Eterno Dia PhotographyDiving Into Thailand
Posted on April 1, 2019
I am not an experienced diver. I’m not certified. I only started to learn to swim 3 years ago; I took adult swim lessons at my local city pool when I turned 35. I love the water but I’m new at this. I’ve done a few “Discover Scuba” classes in the pool and my husband and I had a successful dive in Antigua about 3 years ago.
When planning our trip to Thailand, I knew we had to book a dive. While there are certainly other dive Meccas throughout the world, I know Thailand is pretty high up on the list. I booked our two-dive day months before the trip to make sure we would get the chance, as we had a pretty tight itinerary for our 21 days in Thailand. After some debate, we actually booked it for the first full day we were in Thailand. We knew we’d be exhausted from the 17 hours of flying, jet lag and culture shock, but I was confident I’d at least be healthy at the start of our trip, and I didn’t want to run out of time if our first week on the 7-day tour of the island area of Thailand ended up being too busy.
Even though we’d done a refresher discover scuba pool dive at home a few weeks beforehand, I was still really nervous; the ocean is a big place compared to a pool. We’d booked Aussie Divers in advance and it went perfectly from the moment the driver picked us up at our hotel to take us to the pier where we met our dive team of two and our other two fellow divers. We boarded a fairly large boat at the pier with about three other small dive groups. They supplied us with motion sickness tablets (if we needed them), served us a great Thai breakfast and our group went over the basics of hand signals and safety and gave us a general idea of what the day would look like. Afterwards, we had about an hour before reaching the Racha Yai dive site. I didn’t want to sunburn out on the top sundeck knowing I’d be in the water all day so I decided to take a few moments to myself for some relaxation and to calm my anxious nerves. The ocean is my favorite place to be, so what better place to work on myself and practice some mindfulness than during my short time at sea. I put my feet up, leaned against the wall of the booth on the boat and just took in the sounds and sensations around me:
A hint of diesel smell in the air
The dampness of the humidity on my skin
The noisy, chugging boat engine
The choppy waves
The rotating ceiling fan blowing air around the room
The blue of the sky out of the window
The vibration of the boat motor against my skull where I was leaning
The creaking noise of the boat with each wave
I began to feel the boat move with the ocean. I could feel the panels of the boat swell with each wave. I became suddenly aware it felt as if the boat was breathing with the rhythmic waves. I realized I was breathing with it. I closed my eyes and felt the boat and the ocean breathe around me. I felt so peaceful and present.
My session came to an end as we reached our first dive site and Shawn came to see if I was alright because I was alone in the cabin and not mingling on the deck. For a few moments, I had truly been alright. I hadn’t worried about the dive or heatstroke or sea sickness or any of my life worries. I just breathed. Peace.
The dives were amazing. Shawn and I each had a few moments of panic at different times, but the instructors, Darren and Craig, were both professional and helped us work through our issues. The fish were spectacular, the coral was far better than I’d been warned about due to recent storms and climate change. I’m really glad I didn’t know much about triggerfish until later… I’ll let the photos speak for themselves with only one final thought: Be kind to the ocean. Don’t litter, use biodegradable sunscreen and don’t harass the wildlife; it’s their home and we’re privileged to get to see from this view. Be kind to the Earth. We only have one home.
Fun fact: it took me weeks and weeks to research and figure out the names for all the fish we saw that day. Thanks as usual for taking the time to read and look at my photos. This was a really special day for us and I can’t thank Aussie Divers enough for an amazing trip. Stay tuned for more Thailand ramblings. Until next time, safe and happy travels!
Staycation Alberta: Roadtrip to Ram Falls
Posted on July 7, 2018
Last year I had surgery and was off work for 6 weeks. Towards the end of my leave I was getting cabin fever so my Mom offered to take me on a road trip; something easy, she would drive, all I had to do was sit in the car and walk around when we got out for stops along the way. Mom lives in Red Deer, Alberta which is pretty much in the middle of our province. It’s a pretty easy drive to get to the mountains if you head west, and that’s what I wanted to do. She remembered having done a trip to Ram Falls out near Nordegg, Alberta, decades earlier, so we decided on that. We packed a lunch and brought my dog, Lexi along for the adventure.
We headed out west from Red Deer fairly early. According to the GPS maps, we guessed it would take about 2 hours to drive there. Since Ram falls is tucked fairly deep into the foothills of the mountains, Mom suspected the roads may be secondary highways or even gravel trunk roads that would be less maintained than the main highways. We made our way out on Highway 11\22, turned onto Township road 392 and then a left at AB-782 W. It was our plan to meet up with Forestry Trunk Road AB-40 but that didn’t happen. The trunk road at 752 did turn into a gravel road, as Mom expected and it was rough. Really rough. She put her foot down (not literally) and turned the car around. Because I was still recovering from surgery, she was concerned the bumpy road was not conducive to my condition. I’m not going to lie; I was mad.
The gravel trunk road out to Ram Falls
I was so excited to take a back road; mysterious and serene, to explore the wilderness. We headed back south on highway 766 and were deciding what to do instead, but I was really upset; I’d been cooped up all spring and would have to work through most of the summer once I went back to work and I really wanted to do this trip. We argued about it a bit and Mom remembered that there may be a secondary route to get to Ram Falls, and finally agreed to try the alternate route, as long as the gravel roads there were less bumpy. YAY!
We re-routed and headed out on highway 54 through the small town of Caroline. Caroline Alberta is located in Clearwater County, and it’s kind of the unofficial “Sasquatch corridor” of the province. Many Bigfoot sightings get reported here.
I’m serious; there are dedicated blog sites and eyewitness accounts of Bigfoot sightings. Honestly, its so densely wooded and starts to get isolated from town with the foothills of the mountains beginning here, it makes a person wonder what could be lurking in the forests… But the county seems to have used the Bigfoot rumors in a clever way, with the Sasquatch and Partners program. Their message of environmental stewardship draws attention to looking after nature and being respectful, safe, and ecologically sound while enjoying the wilderness. There were quite a few Sasquatch signs and memorabilia as we headed west. Makes a person think…..
Anyway, we did finally hit another gravel road as we continued onto highway 591, but Mom and I agreed that this road felt less bumpy but she warned me that if she thought it was getting worse she would again “turn the car around”. Luckily, there weren’t too many bad spots and she drove slowly in some of the rutty spots. Along the way we passes a lot of off-the-grid campers. We hadn’t yet reached the area that becomes a provincial park area, and while I’m not sure if legal, there were plenty of campers, ATVs, and all manner of “toys” pulled off the road at makeshift camp sites. I’d highly advise a full tank of gas and a spare tire or two (with the knowledge of how to change it) for this trek, but there was enough traffic that we weren’t completely alone. Even so, it was still a pretty quiet, back country drive. We drove through some pretty farmland, rolling hills with Texas gates and saw lots of free roaming horses and cattle.
We stopped for a picnic lunch at Elk Creek, a tiny, remote, unserviced campground. What a pretty spot. So quiet you just hear wind rustling through thousands and thousands of pine trees. Some pretty birds hung around and a few chipmunks that clearly know that people have delicious snacks paid us a visit. We explored around Elk Creek and stretched our legs before continuing.
Lunch at Elk Creek
Mom and Lexi
As we got close to Ram Falls, the roads started to get steeper and more mountainous. The landscape opened up and as we crested one hill, down below the hillsides and carved out ravines we began to see were black. Stunning and a bit spooky, apparently these rocks are formed from a different type of shale than in a lot of the rock found in the rocky mountains further west.
Black shale rock
There is a cool orange covered bridge that crosses the South Ram River which contrasts beautifully with the black shale rock hillsides. You might spot a few mountain sheep along the hillside and roadway, if you’re lucky.
Crossing the South Ram River
The entrance to the Ram Falls lookout point is slightly further past the covered bridge and is well marked. We weren’t sure how accessible the falls lookout point was from the parking area. Mom certainly didn’t want me doing a long hike through rough terrain to get to the falls. She stopped a fellow visitor who told us it was a short, easy walk to a well built staircase down to the falls. Mom didn’t let me go down the entire staircase, so if you go, you’ll get an even better view of the falls than I did. Ram River Falls are quite stunning.
Ram River Falls
Had I not been on medical leave, I would have loved to go all the way down to get a better view, but in addition to my recent surgery, Lexi wasn’t a big fan of all the steps and the open railings. While totally safe for people, it would have meant a big drop off if the small dog had missed a step or sniffed too far over the edge. We spent about an hour at the falls and then headed back out on highway 374/AB-40 north which was still gravel until we got to Nordegg, where we stopped again for a bathroom break and a stretch.
Heading back home through Nordegg
The Nordegg area has a lot of great camping spots. A lot are unserviced, but if you can live off the grid for a few days, you won’t be disappointed.
A distant prescribed burn in the Rocky Mountains
The route we took
Because of our backtracking and little detour down through Caroline, we used a good portion of the day and didn’t get back to Red Deer until after dinner. It was a great day, spending quality time with Mom and Lexi in pristine, nearly untouched nature. I can’t wait to go back and camp at Elk Creek, and I think you should too. Have you been out this way? What’s your favorite camping spot? Drop me a line if you like, and happy travels!
All Photos © Eterno Dia Photography and Leslie Pallier Winter 2018.
Staycation Alberta: Reynolds-Alberta Museum
Posted on June 16, 2018
Father’s Day is tomorrow and you may still be looking for ideas on where to take dad on his big day. Last year, my family and I were looking for somewhere appropriate to take our dad. He has Alzheimer’s dementia and it can be difficult to find places to take him that are easy to access with mobility issues and have something interesting to engage him and hold his attention. We decided the Reynolds Museum near Wetaskiwin, Alberta might fit the bill.
This museum has really just gotten better and better over the years. As they state on their website, they celebrate machines. The museum is filled with historical cars, trucks, and all manner of vehicles. You’ll also find airplanes and a dedicated aviation hangar.
Vintage starts with cars and paraphernalia dating from the 1890’s to the present and the displays are very well done with lots of information about the pieces. There are carriages, classic cars, motorcycles, vintage trucks, old gas pumps, farm equipment and even a section of vintage hearses. Their pieces are beautifully restored and some you can even sit on/in. They have a viewing area into their automotive shop to see what restorations they are currently working on.
There’s a huge outdoor space in addition to the vast indoor museum. That’s where you’ll find some super large wartime planes and the indoor hangar with lots of great aviation pieces and fun experiments for the kids (and adults) to test about the science of flight. 
You can also take a lift in a classic car where a chauffeur will take you through a tour of old mining vehicles (think early Syncrude and Suncor bucket wheels and diggers) and then take you back to the main museum. For an additional fee you can even book a short flight in an open cockpit biplane!
There is a restaurant/cafe at the museum, gift shop, plenty of washrooms and although it’s a large museum, it was easy to navigate. The whole family had a great time, and we aren’t even really big gear heads. My dad and my father-in-law both really enjoyed reminiscing about bygone days.
If you have a car/truck/plane person on your family, or if your dad would like a little walk down memory lane, I think you’ll enjoy it here. There are lots of interactive displays for all ages and even though we went on Father’s Day last year, it wasn’t nearly as crowded as I would have expected. Give dad a treat this year and if you haven’t been for a while, or haven’t ever been, head out the the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. You can find them online and on social media. Have you been here recently? What did you think?
Thanks for stopping by. Happy travels and stay tuned for the next adventure!
Staycation Alberta: A Vacation Close To Home
Posted on September 17, 2017
I’m going to be adding a series to my blogs called “Staycation Alberta”. As an avid traveler, the thing that keeps me from going on more big trips is time and and money. There never seems to be enough of either. However, that doesn’t keep me from traveling entirely.
Hike to the Plains of the Six Glaciers Teahouse near Lake Louise
“Staycations” or vacations near home are a great way to save some money and support your local economy but feel like you’ve been on a bit of a much needed getaway. Even a day trip or a long weekend can provide a respite from the day to day grind. They can give a you a bit more appreciation for your local history, environment and community.
Father’s Day at the Reynolds Alberta Museum
I live in Alberta, a province in Canada. Alberta is a lovely, diverse place with so much to offer. We have a wide variety of terrain ranging from boreal forests in the north where you can likely see stunning northern lights, to lakes and grasslands, farmland and prairies, badlands, foothills and even the majestic ranges of the rocky mountains.
The butterfly house at the University of Alberta (Formerly Devonian) Botanical Gardens
In Alberta we have everything ranging from small country towns to large metropolitan cities. We have a lot of history as well, including that of the First Nations and Inuit peoples and the first settlers to this area from Europe. This history makes us a really culturally dynamic area with a lot to learn about the past and other cultures.
The hike to Siffleur Falls near David Thompson
I have always felt lucky to be a Canadian, but also to be an Albertan. We can be a little bit conservative, and dare I say “redneck” in certain things (driving back from Red Deer to Edmonton the other day I saw a bumper sticker that read “Redneck Pride”) but we also have a great appreciation for history, nature and the arts. And because of that, there are a great many things to do in Alberta.
Full Moon canoe tour at Elk Island National Park
There is no lack of choice of day trip, vacation spot, historical landmark or nature preserve. I hope that by including some of my local travel adventures in my travel blog, I can inspire you to find some of the special areas near where you live and do some exploring. Maybe it’ll even inspire you to come visit my lovely province. Enjoy this series as they come and please feel free to comment or share some of your adventures with me. Happy travelling!
Day Trip to Ram Falls
Eterno Dia Photography 