DAy 73, Thursday June 14, 2018, Bow River Valley and Vermilion Rd.

It was a very rainy day, cool at 43 F, and even though it was a light rain, the clouds were low, and the light was dim. That meant few really sharp photos with sunlight. So we elected to take some shorter rides and get what we could in the local areas.  (We did drive 30 miles to Lake Louise for gasoline). The people say ‘Lake Louise’ remember there is a whole village there , and not just the lake, (The Canadians have big lighted boards telling you how many slots are left in the parking lots and if they are full as you drive in.  This is in many of the heavy traffic areas and venues. )(Banff and Jasper National Parks) 

First, Bow River Valley Drive was the route known to many here. There are many pullouts and vistas along this route and a good chance to see animals especially at this time when the young are just getting about. First there were two stops to listen and watch for birds. There were few moving about, so we could identify none.  (it is a the agreement among “birders” that you have to see and identify the bird. .If you can see it and know the song , then that is ‘kosher’). Another stop  was a wide opening known as the “Moose Meadow”. Nothing there but some very fine tree groupings caught Ruth and my eye. It sure looked “MOOSE FRIENDLY”.




Then came the surprise of the day. On this road there are Mountain sheep and various animals  that are often seen. It is heavy with shrubs and growth (young popple and willows that the Animals love) along the sides of the road. Good cover for animals. We saw a tour bus stopped in our lane of the road, and of course surmised that there was some animal there that they had seen.  We creeped up slowly behind the bus and saw in the brush a male Moose, probably in his second or third year . He was just getting the velvet  and was munching away with the bus and now traffic only 20 feet from him.  He ‘eyeballed’ Ruth I do believe. We moved slowly behind the bus and finally Ruth was able to get some very good photos  of the Moose. It was so close that her big lens was over powering . so she changed to the wider angle. What do you think of the photos? We lingered about 4 minutes as people behind us were anxious to get their chance to get some photos.  That was a great opportunity.




Moose photos(later)


The Bow River runs  along side this road (I think perhaps it should be vice versa) and includes some geologic forms that are unusual for this place. One of these  is a hill that was formed by the glaciers which took a piece of the mountain  as it began to move forward..  On the opposite side of the  road from that hill, is a wood lookout platform that allows you to observe what is called a “backswamp” of the Bow River.  This was new to me , the ex forester. The photo explains it quite well. It shows what can happen to an area, rather quickly sometimes, but in this case,… over many thousands of years


Back swamp photos (later)





That brought us to the end of the Bow Valley Drive at  Castle Junction where we had intended to buy gasoline, but found the one pump there was out of order. Fortunately, we had enough in the tank to make to to Lake Louise to fill up.   We returned to Q 1 from The Bow Valley Rd. At that point in Lake Louise, we also used the Wi Fi at the “Cavalanche”  to download e mail and send some e mail out along with my unfinished blog from last night. (No internet in the Canadian Parks.) And in as much as we have Verizon portable WiFI, could not use ours either. Verizon does not operate in Canada. Summer help was evident as the cashier there in the Cafe was “Gabby” who was born in Nova Scotia, so we shared about that place as we will be there in the fall.

The last stop was back to the Banff environs and to explore Vermilion Rd. which is adjacent to the Q 1 but not accessible from it, nor is it in the city of Banff, but outside a “klick or two”.  It has  a long narrow two lane road that loops around a large wetlands with much wildlife. Here we did see some birds and a few surprised us. There were COMMON LOONS (Nesting signs were all around) , a pair of RING NECKED DUCKS, GREAT BLUE HERONS, A COMMON MERGANSER, MALLARD, MARSH WREN, and a YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER. Not a huge count but some very fine birds that we worked hard to identify. Chasing down birds in the trees with the rain coming down is tough birding from a vehicle. (windows , rain coming in, windshield washers, the engine on and off, poor visibility and etc.) Fortunately it is a dead end road and traffic is minimal with few pullouts, so stopping off the road is not a problem. People are very patient and courteous.

That was it for the day and we settled in to the warmer trailer for the evening, Tomorrow, if the rain lets up, (and it has this evening) we will head for Peyto Lake, that glacial fed lake that is so beautiful in the mountains. Hopefully we will be able to send this at the “Cavalanche” stop in Lake Louise. Tomorrow ;MORE BIG ANIMALS!

(Later)