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North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary June 16th 2023

We awoke to find the rain had stopped, but that there was now new snow on the mountain tops - so pretty! We left Dead Man’s Flats and drove west back towards Calgary. Rather than drive down the Trans Canada Highway, we took the scenic route. I’d had a look on Google Maps, and found place called Ghost Lake which looked quite nice to visit. As we drove there I was looking into the trees lining the road with the hope of seeing a bear when Susan said, “Look! An animal!” I looked to the other side of the road where she was pointing but didn’t spot anything, and she told me it was a brown animal. Could it be the elusive bear, I wondered? No, when we got closer to it and could both see ... read more
Cliff swallows.
Some boats on Ghost Lake.
Megan in an empty carpark.

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary June 11th 2023

Marg offered to take us out to see some beaches within easy access of her house, although she did comment that as it was cool and cloudy it wasn’t really beach weather. We didn’t mind that at all! Susan wanted to cook us a lobster dinner this evening though, so before we went beaching we popped into the local seafood store a few minutes from the house. We asked for 3 live lobsters which would live in the fridge for the next few hours. I thought he’d put 4 in the bag and queried it, but he confirmed after a quick peek that there were indeed 3 lobsters in there. Once they were safely stored Marg drove us over one of the suspension bridges to Dartmouth on the south side of the basin. We then headed ... read more
Failing to find a cache.
A selfie in the drizzle.
Wetlands in the mist.

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary February 10th 2023

On this sunny Chinook morning, twelve of us gathered for a walk in the Weaselhead Flats, a protected riverine environment within the city. Although I had seen it several times from the heights of Glenmore Park, my visit was the first time for a walk along the popular paths. The route led down a paved path and across the Barry Erskine Bridge (former City Councillor and professional naturalist). This was the entrance to the Weaselhead area. Old snow and ice crunched under our feet, made passable by icers on our boots. Morning shadows threaded delicately through the leafless trees and across thin bushes. Snow melting over the past several days had inscribed pockets around trunks and roots. In the distant background, the url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbow_Rive... read more
Entering Weaselhead Flats
Aspens in winter
Elbow River from Barry Erskine Bridge

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary July 3rd 2022

Calgary, Alberta, 3 juillet Après ces deux années où l'exploration était quelque peu limitée géographiquement, il est bon de parcourir à nouveau les vastes étendues du continent. Plus d'une décennie plus tard, je retrouve avec grand bonheur les paysages magnifiques de l'Ouest canadien. C'est par la route, en empruntant en partie le côté américain de la frontière, que nous gagnâmes la métropole albertaine, Calgary. Ces 4 500 kilomètres de route (en cinq petits jours, bonne moyenne!) nous menèrent d'abord aux sources du fleuve Saint-Laurent que sont les Grands Lacs, puis aux immenses plaines du Dakota du Nord et du Montana et finalement aux contreforts des Rocheuses. En chemin, nous fîmes halte au parc National Theodore Roosevelt, dans les "badlands" du Dakota du Nord. L'ancien président des États-Unis (1901-1909) y avait un ranch et y a développé ... read more
Route 94
Route 94
Route 94

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary June 16th 2022

So today we move just that little bit closer to Emma - a flight to Calgary with a stopover in Seattle. It’s a boring and uneventful day, with nothing of real interest to report - the flights were even on time; so instead, some observations to pad out the entry. It seems that our beloved carrier, Alaska Airlines, has developed a novel way of boarding its passengers. It gets the people sitting closest to the front to board first. Yep. Of course they then all take their time standing in the aisle getting organised, so when they let the people like us sitting up the back on, we can’t get past, which just holds up the whole process. I can’t think of any logical reason for them doing this, unless of course they were at risk ... read more

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary April 1st 2022

The ice on the Glenmore Reservoir shone brilliantly in reflection of the blue sky, highlighting the distant snow-capped mountains. Along a forested part of the path, chick-a-dees shouted their demands for attention, although not one showed itself for our curious cameras. The adjacent Rockyview Hospital shone peaceful in the bright sunlight. A quick march over Glenmore Trail and through Bel-Aire brought us to the operational edge of the Reservoir. Atop the dam was a new pedestrian walkway that seemingly invites many walkers, if the number of mothers with strollers was a good indicator. As the path ascended, we had a good stare at the Golf and Country Club, greens still in protective coverings. At the top of the path was the url=https://www.calgary.ca/water/drinking... read more
Original Glenmore Plant 1933
Glenmore Reservoir
Glenmore Reservoir

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary March 25th 2022

Twelve enthusiastic walkers made our way through residential streets in Montgomery to Bowmont Park . The beauty of the Bow River valley immediately engaged our senses as we climbed slightly to a constructed view point. Walking around a bend in the river, we could see Canada Olympic Park, drab without its snow. The river, on the other hand, was dressed in snow that covered the banks, islets and ice islands in the meandering shapes at this low point in its flow. Within Bowmont Park, Dale Hodges Park is a storm-water treatment area. A collaboration of engineers, artists, and ecologists created this award-winning natural facility with no walls nor machinery. Coming upon it at the downstream end, we gazed in wonder at the “polishing marshes”, w... read more
Mallard keeping eye on us
Viewing platform, Bowmont Park
Pathway Bridge to Bowness Park

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary March 18th 2022

A dozen of us started in Mallard Point and walked to the Sue Higgins Park, 8 km return. The pathway was sheltered by tall willows and aspens, still showing their fall multi-brown colours. A few evergreens deepened the palette with their sober hue. Near the river, shrunken red berries, golden dried grasses, rushing blue water and crusty white snow expanded the natural shades. To our surprise, we saw tiny new pussy willows, shades of fresh grey announcing spring. Most of the mallards had abandoned their namesake point. One family snoozed peacefully on an islet in the river. A few flew down the river looking for food. Only a couple of Canada Geese strutted on the rocky s... read more
Goose strutting by the Bow River
Bushy-tailed squirrel
Leaf buds swelling

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary March 17th 2022

After a breakfast event at the Greater Forest Lawn Seniors Centre , I walked west through some playing fields and along a few streets to the trails of Valley View Park . Although the park is modest, the views are magnificent! Standing on the edge of the escarpment on the Bow Valley, I could see more than 180 degrees of sky, city and river, with the snow-covered mountains stretching as an infinite definition of the horizon. The park builders knew their mission: there are many well-spaced benches overlooking the valley and tempting the walker to pause, to enjoy each aspect of the view. The Bow River winds its way south, a blue trail that has carved the prairie for eons. A few bushes and solitary trees arrest the eye for a moment. Friendly dog walkers call ... read more
Shady moment of rest
Deerfoot Valley meets the Bow from Valley View Park
Overlooking the Bow valley

North America » Canada » Alberta » Calgary March 11th 2022

We nine started our just-out-of Calgary walk in the glow of the Rocky Mountains. The whiteness of the snow was carved sharply by blue-black rock too steep to be covered, even by fresh flakes. Tramping down the Bowbend Trail, so familiar in summer, we admired the golden-brown grasses that had shaken themselves free from patches of crunchy old snow. In front of us were magnificent vistas of natural prairie on both sides of the Bow River. Obligingly, a long freight train wound through the bends and bushes, returning us gleefully to our childhood. Dorothy counted 166 cars including four engines. We waved at the conductor but were too far away to perceive a response. Behind us, above the Badger Bowl, were massive remnants of what had once been the flatland, now escarpments in dun winter shades. ... read more
Ancient landscape
Beautiful view while we hike!
The rustling of grasses




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