Wide angle on the Bighorn Sheep ridge
A favourite road
Old country schoolhouse
Scenery along Highway 40, Kananaskis
Sheep on a smoky day
Farm in the foothills
Walker House, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
Our precious Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta…
Road through Kananaskis
In the middle of nowhere - spot the truck
Waterton Lake from the townsite - before the fire
Pine Coulee Reservoir, Alberta
Pine Coulee Reservoir, Alberta
The colours of fall
Ah, those glorious Larches in their fall colours
Things are not always what they seem
Part of an old miners' camp
Before the snow arrived
Kananaskis before the snowstorm
Lenticular (?) clouds over the mountains
The charred remains of McDougall Memorial United C…
Heading for the mountains on a hazy morning
Cattle drive in the mountains of Kananaskis, Alber…
Fall colours in Fish Creek Park
A mountain meadow, Kananaskis, Alberta
Fish Creek Park on a low-light day
A new-to-me old barn
A view from Quarry Lake, Canmore
When the storm moved in
Town of Canmore, Alberta
Beneath the cloud
A drive through Kananaskis
Rural decay
Storm arriving at Quarry Lake, near Canmore
Early morning sunrise over the mountains
Autumn Stripes
Final resting place
Fragile and leaning
In fairly good condition
Hello, winter
Old barns in late afternoon sun
The red barn
In winter time
Old house on the prairie
Morning sun over Pine Coulee Reservoir
Distant ice patterns on the reservoir
Start of the storm
Alberta foothills in the fall
Granary Road
The new "Famous Five" at Granary Road
Old, see-through barn
The beauty of erosion
Down on the farm
New "barn", Granary Road
A peaceful winter scene
Autumn in Alberta
Walking in a winter wonderland
Behind the tangled branches
A patch of blue
A white world
Modern barn
Part of an abandoned mining camp
Dazzling sunlight on distant peaks
Clouds over the mountains
A road less travelled
Little country school with company
Vanishing landscape
Love those hills
Bison with smoke haze
Out in the middle of nowhere
Yesterday's barn
Treasures in the yellow strip
No longer a home
Splash of colour
Cameron Falls, Waterton Lakes National Park
Alberta foothills in smoke haze
Old barn in a field of canola
Smoke from the British Columbia wildfires reaches…
A view from Red Rock Canyon, Waterton
Cameron Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
Old demonstration farm
I LOVE Canola
A different view from Maskinonge lookout, Waterton
Upper Waterton Lake, seen from the town
Maskinonge Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park
Slough near Eagle Lake
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Elbow Falls, Kananaskis
Forgetmenot Pond, Kananaskis
A hazy view with Dandelions
Beyond the fence
Alberta's beautiful foothills and mountains
They were gone, but now 'they' are back
Cacti on Little Tobago, Day 3
The Green Heron area, Tobago, Day 2
Sand and sea - Blue Waters Inn beach, Tobago
Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Tropical beach beauty, Tobago
Rocks near Little Tobago island
Frank's Glass-bottomed boat, Blue Waters Inn, Tob…
Batteaux Bay at Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Batteaux Bay, from Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Kananaskis - a winter wonderland
One of my favourite views
Arethusa Cirque trail, Kananaskis
Upper Kananaskis Lake
Logging piles in the Porcupine Hills
Skull on a fence post
Stubble pattern
Cattle drive - and a few old barns and sheds
Old times remembered
A view from the Porcupine Hills
Dreaming of spring
Old prairie barn
Winter textures
With a little filtered help
Lying on a bed of hoarfrost
Winter in the Nanton, Alberta, area
Non-wild horses in a wild landscape
The beautiful mountains of Alberta
The peace of a prairie farm - my main photo today
Filtered
Modern - but I like it
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The beauty of our mountains
Yesterday, 18 August 2017, I made a very last-minute decision (just after midnight) to return to this location. Last year (2016), I had finally made myself do this long drive (293 km), after longing for years to be able to get there on my own. I was determined to go again this summer, and yesterday was the day.
I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and took the scenic back road to Highway 40. Unfortunately, we are still getting the smoke from the British Columbia and Alberta wildfires, so distant shots are not the best. As of today, 19 August 2017, there are 140 wildfires currently burning across B.C., and this year's wildfire season is now officially B.C.’s worst ever wildfire season. However, the landscape on this whole drive is spectacular and I could never tire of it. I would imagine most people drive the whole loop along Highway 40, but my destination was the place where Pikas (or Rock Rabbits) live, keeping my fingers crossed that at least one of them would show up. I was in luck and saw two of them, and managed to get a few photos, though nothing that I was too happy with.
While I was standing near the base of the huge talus/scree slope, I started hearing the sound of rocks falling! The first thing that flashed through my mind was that I was not standing in the best place if a rock slide happened, and then I remembered seeing someone's photo of a bear with her two cubs walking across the rocks just above where I was standing. Looking around, I could see nothing - and then, suddenly, I could just make out the tiny silhouette of a Bighorn Sheep on the very top of the very distant ridge, and then several others came along. In a short time, one of them walked to the end of the ridge and stood there, on guard the whole time it took for the rest of the herd to slowly make its way down the rocky mountain side. They ended up passing me on a closer ridge and finally reached the road. What a journey they made in order to get salt off the road surface! I watched them for maybe a couple of hours, while they hung around just below me, refusing to leave the road when cars came along. Nothing would make them budge! It was just as interesting to watch the reaction of the drivers - most slowed right down or stopped, and most people stayed in their vehicles.
After calling in again at Highwood House to pick up a much-needed coffee, I carried on with the drive home via various backroads, including the Priddis area. My early morning drive had given me just two birds - a Northern Harrier and some other Hawk. The return drive gave me maybe four Hawks, none of which stayed long enough for a photo. A strange, empty feeling, as two days earlier, friends and I had seen dozens of Hawks during a day's drive.
For maybe the last 10 days or so, I had been wondering why the little orange maintenance light had not come on, on the dashboard of my car. I have had the vehicle one year now and felt sure that I should have been notified to get an oil change way before now. Each time I have done a long drive recently, I was worried that the light would come on when I was in the middle of nowhere. Well, yesterday, it finally did come on (at around 9,200 km), right where the Pikas live. Guess I'll have to limit my driving to local grocery shopping till I can get my car serviced.
I left home a few minutes before 8:00 am and took the scenic back road to Highway 40. Unfortunately, we are still getting the smoke from the British Columbia and Alberta wildfires, so distant shots are not the best. As of today, 19 August 2017, there are 140 wildfires currently burning across B.C., and this year's wildfire season is now officially B.C.’s worst ever wildfire season. However, the landscape on this whole drive is spectacular and I could never tire of it. I would imagine most people drive the whole loop along Highway 40, but my destination was the place where Pikas (or Rock Rabbits) live, keeping my fingers crossed that at least one of them would show up. I was in luck and saw two of them, and managed to get a few photos, though nothing that I was too happy with.
While I was standing near the base of the huge talus/scree slope, I started hearing the sound of rocks falling! The first thing that flashed through my mind was that I was not standing in the best place if a rock slide happened, and then I remembered seeing someone's photo of a bear with her two cubs walking across the rocks just above where I was standing. Looking around, I could see nothing - and then, suddenly, I could just make out the tiny silhouette of a Bighorn Sheep on the very top of the very distant ridge, and then several others came along. In a short time, one of them walked to the end of the ridge and stood there, on guard the whole time it took for the rest of the herd to slowly make its way down the rocky mountain side. They ended up passing me on a closer ridge and finally reached the road. What a journey they made in order to get salt off the road surface! I watched them for maybe a couple of hours, while they hung around just below me, refusing to leave the road when cars came along. Nothing would make them budge! It was just as interesting to watch the reaction of the drivers - most slowed right down or stopped, and most people stayed in their vehicles.
After calling in again at Highwood House to pick up a much-needed coffee, I carried on with the drive home via various backroads, including the Priddis area. My early morning drive had given me just two birds - a Northern Harrier and some other Hawk. The return drive gave me maybe four Hawks, none of which stayed long enough for a photo. A strange, empty feeling, as two days earlier, friends and I had seen dozens of Hawks during a day's drive.
For maybe the last 10 days or so, I had been wondering why the little orange maintenance light had not come on, on the dashboard of my car. I have had the vehicle one year now and felt sure that I should have been notified to get an oil change way before now. Each time I have done a long drive recently, I was worried that the light would come on when I was in the middle of nowhere. Well, yesterday, it finally did come on (at around 9,200 km), right where the Pikas live. Guess I'll have to limit my driving to local grocery shopping till I can get my car serviced.
Dominique 60, ROL/Photo, have particularly liked this photo
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