It's been along time

So I have been away on an extended vacation of sorts I've certainly vacated the blog world this hiatus brought on because I have been living out of suitcase for the last 6 months. Well here I am settled more or less in Lethbridge....Alberta....it's in Canada!
Why Lethbridge you ask, I have probably mentioned that my kids and grand kids are here but this is not the only reason that I have been drawn here.

The area around the town had been marked by the native population at Head Smashed and to the south but not so much where the City of Lethbridge is now. but transient populations  In  town started as a mining outpost then in 1882 The first Galt company mine opened then the railway came bringing settlers to the west. The mining workforce grew to 2000 miners at it's peak with the mines around the area being the largest producers of coal in the north west territories. In 1957 the Galt No8 mine shut down and the end of an era came apon Lethbridge.

Back in the day I lived in what is known as the Castle apartments they were tiny but funky they were also, further back in the day, one of the hotels that sprung up for the migrant mine worker.
If ghosts are possible then this building would have several.

A large part of the visual charm to this city is in the way the original architecture has been preserved.
Blocks and blocks of buildings of the same period. This place is a location managers dream for street shots could be made to go from the early 1900's to present time, with an added feature of having the "bad side" of town just as intact. The dividing line is Highway 3 and in the North end you have the working class housing along with heavy industry. The South has the big houses and little industry it also has a massive park and lake which I live by.
Henderson lake with it's park and golf course is a wonderful distraction from the hum of the city.

Lethbridge also boasts two campuses one for the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge community college. Yes with a campus comes women, guys too but who really cares about guys.
With the collegiate crowd comes the entertainment and for a town so small it has a number of  live music venues that are well used by both local and international talent.
Too the north about a 4 hour drive is the city of Red Deer and it is a sister to Lethbridge in size and distance from a major center but the difference a University makes to the towns culture is evident in the variety of art and dining and in the area so hard to define and that is the buzz the energy that drives a community along. Lethbridge still has the uneasy alliance between education and industry and with it two towns seem to co exist in one border a symbiotic relationship that keeps Lethbridge rolling along. 
Did I mention the wind?




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