Thursday 18 June 2015

Walking the Athabasca Valley

This morning I was awake from 4.30am . By 6am I decided to go out for a walk by the river. It was beautiful. My senses were in overdrive. The smell of the pines; the sound of the raging river; the sun lighting up the snow on the mountains. Everywhere I looked the scenery was breathtaking.









After such a beautiful start to the day I wasn't sure it would get any better.




Marilyn's brother Ted very kindly offered to be our guide for a couple of days. Today he took us for a walk through part of the Athabasca valley.








Although Ted did tell me the names of these fabulous wild flowers, I have already forgotten!















Canadian geese were the bane of my life before I retired as their sole purpose seemed to be using the roof of my car for target practice. They look so much better in their natural habitat rather than in London Parks and playing fields.




It was a beautiful walk following the river with lots to see including this Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.










The clouds were gathering overhead and it wasn't long before the rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, descended.


Despite the change in the weather there was still many wonders to enjoy as we walked back through the forest. My eye was drawn to this parasitic growth. No idea of its name but the bright colour of the new growth stood out like a beacon.


Back at the Alpine Village, Marilyn and I relaxed in the hot tub before going into Jasper for dinner looking like two boiled lobsters!

 At dinner I was introduced to John, a family friend, who had constructed this garden fence made from old skis. Recycling at its best.






13 comments:

  1. Wonderful images from your trip! The mountain and river views are just fabulous! I love the pretty wildflowers. I do recognize the yellow ladyslipper orchids. They are lovely. The ski fence is neat. Thanks for sharing, have a happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amazing trip, looks a wonderful place to visit

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fabulous scenery - I can understand why you wanted to be up early soaking it all in plus capturing it for us bloggers in far away lands.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gorgeous scenery, looks like a great trip.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A beautiful place for a hike! Yes, this part of Canada is drop dead gorgeous. And I like that guy's ski fence - I've got some old skis I could donate to the cause. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful landscape and wild flowers ! I hope your feet will not suffer again :) !

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are in some stunning country ...and it's great to have a guide who can get you to those good places. We've been in the area, but not explored so extensively. But it reminds me of the Colorado Rockies where we have our personal guides and have explored deeply! The Mountains are exhilarating! Thanks for sharing your bucket list adventure... Im loving this.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Did you try elk for dinner? Lovely scenery.

    ReplyDelete
  9. BEAUTIFUL! Oh! Just beautiful. I would love a fence like that.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Absolutely beautiful! I am so glad you had a guide to show you all the wonders of the area. Your pictures tell a fabulous story. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the ski-fence! Very different. And all those other photos are just beautiful. Quite jealous now, but I am hoping to make my way over to Canada next year to make my own memories and photos.

    ReplyDelete
  12. How wonderful to have a local guide on such a beautiful hike. The first flower is wild columbine and the third one is yellow lady slipper. I don't know the second one. Now I have an idea of what to do with all the old skis up in my garage in Minnesota!

    ReplyDelete

Thank-you for reading my blog. I would love to read your comments.