So today we set off early (too early for Kerri) and headed out toward Banff. Instead of doing our usual trek to Banff & Lake Louise, we turned off just before the mountains & headed south into Kananaskis country. It is a provincial park, not a national Park. The difference is that you don't need to pay for a parks pass & the government seem to have a dam on every lake.
There are a bunch of camping spots along the road (Route 40).
The one that was most noteworthy was near the Nakiska ski resort, called "Beaver Ponds". It isn't too hard to work out where the name came from. There are a number of these beaver dams (I assume they are real beaver dams) in the area. We didn't see any of the local residents, but they only come out at night or dawn & dusk.
The Kananaskis Trail (Route 40) has nowhere near the spectacular scenery of the Icefield Parkway, but it is worth a sticky beak anyway. The road runs north-south along the first valley into the Rockies. It's flanked on both sides by sharp mountain ranges like the one pictured (Kananaskis Range). They all look grey & dirty like the one pictured and, as for the Icefield Parkway, are not particularly nice looking at this time of year. I'm very keen to have a drive through here when there is some snow on the peaks. Another month or so should do it.
We were about to turn off to the road that runs along beside the Kananaskis lakes when Kerri spotted some wildlife beside the road, right at the turn off. This mob of Big Horn Sheep were just going about their business beside the road. They aren't the prettiest animals, but they are native & protected in the parks. I didn't see any of the males with the rally big horns amongst this lot.
The Upper & Lower Kananaskis lakes are probably the highlight of the drive through Kananaskis Country. They have the turquoise tint to them that the lakes in Banff National Park epitomise. The lower lake (below) is the longer of the two and appears to be quite a popular fishing spot. The upper lake feeds into it via a Hydro-electric generation plant located just to the left of picture
It's not bad, but when you compare it to the Glacial Lakes in Banff National Park, it just isn't in the hunt.
Note the ranges left and right as far as the eye can see.
The Upper Lake is the prettier of the two with some rugged peaks behind it & a some more interesting vegetation & shoreline. The peaks in picture still have some traces of ice left as they don't get much sun even at this time of year. Again this lake is pretty popular with the fisher folk.
Kerri and I were walking along the dam wall of the Upper Kananaskis lake admiring the view. I had dropped behind a little when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye.
I had seen one of these Golden-mantle Ground Squirrels at Moraine Lake a few weeks back. This one was ultra-cheeky. I stopped to have a look and grabbed the camera. While I was fumbling around with the camera, he came up really close to me. I snapped off a couple of picks & crouched down. He came right up and I held my hand out. He actually put his front feet up on my fingers. I suspect he had been fed by tourists before because he scuttled off all disappointed when there was nothing to offer. He came back a couple of times after that. I guess he either had a short memory, or was just hoping he'd get a different result.
I have always been an animal lover and a close encounter with any kind of wild creature, big or small, has always been a thrill. It made my day.
Today's trip started and ended in Calgary. We headed West on the Trans-Canada to the mountains, then South along Kananaskis Trail. We had to get back to Calgary through farmland to the SW of the city for about 75 kms. Along the way we saw the typical farms that you see anywhere on the prairies.
About 3/4 of the way back we saw a bunch of people parked & out of their cars looking at a little pond. I didn't know what it was all about, but eventually saw movement at the edge of the pond. By the ears & the head, I instantly knew what it was.
If you hadn't guessed already, you will know now. This young moose added another tick box to the Canadian animals we've seen so far. I'm guessing he/she is a bit over a year old. I'm not a moose expert, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was its first season away from its mother.
It was the last place I expected to see one of these animals & was under the impression that they only lived north of the North Saskatchewan River. How wrong I was. I'm guessing we were about 40kms south of Calgary.
This picture reminded me of the TV show set in the north of Alaska called "Northern Exposure". The start of the show had footage of a moose walking down the main street.
I'm sure we'll get to see more Canadian wildlife in a couple of weeks when we spend four days in and around Banff. (I have another four day weekend coming up.).
