After a crazy week of late summer snow it was good to see the sunshine return and melt it away almost as fast as it fell. We took advantage of the added beauty of 'snow capped peaks' and made a wonderful hike to the lower end of Nihahi Ridge in the Elbow Valley. Click here for full hike with pics.
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Just a few shots from a short wander around Valley Ridge (our current home) today. This shot is the lake on the back 9 of the golf course, and the three shots below are of a tree we passed with incredible coloured fruit set against the beautiful blue sky.
Cecil and I went out to the mountains again today, just to get out. There were snow showers and some rain showers too at lower elevations, but we got a nice 9 km circuit with a little ascent and enjoyed the day as always. The snow was still very deep in the forest but was melting fast. At one point we got ourselves between a young Buck and his Doe but he went around us and reunited himself with her in a short time. Click smaller images below for larger versions with captions.
Summer in Calgary can be a little......changeable. Yesterday Sarah and I were out in the mountains enjoying temperatures in the high 20's. Today it is close to 0 degrees and snowing hard. The forecast is snow for two more days and then back to sunshine and high 20's again. It's like a postcard from winter to let you know it''s on it way home. The images below were taken virtually 24 hours apart.
Sunday saw us heading out to the Elbow Valley once more, with a picnic and flask we made an easy 12 km hike along the Big Elbow trial, though the autumn colour change is yet to arrive we still really enjoyed our Sunday outing. Click here for full hike and photos.
Just a single shot from the Aurora that floated across the night sky last night. A full moon and very weak solar activity mean it was a poor display (if there is such a thing) but I still found myself on the balcony for 2.5 hours enjoying the warm night air and straining to see this natural wonder, this time with the addition of music via my headphones. As always I put my cold feet on Sarah when I finally went to bed at 2 am.
Another beautiful day spent in the Elbow Valley. Sarah and I took a walk across the suspension bridge to the east side of the river and then followed a combination of trail and riverbank for around 3.5km until reaching a huge washout. Rather than return the same way we took off our boots and enjoyed a cool paddle across the fast flowing water to join the Little Elbow Trail on the west side of the river. I wish I had brought my walking poles today to aid Sarah but she improvised interestingly with the two largest and most cumbersome sticks she could find in order to make her crossing more...... entertaining (or something)
Ultimately we both crossed without incident, Sarah insists that I add that the river was treacherous and the photos don't do it justice.....though we can all see it is only a little over ankle deep and she still has her pink and white socks on when she reaches the opposite bank (she had two pairs and kept these on for grip) Click smaller images below for larger captioned versions. My post surgery rehab continues with a nice 14km hike around the prairie creek circuit, accompanied by my good friend Cecil once again. We had a great afternoon with 4 hours of strolling in the autumn sunshine. I've made this hike many times so only grabbed a few photos along the way, some bright berries on the forest floor, a family of Ptarmigan and a small waterfall took my fancy. Click the small images for larger captioned versions.
We took a walk to Elbow Lake today with Cecil and Arlene, as always it was great to be out in the hills and Elbow Lake really is one of those beautiful places that we return to again and again. Sarah carried the rucksack as I'm still restricted for a few more weeks. The lake was a beautiful as always but busy owing to it being a bank holiday. After a little picnic beside the lake we pushed on along the valley for a couple of km's before returning via the opposite side of the lake. We even saw a moose (though at a distance) Click a small image below for larger with captions.
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AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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January 2024
The Shaman, West Texas
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