Mountain Grandeur

Today's pictures are of our hikes with good friends and the breath taking scenery they are fortunate enough to experience year round. They live in Canmore AB except for the winter months when they snowbird off to Florida.

My traveling buddy, Ron, sits before the Bow River in Banff.


Two different days we went hiking with John and Heather. This is one of the views.



Here are John and I hamming it up, as usual, while Ron relaxes.


We thought this would be a great place to golf. Ron has his eye on the Kananaskis country for a golf trip with Kevin and Ben when Ben is 13. We have a while to wait!



This is fall in the Rockies. The yellow larch high up near the treeline are the equivalent to our fall colours here in Ontario. Very pretty.


I hiked up this seemingly endless set of steps in the hillside and turned around to take the picture.


This is a kayaking course where the brave test their skill and endurance going through various twists and turns. I was happy to be on dry land.


This fellow had a kind of a surf board, tied to his ankle so that it wouldn't get away down the rapids, and he was surfing in the fast flow of water coming through these rocks. Until he fell off, but each time he did he made his difficult way back to the notch and surfed again.


The red kayak below centred my picture nicely, don't you think?


Another of the same kayaker.


The Bow River is the centre of many a mountain shot here in Banff. I was disappointed that the famous Bow River view from the veranda of the Banff Springs Hotel has been obscured by trees which have been allowed to grow up.


On our second hiking day we took an easy trail up, up and up. I thought it was pretty hard until I saw what these fellows were doing--mountain climbing!


When we reached the top this panorama was our reward. I could have sat there all day.


And I got another shot of the same view, this time with John surveying the mountains.


John, Heather and I paused a moment for Ron to get our picture. This was my first foray with walking sticks and I found them quite helpful going up. Coming down I just carried them.


Well we're not about to move west any time soon but, my oh my, this is a beautiful part of Canada. Our friends have taken wholeheartedly to the hiking and climbing that is so spectacular around Canmore and Banff and I am a little envious. Meanwhile my husband and I have new hiking shoes and yesterday we hiked the Elora Gorge. Pretty cool there, too.