Bench and a Reflection

This photo was taken at Pyramid Lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta. Please click to enlarge.

RuneE of Visual Norway has an informal meme on benches and often posts these on Fridays.


Photo Credit: Swisscan CC=nc-sa-flickr.

Abbott Pass

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While at the lookout near the Plain of Six Glaciers tea house the above view can be seen of the Death Trap leading up to Abbott Pass above Lake Louise. On a clear sunny day the hut can be seen without the use of binoculars. It is one of the many fantastic views of this particular hike.

The pass is named after Philip S. Abbott who died from a fall on Mount Lefroy. A more detailed account can be found at Peakfinder.com .

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For avid climbers there are a variety of ways to get to the Abbott Pass Hut which was built by the Alpine Club of Canada, but the easiest is from Lake O’Hara on the west side.

The hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers is coming, so this could be classified as a bit of a teaser. I'm organizing the photos into their sequence.


Photo Credits: [1]-Maggie T CC=nc-flickr, [2]-Wikipedia.

Research:
Wikipedia
Article on Abbott Hut

Haunted by Kelley Armstrong (Book Review)

From the back cover:

Eve Levine — half-demon, black witch and devoted mother — has been dead for three years. She has a great house, an interesting love life and can’t be killed again — which comes in handy when you’ve made as many enemies as Eve. Yes, the afterlife isn’t too bad — all she needs to do is find a way to communicate with her daughter, Savannah, and she’ll be happy.

But fate — or more exactly, the Fates — have other plans. Eve owes them a favor, and they’ve just called it in. An evil spirit called the Nix has escaped from hell. She feeds on chaos and death, and is very good at persuading people to kill for her. The Fates want Eve to hunt her down before she does any more damage, but the Nix is a dangerous enemy — previous hunters have been driven insane in the process. As if that’s not problem enough, the only way to stop her is with an angel’s sword. And Eve is no angel. . . .

This is Book 5 in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. Although I have not read any of the other books in the supernatural series, the characterizations and storylines were easy to follow. Ms Armstrong provided enough detail from previous books to assist the reader with information transition.

Ms Armstrong uses an aspect of the afterlife as an alternative universe with varying dimensions of heaven and hell along with angels who have problems of their own. The supernatural afterlife is run by beings known as the Fates. The heroine, Eve, is part demon and witch, with a ‘kick ass’ attitude chosen by the Fates for her unusual methods. Eve uses sorcery, astral projection, telepathy and teleportation with the assistance of her ex-husband, Kristof (also dead), a half-blood angel, Trsiel, and a necromancer, Jamie Vegas, to find the Nix.

The story throughout focuses on Eve’s concern for her daughter, Savannah, left in the living world with guardians, and being reunited with Kristof (Savannah’s father) while keeping him at a distance as a mere friend. Kristof has regrets over not getting to know Savannah for fifteen years and is determined not to repeat them.

Eve persists in going ahead with the search and apprehension of the Nix despite the warnings from the Fates and Trsiel. The ending is well executed and carries the reader on at a faster pace than the steady pace previously. Besides the Nix, there are several other antagonists who provide Eve and Kristof with challenges that make the story more interesting.

For those interested in stories of the supernatural this book will entertain well. I intend to be looking at some of Kelley Armstrong’s other books in this series.


Book format: trade paperback, 464 pages
Fiction: Fantasy suspense
Publisher: Vintage Canada
Published: January 26, 2010
Author website: Kelley Armstrong

Available at:

Chapters.Indigo.ca