Friday, August 05, 2005
Bear Jams and Glaciers (Memories of July 2005)
Between the two of us and Denise and Roy, their trip to Canada generated over 1200 pictures. We've been whittling them down, and here we present over 40 of the most striking and meaningful images. Rather than integrating them as part of a 'we-did-this-and-then-we-did-this' travelogue, each image is presented first with a footnote to provide explanation, if any is needed. Enjoy.
Sisters in their summer hats waiting on the No. 421 Tuscany bus
The Bow River July 2005
The Bow River February 2005
Think we need to buy another footstool for the deck
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? (Who cares, let's have a beer)
Now that's what I call beer
Big wheel keep on turning (2005 Calgary Stampede Fairgrounds by night)
Alberta Centennial Fireworks
Stampede Grandstand Show
Big Roy at the Stampede Parade
Stampede Sisters
It's all in the presentation (Paula's birthday party)
Roy the Cowboy (at the Bar-U Historic Ranch)
Denise as a Calf (what can you say?)
Flying the Flag for Our Wee Country at the Calgary Stampede (It's a Great Wee Place)
Women always steal your hat (UK Exiles Club at the Calgary Stampede)
A small part of the Icefields Parkway, the 3 hour drive between Lake Louise and Jasper (There's only one small settlement on the road, at Saskatchewan River Crossing, and really it's just a hole in the hedge.)
Baby Black Bear Jam
(Definition of Bear Jam: traffic congestion caused by multiple tourists stopping their cars suddenly to inspect an unexpected example of local wildlife. As opposed to jam made from (or by) bears, silly.)
Elk Jam in Jasper (see above)
Denise on the Athabasca Glacier (Temperature at the foot of the glacier: +18, temperature on the glacier: -3. [in mid-July])
Having fun on the glacier (Paula holds the Robson record for time spent standing on a glacier, just beating Denise's 60 seconds spent outside the bus)
Inappropriate footwear for the Athabasca Glacier
Don't Go Beyond the Blue Cones (The glacier is unstable beyond the coned off area and at least one tourist has died here before after slipping down a crevasse (died from hypothermia before they could get to him) , so they do tell you to be careful.)
Cabin #9 at the Patricia Lake Bungalows, Jasper, Alberta
First time in a canoe, on Patricia Lake (Saturday 16 July 2005)
Perfectly still
Out on the water
Back on dry land (Picture taken by other tourists trying to fit 4 people in a Canadian canoe - a bad idea, as it turns out
Patricia Lake at sunset (Great echoes off Pyramid mountain at this point on the shore)
Saddle Up (Horse-riding with Paul the Cowboy in Jasper on a Sunday night)
You can never have enough sushi (At the Jappers in Jasper)
Us on Spirit Island (Inside info: Spirit Island, which can only be reached by a 3 hour canoe or 30-minute boat trip on Maligne Lake, near Jasper, is not actually an island. Bet you didn't know that. Also, as it's so remote, it boasts one of the only solar-powered biffies in the Rockies. Maligne Lake was so-named by a missionary who lost all his horses in the lake and pronounced the lake as malignant, although we all thought it was very nice)
Too Hot at the Hot Springs (Miette Hot Springs which is _way_ up in the mountains, an hour's drive from Jasper, features 3 pools at the following temperatures: 37oC (nice and warm), 42oC (just a bit too warm, like a really hot bath) and 11oC (the icy plunge pool, which is good for the circulation but will freeze the wotsits off a brass monkey; while we were there, children were timing how long they could stay in the water until hypothermia set in)
Denise and the Bear (Patricia & Pine St, Jasper, AB)
At Peyto Lake (with the hordes of Japanese tourists videoing the lake
The Birthday Girl
Who's the Rock Star?
Roy 'Davy Crockett' Bennett (In the Glacier gift shop)
Roy Rogers and Trigger (Actually I think this one was called Brisk or Tag or something, but it definitely was more interested in eating the grass that riding forwards. It spent most of the time trying to stop and falling behind the other horses (there were only 3 of us on the trail ride), and then trying to catch up by suddenly galloping ahead. Which is fine most of the time, but is not fine when you're going downhill and your horse suddenly breaks into a gallop.)
Sisters waiting for the boat (Maligne Lake, Jasper, AB)
Sunwapta Falls, AB (On the Icefields Parkway)
It's a long way up (Jasper Tramway is the longest and highest guided aerial tramway in Canada, and going up on it is a bit scary)
Packed in Like Sardines (30 people to a car on the Jasper Tramway)
The tram departs (See how steep it is? Don't look down!)
Robson Girls at high elevation
No visible means of support (Denise and Roy at 4279 ft above sea level at the top of the Jasper Tramway)
Think Yer Hard, Do Ye? (Roy squares off with a bear, Maligne Lake)
Tiger Woods gets an eagle at the mini-golf (Canada Olympic Park, Calgary)
So there you go, the best of the best photos! More blogging to follow...
Sisters in their summer hats waiting on the No. 421 Tuscany bus
The Bow River July 2005
The Bow River February 2005
Think we need to buy another footstool for the deck
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? (Who cares, let's have a beer)
Now that's what I call beer
Big wheel keep on turning (2005 Calgary Stampede Fairgrounds by night)
Alberta Centennial Fireworks
Stampede Grandstand Show
Big Roy at the Stampede Parade
Stampede Sisters
It's all in the presentation (Paula's birthday party)
Roy the Cowboy (at the Bar-U Historic Ranch)
Denise as a Calf (what can you say?)
Flying the Flag for Our Wee Country at the Calgary Stampede (It's a Great Wee Place)
Women always steal your hat (UK Exiles Club at the Calgary Stampede)
A small part of the Icefields Parkway, the 3 hour drive between Lake Louise and Jasper (There's only one small settlement on the road, at Saskatchewan River Crossing, and really it's just a hole in the hedge.)
Baby Black Bear Jam
(Definition of Bear Jam: traffic congestion caused by multiple tourists stopping their cars suddenly to inspect an unexpected example of local wildlife. As opposed to jam made from (or by) bears, silly.)
Elk Jam in Jasper (see above)
Denise on the Athabasca Glacier (Temperature at the foot of the glacier: +18, temperature on the glacier: -3. [in mid-July])
Having fun on the glacier (Paula holds the Robson record for time spent standing on a glacier, just beating Denise's 60 seconds spent outside the bus)
Inappropriate footwear for the Athabasca Glacier
Don't Go Beyond the Blue Cones (The glacier is unstable beyond the coned off area and at least one tourist has died here before after slipping down a crevasse (died from hypothermia before they could get to him) , so they do tell you to be careful.)
Cabin #9 at the Patricia Lake Bungalows, Jasper, Alberta
First time in a canoe, on Patricia Lake (Saturday 16 July 2005)
Perfectly still
Out on the water
Back on dry land (Picture taken by other tourists trying to fit 4 people in a Canadian canoe - a bad idea, as it turns out
Patricia Lake at sunset (Great echoes off Pyramid mountain at this point on the shore)
Saddle Up (Horse-riding with Paul the Cowboy in Jasper on a Sunday night)
You can never have enough sushi (At the Jappers in Jasper)
Us on Spirit Island (Inside info: Spirit Island, which can only be reached by a 3 hour canoe or 30-minute boat trip on Maligne Lake, near Jasper, is not actually an island. Bet you didn't know that. Also, as it's so remote, it boasts one of the only solar-powered biffies in the Rockies. Maligne Lake was so-named by a missionary who lost all his horses in the lake and pronounced the lake as malignant, although we all thought it was very nice)
Too Hot at the Hot Springs (Miette Hot Springs which is _way_ up in the mountains, an hour's drive from Jasper, features 3 pools at the following temperatures: 37oC (nice and warm), 42oC (just a bit too warm, like a really hot bath) and 11oC (the icy plunge pool, which is good for the circulation but will freeze the wotsits off a brass monkey; while we were there, children were timing how long they could stay in the water until hypothermia set in)
Denise and the Bear (Patricia & Pine St, Jasper, AB)
At Peyto Lake (with the hordes of Japanese tourists videoing the lake
The Birthday Girl
Who's the Rock Star?
Roy 'Davy Crockett' Bennett (In the Glacier gift shop)
Roy Rogers and Trigger (Actually I think this one was called Brisk or Tag or something, but it definitely was more interested in eating the grass that riding forwards. It spent most of the time trying to stop and falling behind the other horses (there were only 3 of us on the trail ride), and then trying to catch up by suddenly galloping ahead. Which is fine most of the time, but is not fine when you're going downhill and your horse suddenly breaks into a gallop.)
Sisters waiting for the boat (Maligne Lake, Jasper, AB)
Sunwapta Falls, AB (On the Icefields Parkway)
It's a long way up (Jasper Tramway is the longest and highest guided aerial tramway in Canada, and going up on it is a bit scary)
Packed in Like Sardines (30 people to a car on the Jasper Tramway)
The tram departs (See how steep it is? Don't look down!)
Robson Girls at high elevation
No visible means of support (Denise and Roy at 4279 ft above sea level at the top of the Jasper Tramway)
Think Yer Hard, Do Ye? (Roy squares off with a bear, Maligne Lake)
Tiger Woods gets an eagle at the mini-golf (Canada Olympic Park, Calgary)
So there you go, the best of the best photos! More blogging to follow...
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