Jasper, Caribou and Vanilla Cream Pie

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29376074.post-1152932984945381822006-07-14T20:17:00.000-06:002006-07-14T21:14:50.563-06:00Jasper, Caribou and Vanilla Cream Pie<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3865/3127/1600/july789%202006%20016.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 145px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 185px" height="209" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3865/3127/320/july789%202006%20016.0.jpg" width="165" border="0" /></a> Wow, we just got home from doing a Southern Alberta trek. And it is amazing to see the influence of the Rockies and wildlife - in the strangest places. Of course if you are traveling through the Foothills one of the musts on the route would be the Turner Valley and Black Diamond area. Entrance to the area is marked with oil derricks and coal memorobilia but the real soul of the community can be found in its farmers markets and local pubs. It was no surprise to find an old friend and artist from Jasper at the Millarville Farmers Market - the largest outdoor market in Alberta! Anna Carnell works in stone. The image below is a stone mosaic. Pebbles - cut stone - and colourful slabs atop beautiful diamond willow legs. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3865/3127/1600/annatable.jpg"></a>It wasn't long before we had persuaded her to do a table for <a href="http://www.tuktuprayers.com">Tuktu Prayers</a>, our traveling exhibition for 2007 to raise awareness for Jasper National Park's dwindling Woodland Caribou herd. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3865/3127/1600/annatable.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 163px" height="144" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3865/3127/320/annatable.jpg" width="185" border="0" /></a> After visiting with Anna we made our way through the homemade jams and preserves, avoided the plethora of homebaked Mennonite cakes and breads, indulged in some Polish 3 layered walnut vanilla cream pie, checked out the pottery, custom art and handmade clothing...and then just sat in the shade watching and listening to the merchants of Millarville! It always seems like other communities have so much going on and so much to do! For a fleeting moment I could almost imagine moving to this small place and enjoying the nightly jams and markets and intense art scene. For a fleeting moment... Jasper may not have the provinces's largest farmers market where you can buy everything from fresh berries to picnic tables to puppets - but we also dont have oil and gas exploration in our backyard or a megacity encroaching on our doorstep. And now we have another visual voice for <a href="www.tuktuprayers.com">Tuktu Prayers</a>! Watch Tuktu Prayers for online auction items soon.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/29376074-115293298494538182?l=leatherpass.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Roadrunnernoreply@blogger.com0