General
Feel life is passing you by? Activities with fellow Mensans will turn this around. Think coffees, martinis, movies, dinners, quizzes, anything that ravels up the tired sleeve of care. We’re informal and unstructured, on occasion intellectually stimulating. Mensa Calgary is a community where members interact, network, support each other, and enjoy each other’s company. For further info, contact Patricia at kathleen4057@yahoo.ca ["There’s no pleasure on earth that’s worth sacrificing for the sake of an extra five years in the geriatric ward of the Sunset Old People’s Home." (John Mortimore)]
MensaTest
The April date was not selected as at our going to press. Contact Vicki Herd for further info: vherd@shaw.ca
MensaGenerationXX
The youth group awaits a new style and guru.
CoffeeFests
Diverting discussion at The Purple Perk, 2212 – 4th St SW, 7:00pm, Thursdays April 10 and 17. No subject too hot, no view too contentious, no humour too sublime. Confirm with Patricia at kathleen4057@yahoo.ca
DinnerNight
Thursday, April 3, 2008 @ 6:30 pm. The location: Bonterra, 1016 - 8th St SW. RSVP Patricia (kathleen4057@yahoo.ca).
BookClub
April 24th at 7pm. The book will be Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, host Michael Broadbent at the Hop In Brew Pub, 213 12th Ave SW (the yellow house). Mensa bookclub selections have included The Alchemist, Water for Elephants, A Thousand Splendid Suns and Late Nights on Air. Contact Patricia at kathleen4057@yahoo.ca or 212-1461.
SecondTuesdays(of the Month)
A monthly coffee and conversation evening chez Vicki Herd, 2469 Sorrel Mews SW (a couple of blocks south of 33 Ave, east of Crowchild Tr), 7:30pm. BYOB.
Trips
Jeff Pugh, a local Mensan, is planning a few outings in May/June and has a wealth of information about the sites mentioned here. Email Patrica at almostp@shaw.ca if you’re interested. With enough warm bodies, we can rent a van and travel together. The first trip will be May 19th. Here are some options:
Trip A:
Ellis Bird Farm
Stroll the extensive trails, enjoy beautiful gardens, see the world’s largest outdoor collection of bluebird nestboxes, inspect the visitor centre and linger in the Tea House.
(http://www.ellisbirdfarm.ab.ca/)
Dry Island Buffalo Jump
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park is a natural reserve of forest, canyon and mesas carpeted in buffalo grass, the original covering of the great plains. Across the open prairie, the first glimpse of the Red Deer River Valley and its badlands comes as a shock when the ridge of the canyon drops 200 meters to the river. The location combines Canada’s most extensive dinosaur fossil fields and one of the most dramatic bison jump sites in Alberta.
Trip B:
The Big Rock
This is the world’s largest glacial erratic, ie a rock transported from its place of origin by glacial ice. Weighing in at 16,500 tons, the BR measures 9 metres high, 41 long and 18 wide. Also known as the Okotoks Erratic, BR is the largest of the Foothills Erratics Train, a group of rocks carried by ice along the mountain front and dropped as the glacier melted some 10,000 years ago. The group lies in a narrow band from Jasper National Park to northern Montana.
Big Hill Springs
Big Hill Springs is located northwest of Calgary in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The main attraction is a series of small waterfalls that flow year-round over rocky terraces covered with lush shrubs and grasses. The park is also the site of an historic fish hatchery and Alberta’s first commercial creamery.
Morley Flats
Another curious glacier landform is the drumlin. The best place to see drumlins is Morley Flats, 42 km west of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway. Debate continues as to whether these asymmetrical mounds form by deposition or erosion . Whatever the mechanism, it is accepted that drumlins indicate the ice-flow direction: the steep ends pointing upstream and the gentle, tapered ends downstream.
Trip C:
Johnston Canyon and the Ink Pots, Banff National Park
This area shows the power of nature and time; rushing water has carved a path through the limestone canyon, and potholes have formed from plunging waterfalls. This is one of the most popular hikes in Banff National Park. The walk involves only a mild to moderate rise along a whole series of waterfalls. Drive 20 kilometers west of Banff to the self-guided interpretive trail up the canyon. The effects of rapid erosion are spectacular and the reasons for it are explained clearly. If you travel to the end of the trail, 5.5 kilometers, you find the ‘Ink Pots’ where 6 cool springs bubble out of the ground year round. Glacial sediments cause the beautiful aqua colors. Bring lots of film.
For general queries email Vicki Herd (vherd@shaw.ca).
