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.All Trips / Central USA / Colorado / North America
Signs of Aspen
The small town of Aspen is a beautiful if somewhat unusual place to visit. The gorgeous mountain setting is something you’d never tire of, but the town is quirky. It’s a blend of hippy, cowboy, the frontier, and recently a lot of Hollywood (I don’t believe I’ve ever driven by an airport with more private jets parked in it than Aspen airport). Aspen’s transformed itself from being a rather simple mountain town to an upscale trendy resort.
The town is well know for it’s great winter skiing and in the summer has become a popular family vacation destination. It’s got excellent restaurants, all types of shops, and lots of outdoor activities. For me it’s a fun day-trip destination.
Since I’ve started collecting …
Tagged Aspen, mountains, Rocky Mountains, Signs
.All Trips / Central USA / Colorado
A visit to Minturn Market, Colorado
Among the pleasures of summer across the northern hemisphere is that farmers markets spring to life for a few months, serving a bounty of fresh produce along with other items people buy at a market, like handicrafts, baked goods, snacks, jewelry and the like. I’ve grown increasingly fond of these markets over the years, visit them frequently — especially when I’m traveling — and like to share them with my fellow travel lovers!
Minturn is a small sleepy town of just over a thousand residents a few miles west of Vail and a few miles east of Beaver Creek, Colorado. It’s built along the Eagle River, a popular mountain river with fly-fishermen. Each Saturday from 9 am to …
Tagged food, Market, Minturn, Rocky Mountains
“Pic of the Week”, August 21, 2015. Sunrise in the Canadian Rockies
There are moments I’m really glad I always travel with a camera. This past weekend I drove to Banff National Park for a hike and fossil discovery trip (in the famous Burgess shale –more to follow). I had to leave my home in Calgary quite early, departing before sunrise. It had been raining overnight and the sky was overcast and cloudy. As I approached the Bow Valley entrance into the Rockies, the clouds began to break up and the tops of some of the mountains caught the early morning light.
It was beautiful! I hope you agree.
Aug 20, 2015
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“Pic of the Week”, March 6, 2015. Clearing winter storm
While much of the eastern part of North America has had some terrible winter storms this year, we in the west have had a relatively mild winter. There are some storms, but in Alberta these have been short and separated by periods of warmer weather (thanks to the warming westerly Chinook winds).
Still, within the Rocky Mountains winter storms can be dramatic and dump lots of snow. At at distance, they seem beautiful to me. A few photos of a storm in the Alberta Rockies viewed from the foothills of the great prairies.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)
Mar 5, 2015
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.All Trips / Central USA / Colorado / North America
Flatirons Vista Loop Hike, Boulder, Colorado
One of my favorite regions to hike is anywhere near the transition between the great Central Plains and the Rocky Mountains. The region offers opportunity to explore several ecosystems and to enjoy grand panoramic views of the mountains and a seemingly endless prairie, with relatively little effort due to the flatness of the plains.
Flatirons Vista Trail offers a hike that’s custom-tailored to the above description. It’s just south of the college city of Boulder, Colorado (where my youngest son is currently a postgrad in physics), immediately off Highway 93, and is a loop trail that offers great views of Boulder’s famous Flatirons. There’s lots of parking (for a fee for non-residents, so bring small bills with you). The trail is quite …
“Pic of the Week”. February 14, 2014. Ice in the Vertical Plane — Seven Sisters Dam, Manitoba, & Cascade Mountain, Alberta
I’ve always found water freezing vertically, rather than in it’s usual horizontal plane, to be oddly appealing. Obviously it has to freeze slowly, a trickle of water turning solid as gravity pushes it towards the earth. Individually these drops don’t mount to much but when there are millions of them you create a natural work of art.
Today’s highlighted photos are of two destinations I visited this past year which demonstrated “ice in the vertical”. The photo above was taken late winter in eastern Manitoba’s Whiteshell Provincial Park, a place I fondly remember from my childhood. My family would often go camping, fishing, and gathering wild blueberries and mushrooms here during the summer. The Seven Sisters …
Feb 13, 2014
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“Pic of the Week” bonus. October 27, 2013. Larches in their fall colors
I just enjoyed a beautiful drive in Canada’s Rocky Mountains this past weekend, through the Alberta’s Crowsnest Pass and on towards the Elk River Valley in southeastern British Columbia. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous with the larches in their orange-yellow canopy. I had no idea there were so many larches in these evergreen forests.
Those who live in milder climates may not be familiar with larches. They’re deciduous pine trees (conifers) that change color each fall, shed their needles and regrow them in the coming spring. They add a great variety of color to the mountainous forests in the Northern states and Canada, although these colors are short-lived, lasting only a week or two at most.
Thought you’d enjoy these images!
(Click on …
Oct 26, 2013
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“Pic of the Week”, Oct. 4, 2013. Stanley Glacier, Kootenay National Park
Stanley Glacier is easily accessible, so it’s a popular day hike in the Canadian Rockies. It’s situated by the border of the B.C. and Alberta, near Castle Junction in Kootenay National Park. The trail provides a great half day hike with an elevation gain of 365 m (1200 ft), taking you to the foot of Stanley Glacier. The hike encompasses much of what makes the Canadian Rockies special, with wonderful panoramas, cascading creeks, rugged mountains and the hanging Stanley Glacier in a hanging valley.
If you hike in the fall, about this time of year or a little earlier, you’ll be treated to some wonderful colors along the lower portion of the trail in the area of an old …
