Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Yellow Penstemon

This was one of the wildflowers seen when we stopped for a short while at Castle Mountain, on the way home from Peyto and Bow Lakes. I was going to crop the image to a square, but decided to leave the colourful wildflower bokeh intact. On 23 June 2018, I had the wonderful chance to return to two of my favourite places in the mountains - Bow Lake and Peyto Lake. This was thanks to the annual Bus Trip for Nature Calgary, with each year being to a different location in Alberta. These two Lakes are too far for me to drive (roughly two and a half hours), but mainly because they are way out of my driving comfort zone. I think I have only ever been to Peyto Lake twice before, the first time being something like 38 years ago, and the second time being in August 2013. Almost 40 years ago, I fell in love with Bow Lake, my absolute favourite place. I have been lucky enough to visit it a handful of times in recent years. Unfortunately, we couldn't capture the beautiful, really deep turquoise colour that Peyto lake is so well known for. Too many low clouds and an overcast, damp day, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. The forecast that I had seen for this whole area had been for snow-rain showers, with a high temperature of 12C and a low of 1C. Though the day started off with rain, we were lucky that we only had a few raindrops while we were out walking. It was really dreary weather, though, which was not good as far as photography was concerned. Our first stop was at Peyto Lake, where we walked the short distance to the wooden Lookout deck. From there, we hiked a loop through the forest, finding a few wildflowers and some beautiful Orange Peel Fungus. On the way back to the Lookout, you really need to be very careful to take a path that leads back to the correct parking lot! The last few people took the wrong path and ended up waiting for a bus that never came for them. So easily done. They were eventually found, but after a long delay. "Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River." wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake From Peyto Lake, we drove to the nearby Bow Lake, which just takes my breath away. I had told a couple of friends how beautiful it is, but that the best kind of day to visit is a sunny day with absolutely calm lake water so that reflections are seen. Well, that was definitely not the kind of day we had, but one makes the best of what one gets. We spent time there, walking part way along the edge of the lake, looking for any bird and wildflower species, and simply soaking up the amazing beauty of our surroundings. www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/bow-lake-1997/ On the way back to Calgary, we were very lucky to notice a handful of cars that had pulled over on the side of the road. This always makes one wonder if a bear has been sighted. Sure enough, our bus driver slowed down and stopped for a short while to allow us to take a few photos. After a few minutes, I heard our organizer tell someone (or more than one person) to stop using flash, as it was stressing out the bear. Tell me, just WHY would anyone think it was OK to use flash on a wild animal that was just a few feet away from our bus!!! An animal that was busy feeding on dandelions and had been taking no notice of us. So maddening when photographers don't have respect for wildlife and just don't think! I happened to be sitting on the 'wrong' side of the bus and had two or three rows of people who were sitting or standing up, all trying to get their shots in between the people in front of them. So, my photos are not good, but serve as a record of having had the privilege of seeing such a beautiful creature. A final, short stop on the way home was near Castle Mountain, which is a very impressive sight. It also has an interesting history, which I will add when I eventually post a photo taken there. Many thanks, Penny, for organizing our trip to such perfect places! I know a huge amount of work goes into making all the plans - thanks, too, to John for helping out with this. A very successful and most enjoyable outing. Shirley and Pam - I greatly appreciated your driving to meeting places here in the city!

The weather forecast was not good for that day, 19 August 2014, but we were so lucky that, apart from a few raindrops, the rain stayed away. The sun actually came out at two locations we stopped at for a short while. Our 18-hour day (from 6;00 a.m. till midnight!) started off with the thrill of seeing two or three little American Pikas (also called Rock Rabbits) and ended with a brief sighting of a black Wolf (could it be Skoki?) crossing the road ahead of us in the dark. It disappeared into the blackness, but shortly afterwards, we heard three separate Wolves howling (possibly four). We just stood there, in total awe, listening to this amazing sound. The only wild Wolf I had ever seen before was when I was in Yellowstone National Park two years ago. Friends and I saw two Wolves feeding on a Bison carcass across a huge valley - so they were just distant specks, that became larger specks when my camera was in full zoom, ha. In between these two highlights, we saw several Deer, a small group of Mountain Sheep on the road, a tiny Chipmunk, a few Cedar Waxwings, Columbian Ground Squirrels, a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk that sat on a branch out in the open for a long time, and two tiny Bats that flew very close over our heads when it was getting dark. We also saw a female Spruce Grouse and two young ones. Didn't see too many wildflowers, but was happy to find this Yellow Penstemon (is it Penstemon confertus?) at one of our stopping places. Hadn't seen this plant since a brutal hike a handful of years ago, along the Picklejar Lakes Trail - that nearly killed me! Then, of course, there is the scenery! Blue sky to go with the splendour of the mountains would have been wonderful, but we've been having cold and gloomy weather recently. Highway 40 and the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail both run through such spectacular scenery, so it was a real treat for me, especially as I won't drive those areas myself. Thanks so much, Cathy & Terry! Thanks, too, Terry, for spending at least an hour (?) removing one of the car wheels and fixing whatever was wrong with it!