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When: May 28th-29th 2011
Where: Kananaskis country
Highlights: Bow Valley Provincial Park, Elbow Falls
Saturday, May 28th: A major system brought a lot of precipitation to southern AB & much of BC(obviously). The weather cleared yesterday evening & we thought we will make use of the rain to see the swollen rivers. We took the road-not-taken towards
Bragg Creek. We ventured further without anything specific in mind. A short stop at the visitor center gave us some ideas. The rockies have received so much precipitation this past week that it made no sense to go up to the mountains. They were all covered in snow or muddy/slushy after the rain.
Our first stop was at Allen Bill Pond. This apparently is a major picnic site & a popular fishing spot. S got to bring out her trike & she went all over the place. The pond was obviously over its brim and the pathway was submerged under water. We found our way through the bushes & walked up to see the Elbow river in its might. A lot of precipitation!!! was all I could think. It is only May and wildflowers all over. I won't compare Calgary to Death
valley, but wildflowers aren't generally expected until mid-June. It was crazily wonderful.
It threatened to shower, but that did not stop any of us from visiting Elbow Falls, a few kilometers away. It was a short walk to the falls & it was breathtaking. Elbow Falls, as such was not too tall, but the volume of water, again made is so worth it to stop. We wanted to catch a breath but it took our breath away. S had so much fun running behind dogs-to pet them, of course.
All that biking & running was enough workout to crash. So, at our final stop, Forget-me-not pond, we took turns. The pond was frozen when we saw it & I took the entire loop where I stopped by the Elbow river again. So much snow & Ice was still around. The water was so still & I saw life under water. It was truly something.
We came back home & almost had to whack S to wakefulness. She was still so tired.
Sunday, May 29th: We all slept long & late. G was the one to say, "Bow Valley Provincial Park" in my ears, trying to wake
me up. It did not take us too long to get up & going, though. The day was long & we did not have much to lose. Again, without much planning, we just drove towards the Rockies. This time, G wanted to take a different route that led us to our first stop.
A church at Morley, AB. The church was silent. As in silence. Not quiet. In 1875, this place had more people than Calgary. There was an interesting story to the church & I am glad we stopped.
S fell asleep a little early today & we utilized it to stop a few times as the landscape demanded. Finally, at Bow Valley Provincial park, we woke S up. By then, the father also had a "power nap". At the end of their naps, both were up & running which made things so much easier for me. I could definitely consider encouraging something like this in the future. We took the short Montane trail. We discovered the world of Montane forests & their residents. To say that we did not know such a word even existed is an understatement.
Montane forests are basically those forests that is a mix of mountain &
priaries. Basically confirerous dominated by Spruce & Douglas fir. S had fun observing trees that lived, died or cut down.
G was sure that S was not up for another hike. But we tried pushing our limits assuming we'll carry her if need be. So we drove to the Flowing Water Trail inside the Willow campground. It was a good 2.25 km loop & S held up pretty well. She remained involved with her activity which varied from calling our to Beavers(when I repeatedly asked her to be quiet so we could actually see one), assuming it was a tropical rainforest(that is the only forest she knows-which made her pick a stick hoping to fight a real Jaguar), walking on logs, throwing stones into the Kananaski river(her favorite, hands down), walking on logs along the trail to jumping on puddles. Well. We had nothing to complain. This is by far the longest she has walked in a single day & we are definitely proud of her. More like thankful. We may slowly be out of the carry-her phase & will find a way to confess to her shortly. Hope she takes it well. 😊
I was surprised that she
had enough energy to provide entertainment on our drive back home. She generally makes stories with stuff she can lay her hands on. Today, it was the left over sticks from a bunch of grapes she had. And an empty bowl. It definitely made our drive seem shorter.
We have quite a few trips planned for the season. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. Else, fine too. 😊
Minshoufkon,
travelbuffs
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Shiva
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Fantastic capture of a moment.....
Brilliant moment capture! Absolutely love the mood! The scene is just the perfect icing on the cake.