In Canada, they definitely love their rocks.

Not only are there rocks in the hillside, and practically every direction you turn... but the people who live there have found ways to put all those rocks to good use.

They're used as signs. As memorials. And as really cool statues. In fact, you don't see much "graffiti" in Canada. Instead, you see rocks used to spell out various messages along roads and hillsides. It's quite interesting.

But my favorite is the Inukshuk!

Perhaps you've seen it...

En route from Indiana to the Canadian Rockies in Edmonton, Alberta (where our vacation technically began), we saw lots of fun things along the way.

In fact, I took over 1,200 photos on this particular trip! (That's about one hundred each day.)

I invite you to kick back, relax, and enjoy the view...

If you're anything like us, then you probably enjoy driving to other neighborhoods to see the many ways that people have chosen to decorate their houses, their lawns, and their trees with twinkling lights and other holiday yard art. We especially like driving through the "nicer" neighborhoods and admiring their handiwork... like George Jones's house (4025 Nestledown Drive in the Nestledown Farms subdivision off Highway 96).

(You may recall that WE typically don't decorate for Christmas, yet we never cease to be amazed by the lengths that OTHER people go to to light up the night around their domicile!)

...And every town has its own share of over-the-top Christmas light decorators, right? We're always on the lookout for "that guy" each year. (See links below to find "that guy" in your own neighborhood!)

Some think of it as the Clark Griswold effect... others see it as simply a beautiful expression of creativity. Either way, it's a joy get out and about taking in the sights and sounds of the holiday season.

Listen to the theme song from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation".

Photographing Christmas

Check out the following tips for photographing Christmas lights and holiday decorations...

Believe it or not, THIS was spotted on my way to work today.

We're talking AUGUST...

Not even late August...

But rather August 16th!

Today, Ms Piggy...

...woke up late?

Not sure what the oversized pink shirt on Ms. Piggy signifies this go-around.

All I can think of is: That's kinda what I look like when I wake up on Saturday mornings!

Can you believe that we have absolutely NO Christmas decorations up this year?! Not one. Bah humbug, right?

Yeah, well... it's more like this:

I'm just not about "stuff".

How does everyone feel about the trendy "Yard Art" that is decorating the lawns of America these days? By that I mean all the yard signs in support of a particular presidential candidate. There's so much of it... if you're like me, you're sort of numb to it by now.

It recently got me thinking... And now I'm trying to figure out:
1) the "type" of people who are more or less likely to post such signs in support of someone or something;
and
2) the "strength" of such messages in the end.

What about on your vehicle?... Anyone got any of those magnetic yellow ribbons that say, "Support Our Troops" on your car? Again... just pondering the point of those types of things.