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Getting the good Oil on a flamin' rivalry

Does it get any better?
9 goal thriller, extra time, shoot out, the bragging rights of Alberta on the line and the possiblity of play offs for one of the teams.
The ice hockey game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames was slow to start with only one goal in period 1 - but after that you just had to hold everything in until the end of the shoot out.

We really enjoyed the atmosphere in the Coliseum (Rexall Place). It was a real "oil slick' as we were the only ones in the crowd not wearing a teams paraphernalia.
The local fans really embrace their team ensuring they are fully 'lubricated' throughout the night.

It isn't cheap to watch a National Hockey game but we certainly got our moneys worth on Saturday.
A fact unknown to many Canadians (and Australians I suspect) is that a few Australians play Ice Hockey. A recent story from an Australian student news  program (Behind the News) generated some interest and plenty of mirth amongst my students:


Whilst Canada has lost the rivalry for being the biggest country in the world (although they are catching up with a few more independent Russian states) they continue to lead the race for the largest objects in the world. This weekend we had the privilege of seeing two more. The pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) is a masterpiece of engineering and design. It symbolizes prosperity, life, food, fortune and eternity. It was erected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Not 100% sure what the worlds largest sausage represents, other than a big feed. However we are looking forward to visiting Vilna (just north of Mundare) to view the worlds largest mushrooms and  completing the trip to view the worlds biggest omelette ingredients!

Not necessarily a rivalry, but something that continues to impress, are the majestic and ornate churches in the area. In fact Lamont (north East of Edmonton) is labelled the Church Capital of North America with 46 historic churches in the County. It may not be the worlds largest National Park, but Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton certainly rivals most for its preservation of wildlife. The park is renowned for the big six icons of Canadian wildlife: the Wood and Plains Bison, the White Tail and Mule Deer, Elk and Moose.

Whilst we only saw some plains and wood bison we saw plenty of evidence of the range of wildlife in the park. Tracks, body hair and recent calling cards all suggested we would encounter a deer, elk or moose soon.

Winter in Canada may be cold, white and long but it does afford a myriad of activities; cross country skiing for us is amongst the best. The combination of exercise, tranquillity, breathtaking scenery and wilderness encounters more than makes up for the frost bite, nose icicles and hypothermia.

And on the subject of rivalry a national election has just been announced for May 2.
Thanks to Dawn, Hanneke and I are now a  great deal wiser about the Canadian election process.
Voting is not compulsory here so it will be interesting to see if the campaign is any different from Australia. One thing is for sure, if Canadian elections are anything like their Ice Hockey games, we are in for a treat.
Posted by Spraggs at 11:02 PM Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
