Georgetown Inn Murder Mystery Review

The Georgetown Inn in Canmore Alberta hosted their first ever murder mystery dinner theatre last evening. It was full of thrills and chills, mystery and mayhem. The 1920’s speakeasy was nothing but jumping last night.

A night of subterfuge, deceit, accusations, lies and murder! The Juice Joints owner Rosie Marie has decided to throw a party...with the motive to avenge her husband’s death, Louie Marie, who was found at the bottom of the river with a bullet in his head. With South side mobsters, North side gangsters, aspiring actresses, Hollywood film directors, gun runners, bootleggers, floozies and flapper girls in attendance things could get heated very fast.

Rosie Marie, her daughter Anna Marie and their cousin Cy Ramsey are not the only ones who are grieving over Louie’s mysterious death. His ex-lovers and all the North Side members who had hoped to latch onto his wealth and power are in mourning too!

The Southside mobsters saw Mr. Marie’s death as a bump that could put them in power. Southside Sal is on the rise but a few things could keep him down...like his secret relationship with North side Notorious Nick Nemetz sister...Natalie Nemetz or Notorious Nicks ex-wife Flora Nemetz-Gadora...who openly fawns over him.

Everyone is a suspect. Cindy Butt, the cigarette girl tried to set up Bernie Booze, one of the most successful bootleggers in his era. Cindy tainted his liquor to get back a Notorious Nick for brushing her off. Now Bernie is on the hunt to get back in business...whether it be with the North side or South side gangsters.

Mugsy Malone, Notorious Nicks henchman isn’t afraid to get down and dirty. He’s worked hard to get where he is and has been telling everyone at the party he really runs the show. He was overheard remarking snidely to Southside Sal that he was going to...”shake things up a little,” this very evening.

To keep everyone under control Rosie Marie kindly invited Chief Cameron, Mayor Briggs and Mable Briggs. Despite everyone’s beliefs they have their own drama. All guns are checked at the door...except the ones Cy Ramsey and his devious girlfriend Kitty Cocktail are hiding. Cy is hoping to be the next police chief so he won’t have to smuggle his guns around anymore.

Hal Hollywood, the wealthy film director saunters in late, his secret lover and aspiring actress Dina Diva can’t help but be all over him. But who gets the lead role in his new film? None other than Molly Moll, Notorious Nicks hated fiancée, all thanks to the funding Nick provided for the film; that’s why she’s in love with him right?

All of a sudden the lights go down...and bang! Everyone screams and the smell of gunpowder fills the room. With one shot Notorious Nick is dead!!! Leaving his new and hated fiancée Molly Moll penniless and his sister Natalie Nemetz rich!

P.I. Pinkerton and Chief Cameron begin their investigation... as do the reporters, knaveries, the guilty and the innocent.

Gino Gin the bartender has been holding people up for cash, with a gun! Was it Gino who shot Notorious? Or does Rosie Marie blame the death of her husband on Nick? Or seemingly innocent Mayor Briggs who is having an affair with a Flapper from the Juice Joint, would he pull a trigger just to keep his wife from finding out?

Rosie Marie reports “I wouldn’t waste a bullet on a cheating, lying, scum bag” after finding out that Louie Marie had been involved with Flora Nemetz-Gadora!

Cindy denies it as well! She only tainted some liquor...she wouldn’t actually...do someone in!

Flora isn’t coming clean either. She’s moved onto 3 men since the divorce of her insignificant husband. Cy Ramsey had access to the guns and they were registered in his name! But Bernie Booze is mad he’s out of work. Could the quiet Anna Marie have the nerve to pull the trigger to avenge her father’s death? Or would Natalie kill her own brother to keep Molly Moll from the family fortune and claim it for herself?

Jealousy, hatred, ill-wishes and grudges are ramped with this crowd! Chief Cameron presents a list of charges against Notorious Nick, strangely enough he has never done time. P.I Pinkerton reviews a list of evidence: a Tommy Gun registered to Cy, a note from Southside Sal with the initials CR on them and Nicks account ledger proving he was supporting a numerous amount of people financially.

So who dunnit?

Register for our next evening of mayhem to find out.

My Ha Ling Adventure

So as this hike is part of the Triple Crown and I do work for Waymarker, I felt that I should participate in these hikes therefore having more knowledge to share with guests or those brave enough to climb the three peaks.

I am a non hiker with ambition. So my first hike of the season, we start at the parking lot of Goat Creek Trail and cross over the water. A huge smile on my face, a beautiful day, great friends and my pack with the necessary equipment needed, namely water. A venture is about to start.

Thirty minutes into the hike I am doing well, enjoying nature and the views the bottom part of the hike is offering. I am thinking oh it’s not so difficult. Thirty more minutes and I am starting to realize wow this is a hike! Maybe not a great idea for my first hike of the summer!! Maybe should have done some more stretching??!!

My amazing friend/co-worker was doing this hike with a 25 pound baby on her back so I’m thinking “buck up girl I can do this”.....she gave me the mind strength to walk onwards. Both parties were asking if I was okay as I do have asthma (no excuse) and I am definitely breathing heavier. “of course but let’s take in this wonderful scenery and wildflowers. Secretly meaning “Holy let’s break.” There are actually plenty of places to stop and rest on a boulder or tree stump. Who says we have to do it in less than the allotted time in the hiking guides?

As I see people running by me up and down I feel like I can move on. My legs are starting to feel a burn but they are loving it! (Sarcasm there)! What a workout! Turbo Jam eat your heart out!

We make it to the tree line, thinking “Cool we are at the top!” and I am extremely proud of what I have accomplished. But then it is pointed out that we are in fact not done and I am looking at the bit left with the scramble with the wind blowing so hard it’s going to knock us down!! Okay I’m going to sit here with the baby and let my friends go on. I was so content to soak in the magic of the majestic Rockies!! Just a breathtaking ariel shot, one you can only believe if you actually climb Ha Ling and see for yourself.

I pass people of all ages and ethnicities doing Ha Ling at their own pace and loving every bit of it. It’s amazing how one place can bring so many different people together and converse. I feel a little guilty about not quite finishing the hike to the top but hey the fact I am here at the treeline was a moment for me.

We start to make our decent down the well travelled trail and I realize the smile is still plastered on my now apparent sunburnt skin and this makes me start to wonder why I haven’t been doing this sooner? I actually am enjoying being one with nature and soaking up the rays of the sun! Then splat.......I fall onto my hip on a very polished rock. Now being around the cutest baby ever who is picking up on words very quickly I realize that I have to use my words carefully as it was painful , more of a shock really, as it happened so fast. SHOOOOTT! I say as I am trying to keep a brave face! Well get up, “Onwards and upwards I always say!!” So I start to venture down again with the help of my amazing experienced hiking friends and I was limping but I did it! It seemed to take longer going down but I have to say I am proud, amazed and very happy I did this hike!

So maybe some morals of this story is to start off with a smaller hike and work your way up to a bigger climb. Maybe stretch a little before going. Smile the whole way up and down because you never know what may happen and hike with a great pal because this can really get you through anything!!

Next year I will attempt Ha Ling again because I don’t like anything to beat me and I will make it all the way!!! The Triple Crown is a great challenge for all people of various skills and spirit!! I would recommend it to anyone that asks!

Canoeing the Upper Kananaskis Lake

The prior week had brought some unusually cold weather for late August / early September so seeing that this labour day weekend would be sunny and warm made it the perfect opportunity to pull our canoe out of the garage and hit the water. We decided on the Upper Kananaskis Lake because we had been hiking in the area the previous weekend and had a picnic at the day-use area. Why not come right back, we’d already scouted the boat launch! On the drive out to the Lake we spotted this Moose near the Pocaterra Hut area. This area is Moose central… I’ve spotted them there probably 50% of the time I’ve driven by. Be careful driving by here as if there is a Moose there will likely be a backup of cars and park visitors snapping photos.

Since the day was so nice the boat launch area at the Upper Kananaskis Lake was quite busy. Lot’s of trucks with trailers were pulling around the loop dropping and picking up their boats while those with canoes and kayaks were parking to the side, where there is a no parking sign, preparing to get their own craft in the water. It was a bit chaotic and you could sense the frustration from some of the boaters, both motorized and human propelled, as we all clambered to get into the water and away from this absurd traffic jam. It only took a couple minutes to get our canoe off the roof of our vehicle and our very light amount of gear down to the put-in area on the beach. Our canoe, pictured here, is a hand-made (not by me!) cedar strip epoxy canoe.

When calm the water on the Upper Kananaskis Lake is an amazing hue of green. There were plenty of boaters out on the water, most of them fishing and a few that we had exchanged some pleasantries with had indicated that the fish were indeed biting. The area pictured in the photo to the right is the Sarrail Creek Falls. This looked like a great fishing spot as I could see several large trout clearly rising to the surface, wish I hadn’t left my rod at home! There was a fly-fisherman on the shore here and watching him cast was making me envious so we paddled on our way around the lake. The Upper Kananaskis Lake contains five species of fish: rainbow trout, longnose dace, white suckers, longnose suckers and lake chub.

Just past the Sarrail Falls we spotted this Osprey on the lookout. There are plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities in Kananaskis. Grizzly and black bears, moose, coyotes, cougars, deer and big horn sheep all frequent the area. The birding opportunities are also grand, in addition to Osprey like this one, there are chances to see whiskey jacks, harlequin ducks, winter wrens, American dippers, stellar jays, spruce grouse, spotted sandpipers, common snipes, belted kingfishers and more. While I would never recommend feeding wildlife, the Whiskey Jacks here will literally take up a place at your table and feed themselves!

At this point (see red x on map) the wind really started to pick up on the lake. This is a normal occurrence on most mountain lakes and in my experience it’s usual to get high winds in the afternoon / early evenings. The wind stirred up the lake and we got some waves. We didn’t have much trouble until we tried crossing this open area just past Hawke Island (marked with yellow line on map). We got a little wet as a few waves broke over the gunwales of our canoe and there was a little nervousness on our part but we pulled through. Then it got really windy! We just couldn’t pull past this point so with our energies exhausted we stopped on the beach here (marked with white X on map) and portaged to the other side. We took a long break to recover our energy and in hopes that the wind would die down. There was a couple who had watched us try to make the point who we chatted with and they very nicely helped us with our short portage. Though the wind didn’t die down much we put in again and pulled across back to the point and into the sheltered area close to our starting point, the boat launch safe and sound and having enjoyed a great day out on the water.

Canmore, Alberta - East End of Rundle Trip Report

On Thursday July 14th, 2011 my Wife and I hiked the East End of Rundle as part of the Triple Crown of Canmore. This was our first time on East Rundle and the only one of the three of the Triple Crown we had not done in the past. Unlike the mountains near our home at Waterton Lakes National Park there was no snow in sight on East Rundle or Ha Ling Peak. The trail head starts at the end of the Spray Lakes Reservoir. We parked on the side of the road (see picture). The trailhead is not well marked. Fortunately, we had read the (hikealberta.com) website which told us that the trail started between the double power line in the picture.

The climb was steep and the trail not well defined. When you start the trail is on the east side of the ridge that you ultimately climb. When you get to the top of the first bench of the ridge (about ten minutes) you will hike on the West side of the ridge the entire way to the summit.

At the approximately the fifty minute mark we came to a grassy plateau. There were a number of trails up. The good news is that all roads lead to Rome and you end up at the same place. We think that tending toward the west side of the ridge is the best way up and down. The views were spectacular on the summit. You can see all of Canmore and the mountains around and it is almost the same as the view from Ha Ling Peak. I rock climbed in my earlier years and the look down was dizzy even for me. It took us approximately an hour and twenty minutes up and forty five minutes down. On the way down you come to a fork in the road at the first bench. You need to go right (see picture) at the rock. I missed the rock on the way up. Obviously, the fork to the right goes to the Goat Creek parking lot.

We are both fifty, not in great shape but have hiked a lot over the years. The hard hikers will do this one in an hour and the slow hikers up to two hours. This is not a good trail for young kids. Depending there activity levels and past hiking, I would take an eight year old up. The trail rocky (of course), there are a few steep pitches and the trail is not maintained like as a National Park trail would be. This is a hike worth doing one afternoon; great scenery, gives you a good look at Canmore and great exercise.

Keep Hiking, Lockey.