End of Season -- Part 2

As the flowers are drying, berries are coming out.

The garden is filled with snowberries. They are not edible by humans, but the deer love these crisp white berries.

All that is left of the wild roses are the rose hips...while not a berry per se, it looks like one. Another tasty treat the deer seem to love. 

The asters are going to seed...and at this stage they look a lot like a dandelion.

There are a few asters still in bloom...their last gasp of the summer.

If you look carefully, you will see that the lupines have formed peapods containing seeds for next year's flowers.

There's only one new flower...the Hollyhock. It's in full bloom right now. Soon the aspen trees will turn yellow...

but we are not there yet.

 

End of the Season

Summer is winding down in the Rockies. There's a golden glint to the light that was not there two weeks ago. The flowers are reaching their end too. 

Their petals are curled and faded and some have dropped off.

Bumblebees are harvesting the last fruits of summer.

A few flowers have not "caught the word" that summer is waning. Soon the berries will be out and the trees will change color.

 

 

Totality

Yesterday was the first total eclipse to cross the US in 99 years. I did not think it was a "big deal" but my nephew had the total eclipse on his "Bucket List" and i thought "sure--I'll go along with the idea."  The adventure began!  

On Saturday we made a dry run to Jackson and determined the place was going to be so crowded on Monday we needed to take a dirt road to Jackson that might be less traveled. On Monday we got up early and drove to the "back way" only to discover that the roads were not as busy as we thought they would be. So instead of taking the backdoor approach to Jackson, we took the main road to Jackson and turned off at the Wilson-Moose remote entrance to Grand Teton National Park. There we saw a tiny hot air balloon floating high in the sky, getting ready for the eclipse.. not a lot of other traffic...and a small parking area with 5 cars in it. We parked and waited for the eclipse to start. We had a good time talking to all the eclipse fans in the lot. 

Not too much later, the Teton Village gondola was stopped. It was filled with eclipse fans who wanted to get a birds eye view of the event from the privacy of a cable car. It looked eerie to see a string of lights marking the cable cars stopped on the mountain.

Then the sky started to turn a bit darker and it became cooler and someone said "it's starting!" All of us put on our special glasses and took a peek at the sun as it was being covered by the moon. At first it looked like a small bite was taken out of the sun...then the "bite" became larger until the sun was covered by the moon. People were counting down to the magic hour of 11:24, the point of totality...and then it happened.       

We had two minutes and nineteen seconds of darkness in the middle of the day. The sky was not pitch black, but it was dark...it was definitely cooler...and we could see the stars! A few folks said they had goosebumps...others said they felt "strange."

Folks were clapping and shouting "hooray"...the two dogs in our area were making sounds like they were uncomfortable...yet the people were excited and awestruck at the same time.       

The horizon was ringed with a beautiful rosy-salmon glow that blended to blue then dark navy. Ever so slowly the moon moved away from the sun leaving the tiniest gap of sun that shone as brightly as a diamond and the process was reversed. Totality was gone, but the memory can never be erased. What a day...and I'm oh so happy I went!

 

August Problem

For the last several years, August has not been a good month for me. One August i broke a rib. Another one I caught pneumonia...and this year I broke the tip of my right humerus where it attaches to the shoulder. 

That's the x-ray...look at the arrow and you will see a booboo at the tip of the bone. I had an MRI on my shoulder earlier today but I have not been told the results yet. I'm hoping I just chipped the bone and did not damage the rotator cuff. Wish me luck that the rotator cuff is OK. 

In the meantime, I'm learning how to cope with a sling tying my right hand down, but it's a challenge. At least I'm not in too much pain. Life goes on!

 

Lethbridge, Alberta

Lethbridge is located in the coulee area of Alberta. What is a coulee? Take a look

This is the "Lethbridge Viaduct," a very long (just over a mile) and very tall (over 310 feet) railway trestle that bridges the coulee. The trestle is the longest of it's type in the world; and the largest trestle in Canada. It's very impressive especially when you consider it was built between 1907 and 1909 and it still sees daily use!

This is a dorm (University of Lethbridge) that is nestled into a coulee

And here's a picture of the same dorm, from across the coulee. 

There are many definitions for the word coulee (see wikipedia) but in this case, a picture is worth a thousand words. 

In addition to coulees we also saw some white tailed deer...including two spotted fawns.  

We saw more deer in Lethbridge that we did in both national parks.

 

 

Heading Home

 

We had a grand time at 2 Canadian National Parks: Banff and Jasper. The scenery is always world class, and this time it was even better as we were able to share it our family. There were 3 RVs in our caravan--2 Cruise Canada rental motor homes and our fifth wheel trailer/pickup truck. 

The first few days were spent in Banff...then 2 days at Lake Louise...then 3 in Jasper...then back to Banff before we went our separate ways. I don't know what the highlights were as there were too many. I know that we ate well as everyone cooked -- so we had curry, tortellini with 2 types of sauce, soft tacos, steak...and the list goes on. We were glamping and enjoying every minute of it. 

We even had a true Canadian dish...Poutine!

The flowers were grand...the animals were scarce (we went on a wildlife safari and only saw a few elk...but when we got back to our campground, a group of 5 elk were there including a youngster and a male in velvet)-- But best of all, was the fantastic time we had with the family. 

Pyramid Lake in Jasper. 

Jasper

The next National Park on the list this year is Jasper, which is about smack dab in the middle of Alberta. It's just not easy to get to because it's far from everything. It's 4 hour drive from Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, and a 6 hour drive from Calgary. From Banff/Lake Louise you take the TransCan 1 until the Highway 93 exit where you begin one of the prettier drives in North America...the Icefields Parkway. 

The scenery is spectacular for 150 kilometers. Jasper Park begins at the Columbia Icefield

 

That might not look huge...but it is! The icefield is fed by 8 glaciers and has been on this earth for millenia.

From there we drive the 102 kilometers to Jasper townsite and Whistler's Campground our "home" for the next few days.

There are still fires in BC, but the wildlife watching is pretty good. Tonight we are taking a wildlife safari to see more.

 

Lakes

We spent two days at the Lake Louise "end" of Banff National Park. Lake Louise is beautiful and way too crowded. Everyone seems to have heard about the Lovely Lake Louise so they make a pilgrimage there. Last year when we tried to see the lake, the traffic was backed up on the TransCan 1. We decided to go anyway and just could not move, so we said "good bye Lake Louise, maybe next time." This year was next time, and we did see the lake and about a million of our closest friends.

But, when we took the walk alongside the lake, the crowds subsided some and we could enjoy the beauity of the turquoise water.

The next day we got up early and drove to nearby Moraine Lake which might be even prettier than Louise, and far less "discovered."

Early in the morning the lake is still as glass and the reflections are stunning.

The blue of the water is incredible and there are not any crowds. The reason is simple. The parking lot is limited, and when it gets full, ParksCanada blocks off the road. Something they cannot do at Lake Louise.

Moraine Lake is a blue gem that nestles in the Valley of the Ten Peaks and it takes your breath away.