RHH's photos

Our backpacking excursion to Mount Assiniboine began at the Sunshine Meadows Ski Resort. With many others we took the gondola up to the ski lodge and then hiked to the top of one of the ski runs (the lift was not running) and saw this view from the Standish Viewpoint. The three lakes are from left to right, Rock Isle Lake, Grizzly Lake and Larix Lake.

Our backpacking trip to Mount Assiniboine began at the Sunshine Meadows Ski Resort west of Banff. Before getting on the trail we hiked to the Standish Overlook. This was taken on the way to the overlook at Rock Isle Lake.

The Western Pasque Flower, Anemone (Pulsatilla) occidentalis, is found in the western United States and Canada from Washington and Montana northward. It is one of the earliest wildlflowers to bloom, often showing its flowers through the snow. This example was photographed near Sunburst Lake in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. On another note, my postings will be sporadic until the middle of August. We leave within a week first for Northern Ireland and then for Norway. I'll post as I have opportunity, but do not know what kind of internet access we will have while away.

This photo was taken from the backpackers campground at Lake Magog in British Columbia. Lake Magog is in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park and the peak, Mount Assiniboine, is often referred to as the Mattehorrn of the Rockies. In the photo Assiniboine is the higher peak partially obscured by clouds. We, my son-in-law, two grandsons and myself, spent five days hiking into and staying at Lake Magog this past week. We hiked about 30 miles (45 km) in all and enjoyed the time together, the beautiful scenery and the hiking. The peak ro the left of Assiniboine is Mount Magog.

These are the last photos I'll be posting for a week. We head out early tomorrow morning for five days of backpacking in the area of Mount Assiniboine in the Canadian Rockies where we will be entirely out of touch with civilization and electronics. This is Penstemon eatonii, the Firecracker Penstemon, photographed along the La Verkin Creek trail in Zion National Park (Utah). There were not a lot of wildflowers blooming when we were there but those we saw we did photograph.

This wildlfower is the Western Wildflower, Erysimum capitatum, very common across the central and western USA.. This example was photographed along the La Verkin Creek trail in Zion National Park.

We are in the area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, visiting family. Their internet is very slow and so my postings are a bit sporadic. Nor will I be posting at all next week since I will be backpacking with my son-in-law and two grandsons to Mount Assiniboine. This photo was taken in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada and shows a group of Desertd Bighorn Sheep. The Desert Bighorn is a subspecies of Bighorn Sheep and is found in the American Southwest and Mexico.

These Indian petroglyphs were photographed in Fire Canyon Wash in Valley of Fire State Park. They were made by the Anasazi and Southern Paiute who lived in the area and are scratched into these darkened areas known as desert varnish. There are many such example in the park and the surrounding areas.

This arch and view through it were at the end of the Rainbow Vista trail in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, one of the places we explored on our recent trip to Utah, Nevada and Arizona. The viewpoint is known as the Fire Canyon Overlook.