Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: on way to Kananaskis

Flickr, hurry up and fix Stats - this is the fourth day in a row that the views in the Stats have plummeted to almost a third of what the usual number is, but not the views seen under each photo. Well, the weather forecast for Kananaskis for the day before yesterday, 24 September 2019, was not exactly accurate - sun, with cloud in the afternoon. They kind of forgot to mention the strong wind, light rain .... and SNOW! For a few minutes, it was one kind of weather, then a few more minutes of a different kind, repeated throughout the afternoon. Our temperatures are falling - forecast for rain tomorrow, then three days of snow with temps down to 0C and -1C. What a way to celebrate the first few days of fall. The expected snow will probably remove quite a few of the golden leaves, so I wanted anther chance to see and photograph them while I had the chance. The sky was blue when I set out that morning and I felt quite hopeful. When I go to Kananaskis, I always go south from the city. I had no idea where I would be going, but I knew that it wouldn't be as far as I would have liked. As it turned out, I had a few surprises along the way, so it was a real mixed day of photo opportunities - my favourite kind of day. After stopping to take a few scenic shots on the way to the main highway through Kananaskis, I eventually reached the area where the American Pikas live. I really lucked out almost straight away, as the only few photos I took were when one Pika showed itself, and that was within maybe ten minutes. By this time, the wind was strong and it was snowing, and it was cold! Time to get out of there, as the scree slope is treacherous enough on a calm, clear day. Driving further north, I was delighted to see a convoy of maybe eight or ten beautiful old cars heading in my direction. Couldn't resist, so I followed them when they turned off into a small picnic area. I asked if I could take a few quick photos and they were happy enough for me to do that. One car owner did comment about blurry photos because of the falling snow, but surprisingly my photos came out sharp enough. Further on, I made a quick stop at another pull-off and was happy to notice a few mushrooms. When I turned around to head for home, I was even happier. I pulled over to take a photo of one of the mountain peaks. One tiny white speck in the distance, just off the road, caught my eye. When I went to check it out, I found myself staring at a little group of Shaggy Mane/Inky Cap mushrooms. The largest one had already started the process of curling up the rim of its cap and dripping a black ink. So much rain this year has resulted in such an amazing fungi season. Much closer to home, I decided to take a side road that has such beautiful hill and mountain views. An old wooden barn was a welcome surprise - I don't remember seeing this one before. So, a lovely day out, driving 320 km, with such a mixture of weather and sightings. So glad I did decide to go - as usual, a very last minute decision, but basically, I just need to grab my cameras and go : )

Two mornings ago, on 30 June 2019, I woke up earlier than usual. Once I was on my computer, I checked the weather forecast and saw raindrop icons in the forecast for the next week, but the 30th was for sun. I knew what I had to do! Luckily, I had a tank full of gas, so I grabbed both cameras and a snack or two, and headed out the door. I must be the only person who hadn't been to Kananaskis recently and taken photos of the tiny Pikas (Rock Rabbits), and that was my destination. This was a long weekend for Canada Day, and my plan had been to keep off the roads, as I was sure they would be busy, making it more difficult to stop whenever I wanted, to take a photo or two. However, when I saw the weather forecast, it changed my mind. Sunshine, blue sky with clouds, made it a perfect day to be out - I'm sure you agreed, Bonnie : ) A day in Kananaskis is always great, but sometimes 'great' turns out to be fantastic! Can't believe how lucky I was, not just in the mountains, but on the journey there and, at the end of the day, calling in at my 'usual' area closer to home. I suspect the Pika is most people's favourite - around 6 inches long and almost impossible to see against the mountainside of broken rocks that are the same colour as the Pika's fur. Starting to believe that maybe I was going to be out of luck, the first one appeared, racing in and out and over and between the endless, sharp rocks. Take your eyes off the animal and you stand a good chance of not being able to find it again. Then a second one appeared, a baby. It perched itself on top of a rock and simply stayed there for a few minutes. Several of my photos show the eyes closing slightly. However, eventually it did move, and off it went. When it appeared not too far away, I caught sight of it and thought at first it was a mouse, ha. So tiny! While I was searching for a Pika, a herd of Bighorn Sheep had come down the massive mountain side and, as they usually do, gathered right in the middle of the road to lick salt left by vehicles. After quite a time, there was an almighty BOOM that startled me and a handful of others. We hadn't noticed a Park's truck arrive, armed with 'bangers' to make the Sheep move from the road. Once the Park's person had left, the Sheep returned to the road. There were several young ones along with the females. It will take me ages to go through my photos, especially having to combine two cameras, but lots of images can wait till winter. More important, to me, is to continue editing and posting the remaining Texas photos, if/when I get time to do so.

I absolutely love this road with its beautiful scenery of foothills and mountains. When I drove along it on 3 October, the fall colours were still colourful and the cloud formation was amazing. A bad road for the car, though, with its gravel and flying dust. Since that day, we have had snow and fog and I'm not sure I'll be doing this drive again before next spring. The only time I had ever driven to Kananaskis (the mountain area closest to Calgary) was on 10 September 2016, when my daughter came with me. I wasn't too impressed with the photos I took on this first drive, especially of the little Pikas (Rock Rabbits) that we went to see, so I wanted to go back and spend a bit more time with them. A drive like this is also helping me get a bit more used to my new car - before the roads are covered in snow and ice! Actually, there were a few small patches of snow on the ground in places close to the trees when I got to where I see these Pikas. I left home at 8:45 am, later than I had intended, and drove southwards via Millarville and the back way to Highway 40. When I Googled the distance via that route, it gave me 134 km, 1 hr 41 mins from home to the Highwood Pass. Needless to say, I kept stopping to take photos, so it took me longer than that. By the time I got back home around 5:00 pm, I had driven 299 km. This day was a Monday, so not much traffic anywhere, which makes a huge difference. This time, I only drove as far as the Pikas, just north of the Highwood Pass, especially as I wanted to make sure that I wasn't driving home in the dark. The Highwood Pass, at an elevation of 2,206 m (7,238 ft) is the highest paved pass in Canada. In past years, I have hiked the Ptarmigan Cirque, Pocaterra and Arethusa Cirque trails, but can no longer do hikes like these. The scenery is breathtaking in this whole area (indeed, for the whole drive), some mountain slopes covered in forest and other mountain faces displaying bald, breathtaking folds above the treeline. There was only one 'scary' incident on this trip. I had stopped to take a few scenic shots when I was on this backroad to join Highway 40. I didn't push my car door completely closed and when I went to open it, I discovered it was locked! Pressing the fob to open all the doors did nothing. I just could not get into my vehicle. Thank goodness, I had read on the Internet that there is a key hidden away inside the fob - otherwise I would never have known and might still be standing there, lol! Feels SO good to know that I am now comfortable enough to do this drive on my own, after so many years of wishing I had the courage to do it. Thank you, little Pikas, for being so adorably cute, that I was determined to drive back to see you : )

I absolutely love this road with its beautiful scenery of foothills and mountains. When I drove along it on 3 October, the fall colours were still beautiful and the cloud formation was amazing. A bad road for the car, though, with its gravel and flying dust. Looking at this photo makes me long to go for another drive, especially as I didn't go out of the house at all for five or six days this last week. Gloomy weather with snow and some fog were enough to keep me home in the warm and off the icy roads. Not sure I'll be doing this drive again before next spring. The only time I had ever driven to Kananaskis (the mountain area closest to Calgary) was fairly recently, on 10 September 2016, when my daughter came with me. I wasn't too impressed with the photos I took on this first drive, especially of the little Pikas (Rock Rabbits) that we went to see, so I wanted to go back and spend a bit more time with them. A drive like this is also helping me get a bit more used to my new car - before the roads are covered in snow and ice! Actually, there were a few small patches of snow on the ground in places close to the trees when I got to where I see these Pikas. I left home at 8:45 am, later than I had intended, and drove southwards via Millarville and the back way to Highway 40. When I Googled the distance via that route, it gave me 134 km, 1 hr 41 mins from home to the Highwood Pass. Needless to say, I kept stopping to take photos, so it took me longer than that. By the time I got back home around 5:00 pm, I had driven 299 km. This day was a Monday, so not much traffic anywhere, which makes a huge difference. This time, I only drove as far as the Pikas, just north of the Highwood Pass, especially as I wanted to make sure that I wasn't driving home in the dark. The Highwood Pass, at an elevation of 2,206 m (7,238 ft) is the highest paved pass in Canada. In past years, I have hiked the Ptarmigan Cirque, Pocaterra and Arethusa Cirque trails, but can no longer do hikes like these. The scenery is breathtaking in this whole area (indeed, for the whole drive), some mountain slopes covered in forest and other mountain faces displaying bald, breathtaking folds above the treeline. There was only one 'scary' incident on this trip. I had stopped to take a few scenic shots when I was on this backroad to join Highway 40. I didn't push my car door completely closed and when I went to open it, I discovered it was locked! Pressing the fob to open all the doors did nothing. I just could not get into my vehicle. Thank goodness, I had read on the Internet that there is a key hidden away inside the fob - otherwise I would never have known and might still be standing there, lol! It kind of reminded me of an incident on our recent trip to Plateau Mt, when we stopped at an outhouse en route - and I could not unlock the door to get out. Thank goodness I was not on my own that day, so I was able to pound on the door and friend, Sandy, came over and unlocked the door from the outside!! Brought back memories of when my kids were little and one of them got locked inside an outhouse and, ever since then, I remember it every single time I have to use one. Feels SO good to know that I am now comfortable enough to do this drive on my own, after so many years of wishing I had the courage to do it. Thank you, little Pikas, for being so adorably cute, that I was determined to drive back to see you : )