Barrhead beauty
What a difference a day makes.
Two days ago it rained so hard and so continuously that we actually had a minor flood upstairs through our picture window. That’s right : THROUGH OUR WINDOW!
What is with the flooding in this fairly newly renovated home?
We have learned that it rained so much that somehow it bubbled over the flashing aside our rooftop dormer window, rolled under the shingles and dripped through our molding and on through our living room blinds. We’ve already had caulking applied to this problem area and will be moving our eves troughs up there to move future water away from the dormer as well. (For the past few years we’ve had a basement flood every year so the good news is that we at least didn’t have a flood down there with our new changes. Sheesh.)
Anyway, one day later it was 21 degrees and sunny.
We took advantage of the day and after mass, a lovely breakfast with our friend,Jazz and our godchild, Noah(Our first restaurant visit in months!), and of course our renovating stuff, we finally hit the highway in the direction of Barrhead.
Why Barrhead you say?
Well, there is a ‘World’s Biggest’ statue there of course. ha ha.
At least there USUALLY is. But it just so happened that after we drove for over an hour west and north to get there, the World’s Largest Blue Heron was actually off and away for repairs!
But what a lovely day for a drive! The Alberta clouds were giant and puffy as usual and we listened to the rest of our wonderful audiobook called The Cactus. I highly recommend this funny and heartfelt story.
We found a spot for a picnic near the ‘supposed to be’ perch of the Blue Heron and enjoyed our Tile rummy game at the table as well.
I noticed that the whole town has the theme of the blue heron. Many things are named with it including the baseball team and there are mini statues of the heron all over the place. But we will definitely have to come back for the actual statue sometime.
Beautiful old grain elevators still stand tall outside of main street and I found a couple of old trucks for future paintings.
A little about Barrhead:
Originally established in 1906, Barrhead's position as a major trade centre on the historic Klondike Trail gave it a significant role in the settlement of north-western Alberta. It was a vital link in the trade route from Fort Edmonton to the Yukon. Barrhead is also known for its Christian heritage. The town is a heavily church going community with the majority Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and various other Evangelical denominations. The town, with a population of over 4,200, has fourteen churches. James McGuire, one of the first settlers in the area, named Barrhead after his hometown in Scotland.
Our drive home was wonderful too. My next blog will include some photos of our return journey.