Background

Just so you know, the mountain range in this site's background is located in my hometown of Smithers, BC. It is called Hudson Bay Mountain. I grew up at the base of the left mountain. Just thought I'd put a little local flavor on my site. Pretty sweet aren't they? I love it here.
About 10 years ago I found an anti-aircraft bomb laying on the ground about halfway up the left peak by a mine shaft. I wanted to keep it but my friend was too much of a do-gooder and called the cops. Let me tell you, I lived about 7 minutes out of town back then and the cops made it to my house in 3. They diffused it and that was the end of it. The bomb was about 5 inches long, had 3 'fins' on the back of it, and a 1947 date (from what a remember) still visibly inscribed on it. Amazing. Oh, and the 6 or 7 mine shafts were sealed shut after that incident. A shame.

If anyone knows how I can stretch that image (HTML code) so that it covers the whole screen on any computer monitor please let me know.

Smithers Civic Center 50th Anniversary Game Pictures

So I attended the anniversary game tonight and it was a great time. The Smithers Civic Center will have it's name changed to something along the lines of the Mary Watson Center in honor of the hockey-mad mother of the 2-time Stanley Cup-winning brothers Jim and Joe Watson from the 1974 and 1975 Flyers.
Dan Hamhuis was there, as were Rob Flockhart, Ron Flockhart, Stewart Malgunas, former Avalanche/Ducks system goalie Mike Wall, and local hockey greats of the past, present and future.
For an exhibition game, it was fairly competitive. I believe the score ended up being 6-3 for Team Hamhuis over Team Watson.
There were two 20 minute periods played. In between periods, Mary Watson was honored for her dedication and love for the game, and of course for raising 2 Stanley Cup champion sons. An amazing portrait of her was presented, which will hang probably next to the paintings of Jim and Joe.
Hair-pulling Mary, as Craig Carchidi dubbed her at Philly.com a couple of days ago, was then pushed around the ice in her wheelchair. She is 85 years-old. A great moment for sure.
You could see the poise and speed of Hamhuis out there. But there are a couple of other young kids that can really play the game with speed as well.
-Hamhuis is a local celebrity of course. Pictures were taken with himself and the Smithers pee wee team before the game.
-After the game the kids were lining up to get autographs from Dan the Man. Myself, I have hung out with Dan once in the past. 3 of us canoed down a river for miles right before he went to the Predators training camp for the very first time. A crazy adventure that was.
-But I really wanted to meet Joe Watson. A legend. Still loved in Philly. Even though I was born at the time the Flyers won their first Cup in 1974, I have both the 1974 and 1975 final games on tape.
So after the game, with all the kids flocking around Hamhuis, I saw Watson standing on the ice with our local sports photographer. I said to my wife: "Take the camera and let's head onto the ice to meet Joe Watson." So we did. And Joe was the nicest guy you could meet. I asked him if he had read about the Philly.com article about the game and what they said about his mother. He said "Yes I did. That story went right across the country!"
So then I told him about my video collection of Cup Finals games from 1974-present. He asked me if I was a Flyers fan and I said "no!" And then he was pulled away. I got my picture with him as seen below, and walked away feeling happy. Never met him before. As I walked away Joe yelled "Nice to meet you." Classy.
-Joe coached Team Watson tonight. You could see the way he watched the game that he still loves the sport.
-He also loves the Flyers. But why wouldn't he? He was wearing one of his Cup rings tonight! I know that old-school Flyer fans still love him back.
-What else about this was great? Watching a chockey game live in the middle of summer!
So I said I would take pictures and I did. I'll post them below.



















Coach Joe Watson intently watches his team play.

















My cousin Cache Harris (on bench) co-runs goalie camps in the summer along with Mike Wall (on ice). They have both been in and ran camps with Canucks' goalie coach Ian Clark. You can tell Clark has trained them from the way they play the butterfly position. Clark has Luongo doing that style now too.

















This shot of Cache and Joe was taken just before Cache played the second half.






















Why am I showing the clenched fist? Maybe I wanted to punch Joe for being a Flyer once. OK, actually it's because Joe's a tough guy and that was the first thing that came to my mind.

T Tags:Smithers+Civic+Center celebrity+hockey+game Mary+Watson Joe+Watson Dan+Hamhuis Ron+Flockhart

Smithers Civic Arena celebrates 50th anniversary and will be renamed after the Watson's mother

I really wanted to get into a goalie equipment or Gary Bettman rant today, but I'll skip those for now, as this local story is too cool to pass up.
My hometown Smithers' Civic Arena is celebrating it's 50th anniversary this coming Friday by holding a Commemorative Hockey Game that will include local pro and semi-pro players from the past present and future.
Anyone entering a draw will have a chance to win a signed Dan Hamhuis or Michael Wall jersey. Those 2 are from Smithers and surrounding area and will play on Friday night.
The Bulkley Valley Credit Union, where my wife works, is selling the tickets, and the employees (mostly ladies) are wearing Canucks/hockey jerseys/shirts. Speaking of wife, that would be my wife second from the left wearing the early 80's Canucks jersey. That picture is proof that girls don't need to wear those gad-awful pink jerseys to look feminine.
As you may or may not know, the 2-time Cup Champion Watson Brothers from the Broad Street Bullies grew up playing hockey in the Smithers arena. I was too young to see that, as I was born the first year the Flyers won the Cup (15 days prior to their Cup win.)
Apparently, the arena also was home of a Bruins' farm team in the 70's, so I am told.
My biggest memory of that place was watching the NHL Oldtimers coming to town to play there when I was just a little punk in the 80's. My dad took me to the game, and that is one of my favorite times with him or anyone. I can still remember Eddie Shack clowning around the whole damned time making us laugh. Good times.

The really big news surrounding this anniversary on Friday night is that the Arena will acquire a new name. No, not after Hamhuis or the Watson Brothers... but after the Watson's "hair-pulling" mother Mary, as Philly.com puts it. Hair pulling? Why is that?

"They had boards and no glass on the sides, and the fans could reach over and make contact with the players," Watson said. "One time, I was playing left wing and a guy came over and hit me pretty good, and my mother reached over and grabbed his hair and said, 'No one touches my boy!'"

Nice. God, I love old-time hockey.
Mary the Skull Collector (ha) has been a fixture at the arena for decades.

"A lot of [NHL] players have come from that area, and they just decided they would name the arena after a mother who has always been there," Joe Watson said yesterday from his home in Media, Delaware County. "She's been going there for 80 years; she always made sure her kids got there. They even have a special seat for her in the building."

Should be a great time. I'll try take some pictures when I'm there.

For even more on Mary Watson, check out this Interior News article about her talking about raising the Watson Brothers. Hat tip to Bill Meltzer for finding it.

T Tags: Smithers+Civic+Arena+50th+Anniversary commemorative+hockey+game Watson+brothers new+name

Smithers Lightning Storm Image

I used to have a $1200 non-digital camera with a $750 dollar lens on it. Whenever thunderstorms would come through the Valley, I'd buy 3 or 4 rolls of film and try my damndest to catch some bolts on film. It involved a good "trigger finger." Rarely did I catch any bolts on film unless it was dark out and I could hold the shutter open for several minutes.
Nowadays, I cheat. I use a digital camera and roll about 90 seconds of footage in video mode until lightning strikes. Then I freeze frame the "paused" moment and soup it up a bit on Photoshop a bit.
Ah yes, the old art of film and photography has been replaced by the Digital Age. Well, for me anyways. It's alot cheaper!
Below is the image.



T Tags: Smithers+BC+lightning+storm image

The Shoe House

I said in the previous post that I'd miss most/all of the Canucks-Jackets game and that is what I did. So my wife and myself cruised out into the bush west of Smithers to find the shoe house, which we found, and then decided to go 15 km further into the bush. No man's land. Pristine territory. Love it. I once seen a black wolf near the area pictured at the bottom. Yeah, that's my wife standing on the roof of my truck.
My muffler pipe took a beating because of all the potholes in the road and broke in half. My truck sounds like a drag racer now....


















T Tags: Shoe+house Smithers Rocky Ridge Nipples

Twin Falls

My wife and I went for a short hike to the best scenic spot near Smithers: a place called Twin Falls. It is 2 waterfalls, each over 100 feet high and a couple hundred feet apart. The source of the falls is an ever-shrinking Glacier Gulch.
You can walk right to the bottom the waterfall on the left. You get soaked immediately with ice cold glacier water. Perfect for a hot summer day!
The place is popular among tousists from all over the world. I don't know how many different languages I've heard spoken up there. It's only a 10-15 minute drive from downtown! A big reason why I love it here: all of these serence places are so close by.
Anyway, there isn't much in the form of hockey news, so I figured I'd post these.

T Tags: Smithers Twin+Falls Glacier+Gulch

Morricetown Canyon Flooding Before/After

These images are of Moricetown Canyon, a tourist trap, about 30 minutes north of Smithers, where the Bulkley River squeezes through a narrow canyon. The top image is of the river at it's lowest, which is usually in the late summer. The lower pic was taken (the same spot) very recently.

Unfortunately, the area we were sandbagging recently is becoming flooded regardless, as the river overflowed it's banks downstream of the dike and is working it's way back. The evacuations are well under way.
But like I said before, it's the other towns that have mass populations living on river flood plains that are the real concern. Terrace BC has declared a state of emergency I hear.
The Bulkley River heads NW to Terrace.
The Fraser River (Prince George) heads south, where the problems will increasingly arise as this mass of water makes its way down to southwestern BC.
Thanks to Beaner for the images.





























When I say that other areas have it worse than we do, here are a couple of pictures of the Skeena River flooding in Terrace and as well the highway to Prince Rupert being overcome by H2O.

















T Tags: Smithers Bulkley River Flooding Pictures

Waiting For Flooding No More!

The Bulkley River has gone over it's banks in a few places in the Smithers area already. Our Par 3 golf course is now submerged.
Today I left work early to help my cousins and many other volunteers sandbag the banks of the river to help prevent about 20 homes from getting washed out.
The hot weather on the weekend followed by the wet system that moved in on Sunday have made problems worse and is only going to get worse yet. The peak of this flooding is estimated to be 2 weeks away still. We could very well see the worst flooding from this river in recorded history. Possibly.
While my sympathy for people living on flood plains only goes so far, it is quite saddening to see the potential devastation here.
Hopefully, the dikes that we put up today hold up. But they may not.

If they don't, I'll capture as many images as possible, and use the proper setting on my wife's camera this time (hence the black and white!)
CTV news made an appearance at the worst site today. The footage is limited, but no kidding, the flooding in Mexico is much worse!
All I know is that my arms and back are sore right now from sandbagging, but the worst may be yet to come!
Evacuations may happen as early as tomorrow, as the river levels are relentlessly increasing daily.


T Tags: Smithers Bulkley River Flooding Images

Waiting For Flooding

Communities and home-owners along the banks of the Fraser, Bulkey and Skeena Rivers in British Columbia are on evacuation warning. The earliest evacuations could begin on Tuesday in northern BC, as a low-pressure storm system moves over B.C from the southwest, probably dumping large amounts of rain.(pictured).
The 33 degree celsius-plus weather has already raised the rivers by several feet this weekend, as there is still a lot of snow in the many mountain ranges along Western BC. Way too much snow.
If the storm system brings a lot of rain and the temperatures rise again later in the week, we could see the biggest flooding in this area in years. The river levels are forecasted to be the highest since 1972.






For now, even in my hometown of Smithers, residents flock to the rivers occasionally to check the levels and watch the water come up. Honestly, our dark, curious sides actually want to see nature inflict it's wrath. Hell, I love natural disasters even if it is at the expense of others' belongings, but never their lives.
It really doesn't pay to live on a flood plain with a river bank that is 4 feet high or less. And it is abundantly clear at times like this.

CTV News footage of floodings in Passmore, BC.









T Tags: Smithers Flooding Bulkley+River Warning

Terrace Slide

An enormous landslide occured this past Monday on Highway 16 East of Terrace and perhaps 160 km west of my hometown of Smithers. It is reported that the slide is 40 feet deep and about 150 feet wide. The highway will be closed for several days as geologists survey the area before workers can frantically work to clear the debris.
A forestry road in the Nass Valley may be used as an alternate.
This slide is the first of perhaps a few more to come. There still must be about 13-15 feet or more of snow in the mountains here. With the forecast calling for 25 degrees celsius and higher for the weekend, the threat of flooding will rear it's ugly head by next week. It could be a massive problem here. If it is, I'll be sure to snap a lot of pics of it and post them here.

Info on the slide is from the Vancouver Sun.

Slide Image was graciously stolen by me from a co-worker. Thanks, Jay!

Aerial shot is from CTV.ca.






T Tags: Smithers Land+Slide Highway+16 Image Closure Floods

Need More Power!

**UPDATE 4:00 PM** The power has returned! Amen!

**UPDATE 2:52 PM**
Apparently the power line was knocked over by a tree, which had been chewed on by a beaver. Goddamned national animal!!! Never has a beaver caused so much hell!!! OK, get your mind INTO the gutter!
I also hear that the progress of the repair crew was delayed because another tree that drifted by had snagged the power line. Life in a Northern Town, huh?

The Town of Smithers and surrounding area where I live has been without power since yesterday at about 3:30 PM (Wednesday). I thought it was going to be a power bump or other short term glitch but it turns out that the power pole and lines had fallen into the Telkwa River about 6 miles east of Smithers, causing transformers to be shorted out. Boom, about 8000 people without power. I don't think I have seen a power outage in this area for this long before. The repairs may be complete by 4:00 PM today. There are only rumors as to what caused the lines to fall into the drink in the first place. Soil erosion?
A tree falling into the line? The hand of God? :)
One thing is for sure, you learn to respect and appreciate what you have when things like electricity are taken away from you. You also have to be more creative with your time!

---

So, I missed the Sens-Sabres game last night. Thankfully I didn't miss a series-clinching win by Ottawa.
It does appear that the Sabres shut down the Spezza-Heatley-Alfredsson line though; something they are going to have to do to get back into this series.
Do the Sabres even have a chance to pull off an upset 30 years in the making? Of course they do! After game 3, it seemed that Chris Drury was hinting at individualism and dissention in the Sabres locker room. I doubt that is happening now.
It's all about confidence. And the Sabres needed that power play goal by Afinogenov to squash some of that. It took a 5-on-3 to stop the PP futility.
There's nothing like 'playing like there is no tomorrow' to snap a team out of it as well.
See that look on Derek Roy's face when he scored the first goal about 8 seconds in? It screamed "Fuck yeah! We CAN do this!"

Jason Spezza said after the game 4 loss that the Sens are confident right now. When they were down 3-0 they believed they could win. They almost pulled it off.

It is a huge hill for the Sabres to climb. But if they can effectively shut down the Sens' top line and produce on the PP, they have a chance. But you know that the Game 4 loss may not rattle the Sens all that much, considering their confidence right now.

T Tags: Senators Sabres Smithers BC Power+Out

Cornwall vs Smithers for Hockeyville

Robert L from the Habs site Eyes on the Prize has written a great piece about the battle between our hometowns (Smithers and Cornwall) for the Hockeyville title. His work has been posted on Kukla's Korner today. Nice work Robert. And may Smithers win!