We don't always have to go far to find nature and we don't always want to. Glenbow Ranch is fifteen minutes West of Calgary and has some classic Albertan views. The mountain vistas with the Bow river running through the foreground and the big sky is something I can never get enough of. We can see the mountains from our house but they still draw us in.
These pictures were taken in the middle of winter. There isn't much snow as the grass is long and Western Alberta gets something called Chinooks which raise the temperature. We would normally go Cross Country Skiing if it was cold but this week there was a break in the cold. A Chinook is when the temperature fluctuates from say minus 20 to plus 10 in a few hours because of warm air from the oceans drops down after being lifted over the mountains. This welcomed visitor is a unique phenomenon that is rare and only found in a few areas immediately West of the Rocky Mountains.
The frozen landscape looks colder than it was. We don't like hiking on icy trails but the path was clear. Because this is an open ranch, walking around in the hot summer sun is much less pleasant than during a Chinook. We ventured through some fields with grazing cattle down to the river.
There are a few places with trees, the bank of the river being one of them. Summers and winters can be dry here but the snow blows into the river and the ice gets thick when temperatures plunged below minus 20 for a few weeks solid. It would take one heck of a Chinook to melt this. Don't walk on it though, cause I wouldn't jump in after you and the ice is choppy.
Watching the sun set over the horizon was so incredible we just stood there. The camera doesn't do this justice, the random patters of the ice and the open sky made for the best reward. Hiking back would be all up hill and it gets dark early in January.
Open ranch land with low hills, or foothills is the classic Albertan view. This was looking away from the Mountains, towards the North West of Calgary but you can't see it as the downtown would be to the right. This Ranch is protected and is being expanded as ranchers donate their land to the park, they keep the grazing rights, but it ensures that there won't be urban sprawl.
We came back 4 and a half months later in the Spring. More trails were suitable for hiking and it wasn't too hot. Forget the jungle or the beach, nothing is hot like walking around the open plains and foothills with the sun beating down on you and no shade. So we head for the grove.
(Today hit plus 30 and the sun is up for 18.5 hrs/day this time of year so you do not want to be going on long hikes in the middle of the day when there is no shade)
Green and blue mean Spring is here, it's late in these parts. Glenbow Ranch is 1200 m above sea level and it's closer to the North Pole than the Equator.
This would be the perfect spot for a picnic, they have benches and shelters around but there was a couple behind us doing just that near some logs. The fresh grass is most inviting.
The contrast between spring and winter is apparent when you are out of the forest. Green instead of white, it fees warm and less frigid. Summer doesn't last forever and we have to make the most of it. It's a long weekend so we will be hiking two days in a row this weekend instead of our usual one.
If you look back at the first photo, you will notice this one was taken in almost the same direction just a hundred or so meters apart. It's barely recognizable but the view is always phenomenal.
Ground squirrels are my favorite, there is a large colony of Richardson 's Ground Squirrels near the lower Vista Point in the park, towards Cochrane. Just like the sun setting over the river, I could watch these active critters for some time.
There was a Coyote looming in the fields, this was captured from a video I took of it running away. No doubt the squirrels spend most of their time on the lookout for these predators. We also saw deer on our visit the best time to see animals here is always during the Spring.
All photos taken with an s22
