Daytrips from Calgary #2

Okay,

Frank Lake & High River were number two on our list from our favorite weekend book, “Daytrips From Calgary”. Frank lake is arguably southern Alberta’s best birding spot. I didn’t see too much variety and in all honesty… I was burnt from roaming Kananaskis Country once again, so I didn’t really stay long. The bugs were by the billions, the heat was excesive, and our patience was running low. Given the previous day’s hiking and sun… i think it’s safe to say that we would have preferred to stay in the car that day. But WOW are there ever a lot of birds at Frank Lake! I’ll definately be back once my sunburn heals and it’s not so hot out. VERY excited about this place! Take a look below:

Banff Syndrome

Well,

it’s apparent that I’ll do anything to get a chance to go to Banff… including volunteer to drive out there last minute on a Friday afternoon for work! I had to service a client in Banff and finished JUST IN TIME for some amazing dawn lighting at Two Jack Lake just across the highway from Banff. My jaw literally dropped when I discovered that the lakes had finally thawed and some of my dream photo opps stood right before me. “This is just the begining!”, I said outloud to myself.

Daytrips From Calgary: #1

Finally I got out of the house (with my camera)!

We bought a book to help us get out of the house and to see more of Alberta… so far it’s a hit! This little gem is packed full of ideas for viewing some of Canada’s most stunning scenery… each outing is all in a day’s trip from Calgary. Interested in the book? Follow this link: www.whitecap.ca  

Our First choice from the book was Bragg Creek & Elbow Falls:
MAP: http://www.kananaskis.com/pdffiles/kananaskis.pdf 

Bragg Creek is a great little picnic area, but we found the trails a bit muddy and/or snowy still. I’ve never seen so much ice in May… it’s crazy! There’s a gorgeous area along the water and a small trail system to walk along. Without much more success than a decent woodpecker shot and muddy trails caked to our shoes, we decided to head up the road (only 8Km) to Elbow Falls: the final destination in our daytrip guide. What a place!

Elbow Falls is a stunning place to visit with trails, picnic areas, and if you’re brave enough… some ice cold water! The elbow river gently trickles down into a magnificent and powerful waterfall guided by breathtaking rock formations.

The road actually ended at this point, but it looks like they open those roads once the winter has passed. I guess it’s just too much to even attempt to maintain those roads in the winter. I guess it’s still winter in May! I’ll be keeping an eye on these closed roads and exploring those areas when they’re open again!

Click on the images below to see the full sized images.