Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Castle Mountain

This was one of the wildflowers seen when we stopped for a short while at Castle Mountain, on the way home from Peyto and Bow Lakes. I was going to crop the image to a square, but decided to leave the colourful wildflower bokeh intact. On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned. Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River." wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/ On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature. A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there. Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!

I so rarely get to see this incredible mountain, so I'm always thrilled when I do see it. Taken on 15 May 2014, the second day of a two-day trip in the Canadian Rockies with friends, Cathy and Terry. We had seen the mountain on the first day, but didn't stop. On our return journey to Calgary the following day, we stopped and walked down to the river, where we were able to get a different view of this mountain. "Castle Mountain is a mountain located within Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, approximately half-way between Banff and Lake Louise. It is the easternmost mountain of the Main Ranges in the Bow Valley and sits astride the Castle Mountain Fault, which has thrust older sedimentary and metamorphic rocks forming the upper part of the mountain over the younger rocks forming its base. The mountain's castellated, or castle-like, appearance is a result of erosive processes acting at different rates on the peak's alternating layers of softer shale and harder limestone, dolomite and quartzite. The mountain was named in 1858 by James Hector for its castle-like appearance. From 1946 to 1979 it was known as Mount Eisenhower in honour of the World War II general Dwight D. Eisenhower. Public pressure caused its original name to be restored, but a pinnacle on the southeastern side of the mountain was named Eisenhower Tower. Located nearby are the remains of Silver City, a 19th century mining settlement, and the Castle Mountain Internment Camp in which persons deemed enemy aliens and suspected enemy sympathizers were confined during World War I." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Mountain

This was just a quick shot through the window of a moving car, that came out better than I was expecting. I so rarely get to see this incredible mountain, so I'm always thrilled when I do see it. Taken on 14 May 2014, the first day of a wonderful two-day trip through the Canadian Rockies with friends, Cathy and Terry. On our return journey to Calgary the following day, we stopped and were able to get different views of this mountain. "Castle Mountain is a mountain located within Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, approximately half-way between Banff and Lake Louise. It is the easternmost mountain of the Main Ranges in the Bow Valley and sits astride the Castle Mountain Fault, which has thrust older sedimentary and metamorphic rocks forming the upper part of the mountain over the younger rocks forming its base. The mountain's castellated, or castle-like, appearance is a result of erosive processes acting at different rates on the peak's alternating layers of softer shale and harder limestone, dolomite and quartzite. The mountain was named in 1858 by James Hector for its castle-like appearance. From 1946 to 1979 it was known as Mount Eisenhower in honour of the World War II general Dwight D. Eisenhower. Public pressure caused its original name to be restored, but a pinnacle on the southeastern side of the mountain was named Eisenhower Tower. Located nearby are the remains of Silver City, a 19th century mining settlement, and the Castle Mountain Internment Camp in which persons deemed enemy aliens and suspected enemy sympathizers were confined during World War I." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Mountain

This was just a quick shot through the window of a moving car, that came out better than I was expecting. I so rarely get to see this incredible mountain, so I'm always thrilled when I do see it. Taken on 14 May 2014, the first day of a two-day trip through the Canadian Rockies with friends, Cathy and Terry. On our return journey to Calgary the following day, we stopped and were able to get different views of this mountain. "Castle Mountain is a mountain located within Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, approximately half-way between Banff and Lake Louise. It is the easternmost mountain of the Main Ranges in the Bow Valley and sits astride the Castle Mountain Fault, which has thrust older sedimentary and metamorphic rocks forming the upper part of the mountain over the younger rocks forming its base. The mountain's castellated, or castle-like, appearance is a result of erosive processes acting at different rates on the peak's alternating layers of softer shale and harder limestone, dolomite and quartzite. The mountain was named in 1858 by James Hector for its castle-like appearance. From 1946 to 1979 it was known as Mount Eisenhower in honour of the World War II general Dwight D. Eisenhower. Public pressure caused its original name to be restored, but a pinnacle on the southeastern side of the mountain was named Eisenhower Tower. Located nearby are the remains of Silver City, a 19th century mining settlement, and the Castle Mountain Internment Camp in which persons deemed enemy aliens and suspected enemy sympathizers were confined during World War I." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Mountain

Two days ago, I went on a bus trip to Lake Louise to see the Ice Sculptures there. Lake Louise is a two-hour drive from Calgary, through gorgeous mountainous scenery. This majestic range is called Castle Mountain. A lot of my scenery photos, including this one, were taken through a dirty bus window on a very bouncy ride! I'm really impressed with my camera's Image Stabilization, LOL!

This photo of Castle Mountain dates back to 30th January 2008. This is the view from the highway as you drive westwards from Calgary. "Seeming to stand out in the centre of the valley is a very remarkable mountain... which looks exactly like a giant castle." When Sir Sandford Fleming travelled up the valley during the construction of the CPR he seemed to agree with the appropriateness of the name, writing, "Westward we see Castle Mountain to our right. The resemblance to Cyclopean masonary has doubtless suggested the name, for it is marked by huge masses of castellated-looking work, with turreted flanks. One of the most imposing peaks in the Bow Valley, the bold, castellated southwest front of the mountain dominates the view for much of the journey from Banff to Lake Louise, its bulk, prominent position and reddish colour combining to make this a favourite of many who pass this way." From rmbooks.com/Peakfinder/peakfinder.asp?PeakName=Castle+Mou... .

One of the numerous, spectacular mountain summits seen on the drive from Calgary to Peyto Lake (Icefields Parkway, Highway #93), in the Rocky Mountains.