Nose Hill Sunrise April 18, 2019

There was no time to lounge around this morning, I had a plan to attack and it meant getting out the door really early and up to Nose Hill Park for sunrise.  I have been wanting to see what "Nose Hill Lake" looks like during those sweet golden moments in the early morning.  After parking the car, I had to get up that hill and be sure to take the correct path that lead to the Lake.  I got there with time to spare and how pretty it was!  

the hill I needed to get up quickly

I got distracted along the way.  

Things kept catching my eye.  

a crocus bouquet during the golden moments

so alive and so cheerful and so bright and so precious

I made it to the rock pile and just had to make sure I took the right path from here.

Ahhh!

It was much prettier than I thought it could be!

I stayed a little while to see what might transpire!

If I saw nothing else up on Nose Hill this morning that would not be a problem as I felt fulfilled with what I witnessed already. I carried on past the Lake walking through the trees and then came out into the open.  The light was still lovely.  When I looked behind me it looked like the ocean meeting the sky but it was the layers of clouds that gave off that look.

Working towards completing the loop I was pretty sure there would be more crocuses nearing the end.  I found the slopes carpeted with blooms at all stages.  There were many single flowers and a few bouquets like this one.  

a shadow shot to end with

This was today's 8 kilometre route.

Horsethief & Horseshoe Canyons Drumheller April 17, 2019

I had ideas in my mind on how to pass Wednesday's hours.  When today rolled around and I rolled out of bed it was clear to me that Drumheller would be the place to venture to.  The weather forecast said go there today.  It had been sunny and nice the past few days so there would be no slipping and sliding while hiking down into and up out of Horsethief and Horseshoe Canyons.      

Horsethief Canyon

I opted to hike throughout Horsethief Canyon first.  I had been once before but did not go very far. This time I wanted to tack on a hike out to the edge of the Red Deer River from the canyon bottom.  It was quiet here today and I knew it would be being a mid week day in April.  I could see a couple or two off in the distance on the tops of the formations.  When all was said and done at Horsethief Canyon, I had completed a big loop.

sign at the Parking Lot 

looking down into the Canyon before making my way down 

I hiked down and then hiked a very very quick up to capture a destination shot.

view along the way with the Red Deer River off in the distance

I found my way to the Red Deer River.

on a grassy ridge 

Crocuses were everywhere!  I was not expecting that they would be a large part of my day.  I was there for the landscape but could not resist incorporating them into my landscape photos.  It was so dry here and hot in the Canyon, yet these flowers were the healthiest I have seen.   

working my way up out of Horsethief Canyon

almost back up on the rim 

I reached the top and had a look back.

This was the route I covered.  My intentions were to go back the way I came but as it turned out I could not find my way back that way.  I kept my eye on the top where I knew the direction of the parking lot was and aimed for that.  In fact as it turned out, the return route was easier than the way I came down and much prettier.    

Badlands Trail at Museum

In between Horsethief and Horseshoe Canyons is Drumheller and the Royal Tyrrell Museum.  I had been to it a few times and that's enough, I am not a museum type of person.  This time I strolled around the one kilometer interpretive trail which I had not done before.  I shared this trail with a group of students.  Their interests seemed everywhere but where it should be.  This loop was over quickly and I moved on down the road.

museum reflecting in the pond

the views were very pretty along this little loop

at a high point on the trail looking down onto the museum

Horseshoe Canyon

I drove through Drumheller and out to Horseshoe Canyon.  Lots of work has been done to this area.  A new staircase leads down into the canyon bottom.  There are also observation decks at different levels for those that prefer not to go all the way down. 

Oh yes, the crocuses were plentiful here too!

A pathway has been put in place as you can see to the right.  There are many signs along this trail to stay on it and do not venture off.  I followed it to the end.  It did not go far enough for me but it would be plenty for others to get a good feel for this landscape.

I returned along the main trail until there was a place I could veer off.  I explored the bottom of the Canyon working my way over to the far side to where I use to enter into the canyon from.  I hiked back up to the rim along the gold trail on the left.  You can see the main trail down to the right.

I reached the top completing a loop of Horseshoe Canyon.  

It was time for a late lunch in the warmth of the desert-like sun.  

view from the fence beside my picnic table

Before I left, I walked over to the viewing deck to have one last look down into the Canyon.

After numerous hours invested in enjoying this beautiful day in this unique part of our province it was time to pack up my stuff and head on home.  Driving back to Calgary I left the badlands views behind, had prairie views on my sides and mountain views ahead.  I feel very fortunate for everything  I got to see and experience today!  

Gardner's Gate April 14, 2019

I had never heard of Gardner's Gate!  I do have all the guide books but rarely do I read through the brand that seems to have a different vocabulary than I do.  Well it is in one of those source references where the way to get to Gardner's Gate is well documented.  It was a fun route finding affair kind of day that took us up and along Indian Graves Ridge, then onto Gardner's Ridge and finally to Gardner's Gate.  We had views of all sorts yet I found it was views like this framed photo that captured my attention for most of our day.   

 While we were gearing up, I looked up and saw where we would first hike up.

It was steep right from the start yet thankfully snow free.  

It was heads down as I went up. No conversation, no admiring scenery, the focus was just to get this big up over with so we could get on with riding the ridge.  While my head was down I did notice lots of crocuses but I only admired them. We reached the top and were afforded a grand view.

 on Indian Graves Ridge

I heard of Indian Graves Ridge before but what I heard was never good.  

That, I don't understand.  I loved everything about this place today.  

I do realize though that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 all kinds of wild and wonderful trees

We descended off Indian Graves Ridge.  A few times we stopped to verify our location and that we were heading where we wanted to be heading.  This sign was an important marker and we were glad to come across it.  

 heading to our lunch spot at the end of the fence in the shelter of the trees

 view from our lunch spot

It took quite some time to get to our lunch spot.  After lunch we checked our time, how much further it was to Gardner's Gate, then decided let's go for it.  This was where the roller-coaster ride began with loads of ups and downs, forest sections and then stretches with open views.  I liked this kind of aspen section.

 We needed to find certain meadows which we eventually did in a fun round about way.

Then the landscape changed somewhat and we sensed we were near Gardner's Gate after being on Gardner's Ridge for some time.  It was looking very pretty and perfect for pictures.  

eyeing where the gate might be

We arrived at Gardner's Gate.  It was well after what we figured should be our turn around time.  Even though it was getting well on in the afternoon, we still took some deserved time here.  This is my destination shot.

 We opened the fence and scampered up the hill to see what was over the other side.

It was beautiful in this direction.  

With mountains behind us, I still enjoyed these rolling hills in front of us.

We closed Gardner's Gate and got back onto Gardner's Ridge for the return trip.  

We arrived back to where we had dined a few hours prior.  

We took a short snack and rest break.

We made our way onto Indian Graves Ridge and decided to follow the fence the entire way instead of meandering through the forest on the other side of the fence. This skeleton was on the trail and while others said it looked like a vertebrae, I said it looks like a face to me.

We made it back to the memorial bench and once again took a few minutes to rest, admire the scenery and to capture more beautiful photos.  Here I go again ignoring the mountains behind me and paying attention to those rolling hills again.

 You can see our cars, those tiny dots in the center down there.  

 I went for a quick down on that steep hill so I could have some time to photograph the crocuses.  

 When I was almost at the bottom I took a look back to see the others working their way down.  

We reached the cars which we parked beside a small boulder field.  It felt good to sit on a boulder and get my boots and socks off, take my hat off and get those pig tails out of my hair, to get my compression exercise socks on then slip into my walking shoes and lace then up.  That's all it took to feel somewhat fresh again.  

Thank you for this day of enjoyable exploring!