Alberta 2023 ~ Banff from high, Lakes & Mountain Goats …

In beautiful sunshine (which is great for photography), we took a drive up to Mount Norquay Ski Resort to take in the views of Banff in the distance below us, and also came across our first Mountain Goat who was happily holding up traffic on the mountain road. After that, it was off to Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake.

Later in search of good views of The Three Sisters (mountains), we drove south the Canmore and took a very rough gravel road which led to nowhere, but did have lots and lots of extremely friendly Mountain Goats ~ regrettably, we never did find a good viewing location of The Three Sisters.

Below is today’s selection of pics …

Alberta 2023 ~ Lake Louise …

In the company of much improved weather, today was a visit north of Banff to Lake Louise. In addition to Lake Louise the plan had always been to also visit Moraine Lake, but unfortunately that did not happen, the whole area was far too busy ~ I am mean enormously busy. The car parks were jammed to overflow with hundreds of vehicles (cars, buses and RV’s), resulting in the only way to access Moraine Lake was by a shuttle bus service provided by the Banff National Park. Upon enquiry, it was discovered that the first available reservation for this service was at 5.00pm in two days’ time ….!!!!

I visited both Lake Louise and Moraine Lake back in June 1991, I recall then easily driving to both locations without any problems, or encountering vast crowds or being sent a distance away to an overspill car park ~ how times have changed in 32 years ...

Below is a selection of today’s pics. Only minutes after taking the first photo, we actually saw a Black Bear eating lunch at the side of the road, no stopping for this photo op ….

Alberta 2023 ~ A Damp Day in Banff ...

The Province of Alberta has three faces, one is the open plains of the southeast, a checkerboard of range land and grain fields. The second is wooded wilderness of the north, where lakes and in some areas oil rigs easily outnumber towns. The third is the Canadian Rockies which surge skyward on the south western boundary of the province.

Our first full day in Alberta was rainy, damp and continually overcast in the beautiful resort town of Banff. Located within the Banff National Park, the town is known for its mountainous surroundings, hot springs and outdoor sports.

Our day was varied with a walk down Banff Avenue, the town’s main thoroughfare with its boutiques, restaurants, mix of château-style hotels and souvenir shops. This was followed by visits to the Bow River, the Cave and Basin, the Hoodoos, the Hot Springs and various views points.

Below is a selection of photos, none of which I am thrilled about, the conditions and time I had were not perfect for any level of photography.

It’s all calm after ….

 …… lots and lots and lots of rain.

Today is Thursday and (so far) it is the first day since last Friday without constant and at times aggressive rain. With the current wildfire situation, the relentless rain has been very timely for Nova Scotia. Slowly the fires are being controlled and in certain areas folks are being allowed to go back to their homes.

With the tide coming in, there was a beautiful calmness about the beach this morning. As normal I spent quality time sitting on My Rock, admiring the peace and with my thoughts trying again to solve the world’s increasing issues. It was during this period of intense cerebration, that I suddenly realized the water level around me was on the increase, and if I did not make an imminent move, I would be left with the harrowing decision to either sit here for a few hours for the tide to reverse or do a bare foot paddle back to the beach.

Fortunately, I got back onto the sand intact and dry, and ultimately failed again “to solve the world’s increasing issues” ~ perhaps a task far too big for this Scotsman …!!!