Now some uncommented impressions from the valley, lake and drive to Nelson BC. The valley is btw the biggest source for a certain forbidden green crop. It makes the area very rich. Most people have this "second income". Some of the houses are just totally stunning.

Nelson BC - a very nice town again with a very very hippy vibe to it. I donīt know why I took so little pictures there - sometimes you just donīt feel it I guess. Here is a side alleyway.

The best (vegetarian organic) burrito ever. You put it together yourself. Choice of 6 organic selfmade sauces - that was ridiculously yummy.

Brian on Nelson Mainstreet.

Nelson Mainstreet - the photo doesnīt do the town justice - just for documentary purposes here.

On the way back in the middle of nowhere on a fallen down barn building on the side of the road this pretty stunning streetart - certain forbidden plants is all I am saying.

To call New Denver a town would be an insult to other towns - but they had great aspirations in former times, just silver price falling of a cliff some 80 years ago didnīt help the expansion much.

A(nother) walk along the lake shore third try to find some old mines (I like holes in the ground). Still totally stunning this lake. Mesmerizing. If you ever need a place to find total inner peace this is the most likely one.

Spring coming - things come alive. How they will survive there between the rocks is another matter I guess.

Balance.

I did mention that the water is as clear as it can get - for a lake this size unbelievable clear.

Ah there it is - a mine. We found many. and they are just that - holes in the ground. I would have loved to climb in but we didnīt have any rope or light with us - damn. One of the mines went in extremely deep. They are just left there open with a very old very rusty fence on top to stop people from intruding.

Forest.

On the walk back we came by an electrical switching station. This is the warning sign :)

Still have no idea what a Block Parents Community is, but the design could be from east germany.

New Denver has a bicycle hospital with emergency vehicle and all - just in case your bike ever gets sick.

uhm somebody forgot his toy - then went on to take the bigger toy apart.

Oh I would have so liked to ride with the cool bus - who wouldnīt.

Just a nice garden in New Denver. All gardens where nice in New Denver - people have a lot of time around these parts to tend their gardens.

just because its a nice framing.

I have a bathtub for growing in the garden as well - it makes a really good flower/vegi pot. I am missing out on the hanging bear :)

Thats right this way pointer was there at our final destination the top one says "Berlin 10280 km" yes thats how far I was a away from home.

New Denver Mainstreet - movie set.

Back at the house the forest just beaming with light -pretty pretty.

So just to recap we just left Revelstoke and went on the ferry to that island towards New Denver/Silverton where we arrived at our final destination - a house from a guy called bryce that I havenīt meet yet but the house is totally beautiful inside out here is one view of it :)

Brian introduced me to Jeremy a phenomenal artist - audio and paintings - we had a jam session with him and went on some walks and stuff. On the first walk on the shore of the lake on an old railroad track we tried to find the old mines that are scattered everywhere around this region. Didnīt quite make it to the mines but lots of stuff in the forest telling stories of the past when this area was alive and buzzing with people digging up silver. Like this steelpress thing - no way to move that from where it is ever ;)

Chains.

Not so pleasant but realtiy - clear cuts. Why canīt humans leave the bit of untouched nature alone.

Jeremy and his daughter on the lake. Truly amazing alive nice people.

The forest up.

Green getting greener by the day :) Lush dreamy forest.

Forest. Yes lots of trees everywhere.

Panoramic lake. This lake is just stunning meditative clear nice relaxing - you gonna see more of it here sorry.

Then we went to a place called Sandon. Sandon is a ghost town. Formerly housing 15.000 people now there are maybe 30 people living there. Look at this video to see Sandon in its former glory. The silver mine that made that place big is back up and working. The town used to have a walkway on top of the creek. One day a flood came and destroyed half the town who depended on that walkway the rest burned down in two successive fires. Not much left now but you can see a bit of its former glory. Still spooky place - we didnīt see any people while we were there.

Trying to finally see a mine we made a small walk but the amount of snow made us turn back soon. It did snow the night before you can see the snowfall line in the trees.

Back in Sandon there was a steam locomotive - there is no traintrack going into this town and that adds to the mystery why that vehicle is there.

p

The few houses (10 maybe max) that are there are great looking.

Oh and I didnīt see a sidewalk but donīt spit on it alright!

No this is not a mistake. Explaination further down.

The only shop in town - but there were two museums (closed for the season).

You seen the detail above. There are about 25 electric busses in town coming from winnipeg. Like with the steam locomotive its a bit of a mystery why they are there (nice too look at but strange in that place). The story goes that there is a guy in town who has two woman and acts like he is the mayor of the town (but not official) and he brings in these old vehicles. Why and what he is going to do with them and stuff nobody knows.

The reopened Silver mine - run by one guy. It produces silver and goes almost 40km into the mountain :O

Going back to New Denver you come across these lodge houses - adorable.

New Denver mainstreet - buzzing with life.

The lake again - no ripples totally smooth.

And back to the house.

Lovely houses again. The photos donīt do them full justice but you get the idea.

And powerlines :)

The highschool building - straight out of a western movie. Massive entrance.

A lot of attention to detail everywhere - the beautiful streetsigns.

Masterfull signage everywhere.

that chinese restaurant and its signage had some intense magic to it.

Mainstreet (not very long). Lots of organic bakeries and foodplaces - all in very lovely western styles - again movie set like but totally real.

The presentation center - former bankbuilding? Greek Columns FTW! ;)

Well…

Lower mainstreet.

A driving tired brian that was worn out on the mountain in Golden earlier in the day.

uhm. Pinging home.

Not high noon yet…

For my home possy a little inside joke.

An epic long train came along these lamps made beautiful sounds and we have this video of this girl on a really cool bicycle waiting to pass.

This was back at the Motel - I was told that these are very famous chairs that where every Motel back in the 70s - stylish.

Next morning sunrise. We are leaving to our final destination.

The trashcans all had funny shapes across the nation so I finally asked Brian if there is anything behind it - short answer: "Its against bears" - so they donīt like the shape? Anyway bears are a real problem in communities as they dig through trash destroy the trashcans in the process - yes there are lots of bears around - no sadly I have not seen one - they are coming out more in autumn.

Before reaching our destination one more obstacle to pass. A ferry would get us onto a peninsula behind one of the deepest lake in northern america. The lake was chrystal clear and it never freezes - the ferry is part of the road system and massive and free of charge. So we off into just after sunset - dreamlike landscape and just a hint of how nice it would become.

Off into the darkness for another 45 minutes and we will have reached Silverton, BC where the house we would stay is - the middle of a very dense very dark forest. up a very icy road behind a couple of bends - but thats for another entry :)

And Edson had a skatepark too - covered in snow still but quite massive. They have a mayor that understands a few things it seems.

The graffiti is not the most sophisticated in the world but humorous and playing on wild west themes and I like the stencil of the flower in the middle ;)

Just a tad out of Edson something appeared on the horizon that I was soooo looking forward too. The Rockies in all their glory and as with any other mountain range they changed my mood they made me a little kid wanting to play in the dirt and climb them board them hug them - just the mountain goat that I am accused of being coming through.

We drove into the mountains and came to Jasper - a touristy town with almost no native people to be found. Most people in the town where from the philipines. We stayed at the Atha-B - cheap but very nice hotel in town - boarded a bit next day under prestince conditions (and no photos from on the mountains - its my off time from pixels donīt want cameras around ;) slept another night in Jasper and then rocked on north to south inside the Rockies. Beautiful drive here some impressions.

Totem poles at last after I heard that they actually tell a story and I have never seen one in person I wanted to see one so badly. Really cool story telling tool they had if you ask me. So its a bit hard to see the story but let your imagination run wild and there are lots of stories in them.

Oh I forgot - in Jasper we left the camera in the hotelroom for a evening stroll - what a stupid mistake - we missed a picture of a lifetime with a caribou standing on the railway line while a lokomotive heading straight toward it making loud noise and all but the caribou (a huge deer like animal) wasnīt moving at all - just shortly before impact it very calmly and slowly marched off the track. The caribou had balls. Could still hate myself for not having the cam with me. The caribous we saw next day chilling out in middle of town - they are just not afraid of anything it seems. This is the closest I can give you for a picture of a caribou - a sign warning us that they are in the area - yes they are.

The "famous" icefields - a formerly huge glacier that the road went through and just as in the alps - the glacier is gone - receded so far that you had to guess where it is - just the gravel left behind gave you a glimpse of its former glory - but yeah global warming is surely a myth.

Avalanches are a bigger danger here then in the alps I would say - no matter where we looked a avalanche had come down - they are smaller then in the alps but surely not less deadly.

I call this mountain alien Mt Rushmore - I hope you can see why ;)

The frozen waterfalls where everywhere. A feature I have not seen like this in the alps either.

Yes thats champaign powder up there. :)

The deers are elegant around here.

Somewhere here we arrived in Banff - contrary to Jasper it was filled with australien people - and was bigger and even more touristy - didnīt like it at all - but the Banff University is quite a nice place. We stayed two nights boarded at Sunshine and drove to Golden and then onto Revelstoke - mostly boarding and little concentration for nice pictures.

Our Motel in Revelstoke and that was actually a real town - a town to like with a really nice spirit to it. So there are lots a pictures from this cute place in the next entry.

The bar had this still live with two real stuffed bears and a stuffed owl in one corner.

The really dry and funny barkeeper.

Chrystal the waitress.

Justin the woodsplitter.

Who ordered us a B52 which the barkeeper mixed to perfection (after fact checking the recipe in a book ;) - with a loose tongue we came to a very interesting and open talk that blew me away. Forget stereotypes fALk really they donīt exist. The young chaps were happy where they lived. They donīt like cities - they like to have no concrete under their feet, they want to get energy independent, they grow their own food. They totally know that they are percieved as rednecks (that word was brought up by them) and to a degree
like that monicker as it gives them an identity but they are not the Sarah Palin kind of rednecks they just like to have fun in their own unique ways - like sitting on an old car hood thats tied to a car and running down a frozen river at 100km/h :) Chrystal is planning on getting solar panels they manage some forest etc etc. all that while they have oil pumps on their fields. And yes they all have internet - I think the main reason for their awareness.
(If any of you three are reading this - you rock! There is hope in the world :)

Me trying to hide as per usual especially after the B52 ;)

The Sivler Spur Saloon event schedule. Its usually more busy but there was a brithday party in the next town so most people went there.

Crazy idea worth having for the club - towel material in pink wrapped tablecloth. It would only work in pink and it needs to be washed after every night but it surely had style.

The hotel room was a timecapsule.

This is the Silver Spur Hotel and Saloon from the outside. There was also a chinese restaurant inside - contrast people is where its at :D

And two more (not so minor) inhabitants of this small village. Again - it was an experience of its own. The village is bleeding inhabitants as the main highway was moved about 300 meter away from the village so people do not stop anymore here. I donīt think this will be bad for them in the long run with such lovely people and a working community.

If you are ever near make sure you stop by there and have a drink its really an experience to be had.

Upon closer inspection it became clear what was happening - oil and gasfield exploration in the midst of agriculture. land cattle and fossil fuels would be the slogan for Alberta province.

Still straight roads it gets a bit more hilly billy.

#

And modern oilpumps come in different flavors but all of them are painted in bright colors. To make them more friendly looking?

The classic oil pump.

And yeah just fields I like fields.

more fields with more gastanks they have serious natural gas reserves in Alberta. Makes it a wealthy province - even so - as we later found out - the famers get only a tiny compensation for having something like this on their fields - if they refuse then the companies go to the neighbor farmer and just drill vertically to access the same gas/oil bubble. Not nice practice if you ask me - leaving the farmers poor and the oilcompanies rich.

Huge all over the place along our journey sticking out like monuments of human technological feats - so we could not figure out what they actually transmitted because it was neither cellphone nor radio most of the time.

More jumpin moose.

Donīt ask. I donīt know.

And we found the road that leads to heaven - if you believe in such things - I donīt so it just too us further west instead of into the sky.

Two of my favorite field pictures of the whole trip :)

Me the Sunset Sucker. I mentioned already that this was the longest sunset I ever witnessed because we where driving right into it without any interruption for hours and therefore we think that must have made it longer.

With the sun just set we arrive in Edmonton. The oil refinery glittering in the distance like a scene out of star wars. It didnīt make us feel like we wanted to stay so we went on looking for a better place - that was a a real good decision - see it in part 3 of day 5.

For example this monster of a snowmobile - small tank might be a better description. I surely would want to try to ride that one day just to see how it feels.

The most shocking thing was the amount of dead trees on the way. You had these patches running for miles with just dead trees on them. Brian was insisting it was logging but it didnīt made sense as the trees stumps where still there. Looking at the warning signs that made you aware not to transport firewood around the country it was clear the pine beetle has struck this part of canada extremely heavily.

Yes it seems we are on the right route.

Brian recreating in the wind on a frozen lake on a little detour we took to have a break from the tree tunnels.

There was a truck on a deserted parking lot and it had these charming number plates.

Yes told you more dead trees - the only distraction on the forest tunnels - a sad sad sight - its quite hard to see the scope of the destruction on the photos - its massive and everywhere.

The main northern highway turns into a dirt road at one point. The dirt road is better then a lot of paved road in this world - I have no idea how they make it but its smooth as butter.

And this is how a clear cut looks like.

Ah the trusty professor (the car) and brian. Yes this car took us on the 10.000km journey with only one small hickup (alternator carbon sticks worn down). Very comfortable to sit in for all these long hours.

Then we came out of the tree tunnels all of the sudden and back into the prairies.

The roads get straighter and straighter and longer.

And also the territory more untrusting - pre pay for your gas or you aint get none - not that you have any chance to escape here - they could see you for miles down the road if you try.

also dead trees in the prairies.

and funky golf course signs.

Town of Willness - Land and Cattle - thats the best description for what lays ahead.

And the Moose are flying in Sasketchewan.

Now this picture might seem unpostworthy but but - the next 3 towns all looked exactly the same with the exact same towers in the middle - you will see.

Dusty roads and land and cattle.

And yes still the Moose are flying around here. Fun fact of the day moose charge cars. So instead of like deer who just stare at bright lights and stand still the mighty moose come after you. Nobody could tell me how to actually react when one does. Seeing one on the way back in the night I think I really donīt want to find out - they are freaking massive animals.

Land. Pretty Land.

Glaslyn - town two look alike (town three will be in the next entry as that was already in Alberta province).

Long Roads that seemed to never end.

Deserted houses left and right.

Very very very long roads.

Dusty long roads and the start of the longest sunset I have seen in my life.

Rythmic pretty clouds.

Town three in the row - its not really good visible but these structures were the most prominent buildings and there are just a dozen or so houses scattered around them so that made three towns in a row look so much of the same that it was like a déjā vu.

And an eye forming in the sky - I am sorry to bore you with this but please understand we just had been through five hours of tree tunnels so everything seemed to be enormously exiting.

About half way to Flin Flon we came to a place where I donīt quite remember the name but it came to existence because it was a portage - the Cannery Portage to be precise (the town probably was named similar). A portage is where there is a watershed - meaning there are two rives/creeks flowing in different direction not far away from each other - so you take your canoe and carry it from one river to the next so you can enjoy more free riding down the water. When first entering the town we where almost ready to swap the volvo to the bombardier snowmobile sitting around. Brian took a test drive but since snow levels where not high enough we stayed with the volvo for the time being.

Just wanting a bit lunch at the lake we met this photofriendly husky who barked at us very loudly but stopped and posed ones the camera was directed to him. So he gets his wish of a published photo I guess.

Oh and people living in this house sure ainīt getting wet feet anymore.

This is the memorial for the Cranberry Portage - a very important point - you can go to the Hudson Bay from here all down river and very far inland on the other side. Was used by the First Nations and then later by the hunters and settlers.

Leaving this place Flin Flon was (finally) coming up. This is kinda the first impression.

The mine and its smokestack rules the city everywhere

Yes real people living here who also seem to wear clothes.

As every city out west the obligatory watertower and 9000V on the multitude of powerlines

And they have culture too!

But the industrial side of town rules the impression

With a huge open pit mine in the middle.

Cute houses.

Old empty houses.

More cute houses.

Oh and did you know that in Flin Flon you can find the home of Rock'n'Roll? Well I didnīt either but it went bankrupt and was empty - seems that Rock'n'Roll is dead (or homeless).

The youth in Flin Flon (and The Pas) uses the rocks that line the streets for their graffitty playground - not sophisticated and strictly forbidden but to be seen everywhere.

The decorating commitee (oh yes that became a running joke with all these oversized statures in all these small towns) likes santa claus.

Tourism is apparently a bit slow in Flin Flon. The guy looking over the sign is actually Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin. The guy who gave the name to the town - purely fictional character - I direct you to the wikipedia entry for more information about this - its a funny.

Smokestack peaks out everywhere I mentioned that already.

The media and the church caters to the big industrial complex.

We were blessed with another super nice sunset - like pretty much every day on our journey so far. Here is the main red mine building.

Some textures we liked.

There is something about raised structures that I find appealing.

Powerline yeah :D

Flin Flon looked like the moon - there was only forest all around it but the city itself is enormously bare rocky. The trees must have been logged for the mining business.

This smokestack was captivating sorry to bore you with more.

And ähm more powerlines :)

A memorial I just liked the light on it donīt ask me what the brave men and woman of Flin Flon actually did.

Typical typical street in nice light.

I am a romantic sunset sucker.

And old buildings with lots of texture.

But yeah more sunset.

Just the perfect CD cover for some death metal or too hard to listen to dubstep :P

We went to see the Flin Flon Bombers ice-hockey match. They won handely in some league that I canīt remember. Was my first live ice-hockey match I have seen - couldnīt have lost my ice hockey virginity at a more authentic place. And yes the guys are rough.

The queen reigns them all.

Flin Flon wasnīt the best stop on our trip sadly - we didnīt find many locals and couldnīt figure out where the afterparty to the icehockey match was so we went on the next day. Still a surreal town for sure.

We enter Manitoba in the late morning.

This is how Manitoba presented itself 20 minutes drive in.

The great plains. Agriculture. More Agriculture.

And electricity crisscrossing.

Yes everything in this country looks like a movie set or a pretty postcard.

More electricity poles - why the obsession? well first of all they give depth second of all they have a visual rythm and after all we are on an educational trip and rhythm is a big part of it.

Yes thats how the street looked like for at least 5 hours and all of next day and the day after as we where to find out.

Deer crossing. I found out too late that the signs for animals change drastically from region to region - so this is the start of a series on signs - the charging moose will be photographed on the way back

I called it Barcode Road.

The only part of the lakes we got to see midway through the upper part of what is called the interlake (a dried up lake between two big lakes as we later found out) a little resting place and the start of the sunset. Since 4 hours we saw nothing but trees and road with maybe 5 cars/trucks in total. So I craved some detail.

The small lake we where allowed to see. The big lakes all behind thick tree lines.

Endless straight wide big huge I tell ya.

Long sunset on a straight road with trees by its side. Yes same road - we came through 1 town and passed two crossing otherwise road and trees but now at least some action in the sky.

No not shopped and no - no idea where he came from or walked to next intersection was 30 minutes drive away last intersection 3 hours and no you can not walk through the forst either - a mystery.

Finally the end of the 6 - that was a very very very very very long straight stretch of road - it wouldnīt be the last.

The 60 led us straight out west right into the sunshine

Yes thats exactly where the sun is - no sign really needed - but before you overlook eh. I mean there are so many trees its easy to miss the sun.

And there ends the day with a glorious sky.

Shortly later we ended up in The Pas where we stayed the night. had a nice chatter with the bar girl of "The Good Thymes" - that bar reminded me so much of the Affenclub at home in a way - very spooky. The whole vibe and people where so similar in a way. Very friendly folks out there living their own life - sweet. Sadly no camera and no audio recording here - we had to warm up to that.

Licht An!

Berlin’s original Videokunst Club, VisualBerlin reflects the richness of the city itself. With members from nine countries we are a diverse family bound together by a shared commitment to the progression of audiovisual art forms, performance and technology. Our artists have rocked festivals and parties across the globe and in 2010 it’s our turn to return the favor. From June 10-12 we will host the VisualBerlin Festival, a community driven event focusing on live performance, VJing and experimental media. The festival is an excellent opportunity to connect with an engaged audience of public and peers. Share with us your passion, your creativity, your experiments and your fun. Wir freuen uns!

Background

Founded in 2005, VisualBerlin is a non-profit community platform, providing support and a social structure for participating artists. Our interests and expertise covers everything from underground party visuals to hardware-hacking, programmatic arts, experimental performance and media philosophy. Community is at the forefront of everything we do. Since 2003 members of our group have hosted events in collaboration with AViT, the international support network for VJ arts and practitioners. In 2006 the newly-formed VisualBerlin celebrated it’s first official AViT network event and in 2010 we are pleased to continue the tradition of AViT in Berlin with the VisualBerlin Festival. The common ideals of VisualBerlin and AViT ensures that the participating artists and surrounding community is the most important aspect of each of our events.

Location

In 2010 the Festival once again takes place in conjunction with Berlin’s international design festival DMY. Over three days, guest VJs, performers and developers will have the opportunity to present their work in Berlin’s most unique locations. These headquarters will act as a hub and meeting point for all artists with free wifi, event information, technical support and a daily breakfast club for participants.
The night program takes place in external clubs, transformed by the VisualBerlin team to offer you the best setting for your performance.

Program

The festival will be a mix of curated programming and open-exchange. Innovative projects and developments will be presented daily across a schedule of workshops, performances and discussions. Additional jam sessions will take place in the lounge area giving you the opportunity to test out new collaborations, experiment and exchange ideas on the big screen.

The night program is split into three events:

• Night 1, Dubstep party
• Night 2, Chiptunes + AudioVisual Performances
• Night 3, Classic VJ/ Closing Party.

How To Participate

We will be collecting submissions for the following:

• Workshops/Seminars
• VJ sets
• AudioVisual Performances

The application form is available at http://visualberlin.org/festival

Please take care with your application and make sure you have supplied us with all the requested information. The application deadline is April the 30th, 2010.