Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: off Highway 66

What a miserable, wet day we are having today, 10 June 2017. Continuous rain and much cooler. The day after this trip, Thursday, we had a really bad storm, with high winds and torrential rain. Lots of small branches were strewn all over my street and conditions were probably worse in many places. This morning, I am again posting four photos taken three days ago, on 7 June 2017, when I went out for the day with seven friends, to Kananaskis. We drove west of the city into the eastern edge of the mountains, stopping at a few different places, including Forgetmenot Pond and Elbow Falls. Elbow Falls is a very popular area, within easy reach of Calgary. The huge parking lot tends to fill up completely, especially at weekends. The devastating flood of 2013 destroyed the picnic area and trails at this location, but it is still a beautiful place to visit. hikingwithbarry.com/2014/01/01/elbow-falls-flood-kananask... www.albertawow.com/hikes/Elbow_Falls/Elbow_Falls.htm Forgetmenot Pond is actually a man-made pond, left over from the excavation of a gravel pit. The water is crystal clear. It is just a short walk around the pond, but enjoyable to do. While we were eating our picnic lunch, this little White-crowned Sparrow was feeding down on the ground and came fairly close to us. The main road this far into Kananaskis only opens in June each year, as a winter gate at Elbow Falls closes in December for the winter months, to protect the wildlife in the area. I found the following 4-minute video on YouTube, taken by Kenneth Lori using a DJI Phantom 3 Professional quadcopter and taken on 16 June 2016. It travels over Forgetmenot Pond and the surrounding river and mountains. youtu.be/fEamf0nDXt4 What a great day we had! It was one beautiful find after another, and I think we all must have arrived back home at the end of the day, feeling happy and content. Dorothy and Stephen, as always, you planned a wonderful day for us and you even managed to arrange with the weatherman for beautiful sunshine and warmth, with an occasional welcome slight breeze. I still can't believe how lucky we were, seeing so many interesting things. In fact, I'm finding it difficult to decide what was the highlight for me. The Harlequin Duck, the distant Common Nighthawk, the Morel mushrooms, the small cluster of beautiful brown jelly cup fungi?? And so on .... Great to spend a day with such a pleasant group of keen, interested people. Thanks so much for such a great day - my favourite kind of day : ) Thank you, also, for the ride and for the donuts you brought along for everyone to enjoy. Nice to end our day with a stop at the Cinnamon Spoon cafe in Bragg Creek, for a very welcome coffee.

To get away from the intense heat yesterday, I drove around the backroads SW of Calgary yesterday afternoon. The car air-conditioning felt so good! I did drive west of the city first, out past Bragg Creek (one of the places worst hit in the province by the Flood of the Century). However, the Kananaskis area is closed, due to road damage and washed out bridges, so I was only able to drive as far as the turn-off for Maclean Creek. I found this pretty little butterfly (or moth) when I was at Maclean Pond yesterday, 2 July 2013. Haven't had a chance to try and ID it yet. Later: Don Delaney on Flickr gave me this ID - this is a Yellow Dusted cream Moth (Cabera erythemaria). Check out this moth blog. www.flickr.com/photos/ipmcanada/sets/72157625839443694 www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/9202225670

This macro photo of a tiny (maybe half an inch across) Split gill fungus, growing on a fallen log, goes back to 18th October 2010. Came across it the other day - just not getting time to go through all the photos I've taken more recently. Taken at Maclean Pond, off Elbow Falls Trail. Just came across this beautiful video of Bald Eagles flying, on YouTube. Have been watching and waiting for the youngest of the two Hornby Island Eagles to fledge, but it looks like young "David" (as he has been named) is going to be waiting just a little longer - maybe tomorrow? What a character this young branchling is, lol. Superb footage from BBC and KPBS of American and European Eagles. Music by Abba. youtu.be/qdoSy4ROZpg

Yesterday afternoon, I drove westwards, a huge smile on my face as I headed towards the foothills and very eastern edge of the mountains. My first stop was at Maclean Pond, hoping to find various mushrooms. I did find a couple of tiny ones (same species), but I did better at finding and photographing a few wildflowers and this beautiful Police Car Moth. "This is a fairly large moth with a wingspan of up to 50 mm. The wings are jet black with large white patches between the black scaled veins. As well, there are two orange patches of hairs on either side of the thorax, right behind the head. It is this colour combination, that of an old style police car, that gives it its name. Larvae are hairy and black with yellow and blue markings. The Police Car Moth is found throughout the province in or near forested areas. Adults fly throughout July and early August." From www.royalalbertamuseum.ca .