Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park March 15, 2020

The frame I picked to highlight this frosty photograph is called "travel stop sign!" 

 How fitting this is these days!  

While "out & about" today I thought about how fortunate I am to not to be outside Canada right now.  I thought about the many places that are almost just out my door where I can safely escape to like Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.  My thoughts go out to those who are facing a rough time from life's happenings these days.  A big Thank You to those who are doing what they do to protect us and to keep us healthy and safe!

🙏

 Soon I should be "Springing in Spain!"  Friday's notification stated "Springing in Spain" cancelled!  

Instead I now still "winter in the west" and I will be springing here too.  Yes, it is still winter and we were walloped with a wacky weather front.  I love winter and sometimes I believe "I am winter".  I left home at first light and headed to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park to hike for a planned 10 kms under sunshine yet with a frigid temperature of -25C with a windchill of -31C.   

No one had been on the trails I took since the new snowfall.  

I spiked along in the snow which covered a sheet of ice in sections.

There were many tracks, some brand new, some day olds, some big, some small.  They were going where I was going, oh darn.  Eventually the tracks headed off trail into the bush.  Later I heard coyote cries & howls coming from different directions.  Mating!  Protecting dens!

swishing over my shadow

I crossed the tracks with intentions of checking out the ice formations in the Bow River.  I saw the icicles hanging from the washroom building.  While it was mighty cold the sun was melting the icicle.  I tried maybe twenty times to capture a shot like this.  Finally I pressed at precisely the correct second.

I broke trail down to the Bow River.  As you can see from the track on the google earth map below, I checked out different sections along the way.  There was no section that was safe enough to get close enough to the ice formations for unique photos.  I was able to safely get close to this though.  The location of this ice chuck tells you how high the river has been.

The ice is wrapped around the trunks of the trees.

This is how cold it was this morning!

To capture a photo like this it was necessary to get down and be one with the ground.  

I crossed back over the tracks and aimed for a picnic table to chow down on my snacks and sip some peppermint tea.  The sun felt nice so I just sat there for awhile to appreciate it.  It was time to carry on and get back up the hill to the parking lot.  A few hours away from reality soothes the soul!  It was what I needed today!

the route I took today