My schedule of late has not allowed time for trail adventures.  Time off has been spent trying to stay ahead of the dandelion invasion in the backyard.  One full day from sun up to sun down was spent playing catch up with the weeds, spring plantings and mowing.  It was due to this productive day that I was finally able to venture to David Thompson country for an entire day.

I watched the forecast but was going to go rain or shine.  There was more shine than rain so it made for a pleasurable drive.  We try to go annually for some spring bear sightings.  The ditches along the David Thompson highway are usually filled with tasty dandelions that the bruins love.

We packed up and left at 8am for the three hour drive.  Within 20 minutes from home, a young moose crossed the road in front of us.  There were a couple of pit stops at Village at the Lake and Rocky Mountain House.  My son was lucky to see a great blue heron watching for lunch in the Battle River.  The only wildlife we saw along the David Thompson highway was a coyote.  We made it to the Nordegg area just before noon.

Landslide Lake was our most westerly stop.  I love to visit the area to see how much it changes from year to year.  My first visit there was a year after a controlled burn took place.  Each year since, the forest has changed.  The first year, the wild flowers were abundant.  Since then, the young aspens have been reaching for the sky.  They are now about 5-6 feet tall in most areas.  The charred bark from the standing snags is falling to the ground, leaving pure white trunks.  The birds have returned and sing from the tree tops.

From Landslide Lake, we drove east to Fish Lake.  It is a favorite camping/fishing spot.  The lake side picnic tables were filled with partiers, helping someone celebrate a 25th anniversary.  There were a number of boats on the lake with fishermen hoping to catch the big one.  The pier had kids running back and forth on it so it would have been pointless to try and cast from there.  

We left the Fish Lake day use area and drove through the campground.  The sites are still well maintained and my all time favorite one was sitting empty.  There were not too many hardy campers.

The Harlech Fish Pond can be found along the highway, east of Nordegg.  We stopped here to try our hand at fishing.  The wind gusted now and again making it difficult for casting but the sun was shining and there was nobody else around so the afternoon was perfect.  Just before leaving, a dark cloud to the north of us provided some thunder in the distance but no rain in our area.

After packing up the fishing gear, we left this beautiful country for the trek back home; arriving around 8pm.  The day trip is long but so worth it if you only have one day and need to make the best of it.  

I'll be digging out the camping gear and heading that way again when I can stay for a couple of days. In the meantime, I'll be trying my best to get out to the trails more often since the invasion of the dandelions in my yard is finally under control.