Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: taken from car

Late afternoon on 9 July 2017, I arrived back home from a wonderful three-day trip to Waterton Lakes National Park. I had just been on a one-day bus trip to this beautiful park on 24 June 2017, so felt very lucky to be returning for a longer stay so soon. I travelled there and back with friend, Darlene, who had very kindly offered to take me, and we had a fun time, seeing so many interesting things. Thank you SO much, Darlene - I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciated being able to go on this trip with you! This Bighorn Sheep was seen on 8 July, the second day of this trip, on the way to Cameron Lake. The photo was taken from the passenger seat through the driver's window. Darlene decided to go on a long day hike to Bertha Lake with a few of the group, which I knew would be far too much for me. Car space was limited for other locations, so I was beginning to think I would have to stay at the camp all day - with no walks around the camp grounds, seeing as we had seen a Black Bear in the camp the previous evening! As it turned out, I was able to get a ride with Caroline, for which I was extremely grateful, and we went with another couple in a separate vehicle, to Cameron Lake. There, we went on the forest trail along the edge of the lake, as far as one can hike. This trail is a favourite of mine, especially as it is level, not uphill. A few birds and lots of wildflowers to see and photograph, including a Stellar's Jay that was seen in the parking lot when we first arrived. I think I have only ever seen a Stellar's Jay twice before. A neat bird to see along the forest trail was a Fox Sparrow. More Bear Grass along this trail, so of course I couldn't resist taking a few more photos. Three days of 32C temperatures, and then I arrived home to find that my thermostat read 29C inside my home. I am not good at dealing with the heat and then to walk and hike in such temperatures was exhausting. Back in Calgary, we had already been having a heatwave, but we have had rain and it temporarily cooled down, thank goodness. Tomorrow, we are back to high temperatures again. It was wonderful to again be surrounded by such magnificent scenery, go on a few walks/hikes with plenty of time to look for, and photograph, wildflowers, insects, and a few birds and animals. Lots of good company with around 20 (?) people, some of whom I already knew and lots of new faces, too. The trip was organized by Nature Calgary. Everyone was free to go wherever they wanted each day, but for the two nights, we stayed at the very basic but adequate Canyon Church Camp, off the Red Rock Parkway. Dorm-style cabins (about which I will say nothing, lol!), but they do have showers and even flush toilets at the camp. We were fed SO well - lots of variety and good food. We were given two breakfasts and two suppers, plus a packed lunch for the two days. Our huge thanks go out to Jean Kennedy, the camp cook, who cooked and prepared these great meals for us! Jean was there in 2015 and 2016, when I attended this weekend, and it was really good news when I was told that she would be there again this time. The food was so much enjoyed and greatly appreciated! Our huge thanks to Andrew for organizing this trip so brilliantly! He has been organizing these annual weekends for a number of years now. A great time was had by all.

It seems so long ago that friends, Cathy and Terry, took me with them just over the border into BC (British Columbia), to look for bears in the Radium area. This was one of the beautiful Black Bears we saw, looking so healthy, interested in noithing but feeding on grasses and roots. What a great day we had!

A photo of a Black Bear, taken in the Radium area on May 12th. Will be away all day, botanizing the permafrost top of a mountain way, way south of the city : ) See you later. The following is being added next day, on July 6th, as I barely had time to just post my photos yesterday morning, rushing out to a meeting place for a day trip to Plateau Mountain. This is the description I had added to a previously posted Bear photo, taken on the same day. "May 12th was a wonderful (17 hour!) day of scenery and bears, thanks to good friends Cathy and Terry, who so kindly invited me along with them! We even spent some of the time in B.C. (British Columbia), the next province to our west, and were so lucky to see six bears in total. Our first Bear was a Black Bear that looked rather like a huge rock in the distance. The second sighting was an adult Cinnamon Bear, after which we saw this adult Black Bear. The final sighting was a beautiful family of Mum with her two cubs. One of these little ones was a black Black Bear and the other a Cinnamon Black Bear, which you don't see very often. It was good to see that none of the Bears approached cars, hoping for food. They quietly went about their feeding, for the most part without even lifting their eyes from the ground. The usual "thoughtless" people were there, too, getting out of their cars and approaching, so that they could get closer photos. Of course, the cubs were so cute, but all these Bears are wild and wildlife tends to be unpredictable. You really would think that people could keep this in mind and not approach, but stay safely in their cars - and give the animals plenty of space and respect. The weather was so good that day, but the sun was very harsh and played havoc with my images. However, I will pick out a few of the "better" ones and gradually post them. Thanks SO much, Cathy and Terry, for such an amazing day out - it was so much fun, and I can't thank you enough for giving me the chance to see (and photograph) these wild animals that were so busy going about their lives. Perhaps I should add that I used full zoom (32x) for my photos, lol!!! Another thing I'll add is that I only remember ever seeing one Bear before and that must have been 30 or 32 years ago!"

Another photo that thankfully came out well enough to upload : ) This young Red Fox was hanging out in the den area with one of his/her siblings while we watched from the car.