Jasper National Park

Along the Highway

/ Pat / 5 Comments

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Along the edge of Highway 93, going south in the Canadian Rockies from Jasper to Lake Louise, for miles and miles we saw large patches of “something.” Jim thought they were flowers but I knew they were seed heads. Know how, when you look at a ceiling fan a certain way, you can make the fan stop and see an individual blade for just a fraction of a second? As we were driving I could do this as they moved past my side window. I could see the feathery seeds waiting for the perfect moment to let loose.

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I didn’t see any blooms and I don’t have my wildflower guide so maybe one of you out there can tell me what they are. For now I’m enjoying the photos I took – I think they are quite lovely. Something like dandelion seeds. I would also like to know where else they grow.

Wildflowers – Jasper National Park

/ Pat / 8 Comments

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Sometimes, when I am being awed by the grandeur of high peaks

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I need to take notice of the little pleasures of our earth – take a few photos of wild flowers.

I wish I had brought my wildflower guide but we are traveling light and you don’t need to be able to name them to enjoy them.

On the Cusp of the Canadian Rockies

/ Pat / 18 Comments

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I went out before breakfast to record this moment in time – not very early but still it shows how important it is to me. After close to a week of looking at prairie land in North Dakota (US), Manitoba, and Saskatchewan we began to see some rolling farmland and even uncultivated land in Alberta. Once we we got through Edmonton the hills got steeper and longer and there were forests.

Now we are camping on the edge of Jasper National Park of the Canadian Rockies. The photo above is from our campground and we will be exploring this part of the Canadian Rockies for the next few days before we head south to other parts of the Rockies.

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Drives are long in the Canadian Rockies, probably because the mountains are BIG. We have been here before, about 16 years ago, about I don’t remember them like I am seeing them now. This may be because of my poor memory but it could also be because a whole lot of water has gone under my bridge in this time and I am a different person, seeing the world in a different way.

We drove the Yellowhead Highway between Hinton, where we were camping, and Jasper several time and each time the mountains looked different. On each drive we pulled over so I could take more photos of mountains and lakes.

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There are so many trails in the mountains, trails that enticed me, made me wish I was younger. My last long mountain hike was up Mt. Robson to a turquoise mountain lake for lunch on a picnic table – that was 16 years ago before I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia that has sapped my energy and seems to weaken my muscles.

On this trip another trail pulled me in and that story is coming. Stay tuned.

Canadian Rocky Mountains

/ Pat / 5 Comments

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We drove the Maligne Road on a cloudy day with some blue sky or a blue sky day with lots of heavy clouds. Jim wouldn’t let me drive because he says I sight see too much when I drive. I didn’t have a good argument.

The lack of blue skies made the lakes grey but we were were wow-ed by the mountains that surrounded us. I had fun capturing peaks that were highlighted by the sun – making them the leading star in their turn.

As I think back, it was this series of peaks that awed us the most.

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It was either the movement of the sun, the slight clearing of clouds, or the direction we were driving, but they were most impressive on our way out. Even Jim broke his rule of no sight seeing while driving – I caught him in the act with each “Wow, look at that.”

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The red trees you see at the lower elevations aren’t early Fall color as I first thought. Because of milder winters during the past three years, the Pine Beetles have thrived and moved into Jasper National park. They turn the needles red and kill the trees. The Park Service is doing several things to help nature bring new growth to these areas.