September 25, 2010

The Rockies



I've always dreamed of getting this shot
coming around the corner on a clear cold morning
and seeing the gigantic Mount Robson cloud free





a great start to our trip...the kayaks will be great
as we plan to explore several lakes and rivers






Arlene is happy to be safe behind a guard rail



you would be toast if you fell in
that's a ton of water rushing by



elk on the way to Jasper




Athabasca River just south of Jasper



A. Switzer Provincial Park in Alberta



this is the entrance point into a wonderful series of channels 



they go on for miles down the valley



information signs guided us along the way



sometimes there were obstacles 
the beavers have been busy building a dam on this stretch



their house wasn't far away
now that's a big beaver lodge



it had snowed when we arrived in Banff 



the Bow River with wonderful fall colours 



at the summit of Vermillion Pass
Vista Lake





Marble Canyon






a 2003 fire in Kootenay Provincial Park



heading through the tunnels to Radium Hot Springs




the pass going into town is pretty narrow


the mountain sheep have learned to use this as a through way




mom and her little one trying to get past us


go around...don't come our way



so its up past the traffic...which is normal




giant hoodoos as we head south
 down the Rocky Mountain Trench




this is Canal Flats at the south end of Columbia Lake



we're headed off the highway here



and up into the mountains




to beautiful WhiteTail Lake
this lake has many wonderful colours



we had the best campsite on the lake



this was our view...too nice



you could see the fish swim right under the kayak
but none were biting






talk about a lake for a man and his dog




on the road again
we headed for White Swan Lake
a wild road with lots of pullouts for the logging trucks



this goofy flag man warned us to wait at this pullout

as a big logging truck was on its way through

and you didn't want to mess with this fella





high above the Lussier River



up close it was very powerful



the sun was in and out of the clouds when we arrived at the lake




this log home is nestled in amongst the birch trees

 on the far left in the picture below
pretty nice place to live...in the summer


now we're headed into a park called
"Top of the World"
another snaky road


with more big logging trucks


we're back into the Rockies again, this peak was called Goat Haven



we followed the Bull River for most of the way


to the beautiful glacial Summer Lake



we had a great campsite all to ourselves





Arlene felt pretty small


the fall colours were magnificent 


this big fella came out of the woods not far from us



suddenly he noticed us...gave a snort and



headed off a little pissed that we were invading his space



yikes...that's a big footprint



we were pretty excited after seeing that moose




our favourite picture of this special place


then we headed for Osoyoos to pick up some "Flame" wine



and then to our last stop
Lightning Lake in Manning Park


the famous Rainbow bridge




We celebrated Arlene's birthday in style



our last night

we headed home the next morning after a wonderful trip


4 comments:

  1. Wow, another stunning set of photos from what looks like it must have been a spectacular trip. I was particularly tempted by the Switzer Provincial Park lake and meadow/creek shots. Looks like a great place to paddle. Sure can see how the camper would make this trip more comfortable than tenting it!

    Richard

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  2. Looks pretty darn nice. great set of pics. keep sending

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  3. wow, what a trip and the beauty you both saw...amazing! I loved the way you did this blog entry...almost made me feel like I there along for the ride. Well done!
    Rebecca

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