Wild Wanderings: 24 hours of bliss

Grotto Lake

Finally got gas, groceries and some craft supplies and set out of Calgary on Tuesday afternoon. I was ecstatic to be finally on my way after more than 10 days in the city — a full week more than I'd hoped.

Lilies are blooming!

The Rockies

It might be silly, but to me "The Rockies" are the Canadian Rockies, not the Rocky Mountains in Colorado/Wyoming. They are just bigger and badder than their American cousins to the south.

Back in 1976, I actually spent several magical weeks touring, hiking and backpacking (and one memorable canoe trip) in the Rockies. Having lost so much time in Calgary, the New Plan was to sort of rocket through them, enjoying the drive and the views but making tracks for the Yukon in order to spend as much time as possible in new territory in the north.

Fields of lilies reminded me of poppies!

Best laid plans...

There was a severe thunderstorm watch (which turned to a warning) for Calgary as I left, but fortunately I was able to skirt this particular nasty storm and only experienced some heavy rain. It does seem that Canadian drivers are sensible, pulling over when driving conditions warrant.

My destination for the evening was Canmore, only about an hour outside of Calgary. As one drives west, the Rockies loom larger and larger. I do remember this from the previous trip: you see the mountains on the horizon, and then as you drive toward them, they get bigger around every turn, and then suddenly you're in them.

There were signs "Watch for Sheep Next 2 km," and sure enough, there were scrappy looking sheep on the roadway, including baby lambs! They are still losing their winter coats, so they look unkempt and ratty, and there was no place to pull over, so I didn't get any pictures. I assuaged myself with the knowledge that I'd probably see more ahead.

Crown vetch?

But still, it's always exciting to see big animals like this the first time on a trip. The last sheep I saw were in Badlands NP (South Dakota) a year ago on the 2015 spring trip.

Grotto Lake

A little further on was Grotto Lake, and it was so pretty I decided to stop and take a little hike. There were the usual bear warnings (we're back in serious bear country), and warnings to secure your possessions and lock your car, so it was with a little bit of trepidation that I set out.

Grotto Lake

There were a number of fisherfolk setting out lines, but it didn't seem as if anyone was catching anything. But of course, that's not necessarily the point of fishing.

There were some lovely wildflowers, including beautiful orange lilies, which I had not seen before, and startlingly purple crown vetch(?), which is a nasty invasive, but still pretty.

And the lake was a really beautiful green color.

It was wonderful to be back in greenery and trees and natural flowers and grasses and Really Big Mountains.

Two loons on Gap Lake

Gap Lake

Loon on Gap Lake

I got back in N0MAD and set out again, only to be caught up at the next turn by Gap Lake, another beautiful lake. I couldn't stand it and got out again, only to see an interesting waterfowl on the lake. Turns out it was a loon!

In fact there were TWO LOONS! I don't know that I've ever actually seen loons, and so it was quite exciting. They are hard to catch on film because they keep diving (and they stay down for quite awhile), but it was fun to watch them. Beautiful birds!

They also got quite animated at one point, flapping and splashing, and crying. So I got to hear loons calling, too. It is an eerie, distinctive sound.

It was so wonderful to be out in the wilds again. I decided to spend some time and do a fast drawing (I'm working on being quicker). I'm not particularly happy with the drawing, but did finish in less than a couple of hours, so that's something.

The hard part about drawing things like this is that the light is constantly changing on the water, the mountains, the trees. Here are a few pictures from the little time I spent there.

Exact same spot, completely different colors of water, trees, sky and mountains. Makes it quite a challenge to capture!

And the other side of the lake: