings from late September through October 31.

It turned out to be a solid, photogenic night out—creative enough to hold interest, calm enough for mixed-age groups, and easy to recommend as a low-stress Halloween stop. The full walk-through is up on the KassDays YouTube channel if you want a closer look before you go.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/ntSrhH1RBlA  

More info and tickets: calgary.pumpkinsafterdark.com

Wild Horses Near Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis Country

Last Wednesday I was out in the Forgetmenot Pond area of Kananaskis Country when I came across a small band of wild horses. They were grazing on the open slope above the gravel bar, with the forest and the big peaks of the range behind them.

The light was clear and the horses were relaxed—one dark one standing higher on the ridge, a couple of browns lower down working the grass. It was one of those quiet Alberta fall scenes: dry grass, a few yellowing shrubs, spruce in the background, and the mountains sitting clean against the sky. I had a few frames, but this one captured the layout best.

People sometimes assume a shot like this has been cleaned up or generated, but this is straight from the camera. The horses were there, the mountains were there, and the light happened to cooperate. I stayed back, watched for a few minutes, and moved on so they could keep grazing.

If you’re heading into that part of Kananaskis, keep an eye on the open slopes and meadows near the water. The horses use the area and are often more visible in the shoulder seasons when the grass is still decent and the trails are quieter.

Safe travels if you’re out that way.

Helen

How to Scavenge Deals at a Multi-Vendor Antique Store

How to Scavenge Deals at a Multi-Vendor Antique Store (All Through the House, Okotoks)

The above video will not go live until October 28th, 2026, I pegged the wrong video, my apologies. 

All Through the House in Okotoks is a classic multi-vendor and consignment setup: a warehouse with over fifty vendors plus additional consignees. That model is great for variety, but it changes how shopping and bargaining work compared to a single-owner shop.

Can you find deals?

Yes. Because so many different people are selling (vendors, consignors, and the house itself), inventory turns over and pricing is uneven. One booth might have a realistic price on uranium glass or a jukebox; another might be higher. The yard and salvage areas often hold better value on larger or rougher pieces. Walk every aisle and the outdoor area—the denser the store, the more likely something is underpriced or overlooked.

How pricing and bargaining usually work 

Individual vendors set their own prices. Staff or the manager can often answer questions, but they may not have authority to discount someone else’s item.  

Practical approach:  

- Ask politely if the price is firm, especially on larger items, multiples, or pieces that have been sitting.  

- Bundling (buying more than one thing from the same vendor) improves your chances.  

- Unique or highly desirable pieces (rare advertising, working jukeboxes, clean uranium glass) are less flexible.  

- Don’t be aggressive. Many consignors are private individuals who have set a number they want.

Quick tips for scavenging here

- Give yourself time. The aisles are packed.  

- Check tags carefully—some items are pure consignment, others belong to resident vendors.  

- Look in the yard and hardware/salvage areas as well as the main floor.  

- If you’re serious about something, ask whether the vendor is on-site that day.

The full walkthrough that shows the density and the range of finds is here: https://youtu.be/5M4A_xTzjVY  

Location: Bldg 185, 100 Stockton Avenue (behind the Okotoks Cinemas; enter off North Railway Street). Generally open 11–5 daily.

Take your time, be respectful, and you’ll usually walk out with something.

This cute little Chameleon is also for sale, $25 OBO, he is approximately 15cm long and 4 to 5 cm high; if interested drop us a line or two. We are located in Okotoks Alberta and can meet up at a local public place. 

This Resin Art piece is make with Epoxy Resin and most of the colour comes from Mica Powder, there is some dye in the resin as well, that is where you can see some pink highlights in the tail and limbs. One of a kind unique piece. 

How I Made a 15 cm Epoxy Resin Chameleon

Mica in the mold, a purchased silicone mold, and a small paint job on the eyes

This chameleon is cast epoxy resin, about 15 cm long and 4 to 5 cm high. Not a palm-sized trinket. It sits on a shelf like a small ornament, with a curled tail, a crest along the back, and enough weight that it does not feel like a toy.

I did not sculpt it. The shape comes from a purchased silicone mold. The colour is mica powder brushed into the mold before the resin went in, so the gold, copper, and pink(the pink you see is from colour I put into the resin)the gold/copper sits in the surface rather than being mixed through the whole pour. The eyes got a second pass with a brush and a different colour so the pupil and iris read clearly against the metallic body.
 

What you need

- A chameleon (or similar) silicone mold, large enough for a piece around 15 cm
- Epoxy resin and hardener, mixed to the maker’s ratio
- Mica powder in the colours you want (I used warm metallics: gold, copper) -resin dye red
- A soft brush for the powder, and a finer brush for the eyes
- Mixing cups, stir sticks, gloves, and a level surface
- Optional: a bit of acrylic or resin-safe paint for the eye detail
 

How to cast it

1. Clean the mold and set it on a level tray. Dust and fingerprints show up in a glossy cast.
2. Brush mica into the mold, working it into the crest, the feet, the tail spiral, and the eye sockets. Heavier powder in the recesses gives deeper colour. Lighter dust on the high points keeps the metallic shift. You do not need to coat every millimetre; bare spots still take on colour from resin that picks up loose powder as you pour.
3. Mix the epoxy exactly to the stated ratio. Stir slowly, scraping the sides and bottom, until the mix is even and most of the streaks are gone. A fast stir traps bubbles. Mix in any resin colour you choose, you will only see hints of it where the mica is thinner.
4. Pour in a thin stream, starting at the lowest part of the mold and letting the resin rise. Tap the mold gently, or run a toothpick along the toes and the crest, to release trapped air. For a piece this size, a single pour is usually enough if your resin’s working time allows it.
5. Cover it so dust cannot settle, and leave it to cure for the full time on the bottle. Do not demold early. A 15 cm cast holds heat as it cures, so keep it out of a hot windowsill.
6. Once it is fully hard, flex the silicone and ease the chameleon out. Trim any thin flash along the belly or the toes with a sharp blade.
7. Touch up the eyes. A small brush and a contrasting colour — I used a different mica tone, worked into the eye — makes the red pupil and the pale iris stand out from the gold body. Let that dry or cure before you handle it much.
8. If the surface is a little dull where you sanded a seam, a thin clear coat of the same epoxy brings the gloss back. Skip that if you like the cast finish as it is.

A few things that matter on a piece this size

Mica brushed into the mold gives a stronger colour shift than mica stirred into the cup, and you use less powder. The tradeoff is that the back of the cast, the side that was open, will be paler. On this chameleon that face is the belly, so it does not show when he is sitting.

Work with a window open or a fan pulling air away from you, and wear gloves. Epoxy is a skin sensitizer. Do not pour it near food, and do not sand the cured piece without a mask.

If your mold is two-part, clamp it before you pour and expect a seam to clean up. A one-piece mold like the one I used is simpler, as long as the undercuts (toes, tail curl, crest) are flexible enough to release.

The finished chameleon is a shelf piece: about the length of a hand, high enough that the eye sits well above the surface he rests on. The curled tail and the splayed front foot are what make the size read as a decoration rather than a charm.

How to Stop Running and Actually See What Is in Front of You

Fall is the easiest season to practice this. The colour does the advertising. You still have to stop.

I took the crow on a walk. Dead branches, blue sky, a spruce still green on the right, and one black bird sitting the limb like it had the afternoon booked. It was not doing anything useful. It was watching. That is the whole picture.

The other shot is older, near Okotoks. Aspen gone yellow, one white trunk standing out in front of the stand, grass already tired, sky flat and grey. Nothing rare. Just a stand of trees on a day when I was not in a hurry.

How to do the walk

1. Leave the house without a destination that has a closing time. A loop near home is enough. River path, coulee edge, the block with the old trees.
2. Put the phone in a pocket for the first ten minutes. If you open it at the trail-head, you will spend the walk looking for a post instead of a bird.
3. Walk slower than your normal pace. Not a stroll for show. Just slow enough that a branch moves and you notice.
4. Stop when something holds. The crow did. So did the white trunk against the yellow. You do not need a rare animal. A bird that stays put is enough.
5. Look at the edges, not only the subject. Bare limbs against sky. Green spruce next to dead wood. Yellow leaves with the grass already brown underneath. The picture is usually in the contrast.
6. Then take the photo, if you still want it. One or two. Not a burst. The crow will leave if you fuss.
7. Put the phone away again and finish the loop looking.

What you are Practising

Most days the walk is transport. Parking lot to errand, errand to car. Fall gives you a reason to break that. The leaves will not stay. The crow might not be on that limb tomorrow. Neither of those facts requires a scenic viewpoint or a full afternoon.

You are not trying to collect views. You are trying to arrive in the one you are already standing in.

Near Okotoks that can be a coulee, a shelterbelt, a path along the Sheep River, or the trees at the edge of a field. Go while the yellow is still on the aspen. Mornings are quieter. Late afternoon light sits longer on the trunks.

If you only have twenty minutes, take twenty minutes. Stop once. Look at whatever is actually there — a bird, a white trunk, the way the dead branches cut the sky.

That is the how-to. The rest is just walking.

Dragon in an Egg: Pour It, Paint It, Don’t Rush It

This little dragon is one of mine. Eco resin, a mold, and a lot of paint. He is sitting in a cracked blue egg with a white, speckled interior, gold horns and wing, green-blue scales, and that slightly surprised look you get when you have just hatched and the world is too bright.

People always ask if they can do this. Yes. Buy a mold, buy eco resin, buy paint, pour, demold, paint. That is the short version. The honest version is that the pour is the easy afternoon. The part that makes it look finished is everything after that.

What you need

- A dragon-in-egg silicone mold (the kind sold for resin or soap)
- Eco resin or another two-part casting resin meant for figurines (read the label; “eco” still needs gloves and air)
- Mixing cups, stir sticks, a kitchen scale if the resin is mixed by weight
- Gloves, and a window or fan
- Fine sandpaper (around 400–800 grit)
- Acrylic paints: blues, greens, gold, a bit of brown or black for shading
- A small brush set — one tiny detail brush matters more than a fancy kit
- Optional: metallic or iridescent paint, a clear satin or gloss sealer
- Patience you did not budget for

The pour

1. Read the resin instructions once, then again. Mix ratio is not a suggestion.
2. Work on a covered table. Wear gloves.
3. Mix only what the mold needs, plus a little extra. Stir slow so you do not beat in a cloud of bubbles.
4. Pour into the mold in a thin stream. Tap the mold on the table to walk bubbles up.
5. Let it cure the full time on the bottle. Overnight is common. Peeking early is how you fingerprint a half-set dragon.
6. Demold gently. If it fights you, wait longer.

You now have a pale casting. That is not the finished piece. That is the homework.

Clean-up and paint

Sand the seam lines and any rough spots. Wipe the dust off.

Paint in layers, not one heroic coat.

- Egg exterior: blues over the scale pattern, a lighter blue or grey in the recesses so the “shell” reads as shell.
- Egg interior: off-white or pale blue, then a speckle with a dry brush or a toothbrush flick.
- Dragon body: green and teal, darker in the folds, lighter on the snout, belly, and knuckles.
- Horns and wing: gold, then a tiny bit of brown in the grooves so it does not look like a sticker.
- Eyes: leave a highlight. A dead eye kills a cute dragon.

Let each layer dry. If a colour looks cheap, it usually needs another thin coat, not more paint in the brush.

Seal when you are done and the paint is fully dry. Satin is kinder than high gloss on a hatchling.

The part I will not pretend is quick

Mixing and pouring is an hour, plus cure time. Painting this one took far longer than the pour. I keep going until I am happy, and “happy” is a moving target. You will miss a seam. You will get gold on the snout. You will think it is finished, sleep on it, and add three more shadows in the morning.

That is the craft. The mold gets you the shape. You get the dragon.

If you try one, start with a small mold, mix less resin than you think, and paint slower than you want to. The egg will wait.

How to Rescue Mushy Peaches and Soft Plums with One Jar of Fridge Jam

No peeling, no packet pectin, no full canning day, no human-wrinkle joke reference. 🤣

Late-season peaches from a BC trip. Four large ones left. Flavour was meh. One from the original bunch had already gone moldy — always the one near the bottom.

There were also a lot of plums still on the counter, already soft and wrinkly, the kind that will not last another week. A few days earlier I had put up about 25 jars of straight plum jam the long way: full water-bath, shelf-stable, the whole process. I did not want to fire all of that up again for one small rescue batch.

So I made fridge jam. One jar. No peeling. No packet pectin. No measuring cups lined up like a science project. The fruit that was about to be compost is now a jam that actually tastes like fruit.

This is how.
What fridge jam is (and is not)
Fridge jam is cooked fruit and sugar that sets enough to spread, then lives in the refrigerator. It is not canned. It is not shelf-stable. You do not water-bath it. You eat it in a few weeks.

That is the point. When you only have a handful of tired fruit, you do not owe it a full canning day.

What I used

- 4 large late-season peaches, unpeeled, chopped small
- About 15 plums (maybe more), already soft and wrinkly, unpeeled, chopped small
- About 1½ cups sugar (somewhere between 1 and 2 cups; I landed closer to 1½)
- A splash of water to get it started
- About 2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus more if a taste test said it was too sweet
- 1 clean jar with a lid (the jar in the photo)

No commercial pectin. Peaches and plums both have some of their own. Lemon juice helps the set and keeps the flavour from going flat.

How to do it

1. Wash the fruit. Cut out bruises, soft spots, and anything that looks off. Do not use moldy fruit. The one moldy peach from the bottom of the bag was already gone.

2. Leave the skins on. Chop the peaches and plums small. Skins cook down and add colour. That deep pink in the jar is mostly plum skin doing its job.

3. Put the chopped fruit in a pot with a splash of water so nothing sticks on the first few minutes.

4. Add the sugar and the lemon juice. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the fruit starts to break down.

5. Cook and stir. This is the whole method. No timer that matters more than your eyes. The fruit will go from chunks in juice to a thicker, glossy mix that sheets off the spoon instead of running like syrup.

6. Taste as you go. If it is only sweet and the fruit has disappeared, add more lemon juice. That is what pulled this batch back. The peaches started with almost no flavour. Lemon and plum did the rescue.

7. When it looks like jam you would actually spread — thick, not glue, not soup — take it off the heat.

8. Spoon it into a clean jar, lid on, cool, then fridge.

That is the jar in the photo. One pot, one jar, fruit saved.

How you know it is done

- It coats the spoon.
- A little on a cold plate wrinkles when you push it.
- It tastes like fruit first, sugar second.

If it is still runny after a good cook, keep going. Fridge jam can be a little looser than shelf jam. It will thicken more as it cools.

How to keep it

Refrigerator only. Use a clean spoon every time. Plan to eat it within a few weeks. If you want jars that sit in the pantry all winter, that is a different project — the 25 jars of plum jam already covered that.

Why this works when the fruit is disappointing

Late peaches can be mushy and dull. Soft plums can feel like they missed their moment. Cooking them together with enough lemon concentrates what flavour is left and hides what isn’t. You are not trying to make perfect-peach jam. You are trying not to throw good-enough fruit in the bin.

This batch is not too sweet. You can taste the fruit. That is the test.

Look at the Sunset. Then Leave People Room to See It Too

Happy Friday!

I pulled over for this one. The sky was doing that late-September thing it does out here: peach and coral smeared across the clouds, the mountains gone to silhouette, the fields still holding a last strip of green. The road was quiet. The fence line was quiet. For a few minutes the whole scene just sat there and let itself be looked at.

That is the whole point of getting out early.

You leave when it is still easy to find a shoulder, a pull-out, a bit of grass that does not already have three tripods and a family picnic on it. You give yourself time. You wait for the light. You take the picture, then you actually look. The phone goes down. The shoulders drop. You notice the way the colour sits on the ridges and how the yellow line on the pavement is the only bright thing left on the ground.

It is a good day to do that. Any clear evening is. We spend so much time rushing toward the next thing that we forget the sky is putting on a show whether we booked a reservation or not.

Then the latecomers arrive.

They always do. They swing in after the best light has already started, after the spots are taken, and they treat the remaining inches like they are public property that belongs to whoever is boldest. A little shove. A bag dropped in front of someone already set up. A body planted so close you can smell their laundry soap. The unspoken message is: I showed up, so I am entitled to the front.

I get tired of it. I do not think that makes me a mean cat. It makes me someone who got up early, found a quiet place, and would like to keep the quiet.

Being kind is not only holding the door or saying please. Being kind is also noticing that another person already occupies that two feet of gravel and choosing not to occupy it too. Space is not an insult. It is basic manners. You can still see the sunset from three steps back. The mountains do not get smaller because you are not standing on someone else’s toes.

If you arrive late, you get the view that is left. That is the deal. The people who planned ahead did not do it so they could pretend they are more important. They did it so they could stand still for ten minutes and watch the colour change. Let them.

So this Friday: pull over if the sky is putting on a show. Take the picture. Then look with your actual eyes. And if someone is already there, leave them the room they claimed with their own early start.

The sunset does not need an audience packed shoulder to shoulder. It just needs people willing to stop.

What do you think? Have you noticed the same thing at lookouts and roadside stops, or am I just lucky in my timing?

 

How to See Five Big Crowsnest Pass Stops in One Short Drive

 

If you are driving Highway 3 through southwest Alberta and want more than a gas-and-go, this loop is the one. Five stops. About twenty minutes of driving between them. Waterfall, a famous dead tree, coal-mine ruins, Canada’s worst mining disaster, and the Frank Slide.

KassDays walked the route in this video:

5 Incredible Stops in Alberta (All Within 20 Minutes!)
https://youtu.be/h8feqfWtB6Q

How to do the route

Go west from Pincher Creek / Lundbreck or east from the rest of the Pass. Stay on Highway 3. Pull off when the signs say so. You do not need a full hiking day.

Lundbreck Falls
Provincial recreation area just off the highway. Twin drops on the Crowsnest River, platforms at the top, stairs into the canyon if you want the mist. Picnic tables. Fishing. Campground downstream. Stay out of the water above and right below the falls. Parking fills on nice days; use the overflow lot across the bridge if you have to.

The Burmis Tree
Limber pine, centuries old, dead since the late 1970s, still standing because the community braced it after wind and vandals. Pull-off beside Highway 3. Read the panel. Take the photo. Do not climb it or lean on the supports. It is a heritage symbol, not a jungle gym.

Leitch Collieries Provincial Historic Site
Stone ruins of a Canadian-owned coal plant that lasted less than ten years. Manager’s house, powerhouse, coke ovens. Self-guided paths. Donation in summer. Washrooms and picnic tables mid-May to Labour Day. Dogs welcome; leash on the paths. Stay on the gravel walks. Do not climb unstable walls.

Hillcrest Mine Disaster Memorial
Short detour into Hillcrest. June 19, 1914. 189 men killed. Worst coal-mining disaster in Canadian history. Cemetery, mass graves, later memorial. This is a working cemetery and a place of mourning. Keep voices down. Stay off graves. Do not treat it like a photo booth.

Frank Slide
April 29, 1903. Turtle Mountain let go. Part of the town of Frank buried in under two minutes. Seventy to ninety people died; most are still under the rock. Walk the marked paths on the boulder field. The Interpretive Centre is the place for the full story if you have extra time. Do not scramble off-trail on loose rock.

 How to keep the day decent

• Check 511 Alberta. Pass weather changes fast.
• Fuel in Pincher Creek, Blairmore, or Coleman.
• Bear spray if you wander any trail beyond the viewpoints.
• Pack out everything.
• Private property and cemetery rules are not suggestions.
• Pair the loop with Waterton, Castle, or a night in the Pass if you have the day. Do not try to rush Frank Slide and a long hike in the same afternoon.

Beauty here is mixed with grief. The waterfall is easy. The tree is stubborn. The ruins show how fast a fortune can fail. Hillcrest and Frank ask you to stand still for a minute.

Watch the walk-through, then drive it yourself:

https://youtu.be/h8feqfWtB6Q

Helen
Helen’s How To

Rowley Alberta, the Town That Refused to Die | Exploring Ghost Towns

 

 

How to Explore Alberta Ghost Towns (Without Crossing the Line): Rowley, the Town That Refused to Die

If you are hunting Alberta ghost towns, abandoned prairie villages, or a Drumheller day trip that is more than hoodoos, start with Rowley.

Rowley sits in Starland County, north of Drumheller in the Alberta Badlands. In the 1920s it had hundreds of people, a train station, stores, a hospital, a church, and three grain elevators on the skyline. Then the Dirty Thirties, better roads, and the end of rail traffic emptied it out. Today eight to twelve people still live there. They mow the grass. They keep the saloon. They call it a historical village more than a ghost town — and they are right.

KassDays walked the streets in this 23-minute video already live on YouTube:

Inside the Abandoned Ghost Town That Refused to Die! (9 Residents)
https://youtu.be/tSDHEJurHYE

You will see the three grain elevators, the old hospital, the church, the bank, Sam’s Saloon, the community hall, and the speeder car on a short stretch of track. Hollywood has used Rowley as a period set. Locals still run Pizza Night on the last Saturday of the month to pay for repairs. That is why the place looks cared for instead of collapsing.

How to find Alberta ghost towns to explore

• Search “Alberta ghost towns map,” Starland County, Special Areas, Crowsnest Pass, and Highway 9 / Highway 56 corridors near Drumheller.
• Good public or semi-public stops: Rowley, Dorothy, Wayne, East Coulee, Atlas Coal Mine, Leitch Collieries, Nordegg, Bankhead (Banff area ruins), and parts of the Crowsnest Pass.
• Use Travel Alberta, municipal heritage pages, and recent visitor photos. Old map pins are often wrong or on private land.
• Pair Rowley with Drumheller, the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the hoodoos, and the Atlas Coal Mine for a full Badlands loop.

Mind the signs. This part matters.

Many “ghost towns” still have residents, private houses, working farms, and buildings owned by the community association. Rowley is one of them.

• If a sign says Private Property, No Trespassing, or Residents Only — stop. Do not walk around it, do not try the door, do not film through windows.
• Stay on public roads, marked paths, and clearly open townsite areas.
• Do not enter boarded buildings, climb elevators, or treat someone’s home like a movie set.
• Dogs on leash. Pack out everything. Do not move artifacts.
• Ask before flying a drone.
• Pizza Night and posted summer tours are the welcome mat. Random weekday peeking into yards is not.

A ghost town that still has nine people in it stays alive because visitors treat it like a living place, not a free-for-all ruin.

Watch the full walk-through here:
https://youtu.be/tSDHEJurHYE

Experiment first. Please yourself. Keep going.

These two photos are from a Friday at the workbench. A resin sword on the mat, blue fading into gold like water meeting sunlight. Small pours nearby. Brushes in every cup. A colour chart on the wall. A UV lamp. Molds waiting for the next try. It looks like a studio. It was really just a table and a person learning out loud.

Almost everything is an experiment when you are still figuring out the why and the how. You mix, you pour, you wait, you sand, you look at it under different light and decide whether it is finished or whether it is only another step. Some pieces land. Some do not. Both teach you something the instructions never will.

The point is not to make something the internet will crown as perfect. The point is to make something that pleases you. That is harder than it sounds. Insecurity likes to sit on the edge of the table and ask who you think you are. The only useful answer is to pick up the next cup and pour anyway.

Beauty lives in the eye of the beholder. That includes the person who made it. If the sword makes you smile when you walk past it, it has already done its job. If someone else sees a mermaid tail or a toy or a failed pour, that is their seeing. It does not cancel yours.

Time and patience are the real materials. Resin is just what you pour them into.

Helen
Helen’s How To

 

 

Easy Eco Resin Skulls

Easy Eco Resin Skulls | One of my favourite molds

Make what you like. If skulls please you, pour skulls. Dragons next. A spoon rest when the idea is ready. The craft is the same: a mold, a mix, and a finish you actually want to look at.

What you need
An eco resin (water-based casting resin — mix to the maker’s ratio), a skull mold, a scale or marked cups, a stir stick, a release if the mold needs it, and a level work tray. Gloves. Paint and sealer only after it is fully cured.

Pour

1. Clean and dry the mold. Mist or brush release if required. 
2. Mix the eco resin exactly as the bag or bottle says. Scrape the sides. Do not guess the water. 
3. Tint in the cup if you want colour through the whole skull, or leave it raw for paint later. 
4. Pour slowly. Tap the mold to lift bubbles. 
5. Leave it undisturbed until the cure time is done. Demolding early is how faces tear.

Finish
Sand any seams. The speckled skull with a pink jaw and the pearly one with blue sockets are the same pour in different clothes: dry-brush, inks in the eyes, a wash in the teeth, then a sealer so they can sit on a shelf and not stay tacky.

That is the whole trick. The mold does the anatomy. You do the character.

I have not used the spoon rest mold yet. Same steps when I do: mix, pour, wait, then make it look like something I would keep. Art is not a committee. Pour the skulls. Paint the dragons. Use the rest when the idea shows up.

A Few Minutes of Flowers, a Buck, and Letting Go

 

A Few Minutes of Flowers, a Buck, and Letting Go

I put together a short clip — mostly stills — of flowers, a beautiful buck, and a little art. The soundtrack is one of those AI nature tracks from Filmora. It is fine. It is not special. I did not want to hunt for something better, that is not really the point of this point, I babble a bit here and there.

Nature does not have to be a mountain range or a perfect sunrise. It can be a bloom in a yard, a deer standing still long enough to be seen, a piece of art that holds a bit of wonder. Whatever form is in front of you is enough.

The goal is simple: look at what is there. Let the noise drop, even if only for a short stretch of time. You do not have to fix anything. You do not have to keep the feeling all day. A few quiet minutes counts.

Watch the clip, share your thoughts with me, just be in peace, if even only for a few minutes.
If it gives you even a small pause, that is enough.

 

How to Capture the Beauty of Waterton National Park Alberta

How to Capture the Beauty of Waterton (and Come Home in One Piece)

A couple of years ago I stood on a hillside in Waterton Lakes National Park and took this photo: a weathered snag reaching over turquoise water, mountains holding cloud, new green pushing up around old wood. I have not been back since. Next year I really must. Places like this do not just look beautiful. They reset you, if you let them.

This is a how-to for getting there, staying ready, and actually seeing what is in front of you.

How to get to Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton sits in the southwest corner of Alberta, right against Glacier National Park in Montana. The practical way in is a car.

From Calgary it is about 270 km south — roughly three hours. Highway 2 south, then Highway 6 into the park. From Lethbridge it is closer, about 130 km. You need a Parks Canada pass at the gate. Summer weekends get busy, so a weekday or shoulder-season visit is kinder on both nerves and parking.

Check 511 Alberta before you roll. Fuel up in Pincher Creek or Mountain View if you are arriving outside peak hours. Once you are in the townsite, the lake and the peaks do the rest.

How to get ready for the trail if your knees or ankles have a past

Better to have the brace and not need it than to need it and not have it.

I found that out the hard way. An old ankle injury woke up on the way down, not the way up. Fancy that. Uphill you are working and paying attention. Downhill is where the joint takes the pounding, the trail gets steeper than it looked, and pride says “I’m fine” a little too long.

If you have weak knees or ankles:

• Pack the brace even on an “easy” day
• Use poles on the descent
• Slow down before the joint tells you to
• Turn around earlier than your ego wants

Waterton trails can look gentle from the lake and still chew you up on the return.

How to pack so the day stays a good day

Carry what the park actually asks of you:

• Bear spray, where you can reach it, not buried in the pack. Know how to use it before you need it.
• Bug spray
• An extra layer — Waterton weather changes its mind
• Snacks
• More water than you think you need

Then add the unglamorous stuff: the brace, a bandage, a little tape. Beauty is easier to notice when you are not limping and hungry.

How to share the trail with wildlife that does not want you there

This is their home. You are passing through.

Keep your distance. Make a little noise on brushy stretches. Never let food or scented items wander. A deer, elk, or bear that does not see you as welcome is not a photo opportunity first. It is a reason to give space, stay calm, and leave them the trail.

Watch the edges of the frame — the shoreline, the berry patch, the blowdown. That is often where they are.

How to let go of what is dragging you and actually see the place

This is the part a packing list cannot do for you.

Stop. Put the phone down after you take the shot. Breathe in through the nose, out longer than you want to. Look at the dead tree and the living green around it. Look at the water changing colour under cloud. Let the day you brought with you sit down for a minute.

Capturing beauty is not only pointing a camera at mountains. It is noticing the snag, the little yellow flowers at your feet, the fact that you made it here at all. The picture I took that day still works because I paused long enough to see the whole scene, not just the postcard peak.

Waterton will still be there next year. So will the list of things that wear you down, unless you practice leaving them in the car.

Go prepared. Go slowly on the downhill. Carry the spray and the water. Keep an eye on what lives there. Then breathe. That is the how-to.

#WatertonLakes #Alberta #HikingTips #HowTo #NationalParks #GetOutside

Location: Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada

How to Lighten and Stripe a Dark Purple Eco-Resin Dragon Belly

This little dragon started with a solid dark-purple belly. The finished look is lighter overall, with clean white-to-lavender stripes across the tummy and a bit of shine so it doesn’t look flat. You can do the same change on a painted eco-resin piece without stripping the whole figure.

What you need

• The painted eco-resin dragon (fully cured)
• Fine sandpaper (400–600 grit) or a sanding sponge
• Soft brush or damp cloth to wipe dust
• Acrylic paints: a pale mauve/lavender, a light magenta or soft white, and a tiny bit of metallic silver if you want the claws/horns to pop
• Small detail brush and a slightly wider flat brush
• Water cup and paper towel
• Optional: acrylic varnish (matte or satin) and a pearl or interference medium if you want the pearly glow from the second photo

Prep Wipe the dragon so it is clean and dry. Lightly scuff only the belly scales you plan to repaint. You are not trying to remove all the old colour—just give the new paint something to hold. Wipe the dust off.

Paint the base of the belly Mix a pale lavender (mauve pale plus a touch of white works well). Paint the whole belly in thin coats. Let each coat dry. Two or three thin coats beat one thick one on resin. Keep the edges neat where the belly meets the sides so you do not have to fix the rest of the dragon.

Add the stripes Once the pale base is dry, use a slightly darker purple or a clean white (depending on how strong you want the contrast). Follow the existing scale lines. A thin flat brush or a liner brush makes this easier. Paint every other scale band, or every second row, so you get even stripes. If a line wobbles, wait until it is dry and tidy it with the pale colour.

Details Touch up the claws and horn tips with a little silver if they look dull. Check the eyes and snout so they still read against the new belly. Let everything dry fully—acrylic on resin can feel dry on top while the layer underneath is still soft.

Seal A thin coat of acrylic varnish protects the new paint and evens the sheen. If you want that pearly, slightly translucent look, mix a drop of pearl medium into the last pale coat or into the varnish. Do not flood the details.

 

Tips that save a redo

• Thin paint. Thick paint hides scale texture.
• Work in good light so the stripe edges stay crisp.
• If you hate a stripe, sand that band lightly and paint it again. Eco-resin can take a gentle scuff.
• The frog-on-the-toilet in the workbench photo is optional. The dragon is not.

That is the whole change: scuff, pale base, stripes along the scales, seal. The before is the dark solid belly. The after is the striped one sitting on the table with the paint tubes still open.

Sometimes the Best Remedy Is a Pair of Dancing Boots

Let's Dance 

This past weekend in Okotoks, the Chinook Country Line Dancers took the stage at the Chilli Fest and reminded everyone how good it feels to move to a simple beat under an open sky.

No fancy choreography required—just a group of people stepping, turning, and smiling together while the rest of the festival carried on around them. Watching it is pure, uncomplicated joy.

In a world that constantly pulls us toward screens and endless scrolling, moments like this are a quiet invitation: step outside, find something lively, and let yourself enjoy it. Whether it’s line dancing, a local festival, a walk, or simply standing still long enough to notice the weather, getting out into the real world has a way of lifting the weight that online noise can pile on.

The short clip of the dancers is linked below. Watch it, smile a little, and then maybe go find your own small reason to step away from the screen today.