November 14 2014

This is a compilation of a few great shots during my flights from the summer of 2014.  If I get any free time this winter, stay tuned for a winter version as well.

November 13 2014

Its been a few months in between blog entries, and reasonably so.  Before starting school in October, I went on a short vacation in the rocky mountains, hiking in the Banff, Lake Louise, and Tonquin Valley areas.  On return to Winnipeg, I had been hoping that things might take a break from all the energy exerted in climbing mountains... I've spent nearly the entire last month studying non-stop for my Flight Services course at Nav Canada's Area Control Center in Winnipeg, MB.  Training is great; the class has been challenging and exciting.  One of the upper management fellas was able to provide our class with Winnipeg Jets tickets for November 4th, when the Winnipeg Jets took to the ice with the Nashville Predators, winning 3-1. We have been studying a fictional airport in class that has all the elements of real airports to learn the procedures in dealing with aircraft traffic in the real world.  In my free time (which I rarely have...maybe one night each week) I'll try to squeeze in a flight or go out with a few friends if all of our uniquely busy schedules align.  I don't have many new aviation photos, so this blog entry will be more of an update about whats' been exciting as of late.
- Enjoy!

View from the top of Ha Ling peak, on the south side of the mountain village of Canmore

Hiking near Canmore.  A few tips that saved me on multiple occasions during hiking:

1. Bring tape:  

Great for avoiding any friction blisters.  If you feel any soreness of the skin on your feet, bandage it up with tape and it'll save you days of raw skin.

2. Walking sticks: 

Literally carve some dead tree branches into a set of walking sticks and your knees will immediately begin to thank you.  And you'll thank me in kind.

3. Save weight:

Pack a tarp instead of an air mattress, and fill it with spruce branches for nighttime insulation and obviously comfort.  Invest in a LifeStraw water filter and a Whisperlite stove. Simply awesome.

 One of the Tonquin Valley rivers.  I recommend the 3 day trek to everyone.

Tonquin Valley

Tonquin Valley

 Tonquin Valley

Tonquin Valley

Tonquin Valley

Back in 'civilization', Ryan and I had some great bike rides along the flooded Assiniboine River

Went flying with some friends and clearly had a great time

Snapped this shot while flying with the folks over the Garson limestone quarries

Godsmack's concert at the Winnipeg MTS Center

 

Attended the Manitoba Human Rights Museum (A $351-Million pat on the back, good job humans)

Downtown Winnipeg as seen from Amanda Bakker

Floating, about to go flying with my father for his first floatplane flight

There he is, acting like captain of the aircraft

DISCLAIMER: He is not actually in charge of the aircraft in this photo.

Until next time, enjoy this sunrise

August 21 2014

Aerial pictures.  Enough said.

Downtown Winnipeg, shot on July 13 2014

These were taken on July 27 in the morning of the flight to Altona to watch the motocross races with my father!  Beautiful day; unfortunately we lost our radio communications on our way back into the Winnipeg airspace, so we had to deviate around their airspace until we were able to get some communications back online.

 I spent a bit of time this summer achieving my float rating through Interlake Aviation in Norris Lake.  These photos were taken on a cross-country trip from Norris to Pine Dock, over to Bissett, and back to Norris Lake passing over Grand Beach.  If you're interested in video footage of the floatplane, watch my video posted on facebook, https://www.facebook.com/chriswelter2011

Some beach tours.  So peaceful to fly around Lake Winnipeg.  The Grand Beach and Victoria Beach Pier shots were shot by my friend Niki with a high end DSLR camera.

Winnipeg's Assiniboine park on some beautiful afternoons.  Below are a few shots of the park on Canada Day during the firework celebrations; it was hard to get a clear shot with the low lighting, fast moving subjects, not to mention shooting photos from a high speed aircraft.

Throwback to a snowy May sunset in Selkirk, MB

Birds Hill's 35th Folk Fest

Upper & Lower Devils Lake, near the south end of Lake Winnipeg

Until next time...

August 21 2014

Here are some photos of other great memories this summer has brought me that are unrelated to flying and working in the Assiniboine Park:

My parents have been constructing a cabin near Sioux Narrows in Lake of the Woods.  I haven't been able to get out as much as I'd like to, but I'm proud to have been able to contribute some of my time

For a few months now, I've been part of the Winnipeg Big Brother program.  On average once a week, I've been able to meet up with Aiden and we go do fun things like build model rockets, go-kart, shoot compound bows at Heartland Archery, go to the Goldeyes games, even watch Little Mermaid @ the Rainbow Stage.

A friend of mine, Klay Sadlowski, performs firework demonstrations for special events, and recently I was able to help detonate a few of the fireworks in his show.  That was very very cool. This shot was taken from one of his shows in Petersfield / Netley Creek.

My car was broken into on August 5, and my aviation headsets along with my sunglasses and iPod were stolen.  The headsets were easily the most expensive items taken, so I went to everyone I knew in aviation and every pawn shop I could find in Winnipeg to send out the message that mine were taken.  The evening of my pawn shop escapades, I received a call from Harv's Air in St. Andrews, stating that a lady had located a bag of headphones with a fuel receipt for Harv's Air that included my headphones.  I was able to meet with the lady and she said that her friend, a homeless man, had been wandering through the brush near my apartment when he found the bag.  I awarded him generously, hoping to instill positive moral and to encourage the behavior to continue.

Career wise, things have been great.  I was differed from entering RCMP officer training because I told all the truths about my terrible past of downloading songs and working with people who used recreational marijuana.  As one door closes, another opens, and NavCanada responded positively to my patience in their hiring process and I was offered a seat in their training program to start on October 14.

I haven't really photographed many of my adventures this summer.  I've been canoeing and camping a few times, plenty of bicycling, but mainly working at the park and flying in my free time, so those photos are next.

August 20 2014

It has been over 3 months since my last upload of photos and commentary, so I'm going to do two posts for this update.  The first will cover the summer highlights, and the second post will include my favorite aerial shots from the previous 3 months.

To start this off, I'm going to include some shots from the Assiniboine Park Zoo.  I've worked in the park for 4 months now, and gathered some awesome pictures of the animals.  All the posted photos have been taken from a visitor's point of view, so if you like what you see, I'd recommend making a day trip out of it.

Signage welcoming visitors into the new Churchill exhibits and polar bear conservancy buildings

New parking lot & South side entrance to the Assiniboine Park Zoo

I like turtles. These little guys can be found in the Conservatory

Max the Cougar doesn't like having his photo taken

Proud parents

King of the enclosure

Lyric theatre after Canada Day events.  We live in a great country; don't cover it in garbage.

Ducks in front of the Qualico Family Center (Park cafe)

Harlequin's audience in the park

Hudson, the cuddly polar bear

English Gardens

Dem flowers doe

Red panda in Bamboo Point

Polar bear dive tank

Another sweet shot of the male cougar

One of the beautiful snow leopards trying to climb his cage

Roo & Joey & Groundsquirrel

Tired human at James Davidson's wedding dinner in the Qualico Family Center

That's enough of the park photos.  I'll update the blog with some other events from the summertime before getting around to releasing the aerial photo dump.  Take care, and until next time, enjoy this Assiniboine Park sunset.