We are taking advantage of our location to get some great views and awesome hikes during our three days here. Even though it was a little nippy, we left for a hike up Parker's Ridge this morning.
Like most mountain hikes, we gained some elevation quickly. But Denisa has already made a new friend from Arkansas, so she is visiting as she hikes up and up from the highway.
Taking pictures gives her an excuse to stop to breath from this extra exertion in this thin air. That's the main reason she has this picture of a Clark's Nutcracker. These birds use their beaks to rip into pine cones and remove the seeds. Each bird will bury tens of thousands of pine seeds each summer, and then feed on them in the winter. The seeds they forget to eat play a key role in the planting of new pine trees.
With that educational nature tidbit out of the way, we're back to the hike. It didn't take long to get to our first view of the Saskatchewan Glacier just over the ridge. The top of the glacier is shrouded by clouds this morning. Notice that Denisa is wearing a blouse, a sweat shirt, and her jacket this cool summer day.
With high temperatures in the 40s, it certainly doesn't feel like August here in the Canadian Rockies.
We hiked to the end of the trail in one direction, and we have pictorial proof that we made it to the end. You know it's cold when Mark is wearing a jacket AND his gloves by the time we got to the sign that reads, "End of Trail" at Parker's Ridge.
So we meandered back down the ridge, taking pictures of the glacier and the surrounding mountains from our favorite lookouts.
That red rock must be our favorite viewpoint, as Denisa is still perched atop it. The views are getting better as the clouds have now lifted from the top of the mountain, showing the glacier off in all its icy grandeur.
The wildflowers are blooming on Parker's Ridge, and Denisa can't resist taking a flower-and-mountain picture when they look like a florist bouquet.
An extension of the trail leads us in the opposite direction on the ridge, and since we have all day, we hike to see where it takes us. It gets windier and colder until the end where we snap this picture at the crest. Then it's time to head to a lower spot before hypothermia sets in.
We wondered why these piles of rocks were on the ridge, and now we know. They block that cold August wind and allow us to warm up and eat a snack. Who knew that we would need to warm up on a hike in the middle of the hottest part of the summer?
The days are long this far north. So even after a good hike, we have plenty of daylight to explore more of this part of the Icefield Parkway. We saw several cars pulled over in an un-named parking area, so we decided to see what they were looking at. After a short hike along the river,
we found ourselves at the entrance of a forest, with a roaring waterfall. Mark scrambled up the rocks to get a closer view. You an barely see him in his black shirt in the very center of the picture below. Spectacular views by most standards, but this is just another ho-hum stop here along one of the most beautiful drives in the world.
We drove a little further and pulled into a rest area by Athabasca River. The rivers in these mountain valleys meander downstream, changing course along the way. The water forms narrow inlets and islands that connect and then divide the water. We had never heard the term "braided river" before, but now we understand it.
We're also keeping an eye on these beautiful pink flowers that flourish here in cold country.
They are called cardinal flowers, and they start blooming from the bottom. We've heard that when the blooms open up clear to the top of the stems, it's time to head south because snow is coming soon.
But for now we're enjoying this coats-and-gloves-weather in the middle of summer for a while longer as we continue to wander God's wonders in the mountains of Canada.
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