ROCKIES ROAD TRIP

We left the motor home Thursday morning just before 8 am then spent a long while waiting for the ferry to the mainland.  It was nearly 12:30 when we actually started driving from the ferry and it took us about 5 hours to Salmon Arm.  We stayed Thursday and Friday nights at Kevin's then headed east Saturday morning.  With several major photo stops and dog walks, it took us about 8 hours to drive to Kananaskis in the Alberta Rockies.  We are spending two nights at the Delta hotel here.  We are attending a nephew's wedding this afternoon then will head back to Salmon Arm tomorrow.  We haven't done a road trip in the car like this for many years so this has been something different.

Lots of snow on the mountains still, looking west on the Trans Canada Hwy at Rogers Pass

And looking east from the same spot

You can see that the avalanche shed was a life saver this winter, there are several of these along the highway

Fisher Peak at Kananaskis

An evening shot at Kananaskis

I got up about 5 am this morning and it was rather chilly but the mountains were beautiful

Spotted this lone Morel mushroom last evening on our walk

There are some wild Anenomes blooming along the bank overlooking the Kananaskis River valley

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CREEK

The first five photos were taken yesterday when I walked an abandoned stretch of road in search of geocaches.  Today I went for a walk up Rosewall Creek putting on nearly 11 kms and enduring a few rain showers.  I even met another crazy photographer who was using a tripod too.

Bracken Fern new growth, reminds me of a pugilist 

Sitka Spruce new growth

Lodgepole Pine new growth

Western White Pine new growth

Now identified as Shepherd's Purse, this introduced weed normally grows to 20 inches tall and is not welcome in the garden as it can transmit a fungi to cabbage and other plants.   This one is growing out of a bed of moss on top of old pavement and is only a few inches tall.  I thought it quite pretty.

Rosewall Creek trail

Rosewall Creek

Rosewall Creek

Your intrepid photographer emerging from hibernation

Rosewall Creek

Rosewall Creek

Rosewall Creek Falls

Rosewall Creek seasonal falls

Rosewall Creek trail

More Rosewall Creek photos below

EAGLE UP CLOSE AND A SEA LION

Charlie is in the process of ploughing part of his field.  It is too wet to complete.

Last night, Aileen and I took our friend Bev D up to French Creek marina and this eagle allowed us to approach much closer than normal.  Shot with my Canon SX50.

This eagle was taken tonight, also with the SX50.  He is drying his feathers either from the rain or diving into water for supper.

Also shot with the SX50 is this Sea Lion who was right below us on the dock.

These two of the Sea Lion were taken with my Canon 6D using a polarizing filter to reduce the glare off the water.

This also shot with my 6D full frame DSLR.  Storm light is interesting.

WELCOME LILY, THE NEWEST MEMBER OF OUR EXTENDED FAMILY

Spring is still making a reluctant appearance.  We get a bit of sun as a teaser then more clouds and showers roll in.  At least Vancouver Island isn't getting the terrible flooding and landslides that are happening in south central BC.
On Saturday afternoon some of the family and friends met at Matt and Kristeen's for a get together honouring little Lily, my nephew Matt's new baby.  Lily had been awake much of the previous night so slept most of the afternoon.  Several of us older folk got some pretend grandparenting in.  
Janet and John joined Charlie and Sheila and us for supper last night.  After supper we had a planning meeting for our 50th anniversary/family reunion coming in October.  Aileen and I signed the contract for the hall rental yesterday.  Aileen has quite a bit of the basic planning under way.  My job has been gathering emails to make a comprehensive list to keep everyone in the loop when we start sending out messages.
Aileen and I went to Nanaimo to get our passport renewal started.  Tomorrow I will be back down to Nanaimo to get the Honda CRV serviced.  Since we tow it behind the motor home, we get the transmission serviced every second year since towing is stressful for them.  This is the year again. We hope to keep the CRV going for a few more years as Honda CRV's can no longer be flat towed since they changed to a CVT transmission in 2015.  No idea what we would go to if we had to replace the CRV right now.

Aileen and our great niece, Lily

And one of me holding Lily, taken by Aileen

Palmate Coltsfoot, Nile Creek Canon SX50

Bald Eagle, hand held with my Canon SX50.  This eagle was just behind the house and our motor home a couple days ago.

The Canon SX50 lens was all the way out to 1200 mm then I maxed the digital zoom making this the equivalent of 4800 mm by my reckoning.   This camera is the best $400 I ever spent on my photography hobby.

Fairy Slipper, calypso bulbosa, taken with the SX50

I went for a walk up Nile Creek Sunday afternoon and the rapids and waterfalls were very nice.  Below are several of the waterfalls.  The creek photos were taken with my Canon 6D with a 24-105 zoom using a polarizing filter.