Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame

There are some funky things in Seattle.  Take the museum at the Space Needle.  It houses a music museum that has a room dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, exhibits on all sorts of rock and roll stuff, and currently an exhibit of costumes from the Supremes.  This particular piece of art is a cyclonic looking assemblage of instruments that spirals a couple of stories high.  It plays music (see the robotic frets and pluckers on the guitars?).  I think this photo would make a good puzzle.

Then there is the science fiction museum.  Which one is the robot?  Which one looks like he has more personality?

Back in Seattle Again

It is a beautiful day in Seattle...

Rawson Lake

This is Rawson Lake from yesterday's hike above Kananaskis.  The trail was a bit crowded (for Kananaskis) but worth it.

Mount Indefatigable and Upper Kananaskis Lake

We hiked up Mount Indefatigable a ways and then came back across the lake where I took this picture.  It was a very nice although cooler today.  Saw pikas, ground squirrels, chipmunks, tree squirrels, and a vole - but no large animals although signs said there were bears in the area.

I like the clouds in this one.

Moon over Rundle

I am back to wondering whether I should post photos in fake frames are just on a plain background.  What do you think?  It is a bit gimmicky but still....

Skoki Lodge

The Skoki Lodge was built in 1931 by ski enthusiasts and added to later.  Accomodation is very pleasant but relatively primitive.  Lighting is by candles, kerosene lanterns, and flashlights.  Winter heating is by wood and propane.  The food is fantastic.  The scenery is amazing.  One little problem....  It is a 12 km hike in.  If you leave something at the car, it is a long way back. 

I've posted some photos here.

Hoary Marmot

We saw a number of hoary marmots on the way to Skoki Lodge.  I did not have a telephoto lens but was lucky enough to get close to this one.

Redoubt Mountain and Ptarmigan Lake

A view from the trail coming down Deception Pass on the way back from Skoki Lodge.

Cascade Amphitheatre

Another view of Cascade Amphitheatre.

Extinct Glacier

The Cascade Amphitheatre is a good long walk from the parking lot at the ski lodge of Mt. Norquay.  And most of it is uphill.  But it is very pretty when you get there.  The wall is massive and very impressive as you approach it.  It was formed by a glacier that once inhabited the top of the mountain but is now long gone.  On the other side of the wall is the face of Cascade Mountain that you can see from Banff.

I saw lots of pikas but didn't get a good picture because I didn't lug a telephoto up.  They were gathering grass to make into hay for the winter.  I also saw chipmunks and ground squirrels and walked right under a hawk in a tree about 25' above me on the way up.  There was a large group of ewes with lambs - maybe 20 or more that I spotted on the way down.

Hot and Crowded

I have decided that August isn't the best time to visit the Canadian Rockies.  It is hot (relatively) and too crowded.  Canmore and Banff are both so busy you can barely park and get something to eat.

The picture shows a marshy stream that you can walk along in Canmore.

Three Sisters

A view of the Three Sisters and a creek that feeds the Bow River.

The Road to Canmore

A pasture along Highway 1...

Yamnuska

I stopped by to see if there were still any wildflowers in Bow Provincial Park - not many left....  The mountain in the background is Yamnuska.

Taste of Calgary

I haven't made a posting without a picture in a while so, just for fun, here is one.  I haven't carried a camera since last weekend.  I've been working and haven't even gone for so much as a good walk.  But this evening I stopped off at the Taste of Calgary which is a food tasting festival held in the square in Eau Claire between the YMCA and the market.  You buy tickets and use them to sample food from various restaurants in the Calgary area who set up stalls.

I tried the following:

• BBQ Slider (good)
• Mixed Sushi Plate (OK)
• Cabbage Rolls (Nice)
• Turkish Donair (Below average)
• Small glass of Daniel Gehr Syrah (excellent)

Not everyone would have picked this mixture, but then not everyone is me.  I found if I stopped and talked to the folks working the stall for a minute and asked where their shop was they would give me a discount ticket and in the case of the BBQ Slider a free dinner at their establishment.  So I may go back tomorrow for more and if I do I'll take a camera.

I couldn't stop myself.  I had to post photographs.  Over in the slideshow are some photos I took a while back of my shadow....

Vermillion Lakes

A view along the Vermillion Lakes back towards the south and the town of Banff with Mount Rundle on the right.  A rain shower had just passed through and can be seen behind Rundle.  The dead trees ringing the lake are near the end of the road and down a little bank.  Along the shore on the right hand side I saw a muskrat swimming and eating aquatic vegetation.

Dinosaur Dig

An exhibit showing dinosaur bones in the ground where they were found.

More from the Badlands

Dinosaur Provincial Park is particularly rich in species of dinosaurs found, as well as quality.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dinosaur Provincial Park

It's in the badlands along the Red Deer River in Southern Alberta on the eastern side of the province....

Kananaskis River Valley

We're back in Alberta again...

Decatur, Illinois

We were in the land of Lincoln over the weekend.  This statue, almost two dimensional, was in in downtown Decatur.