Hiking

Seems like after every Calyx, my husband finally gets to do something with me because the busyness has slowed down.

This time we headed to Kananaskis Country, between Calgary and Banff, and went for a hike around the Upper Kananaskis Lake to see the Lower Kananaskis Falls. The day was overcast but quite warm for an October day in the mountains.

A view across the lake, looking west.

Dave with Mount Sarrail behind him and the Rawson Ridge that he climbed a couple weeks earlier above the treeline.

Lichen hanging off the trees.

A Three-Toed Woodpecker we came across, working away for his lunch. Love his yellow cap!

The turn-around point, the falls.

View across the lake, looking east, towards the Elk Range.

My favourite shot, above the lake, on the Palliser Rockslide, and the path we walked through it in the background.

It was a very quiet day in the mountains, we only came across 2 other groups and their dogs. On the way home, as the sun was setting, some of the ponds in different fields had swans in them! Either Trumpeter Swans that live north of Edmonton, or Tundra Swans who are migrating from the Arctic (I think Tundra, but we couldn't get close enough to see if they had the distinctive yellow mark on their beaks.) It was just the right place at the right time - I haven't seen them for quite a few years.

Hiking in the Rocky Mountains

Today was a gorgeous fall day and we headed out of Calgary, west to the Rocky Mountains.
First, across the Prairies... where harvesting is in full swing:

into the Foothills and then mountains...

Castle Mountain had the most glorious light on it!

close up of Castle...

through Banff, down the highway, through the village of Lake Louise and finally into the parking lot of Chateau Lake Louise. Here is a sign of the possible trails - we selected Lake Agnes Tea House.

here is the typical tourist shot everyone takes when they first come to the lake

and a map of where we are headed

on the trail heading up up up

along the way we passed Mirror Lake and the Big Beehive

keep climbing...

We hiked up 1300 feet to Lake Agnes, which is at an elevation of 7005 ft (2135 m). The clear shallow lake had lovely reflections and that trademark blue colour.

and the Tea House, where we stopped for a pot of Chai tea and some homemade soup...

Clark's Nutcracker, member of the crow family. This guy was hanging around the tea house looking for crumbs - they are quite cheeky with people.

looking across the valley to Lake Louise Ski Hill

while we are up here, let's hike around Lake Agnes!

lichen #1

lichen #2

this plant was busy hosting a variety of insects

looking back at the tea house

heading back down the mountain and what do we find... WHAT??? You can ride up?

on the hike down, the first view of Lake Louise and it's gorgeous indescribable colour

how iconic - the canoe and the flag, on Lake Louise

back to the bottom - oh my...

good bye Lake Louise!

What a glorious day! The weather was perfect with not a cloud in the sky...

On the way home my husband told me we climbed vertically the equivalent of a 100 story building, then climbed down - I said it was a good thing he didn't tell me that beforehand because I would never have agreed to go. But it was a wonderful day!

Women of Fibre, at the Whyte - part 3

These are the pieces I have in the gallery:

GUIDE ME THROUGH THE DARK UNKNOWN 5
16" x 24"
Cotton - silk screening, discharge dying, hand embroidery, free machine embroidery.

Artist Statement: The charred remains of pine trees that are visible throughout the Rocky Mountains are signs of man's attempt to control the spread of the destruction caused by the Mountain Pine Beetle. Cross-sections of the growth rings of these burnt remains echo the shapes of the original scribbling of maps that the early explorers used to navigate the Rockies. With no roads, natives travelled along animal trails, and when the white man arrived, their native guides jotted jagged lines onto paper to direct them.

Description of archives: Early map drawn by natives to guide Mary Schaffer to Morraine Lake.

[The four other pieces in this series can be found in the gallery shop.]

MARY'S MOCCASIN
11" x 9" x 2"
Mixed animal hides, paper, waxed linen - bookbinding, hand painted papers.

Artist statement: As a response piece to a photo of Mary Schaffer, my eye was drawn to the lettering in the top right corner of the tent. Writing on the tent leads me to writing of a diary, and further research showed that Mary kept diligent accounts of her days on the trail. As a calligrapher and book artist, I am always drawn to the written word and an obvious extension of this was to recreate Mary's diary - with weathered and worn pages, marked with coffee stains and leaf impressions. Bound in a leather cover (echoing her well-worn buckskin jacket) and contained in a leather moccasin (the shoe being one of society's constraints that she was glad to throw off), this package portrays an upper-class Philadelphian grand dame in the Canadian wilds at the turn of the 19th century.

Description of archives: Mary Schaffer's buckskin jacket.
[located on the floor, under the table]

PRESERVED IMPRESSIONS 4
16" x 20"
Cotton - rust dyeing and silk screening.

Artist statement: The fossils contained in the Burgess Shale, which show the incredible array of life in the early Cambrian period, have amazed the world with their detail and diversity since their discovery in 1909. Concealed in compacted mud, muscles, gills and other soft body parts are revealed along with bones, teeth and shell, exposing the mysteries of the beginning of the Cambrian era. This piece attempts to convey the richness of the layers of live found there.

Description of archives: CD Walcott diaries and field notebook (1909 - 1923)

[The three other pieces in this series can be found in the gallery shop.]

Actual fossils from the Burgess Shale site upon Mount Stephen above Field, BC.

This exhibition is up until January 29, 2012. I encourage you to get to the mountains and take in some art!