Tag: Canada

Canada’s All Time Top Songs – #98

At 98 is a signature song from former Sweeney Todd singer, Nick Gilder. The track is Hot Child In The City. Nick was born in London, England in 1951 and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia.

His music career began as the singer for a group called Sweeny Todd and had a major hit while with them, “Roxy Roller”. After that success, Nick left the band, going solo and signing a record deal in the USA. In a strange twist, when Nick left the band, his replacement was a young Bryan Adams. That deal spawned the featured song, “Hot Child In The City” which hit number 1 in both Canada and the USA.

Riding the success of his new solo career, he won 2 Juno Awards (Canada’s Grammys), Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year. He also won a People’s Choice award in the USA. Other than North America, the song did not have much success internationally and did even chart in the United Kingdom.

This song was the high point of his vocal career. He never again charted in the USA and had only a few songs chart in Canada.

He did have success as a songwriter as well, penning hits for diverse artist as Pat Benatar and Bette Midler. He is still touring in Canada and now lives back in Vancouver.

Canada’s All-Time Top Songs – #99

After a Visitor break (some old friends from Saskatchewan on their way to the Chepe Express) and a bit of a cold, maybe CoVid, I will continue to move forward to where I left off; here is 99 on the top 100 list. I have also added a few notes as an upgrade. I think I was in a hurry when I did this one. As for the Chepe Express, we plan on that one next year.

At 99, we present “We Run” by Strange Advance. A Vancouver new wave band, they formed in 1982 and were almost immediately nominated for a Juno (Canada’s Grammy) as the most promising band in 1983. We Run was taken from their album, “2WO”, and released as a single in 1985. It reached number 28 on the RPM pop chart. The band never made strides outside of Canada. In addition, they were mostly a session band and apparently had never played live before 1985.

They released 3 albums overall and essentially went dormant after releasing the 3rd in 1988. There is talk about a new album being released shortly.

There is more information on that release and the band overall at their website.

https://www.strangeadvance.com/

Scenes From A Hike – September 4, 2021

Went for a nice hike on a forestry road that led us to the shore of Monroe Lake in the East Kootenays of British Columbia. The trek was 3.21 miles or 5.2 km. A screenshot of the route is below, in and out via the same route.

The scene below is indicative of the scenery along the road.

Once we reached the lake, there was a footbridge and an old dam, now in various stages of deterioration.

It is also the mouth of a creek, pretty much dried up as we are at the end of the season. Most creeks and rivers out here are snow and rain-fed, meaning they tend to dry up, or they are spring-fed, which this one is not. We have seen this creek higher up in the mountain in the past, but it was late October and there was runoff.

We continued to the right on the map and discovered some well-worn elk trails that we will explore later. We turned back and took the left spur to some amazing scenery. We have done this path before this and knew what we were in for. We have also kayaked through the meadow, a post I will put up once I finish playing with the video.

We also know about how to relax. A conveniently placed bench to look at the landscape.

And of course, it is not all about the scenery, let’s not forget the foliage and critters. In this case an interesting mushroom and some pretty butterflies.

Just A Picture

Have to keep my streak alive, while being exceptionally busy. It’s that time of year isn’t it. Took this shot at a stop on the way up to Gardiner Dam, north of Lardeau, B.C.

See You Next Year

It’s that time of year. Off to our Calgary home for Christmas and then to Mazatlan for New Years. We will be in Mazatlan until April. I had to take some shots just before we left. It’s such a beautiful place.

Canada’s All Time Top Songs – #99

At 99 we present “We Run” by Strange Advance. A Vancouver new wave band, they formed in 1982, and were almost immediately nominated for a Juno (Canada’s Grammy) as most promising band. “We Run” was taken from their album, “2WO” and released as a single in 1985. It reached number 28 on the RPM pop chart. The band never made any inroads outside of Canada and essentially went dormant after releasing their 3rd album in 1988. . Fun fact, they were mostly a session band and apparently had never played live as a group prior to 1985.

Sailing Kootenay Lake

Not much wind, not much to do.  Had a full cockpit so didn’t raise the jib, likely should have.  Love the views.  Our SV is a 25 foot O’day from 1979.  Loving it.  Sorry it is on an iPhone so a pretty narrow shot.

Pilot Bay Lighthouse – Kootenay Lake, BC, Canada

Took a walk up to the Pilot Bay Lighthouse.  Easy trail, slightly uphill and well worn.  The lighthouse is wood and was used to note the entrance to the West Arm of Kootenay Lake.  It has not been used for many years and is the subject of a historical preservation society.  The light was visible for 30 miles in each direction on the lake.

Pilot Bay Lighthouse
Pilot Bay Lighthouse

This is the view of the lake from the top of the lighthouse.  Spectacular views everywhere in this part of the world.

View Into The West Arm Of The Lake

Fish Creek Provincial Park – Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Discovered this park in the centre of Calgary and will share a few photos.  A beautiful walk in an area surrounded by a million people.

A Dog Day Afternoon
A Dog Day Afternoon

Fish Creek Swimming Hole
Fish Creek Swimming Hole