Are you watching closely?

If the title of this post made you think of "The Prestige" then please give yourself a pat on the back from me.

Yet another picture of Lake Louise. But wait, before you click away please take a good look. This particular morning there was pretty much no wind so the lake was reflecting an almost perfect copy of the scenery behind it. Two for the price of one if you like. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is the original and which is the copy isn't it. This is actually not such a rare occurance at this lake especially in the early morning. You may also have noticed that this picture is taken at a little different angle than any I have previously posted of Lake Louise. Do you see the difference?

Speaking of Wolves...

On my way from Banff to Lake Louise to pick up my clients today I just happened to spot a black wolf jogging along the fence that keeps animals from coming out onto the highway. I couldn't believe my luck as I'd just seen four wolf cubs less than a month ago. (Now that I think about it I suppose there is a good chance that those cubs are related to this adult since I saw them all in the same valley not too far apart either) On average since I've been in Banff I see a wolf maybe once every three years so I guess I've just been lucky lately (as I wrote in my previous post I have only seen cubs once before). This sighting lasted the longest as the wolf kept moving along the fence for about four minutes before it finally disappeared into the woods. I was glad to have my camera with me and took a bunch of pictures but it was a little too far away for my little pocket camera's zoom. At least you can tell it's a wolf I hope.


Today was not a trip to the Columbia Icefield but to Yoho NP as well as Moraine Lake in Banff. Actually it's near Lake Louise but slightly less famous. I think it is the most beautiful lake in the Rockies. If you have an old $20 bill, not the one with the bird on the back but the version before that, you might recognize this lake as the one on that bill.

Never Cry Wolf

In an effort to have a few pictures to post every now and then I have been trying to carry around my camera with me as much as possible this year. Yesterday my battery ran out and I forgot to recharge it so I didn't take my camera with me today on my trip to Yoho NP just across the border in BC.
Wouldn't you know it we came across something that I have only seen once before in all the years I have been guiding.
Wolf cubs, four of them actually. Two were grey and two were black, so they definitely weren't coyotes. They were playing on the road just as we came around the curve. Of course they ran away as soon as they saw my van but they were curiously peeking at us from just inside the bushes on the side of the road surely thinking that they were now invisible. They soon wandered off into the forest and in the end not even one of my eight clients managed to get a picture but it would have been really cool to get a shot of them. Oh well, maybe I'll get another chance in another ten years or so.
By the way there was no sign of any adult wolves around but they were surely nearby making sure things didn't get out of hand.
Later in the day we also saw a pair of black bears but after seeing the wolf cubs who cares about some silly bears right?

Lake Louise, the unfrozen version

It's been about three weeks since Lake Louise actually melted but I just haven't had a chance to get a picture of it until now. It was a little cloudy today but there was no wind so there was a good reflection going on.
I also took a picture of Peyto Lake. That's the other lake that I previously posted of picture of a few entries ago.


Here is the old picture again.

Although it is about the same time of year as the previous photo was taken the color of the lake is totally different. It just doesn't seem to turn that deep blue color anymore like it used to. As soon as it melts it goes right to this weak blue color. But all the tourists who have never seen it like it used to be still think it's pretty nice.
Actually most of the lakes around here have been affected by the way above average snow melt which brings lots of color ruining junk into the lakes.
At least the river has gone down a little so it looks like I won't be washed away after all.

A Little Higher Still

As you can see in this picture of the picnic table the water is even a little higher than it was yesterday. There is a picture of the same table in the my previous post so you can see the difference. I have also included a picture of the lego berm that I mentioned yesterday.

Water World

It was bound to happen. After a record breaking snowfall this past winter and a cool spring that has prevented the gradual melting of the record breaking snow, it has suddenly decided to get all warm and stuff and so now all this snow wants to melt at the same time.
On my trip up the "ICE" today it was just water water everywhere.
But the best of it is actually right beside my building in Banff where the river is pretty much full, actually it's more than full already and if it rises much more things could get downright adventurous around here.
The town has actually put up a little "berm" that they made out of some lego and a couple of old shower curtains to protect the Luxton Museum which is next door and where the river bank is lowest. Maybe I'll get a picture of it tomorrow.

Timber!

Yesterday I took four couples up to the Columbia Icefield. We started out in about 8 inches of fresh snow but the weather got better as the day went on. On the way back I noticed water collecting in a spot on the side of the road where there usually wouldn't be and discovered a brand new beaver dam and lodge. I wasn't able to get a picture of it this time but we were able to stop a get a picture of the area where the beaver was collecting the tree branches from. This is one of the newly felled trees.

We also saw a black bear and I got a slightly better shot of it than I got last time. It was in about the same area as my last bear picture so it may have even been the same one but we didn't ask him so who knows for sure.

Today is a much nicer day and I decided to take a picture of the unfrozen version of the Bow river near my place.

This is one more of the mountains surrounding the town of Banff and it was looking pretty good today so here is Cascade mountain as well.

I'm going up to St. Albert tomorrow to take 70 Japanese highschool girls and their teachers to Jasper, down to Banff and then out to Calgary (airport) over the next few days. They have been doing the homestay thing there (St. Albert) for the last week. It should be an interesting trip.

Name that lake.

It's been a while since I posted and I really don't have any exciting news to tell or new pictures to show so I've decided to post this old photo of one of the lakes that I take people to all the time and see if any of you know what lake it is.

It's quite a high lake and doesn't usually melt until the first part of June. It is a very nice deep blue color when it first melts but it soon fills up with rock flour from its source glacier and turns from this color to more of a turquoise then even a lighter blue color in the middle of summer.

Go ahead a have a guess if you dare. By the way I have changed the name of the file to mystery lake so you won't find the name just by saving the picture.
Good luck!

A Little Better Weather

I made another trip to the Columbia Icefield today and finally had some decent, although not perfect, weather. This is a 183km drive (one way) from the town of Banff and we always stop at Lake Louise and a few other spots along the way.
As you can see Lake Louise is just starting to melt around the outlet of the lake.

It was a little cloudy at the ice but at least it wasn't a white out blizzard like in the previous picture I posted. Here is a less blizzardy picture of some of the machines that take people out on the glacier.

One of the nicer views at the spot they stop and let you off onto the glacier is Mt. Andromeda and its glacier. It is quite close and is clinging to the mountain at a steep angle so once in a while we actually get to see little pieces break off come crashing down.

On the way home today we saw a little black bear on the side of the road. My first bear sighting of the year. Sorry it's a little small in the picture.

Finally, in case any of you are wondering, this is my (company) van that I drive my customers crazy in.

On Monday the Japanese tour guides in Banff were invited to the Chateau Lake Louise for a hotel orientation and menu tasting where we could sample some of the main dishes on their menus that our customers will be eating this year. We had some beef tenderloin, chicken, halibut, trout, salmon, soup, salad and some desserts. The food was good and although it was officially a “sampling” they kept bringing it out until we were all quite full.
As you can see in this picture there is still a whole lot of snow left here at the lake. It will be another month or so until the lake is completely melted.


On Tuesday I made my first trip of the year up to the Columbia Icefield. The weather up there was not so nice; basically we were in a blizzard when we got off the snow coach onto the glacier. You get about 20 minutes to walk around on top of the 300 meter thick ice but that day most of the few people that were on the same tour as we were only lasted about 5 minutes outside. The three people you can see outside are the driver and two of my five clients that day. A mother and her four year old daughter whose name is Mia, although it is not pronounced the same as Mya’s name. Hers is the same as Mia Farrow. She was a cute little kid and we had fun in the snow.
Hopefully as the weather warms up I’ll be able to show you what the area really looks like on a nice day.