Prairie View March 18 2017

Today's color comes to you by way of clothing & characters & camaraderie!

With spring on the verge of being sprung, I think of sun, warmth, crocuses, Easter, color.  These ultimately would not naturally play a part while we were "out & about" which meant it was time to find a way to "save the day".  Not long into heading west then south, the discussion began on how to accomplish saving our day as we drove into a sprinkle, then a driving rain with next a full on heavy snowfall which was accumulating fast.  The consensus was this formula was not for us today.  We did an about face and headed back up north picking Barrier Lake as our starting point.  

The day was gray but it was dry here. 

We bundled up in many layers and faced the force of the wind along the section by the Lake.  

The hair pin turns through the forest were snow covered with icy sections.  Cougar tracks were plentiful some which looked as recent as this morning.  We stuck together carrying on with conversation and made our way up to the first open view point along Prairie View Trail.  It was nice to see the Lake looking that pretty blue color.  I opted for a destination shot here just in case this would be our turn around spot.

It is wonderful to be amongst spirited friends.  

They add color to any day.  

After capturing our fun photos, we checked out the trail further along.  Between ice, snow, and mud we agreed instead of hitting higher points, our pleasure would be seeking shelter with a view then settle down to relax and dine.  After savouring my salad, banana bread, almonds and tea, it was time to let the child within come out and add a little more color and a character to our day.  I am in the mindset of spring so instead of building a snowman I designed an Easter bunny.  

We spent quite some time at the view point then when all was said and done, we geared up and headed down.  Time passed as did kilometers while being caught up in conversation and before we new it we were ready to brace against the wind again.  The wind was even wilder now along the Lake shore.  Just prior to reaching the parking lot, the spitting began.  We quickly unloaded, packed up and aimed for home.   

The choices to safely venture to this weekend were more limited than they have ever been.  The avalanche ratings are at the highest level I have ever seen them. Even though, there are still safe places to play and I wanted to be "out & about".  I was very happy to find some friends to join in with and share in adding color to a gray day.

Thank you for today!