Olympic Shades

 Just off the property of Lansdowne Park, beside the Rideau Canal, lies a particularly photogenic bed of tulips, in a circle around a statue that was placed here for the Calgary Winter Olympics. Note beyond the trees- there's a boat on the Canal.

As the path winds around the bed entirely, I started around.

Here at the far side, through a gap in the trees, we can see the Aberdeen Pavilion.

We'll carry on here tomorrow.

In Confederation Park

 After leaving Plaza Bridge, as noted in yesterday's post, I went for another walk on the Canal skateway. Coming back, I returned to Confederation Park. I had previously taken shots of the main sculptures at night and wanted to do so again- until I saw the line ups. Instead I took some shots of ice sculptures out in the open, including this hockey player, getting up off the ice.

This moose stood out. It might have been carved that last weekend.

The big skate still looked good.

As did this bird.

Another ice sculpture- a stylized maple leaf. Very fitting.

The Ice Hogs looked radiant.

As did these

At the west side of the park, on stage were two buskers, performing with fiddle music, and using glow sticks as part of their act. I'll have some more of them for the Entertainment theme day. Tomorrow we'll return to the park on an earlier evening visit.

Snow Carvings In The Park

 Another of the bas relief carvings into the snow- this having the look of a Jay.

Another look at that moose.

I saw the Ice Hogs walking around- the mascots of Winterlude. Based on the groundhog, there are four of them that can be found at Winterlude sites. Three of them are in this photo.

Also around this site, several ice benches are built into hollows for photo ops.

A hockey player was carved into the wall nearby.

This is Alexander Graham Bell, the Canadian inventor.

The day I came over was Flag Day. This carving includes a flag, and depicts a Mountie.

I started heading out.

A tug of war was set up, and two groups were having a go at it.

Lots of people make use of this park during Winterlude.

This wall included colourful paint on carved snow.

And lastly, as I headed to board a shuttle bus back to the other side of the river, I photographed this map, specifically for Red, who made inquiries earlier in the series. Nearly all of the Rideau Canal skateway is included in this map, along with multiple sites on both sides of the Ottawa River.

A Winter Playground By The River

 Winterlude is also marked across the Ottawa River, where Gatineau's festivities are centered around Jacques Cartier Park, which is turned into a winter playground on the shores of the Ottawa River.

These were on display near the entrance.

A large mound of snow is created, with multiple slides lined up.

There are also a couple of oversized Muskoka chairs here.

This being an Olympics year, a bobsled was set up for photo ops.

We'll pick up here tomorrow.