Flicka Goes to the Pub!

Flicka has been trying to get inside a Forest Pub ever since she arrived. Today we had a meeting at the Turfcutters Arms and she insisted on coming. Whilst we were talking Flicka drank all the beer!

Well at least she is quiet tonight and she has been sleeping ever since we came home!

Flicka's Big Adventure

Wake up Flicka we are going out for the day! Flicka likes her bed and it can be difficult to get her up in the mornings. She was very grumpy as we drove to the station, but she soon perked up when she found the bar of Ginger chocolate and she ate far more of it than me or Karen. It was by favourite Green and Blacks Ginger chocolate! Anyway she behaved herself on the train and hid in her rucksack when the ticket collector came round (we couldn't afford a ticket for her) At 10.30 we arrived at Waterloo. it was a little overcast and very windy so she just stuck her head out of the rucksack until we got to the London Eye. She was so excited and really enjoyed her flight.She memorised all the landmarks so we wouldn't get lost later when we were walking.
After coming off the Eye we walked along the Thames to Tower bridge where we had lunch. It was a surprise to see several Cormorants on the Thames. We crossed over Tower bridge and walked back along the other side calling in at Southwark cathedral. They don't charge you to enter but do ask for £2 for a photo permit which we were happy to pay. We then continued up to Jubilee bridge and crossed over to get more views of the Eye. We continued on to Westminster bridge and crossed over the Thames again.
By this time Karen and I were very tired we had been walking most of the day so we went back to the station in plenty of time to get the 7.05 train home. The train was very crowded as it had been reduced to five carriages, it was lucky we were early or we would have had to stand all the way home!

Flicka was so excited to be going on the London Eye.

Flicka has a rest outside the Tower of London,

Dead mans Hole. Apparently this was the place that bodies were fished out of the river
Tower bridge

Flicka has a healthy lunch of carrot cake and ginger beer.

Tower Bridge

Looking across to the Tower of London

A day out with Flicka.

Flicka in Southwark cathedral



One of many Living Statues along the Embankment. I think he was feeling a little blue!

The British Airways London Eye is the world's tallest observation wheel at 135m high. Located on the banks of the River Thames it offers unrivalled views over London. Each rotation takes 30 mins, meaning a capsule travels at a stately 26cm per second, or 0.9km (0.6 miles) per hour - twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting; allowing passengers to step on and off without the wheel having to stop.

St Pauls lit up in the evening sun.

Watching the planes fly over the Eye.

Flicka posed one last time in front of the London Eye

Flicka Snored all the way home on the train!

keyhaven and Lymington Nature Reserve

Karen and I went to the Lymington and keyhaven nature reserve today. When we got there it poured with rain but within half ann Hour it was sunny again. it was however very windy and it was hard work keeping the camera steady for shots.

The colouring here was very interesting. I am not sure what plant is so red.

We were surprised to see the Black swans, they must have escaped from somewhere!

We saw this little wheatear.

And I wonder where this Pink Flamingo came from!

Eling Tide Mill

Eling Tide Mill is a water mill that harnesses the power of the tide to grind wheat into wholemeal flour.

Situated on the edge of Southampton Water beside the renowned New Forest, there has been a mill on the site for over 900 years, although it has had to be rebuilt several times, with the current building being some 230 years old. Tide mills were once an important part of the economy of many countries, such as Great Britain and the United States of America - the latter having many hundreds of tide mills on the eastern coast from the 17th to 19th centuries. Tidal power was harnessed in this fashion not only for milling flour, but for everything from sawing lumber and operating the bellows and hammers in ironworks, to manufacturing paper and cotton, to grinding spices, pepper and gunpowder. Before the advent of the steam engine they were the one kind of large-scale mill that was pretty much guaranteed to be able to run 365 days of the year.

Unfortunately they suffered far more than the river and wind mills after they were gradually abandoned in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and very few survive even as derelicts. There are only four tide mills open to the public in the entire United Kingdom, and none at all in the U.S.A.

Eling Tide Mill, although abandoned in the 1940s, had the great good fortune to survive until it was restored between 1975 and 1980, at which time it re-opened as both a working mill, and a museum to this part of our industrial heritage. It is the only fully working and productive tide mill in the United Kingdom, once again producing flour as it had throughout the last Millennium. It is, in fact, one of only two productive tide mills in the entire world (to the best of our knowledge), and the only one producing what it was built to produce.

Eling Tide Mill and Toll Bridge (it costs a £1 to take a car across)

Flicka sits on the big wheel!

here Flicka poses on the grain hopper


The Storage area at the top.

More Bird Watching at Goatee Beach

Little Egret

Heron
Flicak and Little Flicka have a picnic

Great crested Grebe

Lost Again

When we started our walk this morning it was damp and windy. Flicka wanted to stay in her bag and she was rather grumpy. Anyway we persuaded her to come and she was enchanted by the baby Donkey. She wanted to go fr a ride but we persuaded her not to and we walked on. Well we turned right three ties on our walk and should have ended up back at the car. Three and a half hours later we finally did find the car. Dogs , Karen and I were very tired. Flicka was safe and warm in her bag

Flicka ready for her morning walk
We met this baby Donkey with his Mum

he was really Cute

Flicka and baby Flicka are "Babes in the Wood" Lost!

Out and about with Flicka

In between sorting the canadian photos and walking the dogs we have been showing Flicka the New Forest. First we stopped off at St Michaels and All Angels to sshow her the grave of Alice in Wonderland

Then it was on to Minstead, where Flicka was soon in trouble and in the stocks. Fortunately no one was around to throw rotten eggs and tomatoes at her

Flicka Enjoyed sitting on top of the Rufus Stone, supposedly commemorating the spot where the Oak tree, that deflected the arrow killing Willaim Rufus, stood

We finished up watching the ducks at Cadmans Pond

Shatterford

We took the dogs to Shatterford today. The last time we tried to walk there they were working on the bridges and we weren't able to do a complete circle. The Forest is much dryer now as there has been no rain whilst we were on holiday. The heather has nearly finished blooming but we did find some purple patches for the dogs to pose in. There were lots of dragonflies about and I did manage to capture to of them. A Common Darter and A black Darter I think!

Flicka Comes Birdwatching!

We took Flicka birdwatching this afternoon. She was a little worried about the Foot and Mouth Sign on the gate, but we explained that we were not in an exclusion zone and she was Ok . We were lucky enough to see the Kingfisher again , although he did not stay long. We also saw green sandpipers and a Black tailed Godwit. No Egrets today. We did see plenty of geese flying around and a moorhen. There were some common darters flitting around and we did manage to get some shots of them.

Black Tailed Godwit


Kingfisher

If you look closely you can just see kingfisher flying away

Unidentified Dragonfly

Common Darter

Green Sandpiper

Introducing Flicka

Flicka is a pink flamingo. She has been travelling the World for the last two years, visiting dogs and for the next few weeks she is staying in the New Forest. She will be seeing the local sights before travelling on to other places in England and Europe. She has already been all over the US and Canada and also to Brazil.
OK, so yes I am mad but you already knew that.
I am putting up the photos from our holiday and after a week or so I will change the dates so they appear on the correct day.

The Swans at Hatchett Pond

Introducing Flicka the Pink Flamingo





Today we walked at Pigbush and then went to see if the swan family was still at Hatchetts Pond. All 7 cygnets have survived and are now very pretty juveniles. We wonder how long it will be before they fly off. Sadly the Ice cream van wasn't there today so we drove into Beaulieu to get some stem ginger ice cream and chocolate! It was delicious!

We are back!

Well we are home from our trip to Canada and I will be sorting through the photos (3000+) in the next few weeks and sharing our trip with you. We had a wonderful time, starting and finishing in Vancouver. In between we travelled in a motor home through the Rockies. In our absence the Dogs ruled the roost and got Iain to obey their every command!

Time to say goodbye

After another walk in Stanley Park and a little time to do some shopping it was time to go to the airport.



Time to say goodbye to Mattie, before the long flight home. We had a wonderful holiday and I hope we will go back again some time!

Bike Ride in Stanley Park

It seems that the only way to travel in Stanley Park is by Bike! Here is our collection. Mine was the Pink one and the Yellow one is Mattie's pride and joy. I am not very good on a bike but when in Vancouver........at least the cycle tracks in the park are largely free of traffic, even if they are very busy with skateboarders, skaters and bikers.

I even got to try out Yellow Bike!

Stanley park has a collection of Totem poles.


Only part of the seawall ride was open when we were there as it had been badly damaged in the winter by a freak storm that felled a lot of trees and washed away part of the sea wall.
I managed not to fall off or damage the bike and I did enjoy it!

The Vancouver Maritime Museum

Our next stop was the Vancouver Maritime Museum. The Main Exhibit is the restored St Roch. The ship is tiny but it was the second ship to sail through the North West Passage.

Its hard to believe just how tiny this ship is.

Class: Auxiliary Police Schooner
Launched: May 7, 1928
At: Burrard Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, North Vancouver, B.C.

Length: 104 feet, 3 inches
Beam: 24 feet, 9 inches
Depth of Hold: 11 feet
Draft: 12 feet, 6 inches
Displacement: 323 tons
Rig: Originally schooner, now ketch


Built for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Force to serve as a supply ship for isolated, far-flung Arctic RCMP detachments, St. Roch was also designed to serve when frozen in for the winter, as a floating detachment, with its constables mounting dog sled patrols from the ship. Between 1929 and 1939 St. Roch made three voyages to the Arctic. Between 1940 and 1942 St. Roch navigated the Northwest Passage, arriving in Halifax harbor on October 11, 1942. St. Roch was the second ship to make the passage, and the first to travel the passage from west to east. In 1944, St. Roch returned to Vancouver via the more northerly route of the Northwest Passage, making her run in 86 days. The epic voyages of St. Roch demonstrated Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic during the difficult wartime years, and extended Canadian control over its vast northern territories.

Retired after returning from the Arctic in 1948, St. Roch was sent to Halifax by way of the Panama Canal in 1950. This voyage made St. Roch the first ship to circumnavigate North America. Returned to Vancouver for preservation as a museum ship in 1954, St. Roch was hauled ashore in 1958. Housed over in 1966 and restored to her 1944 appearance by the Canadian Parks Service, the ship is the centerpiece of the maritime museum complex at Kitsilano Point.

RCMPV St. Roch is a Canadian National Historic Site.
The Panipakuttuk family joined the ship to act as guides, interpreters and hunters.They lived on deck in this little tent.

Queen Elizabeth Gardens

We had another very hot day and in the morning we went up to the Queen Elizabeth Gardens. Whilst we were waiting for a cab we peered through the Windows of a small museum that houses one of Canada's famous Locomotives. CPR374 Was the first Locomotive to make the Journey over the Rockies. The Museum was closed but we managed to get a photo through the window.
The Gardens have wonderful views over the City and although parts were closed because of the Council workers strike we had a pleasant stroll around them.

May 23, 1887 was a great day for Vancouver, when CPR Engine 374 pulled the first transcontinental train into the city. Crowds cheered, the city band played, ships in the harbour blew their horns, and hundreds of flags decorated the young city. It was a great day not only for Vancouver, but for the whole nation. The event heralded the completion of one of the greatest engineering feats of the century, a twin line of steel linking the new nation of Canada from coast to coast, ten years in construction.

In 1945, after many years of service, including the second World War, Engine 374 was finally retired. The engine was first placed in Kitsilano Park for all to see, and play on, but it suffered greatly from salt air and the passage of the seasons. In 1983, many dedicated citizens came to the engine's rescue, and began the herculean task of restoring the engine to its former glory. With additional funds raised through the Heritage Brick Program, the restoration was completed in time for EXPO 86, and there the refurbished engine was a prime attraction.

The unique Heritage Brick Program was a great success. $400,000 was raised for the refurbishing of the engine, by way of individuals who bought one brick or more for $20.00 each, and thereby had their names engraved on each of their bricks. Now all those "name" bricks are on display as part of the floor of the pavilion, much to the delight of all who contributed.

Now after more than 100 years, the engine has found its permanent home. The 374 Train Pavilion, stands in the heart of the city for all to visit and admire as a valued part of our nation's history.

Queen Elizabeth Park

The top of this beautifully maintained 52 hectare (130 acre) park is the highest point in the city, at 167m (505 ft) above sea level. From the lookouts, visitors have a 360 degree view of the Vancouver skyline. The park receives nearly 6 million visitors a year who marvel at its superior standard of garden plantings.

A former stone quarry, the park was developed in the 1950s to include a pitch & putt golf course, paths and display gardens, and a large arboretum. -

Granville Island

Well we made it back to Vancouver and we have a couple more days of our holiday left. The temperatures soared this last weekend and it was very hot. Granville Island is a medley of small shops, art galleries, food markets and museums. On every corner there are street artistes. it is packed with Vancouverites and holiday makers especially on a Saturday , which is when we visited. We sampled a Canadian specialty here, Buttertarts, they are like a very rich treacletart! There are two ways to get to the Island one my road crossing the Granville bridge and we came this way, but after several hours we returned by water ferry.
Granville Island was originally reclaimed from swampland in 1917 and used as a site for an iron and ship building works. By the 1960s it was a derelict wasteland and rubbish dump.In the early 1970s work began to restore the Island and it is now a thriving market place

heron

Afghan Hounds




Relaxing on Granville Island


Street Artistes


Cement transporters

Brackendale

Our final stop was at Brackendale

Every winter, thousands of bald eagles congregate on the shores of the rivers surrounding Brackendale to feed on the abundant spawning salmon. Hundreds of eagles at a time can be seen from the river dikes, feeding along sandbars or roosting in nearby cottonwood trees. Two dozen or more in a single tree is not uncommon. Eagle season in Brackendale is from mid- November to mid- February, with prime viewing in December and January.

No eagles for us , but we did sea a couple of seals in the river and watched them for a while

Finally after a long drive we reached an RV site just outside Vancouver, tomorrow we return the RV which did manage to get us there and back in one piece albeit with several problems. We now have a couple of days in Vancouver before flying home.

Brandywine falls and Tantalus lookout

We had another brief stop at the Brandywine falls.


before driving on to the Tantalus look out point.

Here we could see the snow covered mountains But with the sun directly above them we all found it very difficult to take photos.

We still have a way to go before we reach Vancouver so we had to press on.

Whistler

We finally arrived at Whistler mid afternoon. Whistler is where some of the 2010 Winter Olympic events will be held and is one of the most famous of the Canadian Ski resorts. It is also one of the most expensive, the Winter playground of the rich! It is about 120 miles from Vancouver and a lot of work is being carried out to widen the narrow twisting road that leads up to the Village from the City. It is very touristy even in summer. As we were driving past it we had to stop and see , already they are promoting the games. We spent about an hour here before travelling on we still have a couple of places to stop before we find a camping ground for our last night in the RV.

Whistler

Past valley lake and onto Pemberton

Our next stop was at Valley lake, there was a huge log jam here.


We continued driving along Highway 99 towards Pemberton. Once agin the sun has come out and the scenery is very pretty, we are passing lakes and mountains all the time as the road climbs up and down.

We still have about 200 miles before we get back to the outskirts of Vancouver.

From Lillooet to Caoosh Creek

This is the Fraser River as it runs through Lillooet.

More Jade outside the Tourist Information centre in Lillooet.

Seton lake is just a little way outside of Lillhooet, Just as we took these photos the rain started and for a while we thought we were in for a wet day.

The road we are travelling on is a small one and very hilly and not well maintained. We are following this creek for quite a while as we head towards Whistler.

From Cache Creek to Lillooet (Sept 7)

We were up early and on our way, we still have a long way to go. We stopped briefly at Skye Blue Lake, but the early morning weather was dull and the Lake had none of the blue colour we remembered from our last visit. However we did catch this wood pecker drumming away.

On our previous trip we had camped at Lillooet on our second night out and we decided to stop for breakfast in the little town.. Most of the land around here is Reservation land and many of the First nations Peoples look for jade to make souvenirs from.
The Rocky landscape and fast flowing streams are good for rock hunting.

Lillooet itself is a very small settlement . But we managed to find a nice cafe serving breakfast.

Several posts in the town had large lumps of jade on them and you know you are in rock country. Mattie bought me a small Jade bear here and we chatted with the carver for a while, Just as we were leaving he came over to us and gave Mattie a small piece of unworked jade for his rock collection.
Now we are making our way towards Whistler.

(Canadian Hols start on Aug 24th)

Driving on to Cache Creek

Our morning stop at The meadows in the Sky, meant we were well off schedule and we had to drive on stopping only for short breaks. We were soon back in the desert like regions and we were in for a cold night. The first camp ground we stopped up had no hook ups left , but they phoned another one about 50km down the road and said they had places so we drove on. We arrived very late but we were only a mile out of town and so we treated ourselves to a meal at the Sandman Hotel (The campsite had an arrangement with them that gave us a 20% discount)
We have another long days drive tomorrow as we have to get to the outskirts of Vancouver in order to return the RV on time the following day.

This is Salmon Arm

Kamloops This is the first big town we have seen since we left Vancouver

Kamloops Lake

This is the desert like region around Cache Creek.

"Meadows in the Sky"

This was one of the highlights of our trip and we so very nearly missed it. We had found the entrance the previous evening , when we were looking for our campsite. We still had a long way to drive back to Vancouver and the road up to the meadows is 26km. That may not sound far but it is all up hill and had many bends, the maximum speed limit for much of the road is 20km. I knew it was late in the season for the mountain flowers, but I Just really wanted to go.
At 9am we were waiting at the gate for the road to open and up we went.We were only going to stay a short while before getting on our way.But it was just so beautiful.....there were still plenty of flowers and it must look really spectacular at the height of the flowering season. One of the guides told us that although the flowers are more spectacular early August, the midges and horseflies are very active as well! We went up after the first frosts which had been enough to kill the bugs but not the flowers.
Mount Revelstoke is a very small national Park and it was created in 1916 mainly to protect these meadows.
During WW1 Ukrainian Internees were lodged here from Sept to December in the hope that they could finish building the road, but the weather was so bad they spent all their time shovelling snow and chopping firewood. In the end the camp was closed and the Internees sent to the other camps in Banff national Park.
The whole road to the summit is only open for a very short season Usually from Mid July when the snow finally clears, until late September when the snows force them to start closing the road. (There are several gates on the road up)
We ended up spending the whole morning here , just enjoying the views, flowers and birds.

Indian Paintbrush and Mountain daisies

"Meadows in the Sky"

Silky Blue Lupin

Indian Paintbrush

The Summit

Looking down on Revelstoke

The Road to the "Meadows in the Sky"

from the car park

A yellow -bellied marmot

The Track to the Summit

Fireweed blooming on the rocks

Northern Lights Wolf Centre

As we drove towards Revelstoke we saw a sign to the Wolf sanctuary. They have four wolves, all born in captivity and rescued.They cannot be released back into the wild and the centre uses them for education purposes. The Wolves are regularly allowed out and go for unleashed walks on the property.

Whilst we were there I bought a book "Of Wolves and Men" by Barry Lopez. I think it was originally published in the 1970's, The book tells how man has relentlessly persecuted the wolf to the point of extinction in many parts of the world and looks at The Big Bad Wolf reputation.

This is a Karelian Bear Dog .The Centre has several of them and are trying to persuade the British Columbia government to use them in controlling problem bears.
One sad fact they told us that in BC this year over 3000 "problem" bears had been shot as this was the cheapest solution. Now I realize this is only one side of the story....but 3000 bears seem like a lot of bears!

Here is their argument for the use of Dogs to deal with problem bears.

Karelian Bear Dogs were bred in Russia and Finland to hunt bears. Here in some parts of North America, bear dogs are part of bear management programs aimed at rehabilitating "problem" bears. Karelian Bear Dogs can be used to teach the bears to respect and avoid human areas. People create problem bears. If people are not careful with food and smelly garbage around their property or camp, it attracts hungry wildlife like bears. When bears learn to associate people with food, and learn that people are not scary, they become "habituated". A problem bear = "nuisance" bear = "garbage" bear = "habituated" bear.
A trained team of bear dogs and a dog handler work with the Conservation Officer (CO), usually in a chase situation. The bear is chased to a safe distance away, at which point the chase is called off. This tells the bear that it is a territorial dispute and not a predatory attack. The bear learns recognize the boundary of our territory and learns to stay away.
The problem in British Columbia (BC) is that it is illegal to chase bears with dogs because it is considered harassment of wildlife. But - the Hunting & Trapping Regulations allow off-leash chases of bears and cougars by dogs. So... a CO is not allowed to chase a bear with a dog. Instead it is chased by a gun.
October the 14th -22nd Is Wolf Awareness week.

The Natural Bridge

Just down the road from Emerald lake , there is a rock structure known as the Natural Bridge.

Over time the Yoho River has altered its route, and where it once rushed over the rocks as a waterfall, it has now found a path underneath leaving a rock bridge above.

Here you can see the bridge, it is still possible to walk across it, but it is slippery and the water underneath is racing past.


We had a short stop here before travelling on . We are still along way from Vancouver and time is running out!

Emerald Lake

Whilst we were in Banff, a taxi driver asked us if we had been to Emerald Lake , so we added it to the never ending list. Emerald lake is in Yoho national park, near Field. So it was very near to our campsite. Fortunately we arrive at the lake early as it soon got very busy with tourists. Most of them seemed to be on coach tours so they did not have time to walk all the way around the lake and we mostly enjoyed it by ourselves. The lake was very still and we had some wonderful reflections. Like lake Moraine the colour is constantly changing, but it is definitely a greener colour. I think I like this lake almost as much as lake Moraine.

The Kicking Horse and Yoho Rivers.

We were camping just outside Field this evening and after booking in to the camp site we drove up the road that led to the Takakkaw falls.They are the second highest falls in Canada and we would have liked to have seen them. Unfortunately the road is steep and narrow and contains two severe switchbacks, we had trouble negotiating the first and decided to back down whilst we could. We contented our selves with the smaller falls on the Kicking Horse River, where it joins the Yoho River.

Look carefully and you can see the two different colours. The falls are the Kicking Horse River whilst the greyer water in the foreground is the Yoho River

Lake Louise

Here you can see the Glacier viewed from the little hamlet of Lake Louise.

The Glacier viewed from the lake

Lake Louise and Glacier

Lake Louise is a hamlet located in the Canadian province of Alberta in Banff National Park. It is named for the nearby Lake Louise, which in turn was named after the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848-1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, and the wife of Sir John Campbell, who was the Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883.

Lake Louise is more famous than Lake Moraine as the railway comes here and there is also a very large and expensive hotel on the shores of the lake. Many people come to visit this lake and never discover the far more beautiful Lake Moraine. The water does not have the same intense colours, that some of the other lakes have.

Magical Moraine Lake ReVisited (sept4)

Moraine Lake was the one place I really wanted to re visit. I fell in love with it on our trip four years ago. This time the skies were cloudy but the colour was still as intense and beautiful

Moraine Lake is a glacially fed lake in Banff National Park, 14 kilometres outside the Village of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, at an elevation of approximately 6183 feet (1884 m). The lake has a surface area of 0.5 km².

The blue-green colour is due to glacial rock flour.
The lake, being glacially fed, does not reach its crest until mid to late June. However, when it is full, it is a beautiful shade of blue. The lake gets its color from the refraction of light off the rock flour deposited in the lake on a continual basis.

It really is this blue

The changing light gives a different blue every time you look and the direction you look makes a huge difference.

Johnston Canyon and the Lower Falls.

We decided to have a quick stop at Johnston Canyon and we walked to the lower falls. The path was quite steep and cut into the face of the cliff. Fortunately there were guard rails all the way along, because at times the path was very narrow! The falls were very pretty and you can go through the rock to the back of the falls......we did to it but no photos because it was very wet from the spray. We wanted to push on and get a couple more visits in today so we decided to skip the upper falls .

Johnston Canyon
The Johnston creek

Along the Canyon trail

Just to prove we were there!

The Lower Falls

Hoodoos at Banff

Hoodoos near Banff

An Egale soars high in the sky

In the distance you can just see the Banff Springs Hotel

Our first stop this morning was a trip to the Hoodoos. They are found all over the Rockies and this one was just by our campsite. there is a well paved walkway to view them and we decided we had to see them before moving on,
Hoodoos are tall thin spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins and badlands. They are composed of soft sedimentary rock, and are topped by a piece of harder, less easily-eroded stone that protects the column from the elements.

Enormous Elk!

As we drove away from Vermillion lake, we heard some movement in the bushes. Some female Elk were having an evening snack. We drove slowly up the road and spotted some more. Then as we drove into the outskirts of Banff, still more were around the railway station. We pulled over and saw this magnificent Bull Elk rounding up his does and roaring. We were warned when entering the national Park that the Elk Rut was starting and to be careful, as these animals will charge people and can do a lot of damage. I took all these photos with a 15x zoom, and stayed well out of his way, but some tourists were trying to get closer and he did warn them off and charged, fortunately he was only warning them and they paid attention.They make even our Red deer seem very small and I would not want to tangle with one!It was a wonderful end to the day!

Banff Railway station

On the tracks



Elk crossing

A magnificent Bull Elk

A Morning on Sulphur Mountain

The last time we were in Banff, in 2003 the gondola to sulphur mountain was closed because of the smoke from the forest fires. i wanted to go up even though I hate heights and cable car rides. So we drove up to the Gondola park and got in line. I asked the attendant how long the ride was and he said Three and a half hours. I nearly turned and ran. It actually takes about 8 mins and is a fairly smooth ride apart from when you go over the supporting pylons.The views were wonderful and the walk to the summit was protected with guard rails so I did OK. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the views and then had lunch in one of the restaurants before coming down.

Morning on Sulphur Mountain.

This is the summit of Sulphur Mountain there is a paved trail from the cable car, with lots of lookout points.

The Bow Springs Hotel

John and Mattie on the observation tower

gray Jay or Whiskey Jack they are very tame and this one was hoping the tourists would feed him.
Lake Minnewanka

Looking down on Banff and the Bow River. The big building in the foreground is the Bow Springs Hotel.

A Mountain Goat

A restaurant with a view and time for lunch before we take the Gondola down.
The Gondola. The ride takes about 8 minutes.

Vermillion lakes

Vermillion lakes are just outside Banff. In the winter the sunsets here are beautiful . We were there late afternoon and spent a few hours just watching the dragonflies and the reflections in the water. The road to the lakes is a no through road and very few people seem to venture down it. We had the lakes to ourselves and so we were able to relax and just enjoy the view.

)

Pretty flowers by the lake

Vermillion Lakes

Mount Rundle reflected in the lakes.

We spent ages trying to get photos of the dragonflies. There were so many. Here we caught two and their reflections.

A walk through Marble Canyon

Kootenay's Marble Canyon was devastated by a fire, that burned for 40 days after a lightning strike in July2003. Smoke from these fires were responsible for the smoky skies we experienced on our last trip in Aug/sept 2003 and we were unable to visit this area. It also prevented us from doing much in Banff as the smoke rolled in and we decided to move away from the area, so it was nice to be able to come back and explore a little more this time
None of the Seven bridges that cross the Tokumm Creek were destroyed by the fire, but more than 17,000 hectares of forest burnt. and the Canyon was closed for safety reasons. new posts to support the guard rails had to be dug and at times the canyon is over 60 metres deep.
On August30th 2007 the canyon was reopened to the public, just two days before we arrived!
Already wild flowers and squirrels have returned.
A 1.6 Km Interpretive trail leads up to the thundering waters of the creek.

The burn't trees added a beauty of their own

The force of the water was so powerful

Golden Mantled ground Squirrels have returned.

The canyon is really spectacular.

A number of little bridges cross the gorge as you climb higher.

Below the rushing water thunders by

Tokumm creek


Fire weed and grass have already regrown and slowly the forest is regenerating.

Kimberley to the Entrance of Kootenay National Park

We left Fort Steele after breakfast and had a small detour to see Kimberley, a small town that models itself on an Austrian resort.
Just outside of Kimberley we saw a Black bear in the fields, but alas we could not stop to get photos

We are now driving North West towards Banff and The National Parks, this is Canal Flats, the scenery is more spectacular as we near the parks.

We are entering the Parks at Kootenay National park. Below you see the Entrance through a narrow Gorge. There is a small charge for driving and camping in the Parks. WE will be spending the next Five days in the parks before heading back to Vancouver.

Fort Steele

The Origins of Fort Steele can be traced to the small settlement of Galbraiths ferry, which was born during the 1864 Kootenay Gold Rush. In 1888 the name was changed to Fort Steele to honour the Superintentent Samuel Steele of the North West Mounted Police,who peacefully settled tensions between the Ktunaxa people and the White Settlers.

Major mineral discoveries in 1897 brought a new boom to the area and for a while Forte Steele became the commercial,social and administrative centre of the region.Proprerty values soared and for a short while the town prospered. But in 1898 the railway by passed the town in favour of Cranbrook and the town soon declined.

Mnay of the buildings have been restored, and some relocated and it is now a thriving tourist attraction. A number of volunteers play the part of the townspeople and throughout the day demonstrations of life in the 1880s are given. During the Summer months a daily show is performed in the theatre. Wagon rides and a tip on the steam train are also included in the entrance ticket.


We arrived on the last weekend of the sumer season to find they were holding a BBQ and a special sunset trip on the train.We joined many of the volunteers on this ride and had wonderful views of the setting sun, from the railway view point. We disturbed several deer as the train tooted round the track and it was only a short walk back to the campsite at the end of the evening.

Fort Steele

Looking Down from the water Tower

The Water Tower

The water Wheel and the Taenhauser House

From the View point on the Steam Train Ride


You can see the Heritage Town in the distance

We were allowed to have our photos taken with the engine

We watched the sun setting

before continuing our ride on the steam train