Train Snow Plow

A snow plow at Banff Station. Click here to see a snow plow in action...

Intentional Burn

The Sawback prescribed burn occured in May, 1993. Almost seventeen years later the results are still very obvious. So why was a fire intentionally set?

Before modern fire prevention and fire fighting, a fire occurred on average every 30 to 50 years in the Bow River valley. In the 20th century there were essentially none. The forests grew to be uniform and without open spaces.

A variety of old growth and young forest, as well as shrubs and meadows, are needed for a healthy mountain environment. Bears need berries. Wildflowers need sunlight. Woodpeckers need old growth trees and rabbits need meadows.

Castle Mountain at Sunset

Looking towards the east just off Hwy 1.

Another View of the Canadian Rockies

North of Banff on Highway 1A

Yet Another Snow Covered Mountain

Just another beautiful mountain covered in snow, this time taken from Highway 1A on the way to Lake Louise from Banff. Took this picture last Saturday, I never tire of it...

Okotoks

I've written about Okotoks before. Today I was out there in the snow alone....

Road Trip

I took a road trip along the back roads down to Okotoks, than Nanton, and across to Vulcan. Along the way I was looking for old farm houses, barns, farm implements, and such. I've posted the picture with the Alberta Prarie Landscapes...

Highway 1A

Highway 1A runs parallel to the TransCanadian Highway from Banff up to Lake Louise, but on the other side of the Bow River. It is slower but you can stop and enjoy the scenery without endangering yourself. The clear snowy part in the bottom right of the photo is the highway. Not much traffic :-)

Lake Minnewanka

Minnewanka means "Lake of the Spirits" and is a short drive from Banff. It is the largest lake in Banff National Park and allows motor boats (in the summer obviously). It was originally a natural lake, but an earthen dam was built to deepen it and provide hydro-electric power.

The area was inhabited at least 10,000 years ago and a small town existed here before the lake was further flooded. It is possible to dive the old town site if you have the gear for cold water diving. A nice day use area exists along the shore today.

Part of the road that loops to Lake Mnnewanka is closed off in the winter to restrict access in an area that is used by cougars and wolves when larger game migratess to lower altitudes.

The photograph looks a bit like I've pasted two photographs together - I didn't. The shoreline is quite flat and I've framed it horizontally across the middle. I increased contrast and popped the color on the rocks and sky but otherwise it had too much post treatment.

Lake Vermillion and Mount Rundle

This is a view across one of the Vermillion Lakes towards Mount Rundle. The Vermillion Lakes are just outside Banff and visible along the TransCanada Highway.

Cascade Pond

Cascade Pond is at the foot of Cascade Mountain, a short distance from Banff.

Cascade Falls

Cascade Falls is just outside the town of Banff on Cascade Mountain. It is visible from both the town and the TransCanada Highway. In the winter it is a popular ice climbing location and if you click on the picture to enlarge you can see two climbers in lower 1/3 of the falls. The total climb is about 1000 feet. When we left, there were 5 climbers over half of the way up.

Beaver Dam and Pond

This beaver dam and pond are in Kananaskis Country in an area called Beaver Flat on the Elbow River. The dam is in the lower left of the picture, the lodge is to the right just upstream.

Moose and Beaver

Moose and beaver seen outside trading post on Stephens Avenue in Calgary...

I have been giving this some thought and I believe it should have been a moose and beaver, and not a moose and squirrel (click on the link for an old commercial with R&B, Natasha and Boris, and the Bunny) in Rocky and Bullwinkle. Moose is easy - he is a handsome and elegant fellow. But a flying squirrel? Nobody thinks of a flying squirrel when they think of the wild and frigid north. Squirrels sell out and play second banana to rabbits in battery commercials.

The beaver though, now there is a majestic creature worthy of representing Frostbite Falls. I have heard that next to man (must be a pretty distant second place) the beaver is the animal that has most changed the face of North America with his dams. Of course if you have ever seen the damage from the Pine Beetle you might think it was insects that were in second place. Anyway, my vote for casting Rocky would have been for a beaver.

Olympic Plaza Skaters

We had a chinook and it has been warming up (45 deg F today) and the snow is melting. Tomorrow we should start cooling off again.

Olympic Plaza is on the east side of downtown. According to a posted sign....

PLEASURE SKATING ONLY
Horseplay, strollers, shoes, toboggons, sleighs, hockey sticks, food or drink,
NOT ALLOWED ON ICE
Please stay off ice during cleaning
Bylaw 36/76

I coulda been a contendah

This is how I would have shot the scene from On the Waterfront, only using Barney instead of Brando.

At the request of Megan we have been trying to buy some Canadian Olympic mittens but the only size they ever had them in was small. Then, over in Drumheller, we saw the T. Rex outside of the visitor's center wearing a pair. Sure enough, the next day they had adult sizes in stock at The Bay. They were going fast though.

A donation is made to Canadian atheletes for each pair you buy....

Frozen Trees

These trees were located along a lane north of Calgary.

Sunset at Horseshoe Canyon

Horseshoe Canyon is just outside of Drumheller, Alberta. I probably don't have to tell you that it is cold in the winter...

Royal Tyrrell Museum

The Royal Tyrrel Museum, a paleontological history museum, is located east of Calgary in the town of Drumheller and is definitely worth a visit. It has a huge array of dinosaur fossils on display and is very informative and well designed.

This particular creature is a Champosaurus that inhabitated a stream in southern Alberta at the end of the Cretaceous. That long nose filled with teeth was good for catching fish.

An exhibit with a mastodon and sabre-toothed cats at the Royal Tyrrel.

Widow Maker

The widow maker is a pool drop rapid on the Kananaskis River. The flow in the river is subject to release from the power dam above. In this picture the rate of flow is low.

Kananaskis Country

Today was a beautiful day in the Canadian Rockies. In Kananaskis Country the temperature was about 3 degrees C (37 degrees F) while it was down around -12 degrees C in Calgary.

New Years Geese

I stood on the cliff above the Bow River on the East side of town today and watched the geese fly over. There were hundreds of them - I wonder where they were going. After I got into the car and started to drive back towards the city I saw two large birds flying generally in the same direction and stopped to do a double take - they were bald eagles. Didn't get a picture though...