A quick update on the work situation

So after touring for the month of September and then coming back to Calgary to wait to be sent out in the field Shelley starts to run out of money. This of course became a bit stressful and i was extremely lucky that i was able to stay with a couple of Australians that i became friends with at Stampede. Poor Rachel and Tim. When i got back from my travels i was supposed to be going out to the fields within a few days but the job kept getting delayed and i ended up staying there for nearly 3 weeks. I also bought my friend Nathan up from Vancouver to come out to the fields to work with me and he was staying there also. So after staying longer than ever intended due to lack of funds we finally were able to go out to work in the field. Although not before i had another lot of stress fall on me. As i was getting low in funds and i had already been a temp with Wolf Surveying (which is how i came to know about jobs out in the field) the company needed a temp Receptionist again and so agreed to let me work for a few days on the Reception desk for some extra money. So when all of this was happening with the phone calls to the agency to let them know i was working in the office for a few days the agency then realised that i had agreed to take up a position with Wolf and then asked for a fee for me as they introduced me to the company. So suddenly i was faced with the prospect of not being able to go out into the field and work as Wolf would not pay a fee for an unqualified employee. Oh my god. So the company was kind enough to negotiate with the agency for me. This went on for 2 days and to cut a long story short they eventually agreed to waive the fee. So 2 days later we finally get sent out to the field.

My gosh what an experience it has been. So i end up going out to the field one day later than everyone else as i was looking after the Reception desk until Friday so i went on the Saturday instead. So on my first day i get to do Quad training in the most mud i have ever been in in my whole entire life. So then the second day i set off to the fields. I wear my Australian Ecco hiking boots and layers of clothes and set off up the mountain. Well that turned out to be a big mistake wearing the Ecco's. I slipped about 8 times going up the mountain, which was about 800 metre's vertical and about a 55 degree incline, and then kept slipping throughout the day even though the terrain was flatter and then just to top things off we decided to take a short cut home straight down the face of the mountain. It was bloody steep practically straight down and of course i just about went all the way down on my bum. After about the 78th time that i fell i finally burst into tears through sheer frustration and so was made to wear better boots the next day. If it wasn't for two of the Slashers - who are Newfies ( People from Newfoundland for those who don't know what newfies are) i wouldn't have gotten down safely. I had one holding my hand behind me and the other one in front of me to make sure that i didn't fall too far. They looked after me all day. They gave me a dry pair of gloves, they cut me a futon to sit on at the fire that they made at lunchtime, they cooked me weiners on a stick for lunch, and on one of out breaks they cut me a bench to sit on with their chainsaw. Talk about spoilt..... Ya!!! Newfies!!!!

The next day i wore my Canadian bought boots which worked a whole lot better. Not as much falling over but lets just say that i have quite a few battle bruises to show off. Again the next day we had to walk too far up the mountain for me to handle and again we came staight down the side of the mountain and though i did not slip over half as much it still scared me a little. The Newfies stayed with me again, they are such gentlemen... I should bring one home with me, though the only problem with that is that i barely understand their accent making conversation difficult at times. Their accent is very influenced by Irish decendents so mix that with Canadian and i am sure you can figure it out for yourself how hard it would be to understand them.

So after my second day i went to the company and explained that i thought that the terrain was too hard for me and thankfully they understood and are sending me to another part of Canada which is flatter. I still worked the third day which we started in a different area which was flatter than the previous days.

With the work that i am doing in the mountains it is supposed to be that you survey about 1 to 2 km's into the bush and then when that is done you are supposed to be taken to work in a helicopter and fly over the part you have already surveyed and then get out and keep going. The client for this job is tight with money and didn't want to pay the expense of the helicopter and so far haven't supplied one. So on my second day i had to do a 3km walk into the bush survey 1.74 km's and then do a 2 km walk out. So you can imagine my apprehension at completing the job. knowing i was going to have to walk up mountains everyday when i had already had so much trouble staying on my feet. So i completed the third day and then came back to Calgary with someone who was driving come back and am going out to a new job site on Wednesday. This time the terrain is flatter and i may even get to do some quad biking which will be cool fun....

I am just lucky that the company was so understanding about it. so fingers crossed that the next job goes heaps better.

take care all and keep me up to date with news back home...

Shelley
xxxxxx

The Chiropractor

So while i am staying in Calgary waiting to be sent out in the field to work as a surveyor my back has been a bit sore and a bit stiff. So i decide it would be best to go and get it looked at before i go out into the field and wreck it some more. So i find one that is in Calgary near to where i am staying and make an appointment to go. When i get there i see that there are photo's on the wall of famous people. There were 3 photo's and i recognised all of them though i could only put a name to Burt Reynolds. So i ask him the names of these people as they are signed photo's specifically to him all saying with gratitude for his help. This automatically meant to me that he has good credentials. I figure if Joyce De Witt, Burt Reynolds and Bruce Davison can give him a signed photo in appreciation for his work then i can probably let him loose on me. So luckily i felt better after seeing him. He was ceratinly good at his job but of course not as good as Rodwell back home and i am not sure if Joyce, Burt and Bruce are as good as all the football teams that Rodwell has treated. I guess there is nothing like home... Shelley xxxx

Todd Vance's - Grassy Butte Ranch

Todd's Family

So next off to Todd Vance's, Grassy Butte Ranch, this is where i had the most fun. We did cattle drive on the Saturday and branding on the Sunday.
On the Saturday i was up at the crack of dawn had breakfast and got ready to go and help out with cattle drive. I got to ride a quad, a Kawasaki KVF 650 V Twin, bloody fast. Goes up to 110km p/h, i only went up to 80km. So we go out to the top paddoch to start rounding up the cow's and the Cowboy's take off on the horses and we go off in another direction on the quads. We start riding around and we end up getting a bit lost as there was some really thick bush and i was being led by a 7 year old and a 9 year old. So we didn't help much with the first part but had fun riding until one of the quads got stuck and so we had to leave it there and so i had a kid on the back with me and there we rode for most of the day until we shifted things a bit and he got to ride one of the other quads later on. Poor kid it broke his heart. So once the cow's came down off the mountain it was my job to go ahead of them and block off drive ways and roads and make sure they go the right way. So there was alot of waiting around to do but worth it once done. The next day my arms were so sore from riding the bike. And i didn't get too cold throughout the day as we had a bottle of Jagameister to drink. So a few shots of that and i was right. After seeing that the cow's had been moved safely into their new paddoch we head back to the house and i was first in the shower. Thank god i did because as soon as i got out of the shower they told me we were going into town for Pizza. I didn't exactly look the best at the end of the day.

Pictures from the Cattle Drive: (I was so much in awe of watching them round up the cow's on horse back that i forgot to take pictures of that part).

On the way to cattle drive

Our quads - mine is on the right

Bringing the cattle down from the paddoch

The Bull had a sore foot so he got to hitch a ride

Me on my quad - i had a blast riding the quad

Some of the cows hid in the bush so we had to go back and get them the next day.

What the trailor looks like after you have carted 10 cow's in the back - Yuk!

Todd's Dodge 1 Tonne Megacab Dually towing a 22 foot Gooseneck Trailor. I drove it for a short while and man it was cool to drive. Felt like i was driving a truck.

The mountains are right next to Todd's property

Todd's property - I took so many photo's that i couldn't put them all on the net

So Day 2 of staying at Grassy Butte Ranch we have a branding party. Shelley, a couple of other girls and the Cowboys drank the whole time we were branding. Everyone drinking Beer and me drinking Jack Daniels. Todd wanted me to feel welcome at his family Ranch so he went and bought me a Litre of Jack Daniels. I laughed and nearly died at the same time as there is no way i could drink a litre of alcohol in one weekend but i drank as much as i could. So even under the influence of alcohol i managed to get some good photo's, brand a cow and pull the nuts off a Bull Calf. Yep that's right i Castrated a Bullcalf!!!! So look out next time you piss me off i now know how to do pull nuts off.....

So at the end of the branding and castrating we took the Prairie Oysters (the nuts) into the house and cooked them up and ate them. Man what a legend i am!!! I actually can't believe that i did it but i did. So in one weekend i (hung out with cowboys) helped with cattle drive, watched the calves get roped, branded, pulled the nuts off the calf and then cooked them up and ate them. I am really proud of myself now!!!!!!

See i really did pull it's nuts off - It was so funny to see them walking funny afterwards

Almost off.....

off now... my little helper collected them for me... He's so cute

Roping and Branding the calf

And i did literally get on a horse. This one is Paschaw who is 26 years old.

A quick picture by picture description of castrating a bull - while your branding it cut open the nut sack and pull out the testicles.

Pull the testicles and then pull them off one at a time

Some of the bull's may bleed not all of them did

finally cut the nuts off and pour some iodine over the wound

Eventually they end up in a bucket for the kids to play with

Look at Lenny - Brokeback Mountain or what!!! - It's the hat that does it

Canadian Ranches - Hamilton Farms

So coming back from Toronto i head out to stay on 2 different ranches. First one i went to was with Gale and Rob Hamilton. I stayed there for 2 nights and went out with them to Weigh, Vaccinate and watch the cow's get preg tested. It's funny to see the Vet stick his arm up the cow's bum. It was absolutely freezing that day so i rugged up with layers and gum boots and followed everybody around. I had the clipboard to write down the weights of the cow's and if they were pregnant or not. It was cool to see a Canadian Ranch in action.

So next off to Todd Vance's, Grassy Butte Ranch, this is where i had the most fun. We did cattle drive on the Saturday and branding on the Sunday.

On the Saturday i was up at the crack of dawn had breakfast and got ready to go and help out with cattle drive. I got to ride a quad, a Kawasaki V Twin 650, bloody fast. Goes up to 110km p/h, i only went up to 80km. So we go out to the top paddoch to start rounding up the cow's and the Cowboy's take off on the horses and we go off in another direction on the quads. We start riding around and we end up getting a bit lost as there was some really thick bush and i was being led by a 7 year old and a 9 year old. So we didn't help much with the first part but had fun riding until one of the quads got stuck and so we had to leave it there and so i had a kid on the back with me and there we rode for most of the day until we shifted things a bit and he got to ride one of the other quads later on. Poor kid it broke his heart. So once the cow's came down off the mountain it was my job to go ahead of them and block off drive ways and roads and make sure they go the right way. So there was alot of waiting around to do but worth it once done. The next day my arms were so sore from riding the bike. And i didn't get too cold throughout the day as we had a bottle of Jagameister to drink. So a few shots of that and i was right.

Niagara Falls

While i was in Toronto i went to Niagara Falls for the day. I took a heap of photo's but i have only put a few on the internet. Niagara really is beautiful to look at.

From behind the falls

10 Days in Toronto

So after the 10 day Hiking tour i head to Toronto to stay with Nathan for 10 days. The weather in Toronto was good most of the time but it was cloudy and a little rainy. It's very muggy and so my skin felt sticky everytime i went somewhere. I didn't go up the CN tower as the clouds were about too much and it costs a bit to get up to the top so i just took photo's from the bottom. The CN tower can wait for another day.

So as Nathan had to work alot when i was there i spent alot of time walking around doing the tourist thing. I was out walking when i went past the Police station and remembered that i had a Victorian Police badge to swap. So in i go and enquire about swaping the badge when 1 very nice policeman (No not hot) comes out and swaps a badge and starts talking to me about Oz and stuff and then another comes out (Not hot either) and starts showing me all his badges that he has for swaping and so i end up taking some off him promising to have some posted to him from OZ. So they start talking to me about all the things there are to do in Toronto and i end with a written list of things to go and see and then they tell me to fill in form and go out as a ride along for a night. So we do just that and a few days later i go out for an afternoon/evening with a Sergeant for a ride along. Unfortunately i got one with no personality and no interest in having a ride along so i did get to do some things but not alot. However it was fun to be out in a police car. We did get to see the SWAT team get called out, though it was a false alarm, conviscated a machete, checked a rigged up ATM for the camera after the electronic reader was removed by a member of the public, and went looking for a stolen handbag that we didn't find.

Anyway in Toronto i caught up with Mark and Trudi who were over from London and Sam who i met at Stampede. It was good to see Mark again as i have not seen him since i left London.

So below are the photo's that i took of Toronto:

First Post Office in Toronto

Hard Rock Cafe - Yonge St

Dundas Square - Yonge St

Eaton Centre - Yonge St

Now that's my kind of Choclate

Dundas Sq - Yonge St

Eaton Centre - Yonge St

Parks in the middle of Toronto

The Subway

There was a Gas scare in out street so 5 fire trucks turned up. I got a photo with the captain.

Hockey Hall of Fame

CN Tower from below

Mark and Trudi

A building used in a movie that Russell Crowe was in but i don't remember which one.

Anything for advertising in Toronto

The Hippo Bus reflection in the window

I did a Hippo tour while in Toronto, it's a bus that drives around the city and then goes in the water. It was kinda corny but fun.

The water after the bus went in...

Fire Brigade playing with their hoses

The Boat Club in Toronto

China has just listed Toronto as a tourist destination so they have put up chinese dragons and lanterns for them

CN Tower from the water

Canadian Idol coming soon - again!!!

Water Fire Rescue

Nathan and I in the pub on my last night