Life on the High Plains

We recently visited the Columbia Icefield in Canada.  It's located at the northern end of Banff National Park and the southern end of Jasper National Park.  The Columbia Icefield is the largest icefield in North America's Rocky Mountains.  It covers 125 square miles, is up to 1,198 feet in depth and receives about 280 inches of snow per year. We splurged on a hotel that is about a mile from the Athabasca Glacier.  Here's a view from the hotel lobby.  We arrived later in that day so didn't have time for exploring (although it stayed light until 10 p.m. or later). It is possible to park at the Icefield Visitor Center and walk to the base of the glacier.  We decided to splurge on a ride to the glacier on an Ice Explorer.  Originally, our trip was schedule for the afternoon, but we changed it to the first trip of the next day and it was one of the best decisions ever. These all terrain vehicles weigh 55,000 lbs. and can carry 56 passengers.  They can ...

We just got home from a trip to Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada.   I live in Colorado where the mountains are grand, but the northern Rockies are more than grand, they are majestic!  I couldn't stop admiring them and was in awe the entire time.  Strange thing is that the Colorado mountains are much higher, we have 58 mountains above 14,000 feet, but the Canadian Rockies looks much taller although they're a couple thousand feet shorter.  The difference is that our mountains start at 6,000 feet while the Canadian Rockies start closer to sea level. For Skywatch Friday I thought I'd start with the most famous place in Banff--Lake Louise.  For the past couple months I've been watching the live webcam at Lake Louise.  The lake was frozen when we left for our trip.  I was afraid we'd miss the beautiful turquoise water. Lake Louise Live Webcam Much to our surprise when we pulled into Lake Louse three days later it was thawed!  My p...

We took the new camper for a quick weekend trip last week. Beautiful skies here in Southern Colorado. A view of Pikes Peak from one of the trails. This beautiful wildflower is apparently a Blazing Star or Liatris Punctata. We were able to get out and enjoy the trails. Our dog, Aspen, is the world's happiest rock climber.  Any boulder we come across she has to jump on. iNat Classic tells me this is a Great Mullein.  Can't wait to see what it's bloom looks like. Maisy, the little dog, got a little tired at the end of our two mile adventure. Me in the midst of a scrub oak tunnel.  Any shade was appreciated. I told you Maisy was exhausted after our hike. This beauty was the only wildlife we encountered. There's nothing better than a campfire at night to go along with some star gazing. There's no better way to recharge than spending a couple days in nature. Linking with Skywatch Friday.