[QUOTE=Spoons]
It’s not perfect, but it’s better than numbing my chin!
[/QUOTE]
You could try a scarf and nix the beard. Another benefit for the rest of us is that we don’t have to see what your last meal consisted of 
.
Frank, just had a look outside–it’s snowing here in Edmonton. I also just checked theweathernetwork.com for our forecast, and they’re calling for four to six inches of snow over the next 24 hours. So there’s no rush–they’re not great at plowing the streets in this city, so tomorrow, driving here is likely to be a mess. Take it easy and stay safe.
I used scarves when I was clean-shaven. Now, while my beard is better than nothing, a scarf helps to keep me extra-warm. And I’ve gotta say, my last meal is not displayed in my beard!
[QUOTE=Frank]
Hey, I put it in my location without any rhyming jokes! Which reminds me, as I was coming into town, there was a welcome sign with what I assume is the city’s logo, consisting of what I assume was buildings, small on the edges and getting taller to the centre, but leaning apart from each other creating a sort of V shape. I instantly thought of good ol’ whats-her-name. Perhaps she’ll see this, and yell at me for remembering her location but not her username.
Here it is. Scroll down, it’s at the bottom of the left collumn, between the “Regina” and “City of Regina” text.
[/QUOTE]
Umm, if that’s me, I’m a he.
Congrats on making it this far, this quickly, once out of the snow belt of northern Ontario. Once you hit the Prairies, the TCH is pretty easy going.
The logo is based on two of the buildings in the downtown area: McCallum Hill Towers. I never would have drawn the mental image you got. :eek:
I would join all the comments from the other western Dopers about getting a block heater. Frankly, Frank, ( 
), I’m amazed you got this far in the weather you’ve gone through without car / battery troubles. There’s a good Canadian Tire on the north end of Albert St., en route to Saskatoon, that could probably fix you up quickly.
[QUOTE=Northern Piper]
Umm, if that’s me, I’m a he.
[/quote]
Told you I forgot.
I’ve a sick mind.
Why? It’s hasn’t been that cold. -10, -15, dunno yet what it is this morning. None of my motels have had plugins anyway. I keep my car in good shape. (Famous last words, eh?)
As a proud Albertan, I will give you our “rules”, just so you don’t get off on the wrong foot ok?
yer welcome.
RULES FOR ENTERING ALBERTA:
- Bring your own house.
- If you are going to the Oil sands, bring your own house, school, and hospital.
- If you are going to Edmonton, wear your flak jacket. This is the murder capital of Canada.
- If you are driving to Edmonton, note that it is also the auto theft center of Canada.
- If you are bringing drugs, head straight to Fort McMurray , the drug capital of Canada.
- If you are looking for work, look no further. Minimum wage is $8.00 per hour.
- If you work downtown, note that parking costs $5.00 per hour or more.
- If you are able to buy a house in Edmonton, or Calgary, why not spend the money on a 15 year holiday.
- If you drive a Hummer, look out. Alberta has the highest gas prices in Canada [The Alberta Advantage].
- In Edmonton we have 5 hospitals. 10 years ago we had 7. Don’t Come here sick.
- In Calgary the population has exploded. The last road was paved 12 years ago. Calgary is a no parking zone.
- Remember when Roy Rogers etc. were beating the Indians? Well it’s payback time. They own all the Casinos here.
NEW CALGARY RULES OF THE ROAD:
- You must first learn to pronounce the name correctly – it is: ‘CAL-GREE’. The second ‘A’ is redundant.
- The morning rush hour is from 5:00am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 8:00 pm. Friday’s rush hour starts on Thursday morning and ends on Saturday night.
- The minimum acceptable speed on most freeways is 130 kph. On Deerfoot, you are expected to match the speed of the airplanes coming in for a landing at the airport. Anything less is considered ‘Wussy’.
- Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Calgary now has its own version of traffic rules. For example, cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go first at a four-way stop; the trucks with the biggest tires go second.However, Calgary,SUV-driving, cell phone-talking moms ALWAYS have the right of way.
- If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot.
- Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously. It’s another offense that can get you shot.7. Road construction is permanent and continuous in Calgary . . .Detour barrels are moved around each night to make the next day’s driving a bit more exciting, but nothing ever gets finished, and more new construction starts everyday.
- Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, skunks, dogs, cats, deer, barrels, cones, cows, horses, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, garbage, squirrels, rabbits, crows, and coyotes feeding on any of these items.9. In Calgary , 16th Avenue, TransCanada, and ‘Hwy #1’ are all the same road.
- If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been ‘accidentally activated.’
- If you are in the left lane and only driving 110 in a 80-90 kph zone, you are considered a road hazard and will be ‘flipped off’ accordingly.If you return the flip,you will be shot.
- For winter driving, it is advisable to wear your parka, toque, fur lined mittens and mukluks. Make sure you have a shovel, food, candles and blankets in the vehicle, as snow removal from the citystreets is virtually non-existent until the spring thaw.
[QUOTE=FarmerChick]
<snip>10. In Edmonton we have 5 hospitals. 10 years ago we had 7. Don’t Come here sick.<snip>
[/QUOTE]
Those Edmontonians - living in the lap of luxury up there, with all those extra hospitals. :mad:
I can’t argue with the rest of it. 
When you take the #2 highway between Edmonton and Calgary, and you will, you need to know two things about it - the speed you will be expected to go is about 130 kph +, and it is heavily policed by RCMP looking to give you speeding tickets.
I still say get a block heater. It seems very wrong to me to try to live someplace as cold as Edmonton without one.
[QUOTE=featherlou]
I still say get a block heater. It seems very wrong to me to try to live someplace as cold as Edmonton without one.
[/QUOTE]
I’m having a tough enough time trying to figure why he’d want to live in Edmonton! I’d think the weather would be the least of his worries.
I had to check in this morning to see how it all was going - we’re in for more snow and lots more cold.
Got your block heater yet?
I am greatly envying your winter roadtrip, Frank. We haven’t really had much of anything this year (and nothing that has stuck to the roads), and I miss driving around in it. 
[QUOTE=Frank]
For those keeping score, a long day of not quite as nasty driving as yesterday got me to Dryden. I wanted to put as many [del]miles[/del] kilometres behind me as I could before the storm got bad.
So I missed meeting Muffin, but I waved in the general direction of his house as I turned back on the Trans-Canada.
[/QUOTE]
Good decision. It took me five hours to dig out to the road the next morning – the belt drive on the snow blower broke, so I was stuck with the Armstrong method.
[QUOTE=featherlou]
I still say get a block heater. It seems very wrong to me to try to live someplace as cold as Edmonton without one.
[/QUOTE]
And in Edmonton, a block heater can also double as a night life.
(I had a job interview in Edmonton once. After a couple of days of touring the city, I asked the potential employer if they would rent a convertible for me so that I could drive out to Vancouver and Whistler – astonishingly enough, they agreed, so I had agreat road trip in their dime.)
Awww, I say Calgary with the second ‘a’. But then, I’m not a native - wait, I don’t think any of us are.
The snow in Calgary has stopped for now, but apparently the major highways are pretty icy. Drive carefully!
I’m in Lloydminster, just barely in Alberta, and back in the Mountain Time zone, which happened earlier than I thought. I was expecting it at the Alberta border, but it changed shortly after I rejoined the main highway at Battleford, WHERE IT STARTED SNOWING AGAIN!!!
Just lightly so far, but enough for the usual blowing snow issues. It is the leading edge of a storm expected to leave 4-6 inches in its wake. I probably could have pushed to Edmonton tonight. It’s only about another 160 miles or so. I couldn’t convince myself I wanted to arrive exhausted, in the dark, in a snowstorm. Just couldn’t do it. I’ll hole up here, rest up, and mosey on in tomorrow at my convenience.
Biggar was, I thought, a nice little town. Unexpectedly hilly in that area; I think it would be pretty country when the weather’s nice. I’d have looked around more if not for the weather. The wind was horrible. I had lunch there, and visited the very nice little museum. I didn’t see any names I recognized - I guess my family didn’t leave much of a mark there. They had lists of deaths from the newspaper, but they only started in 1913. (My great-grandmother died in childbirth with my grandfather in 1912.)
I missed the sign on the way in. It’s a new one. The lady in the museum told me where to find it, so as I was leaving I went to get a picture. The batteries in my camera were dead. So I had to drive back into town and get batteries. I don’t know how good the picture will come out (I haven’t transferred it to my computer yet); I was shaking and my fingers froze to the bone instantly, so we’ll see.
Almost there.
If I stay in Edmonton, of course I intend to get a block heater. I’m not stupid. Just close to it. I just don’t want to spend money on it if I don’t get the job, as I will be pretty much broke and retreating to the States at that point.
[QUOTE=Muffin]
Good decision. It took me five hours to dig out to the road the next morning – the belt drive on the snow blower broke, so I was stuck with the Armstrong method.
[/QUOTE]
“If that damn Frank has shown up like he was supposed to, he could have been helping me with this!”
Frankly, that was one of my worries. (Not shovelling; getting stuck.) As enjoyable as I’m sure the visit would have been, I was concerned about getting off the beaten path.
[QUOTE=Frank]
Denver is not in the mountains, and does not have a consistent winter climate. Even the mountains in Colorado do not get as cold as it will up here. I never had to do anything special in the mountains except make sure I had good tires.
[/QUOTE]
Same here. But only two hours north and 2000 feet in altitude higher than Denver, up in Laramie, block heaters were an absolute requirement. I expect Laramie’s climate is more like what you’re moving to.
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog]
Hmm… heat haze, mirages, bushfires…
…aah Christmas.
Another G&T?
[/QUOTE]
And the summer thunderstorms. They also contribute to the pre-Christmas feeling.
[QUOTE=EmAnJ]
Awww, I say Calgary with the second ‘a’. But then, I’m not a native - wait, I don’t think any of us are.<snip>
[/QUOTE]
My husband was born and (mostly) raised here! Come out to a Dopefest some day and see that extremely rare bird, a native Calgarian.
Good luck on the job interview, Frank. I’d really hate to see you hightailing it back to the States before you’ve barely gotten your feet wet in Canada.
[QUOTE=featherlou]
I’d really hate to see you hightailing it back to the States before you’ve barely gotten your feet wet in Canada.
[/QUOTE]
After this trip, my feet have been wet, snowy, cold, frozen, chillblained, frostbitten, icy, slippery, and back to wet. All in Canada. :dubious:
I simply wasted too much time in Ottawa because I liked the city. I should not have stayed so long; probably should not have gone there at all. Apparently my niche in the programming world is far more of a niche than I suspected. Plus, the rise in the Canadian dollar was ruinous to me as my money is still U.S.$.
Oh well, what’s done is done. I shall be uncharacteristicly optimistic that Edmonton will work out for me. Assuming that my car starts in the morning.
[QUOTE=Frank]
Hey, I put it in my location without any rhyming jokes! Which reminds me, as I was coming into town, there was a welcome sign with what I assume is the city’s logo, consisting of what I assume was buildings, small on the edges and getting taller to the centre, but leaning apart from each other creating a sort of V shape. I instantly thought of good ol’ whats-her-name. Perhaps she’ll see this, and yell at me for remembering her location but not her username.
Here it is. Scroll down, it’s at the bottom of the left collumn, between the “Regina” and “City of Regina” text.
[/QUOTE]
I’m a “she” in Regina and at first thought you meant me, then remembered my location is far less specific, and you were probably talking about Northern Piper. Who is a he. But, geez, now I’m **never ** going to look at the City’s twin towers logo in the same way again. Thanks. Ever. So. Much. :smack:
Take care for the rest of the trip. We’re having some freezing rain here now which is interesting at minus 10.