Epic Tales of the Epic North (But not our north)

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Photo #821: Northern EpicsLocation Taken: Banff, Alberta
Time Taken: June 2010

You know what this photo reminds me of? The game Skyrim.

It might be the northern climate and magnificent mountains. But it’s more likely related to the fact that I just started playing that game again. There was a lovely sale on Steam and I was able to pick up all the expansions for a nice low price. So, well, I have to play through them now. It’s only right and proper.

But first, I had to mod. Skyrim’s got a lovely modding community, and in the two and a half years since the game came out, all sorts of fabulous things have been created. And well, I just couldn’t resist.

It did mean I spent much of the day waiting for files to download and install, but it’s so worth it. The game’s all prettified and extra bug fixes are in place and hundreds more NPCs are wandering the world (complete with full voice acting!) and I have an extra two questlines that are essentially fan-made expansions to play with and-

Right, all sorts of fun things. I mean, just in what I did play, rather than start out on a cart heading to a near-fatal encounter with a dragon to kick off everything, I came to my senses in a necromancer’s cave, shaking off an enthrallment cast on me by said necromancer, who was a wee bit distracted by a visiting Argonian vampire hunter attacking her. After the necromancer was dead, well, I got to talking with the Argonian, and he was willing to follow along with me and help me out.

So yeah, powerful follower willing to kill things for me acquired right from the start. All thanks to two mods intersecting, one which gave me an alternate start (chosen because I’ve seen the official starting scenes far too many times already) and another that adds in lots of interesting NPCs, one of which happens to visit the cave I started in. It’s going to be fascinating finding all the ways things have changed. That NPC mod alone is full of awesomeness.

I mean, how often do you bump into random crazy people shacking up in a shack, claiming that they’re a time traveler, that elves live on the moon, the sun, and everywhere else, and that the rebel leader in the civil war that’s going on is secretly Tiber Septum, the first emperor and one of the gods, who’s also really a shape-shifting vampire?

  

M is for Mountain!

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Photo #820: M Is For MountainLocation Taken: Banff National Park, Alberta
Time Taken: June 2010

Look! A mountain! Who could have guessed I’d post a picture of one?!?

Aside from everyone who read yesterday’s post.

Bet you didn’t expect it would have a giant “M” on it, though!

It’s just two snow cascades that happen to meet up in the middle. Looks like snow falling down the mountain hits the top of an alluvial fan and then splits, half going one way and half the other. Or perhaps it’s just a spot that doesn’t get quite as much sun, though given how well both points of the “M” shape line up with the top of the fans, it has to be related.

It also reminds me of those giant letters I’ve seen a lot of northern Rockies towns carve into the nearby mountains. You know, a giant “T” for Thermopolis and the like?

Maybe this mountain heard of that practice and decided to join in with the fun!

  

Mountains!

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Photo #819: Strong MountainLocation Taken: Banff National Park, Alberta
Time Taken: June 2010

I’ve been running sadly uninspired lately. Not much is going on, and what is, I don’t want to talk about. So sad, so sad.

It does mean I’m out of topics to talk about, which probably shouldn’t be too surprising after over 800 posts. And since I’m uninspired, I’m not really thinking of any new ones.

So what the hey, let’s take advantage of that there photo I post every day! I’ve got tons of marvelous mountain photos just sitting around, and well, there’s only so many things to say about them. I’m going to post nothing but mountains until I get the urge to talk about another subject! Theme week! Or day, or month, or however long this takes.  Heck, if you look at the recent posts, I started this theme four days ago!

So yeah, mountain! Love how that particular angle to the strata lines in it actually give it a bit of a personality, some strength and arrogance.

  

I’m totally looking through my photos, drooling over the ones with rocks.

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Photo #817: Nice RocksLocation Taken: Thermopolis, Wyoming
Time Taken: June 2010

Rocks!

Yay rocks!

I like rocks!

It’s so sad. I don’t see too many rocks these days. I spend most of my time within a mile of where I live (ok, most of it is within feet of where I live.) And this area is wetland.

So, you want mud and plants and water and all those lovely wetland things? I got plenty! Rocks, well, um, they sink. Even in mud, the rocks will slowly work their way out of sight. There certainly aren’t any large rocks around here, which is quite the pity.

I did see a few rocks the other day. There were a few brought up by tree roots near the local creek. Since the creek’s there, it actually creates a patch of drier ground around it by being where all the water goes, and that drier ground can support rocks better. Well, until the next time the creek shifts.

I know where I could go for rocks. I mean, there’s several mountain ranges in the area. But they’re a bit outside the zone I spend my time in, and the bus routes don’t really go there. At best, I can look at them from a distance, these giant rocks.

Well, at least I could theoretically look at the mountains, if there weren’t so many trees in the area. The local wetland IS stable enough for trees after all, even if they’re short by west coast standards!