The Dawson Bridge crosses the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, a little east of downtown.
Here are some photos taken of the bridge and from the bridge in early September 2021:
Here are some photos from August 12th (2021) of the North Saskatchewan River in central Edmonton (at Dawson Bridge).
It was nice to see Dragon boats back on the river
This is the start of perhaps the most beautiful time of year for the river – slow and relaxed, clear and colorful.
In this photo blog, I share some photos from around 97th Street and the eastern fringe of downtown Edmonton – just as a snapshot of what it looked like on July 27th in 2021. Some of these images appealed to me for their architectural/historical interest, some just for an interesting composition. In any case this is what this part of the city looks like in the middle of summer 2021:
Today (January 5th) I went for a walk in one of my favorite areas of the city, but someplace I hadn’t got to yet this winter.
I love all of the little (and a few not so little) bridges. The Mill Creek always keep flowing offering a wonderful reflective contrast to the white snow.
Another thing which fascinated and is in abundant in the ravine in a variety of colors, textures and forms are the tree trunks and their bark:
Beside the yellow/green and orange colors of the bark, with moss and lichen, there are little splashes of red berries.
Now that I’ve reminded myself of the beauty of this part of Edmonton in the winter, I’ll be back sooner than later.
A bend in Edmonton’s Mill Creek (January 2019)
In this post I take a look back at the year 2018 in Edmonton, through my photos of Edmonton landscapes and landmarks – a couple of photos selected for each month.
January: The year started off rather frosty and cool. Photos: suspended wires crossing the river near Dawson Bridge and the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald
February: Notably longer, sunnier days but still the snow on the ground wasn’t going anywhere yet (other than piled into windrows in the middle of the road. First photo is Jasper Avenue east of 97th Street. The second photo is the old (but not that old) Bank of Montreal building (on 101 St. at 102 Ave.) being demolished.
March: Winter persisted and the Crashed Ice event returned to Edmonton’s river valley in Louise McKinney Park. The second photo is looking south on 108th Street, past one of the intriguing pieces of art on that street, towards the Alberta Legislature.
April: Finally winter (and the ice on the North Saskatchewan) broke. Unfortunately a rapid snow melt lead to flooding of paths like shown in the second photo from Rundle Park.
May: This month brought the explosion of green that I so look forward to. The first photo is in Mill Creek Ravine; the second looking east over the river valley from the top of Edmonton’s funicular site.
June: More downtown construction, on 102 Avenue for the new LRT line and around City Hall, forced the festivals, normally centered on Churchill Square to more elsewhere. The Works festival, with its musical stage was at the plaza north of the Alberta Legislature grounds.
July: This month brought more festivals and celebrations, starting with Canada Day and a delightful program of band music in Borden Park. July also brought some typical mid-summer stormy weather with the dark, ominous skies that typically roll in from the west.
August: The skies of mid-August were filled with choking smoke (from not-so-nearby forest fires). I noticed that the sun-blocking smoke really stalled by garden in what should have been a prime part of the growing season. By the end of the month the smoke had dissipated and the sky was relatively clear (save for the occasional rainbow)
September: As is typical for this month, it starts with the hint of autumn colors and ends with a blast of yellow and red (with the lingering green) in the river valley. (Not shown is the first significant dump of snow that occurred mid-month)
October: By the tenth month the days are noticeably cooler and the days shorter. The first photo is of the top of the riverbank in the glow of the rich late-afternoon sunlight. The second photo is of Edmonton’s new Walterdale Bridge, that in October I finally had a chance to get down close to (even though I think it had been operational for around a year.
November: The Edmonton landscape continues to cool and dullen in November and ice begins to form from the edges of the North Saskatchewan River. This November was special in Edmonton as the City played host to the Grey Cup game and celebrations. Part of that fun is shown in the second photo – a couple of guys on a zip line, down into the river valley from high above Jasper Avenue.
December: The final month of 2018 brought more dullness, a bit more snow and continued freezing of the river, but from what I can remember the temperature were relatively mild and we didn’t get hit with a typical early-winter cold snap that can drop temperatures to -20C for a week – so we can’t complain.
These have been some major projects in Edmonton in the last few years and one in particular that I hadn’t explored (and photographed) up close. So today (2018 October 3)was the day. I went for a good long walk on this cool but sunny early-October day. The main landmark that I wanted to photograph was the new Walterdale Bridge in Edmonton’s river valley.
The arches of this bridge make it an instant landmark but the adjacent pedestrian/bicycle bridge has some striking lines and form too:
A few hundred meters west of the bridge on the south side of the river is Kinsmen Park is the newish outdoor Queen Elizabeth Pool. I think its been open since 2011 but with all of the construction in the river valley in recent years it has not been very accessible to me. The pool is closed for the season but I walked by and took a photo of the unique around-the-corner name:
Back on the northside of the Walterdale bridge is the old Rossdale Power Plant building. I’ve heard various proposals for redeveloping the space but I don’t believe any decisions have been made. The building is a landmark so I sure hope it is not knocked down.
On the other (north) end of Rossdale and leading into Louise McKinney Park is the bottom of the funicular development, with an elevator and set of stairs. This structure was opened in early 2018.
At the other end of Louise McKinney Park is the Chinese Garden which has been a landmark for a number of years already:
The TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival took place June 22Â to July 1. This year I attended nine events including 4 as a volunteer and one as a performer (in one of the Big Bands playing in the Big Band Bash).
Aside from the music I also enjoy taking photos of the performances at the free noon hours concerts on The Works Stage (which this year was relocated to the plaza at the Alberta Legislature Grounds due to ongoing construction around the usual Churchill Square location). Here are a few of my favorite photos from those concerts.
From the Slide Zone performance on Sunday June 24th – four of Edmonton’s top trombonists: Audrey Ochoa, Allen Jacobson, Remi Noel and Ken Read, with Josh McCann (bass) and Jamie Cooper (drums)
From June 28th, the Finnish-inspired but Edmonton-based group, Sauna Sessions with Stephanie Urquhart (piano), Derek Plunkie (guitar), Joel Jeske (drums), Fred Mack (sax) and Aretha Tillotson (bass):
and from June 30th, the John Sweenie Group – John Sweenie (tenor sax), Chris Andrews (keyboards), Jamie Cooper (drums) and Rubim de Toledo (bass):
I also had the opportunity to catch performances by : The Heavyweights Brass Band, Vincent Herring Quartet, Audrey Ochoa Quartet and Al Muirhead’s Canadian Quintet, but unfortunately didn’t have an opportunity to capture any photos of these.
January 2018 in Edmonton was not very snowy but finally in the last week around 15cm fell. This snow freshened up the landscape, smoothed out the bumps of ice on the river, and inspired me to get out and explore (especially down by the river).
In this post, IÂ countdown my 10 favorite photos of Edmonton* that I took in 2017:
Number ten:
Convention Centre
9:
Churchill Square
8:
Dawson Park
7:
Edmonton City Hall
6:
North Saskatchewan River by Dawson Park
5:
Rowland Road
4:
108 Street
3:
ATB Tower
2:
Dawson Park
and finally my favorite (at the moment) for 2017:
Forest Heights Park
*I should further qualify that these are from just among the photos I took with my DSLR and each has some recognizable Edmonton viewpoint.
Bonus, a few other photos that made the shortlist (but not Top 10):
Yesterday I was out for a walk in the Edmonton river valley. That in itself is pretty common but on this day, I strayed from the usual path and discovered views of my City which were refreshingly different.
These photos were taken from the south side of the river (North Saskatchewan), west of the Capilano Bridge. While I walk the path/ bike trails frequently, this day I made an effort to get right down to the water’s edge. Here, beside the little island near the south bank I discovered what may be the only rapids on the North Saskatchewan River as it winds its way through Edmonton as a big, slow waterway.
From the water’s edge I was also able to see the layers of mud making up the lower river bank.
Looking across the island and gravel bar, and across the river to the east end of Dawson Park on the north bank.
A bit of subtle but striking, color from the few leaves that remain on the trees and shrubs in mid-October:
I’d never before noticed this view of the 50th Street footbridge, under and beyond the Capilano Bridge.
Bonus image:
Looking up at the east end of Jasper Avenue from down beside the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River
