Canadian Rockies, Day Two

Prince of Wales Hotel

What happened to Day One? Well, that was getting there. My alarm went off at 2:00am. I called for my taxi at 4:21am and arrived at LAX ready for the 7;25am flight. We landed in Calgary around 1:20pm after a change of planes in Salt Lake City. That evening my three friends and I met our tour guide and the other 40 people on the Caravan tour.

 

In the morning we left Calgary for Waterton Lakes National Park. The trip there was well, let’s just say it was hazy!

Looking down at the town of Waterton

Thank goodness for photographing in RAW format and photo processing in Lightroom with the “dehaze” function and some other tweaking!

This is what the scene above actually looked like!

Another view of the Prince of Wales Hotel

I was told there were approximately 500 wildfires raging across Canada.

The smoke was so thick I heard it was like smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.

Flower bouquets at our hotel

 

Once settled in our hotel, we embarked on a cruise of Waterton Lake.
The world’s first International Peace Park, formed in 1932 by combining Waterton Lakes Park in Canada with Glacier Park in Montana. These two parks form Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, a celebration of friendship between Canada and the US. Let’s hope!

 

Even though it was very hazy I made the decision I was going to keep snapping away and hope I could bring out some of the details in Lightroom when I got home. That turned out to be a great decision.

The cruise was very peaceful and just what I needed after the frenzied day before running for flight connections and getting to the hotel in Calgary. And previously that day we had a long, very boring bus trip from Calgary to Waterton. Compared to all that, this was truly blissful.

Click on an image below for images of the lake cruise

You’re not seeing double, I just wanted to show this image again to point out this photo of the line cut to demark the border of the US and Canada.

I liked this photo showing the “Thumbs Up” Canadian flag!

I always love reflections on the water.

We arrived at our destination on the Montana side of the lake. We were able to stretch our legs for a while. Click on an image below.

Then back on the boat to Canada!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner with a beautiful view. Then back to our hotel room.

Our patio furniture

Lovely view of lake from our room

View of the lake from our room. We sat outside for a while in the evening, sucking it all in.

And last, the three lovely ladies who made my trip so enjoyable!

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Yosemite – part four – my dream come true… SNOW!

Sunday night the dark clouds rolled in and made for some dramatic skies.

 

Monday morning I opened the drapes and voila… SNOW. Well, not exactly.

During the night we thought we heard heavy rain beating down. Turned out it was hail.

Walking over to breakfast it was a tad slippery!

But it was great to see white stuff on the mountains.

And eventually snow began to fall. This is what I’d been waiting for.

I was actually glad Mother Nature had waited until the last day to present us with snow. I don’t think I would have enjoyed hiking in the snow. I’ve hiked in the snow many times in the past (although not at Yosemite) and now I’m more concerned about slipping and falling.

But it was certainly wonderful to see it dusting the trees and mountains.

I loved the contrast of the greens and browns of the trees against the whites and blues.

Seeing the Yosemite Falls with snow and ice was pretty spectacular.

Yes, we are still in California! This Chevy provided the perfect contrast of colors.

So at last my vision of snow in Yosemite was realized… dreams do come true! Yosemite is splendid under any circumstances. But with snow it is extra special.

I do hope to visit Yosemite again at some point in the future. But now I don’t have to be disappointed if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

 

 

 

Yosemite – part three – a walk to the Majestic

Upper Yosemite Falls

On Sunday S and I decided to walk the two miles from Yosemite Valley Lodge over to the Majestic Yosemite Hotel (formerly known as the Ahwahnee Hotel).

 
It was another chilly sunny morning and I was beginning to doubt I would ever experience snow at Yosemite in my lifetime!

Although we enjoyed the group hike the day before, we were equally happy to have time on our own, going at our own speed and stopping to take photos.

A lot of the trees looked pretty brown and dried up. I wasn’t sure if that was the drought or the time of year.

The bare tree branches allowed for some dramatic scenes.

A rather ominous sign. Does that mean the rest of the park is full of guns?

Like Mona Lisa’s eyes, Yosemite Falls followed us along our route.

Our plan was to eat lunch at the hotel bar then take a docent tour of the Majestic Hotel.

Two of the light fixtures in the bar, one with bears, the other with pine trees.

After lunch we had a wait for the docent tour so I hunkered down for a nap in a very comfy chair in the Writing Room next to a window  with a lovely view.

View of the hotel built right up against the mountain.

Our tour guide was very lively and passionate about his subject. He told us he had been climbing El Capitan and Half Dome since he was about four years old with his parents.

Although our accommodations at the lodge were very comfortable I wouldn’t mind staying at the Majestic (Ahwahnee) on my next visit! This last photo shows what the original decoration of the walls and ceilings looked like. You can see the areas that have been uncovered under the yellow and brown paint. At one point it was thought to be too busy so it was painted over.

Yosemite – part two – a hike and the Golden Hour

Saturday was our first full day at Yosemite National Park. One of our leaders was on crutches and announced she was leading a saunter so S and I decided that was our kind of hike! I walked outside our room in the morning to get the photo above. It was COLD out there!

This was the view from our patio. Somebody said this was Cathedral Rocks so I’m going with that!

Photographers blocking our view!

We set out on our “saunter” along the Merced River. There was no snow but it was CHILLY! My gloved hands were totally numb and I had difficulty clicking the shutter on my camera.

The top of the Yosemite Falls. One of the magnificent features of the park is all the waterfalls.

Half Dome peeking up in the center.

I honestly didn’t think I had any good photos from this trip. But when I got home and looked at them in Lightroom I realized I had a few. I think there might even be two or three that I can work on to upload to Fine Art America.

I enjoy framing a similar view in a different way.

The light coming through the trees was magical and mystical.

In the afternoon we visited the Ansel Adams Gallery. What could be finer than viewing masterful photographs by the man himself in the location he shot them in? Ah, life doesn’t get much better!

Bridal Falls… think you can figure out where the name came from!

I came back to our room and sat outside in the patio with a little vodka cocktail (well, maybe not so little…). You can see our chairs and table and the beautiful view through our picture window. My friend said when she got back to LA her body had returned but her soul was still in Yosemite. Agreed!

It is so important to spend time in nature and to get out of your usual routine so your brain can fly.

As evening set in we were fortunate to catch the Golden Hour. The next evening the clouds rolled in and there was no Golden Hour…

All day long and all evening long we were fascinated with the plane entrails passing overhead.

So you’ve seen day one and day two. Two more days coming up!