I had journeyed via motorcoach to Medicine Hat once this year, and the experience left a slightly infanticidal taste in my mouth. Three  plus hours of being assaulted. by a pair of howling toddlers and the lackluster parenting thereby accompanied. Fuck that, I came correct this time. Sexy Brain candy noise-cancelling earbuds blocked out any aural defecation and the indie sounds of Silversun Pickups lulled me into a comfy  coma as I chugged towards what was to be my first destination and second departure location.

Stepping off the bus and immediately into the Captains vehicle, We sped with all haste towards the provincial border in the hopes of beating the twilight. Flat prairie became a blur, and the distinct lack of landmarks hindered our ability to accurately judge distances, or even the velocity that we hurtled across the plains. The captains insistence that we have sunlight at our first goal was an exceedingly excellent call. Six stories up stairwells and cold war goo encrusted ladders into the massive dome. The slowly setting sun filters through the unevenly coated fibreglass skin, casting a warm, peaceful glow throughout the sphere. Pauly Shore eat your heart out. The history permeates the structure. A war of monitoring and posturing was fought,in part, here. Massive vents, with Fan mounts that would make any Silent Hill fan a little happy in the nether regions, adorn two walls. Homage to the massive computers that once were installed.  The door leadng leading to a caged ladder  bears some sage Newtonian advice, and the exterior perimeter catwalk affords a vast view of... pretty much nothing. It's pretty, and vacant.  The outbuildings are gone. All  that is left is a windswept field, ringed by a razor wire nested fence, still sharp and inviting lockjaw to any  stupid enough to attempt the climb.



The highway patrol in Saskatchewan are far more laid back than anywhere I've traveled. Maybe they've succumbed to the realization that most people would simply like to get across the vast expanse of their rectangular province as quickly as possible. Barreling headlong into Saskatoon at well over the speed limit, an oncoming cruiser merely chirped a visual warning and continued on its way.

Our second destination was not as straight-forward, requiring a trek through a soggy fallow field and a densely forested hill.  This base is far more extensive, yet our round-about route was mandated by the presence of a homestead located on the base proper.  Our exploration was limited to the radome and directly connected outbuildings occupying the overlooking hillock.  The oppressively low-hanging clouds seemed to be mere feet above out heads as we stood upon what was easily the highest altitude in a 25 kilometer radius.  The history enveloping this structure is no less permeating. Here the threat of communism was monitored with bated breath.  thoroughly saturated after our adventure, we picked our way back through the foliage to the car and began putting several hundred more kilometers under our wheels.

Attached are some shots from a previous trip out east. Don't really have all that much to say about any of the sites that hasn't already been beaten to death  by tourist explorers, If you explore and cannot recgonise every one of these sites, you should probably hang up your tabi's and throw away your dust masks. there's no hope for you.

Nothing like wandering the streets at 2am after the city has been ravaged by an arctic storm, blanketed in dunes of wind-sculpted powder, and brought to a screeching halt by relatively ineffectual plowing procedures. The stillness is as fragile as the night air is crisp, as if daring you to throw as shoe at this city and splinter it like a fat kids mirror. Hello night sky, I welcome you Aurora borealis. It is incredibly rare that this phenomenon makes it as far south (relatively speaking) as Calgary, and even less likely that is is powerful enough to hack through the blinding shield of light pollution this city arms itself with. With that, a very special treat, the night sky lit up as only nature should be able to.