Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: interestingness#382

This photo was taken on Saturday, 10 September 2016. This was the second day in a row that I did a long drive that I had never done myself, and had longed for years to be brave enough to do. On the Friday, I drove way down south as far as the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre (drove 496 km that day). Then, on the Saturday, my daughter came with me to Kananaskis and I drove the Highway 40 loop, going south via Turner Valley and then coming home via 1X and Highway 1A. I had been to Coaldale maybe five times before with various friends, and I had been to Kananaskis quite a few times over the years with different friends. What a way to introduce a new car to life with Anne Elliott, lol! By the end of this second day, it was so dirty from all the dust gathered, especially along the rough, gravel Spray Lakes/Smith-Dorrien trail (only drove part way along this mountainous road).. Also covered in splattered insects which were unlucky enough to fly into my car. Got my very first (tiny) paint chip from all the flying gravel along this road, on the passenger door. If I had been able to do these drives a bit earlier in the summer, I would have done so and not on consecutive days. However, I would never have taken my 17-year-old car, for a start. Then, when I checked the Bird of Prey Centre's website, I discovered that Saturday was the last day it would be open before closing till next May. As far as the Kananaskis trip was concerned, there has already been snow in some areas of the mountains, and I definitely did not want to risk doing my very first drive there in snow. So, two wonderful days, for which I am truly thankful! A few weeks ago, I had been with friend, Pam, for a long day out in Kananaskis (the mountain area of the Rocky Mountains that is closest to Calgary). What a great day we had, seeing so many different things in such beautiful scenery. The trip with my daughter followed a good part of the trip I was on with Pam, which was very helpful. Our first stop was at Highwood House, a very convenient place to stop for things like coffee, snacks, washroom, gas station. All the Hummingbird feeders have been taken down now that the Hummingbirds have left. From there, we drove north to Rock Glacier to see the little Pikas (also called Rock Rabbits). I'm pretty sure we saw just two individuals and managed to get some rather distant shots, except for just this one, rather blown-out, close shot. The colour of these tiny animals can vary and this one looked rather pale. As usual, they were darting all over the massive scree (talus?) slope, busily collecting plants to store and dry in their "caves", ready for the winter months - they don't hibernate. There was very light rain while we were there, but that cleared up for the rest of our journey. A couple of short YouTube videos in case anyone wants to hear and see these absolutely cute creatures: youtu.be/US_Hy_eGPtg youtu.be/OQ2IgcjVIfc Further along, we called in at Boulton Bridge, as I wanted to do a quick check to see if there were many mushrooms around. A few weeks ago, I had been there with friends, Dorothy and Stephen, and we found lots of interesting mushrooms to photograph. Saturday was very different and it was obvious that the peak of the season is now over. Trying to find Buller Pond, where I had stopped with Pam the other week, we ended up at an area called Peninsular, part of Lower Kananaskis Lake. I don't remember ever having been to this area before. A short drive along the Spray Lakes/Smith-Dorrien trail, followed by continuing along Highway 40 past Barrier Lake, brought us to Highway 1. We crossed over and found 1X, which then took us to Highway 1A leading to Cochrane. From there on, I was on very familiar driving ground. Many thanks, Rachel, for coming out with me. We had a great day in such magnificent scenery with enough wildlife to keep us happy (Pikas, Bighorn Sheep and a tiny Chipmunk who was munching on a bright red berry).

I LOVE Poppies and loved the hairy and spotted detail on the bud covering of this one. Such a brilliant colour, which I think looks beautiful against the greenery. Seen in a friend's garden recently - if you see this one, Dorothy and Stephen, thank you! Posting early today, as I am going out shortly to see if I can find the Great Gray Owl again as well as a family of Mountain Bluebirds. Was out all morning, walking at Edworthy Park (including the Douglas Fir Trail).

A row of beautiful tulips caught my eye recently in a friend's garden. They were growing at the top of a slight embankment, which meant, for one thing, that I didn't need to kneel or lie on my side to get this shot, LOL. I think I was looking into the sun, but it still worked out OK. Talking of knees, mine are in agony this evening, after a wonderful hike on the border of Kananaskis country, west of Longview. I did far too much kneeling on small rocks in order to get photos of plants, which I am not supposed to do, but ... Thanks, David, for the new-for-me plants today - Scorpionweed and Balsamroot - and for showing us this amazing area that you knew about! What an absolute treat!! LOL, I'm posting late today, because I fell asleep in front of the TV for a couple of hours after all that exercise and fresh air.

Just enjoying looking at something cheery and colorful : ) Can you believe that I was driving behind a vehicle yesterday morning that still had a bit of snow on it in places? Felt quite weird - must have come from south of the city, I would imagine.

There is only a tiny bit of vapour rising in this photo, so it doesn't really give a very good idea of what -30C (-40C windchill) is like, LOL! This was taken on a day's outing eight days ago, to Canmore, near Banff in the Rocky Mountains. Trust me, it was COOOOLD!! Five and a half hours of walking in it was just brutal!