CANADIAN ROCKIES IN FALL - KANANASKI VALLEY & MORE

Tuesday Morning I went off on a photography trip to the Canadian Rockies. We spent the first few days in the Banff and Lake Louise area, and then traveled up Icefields Parkway to Jasper. The whole area is part of the Canadian National Parks, which has helped to keep the area wild and beautiful.
 

Mike, Lin, and I were taxied to the San Diego Airport by my husband, George, in the wee hours of the morning, 0400! We flew to Calgary, Canada, with a stop in Denver where we were able to get some lunch. As soon as we arrived in Calgary we were on the road for the late afternoon light in the Kananaskis Valley. 

RUGGED MOUNTAIN

MANY RIDGES

The yellow you see in the forest here is from the Larch tree. This is one of the few conifer trees that is not an evergreen. It's needles turn yellow in the fall, and fall off the tree.

A few Aspen along the Lake Shore

Probably the highlight of the afternoon were two groups of big horn sheep that just ambled along the highway before heading off into the hills. It was fun watching them scamper up the hillside.

A Little Nibble

SCRAMBLING

DID YOU HEAR SOMETHING?

WE ARE OUT OF HERE

We found a creek to photograph with mountains in the background. This is where we lingered for sunset. 

Sunset Color over Kananaski Valley

Afterwards we finally headed for dinner and our hotel. It was a short night as we were off before sunrise on Wednesday morning.
 
WEDNESDAY - 28 September
 
Wednesday morning we were up early in quest of a sunrise and it’s reflection in the Vermillion Lakes. We went, but the sunrise was hidden by clouds. I wandered around for a while with camera and tripod, but did not find anything that was memorable.  

After breakfast and a short break we headed up the Bow Valley Parkway in search of wildlife, bears specifically. We had no luck finding any wildlife. This might be because there was a great deal of work being done along the roadway.

CASTLE MOUNTAIN

INSPECTOR RAVEN

Mark had been busy checking out the predictions of Northern Lights, and so we headed North later in the afternoon. We had some beautiful views along the Icefield Parkway as we drove North. We had nice views of the Crowfoot Glacier -

CROWFOOT GLACIER

CROWFOOT GLACIER, A CLOSER LOOK

Bow Lake

 and quick view of the Athabasca Glacier.

Athabasca Glacier

A MOUNTAIN FORTRESS

Late in the afternoon/early evening we headed for Sumwapta Falls Resort for dinner. A tour bus had taken over the dining room. The deli was practically bare. The owner took us under his wing and provided us with soup and sandwiches to be served in the loft area. We really appreciated it. 

We then started our return trip South, and first stopped near the Glacier Discovery Center and enjoyed a good northern lights show. 

Northern Lights with a Little Foreground Light

Milky Way Over Athabasca Glacier

Sept 28 - 61

Sept 28 - 219

After almost two hours of viewing and photographing we headed South toward our lodging in Banff. About 45 minutes later, Mark pulls off the road once again. We set up for another Light Show which I think was better than the first one.

Sept 28 - 236

Sept 28 - 232

Sept 28 - 264

Finally we called it a “night” or Morning and headed back to Banff and bed. It was well worth the effort.