Road trip. First leg of day two. Fish Lake to Saskatchewan River Crossing.

When I left the lake the sky was clear and the sun was out. There were very few vehicles on the road at that hour so I knew I could make many stops for photos. The first was at Abraham Lake. I cannot drive by without stopping to take in the beauty of the blue water and mountain views. Added to that was some low cloud drifting over the lake.

My next usual stop is Landslide Lake. A controlled burn happened there years ago and I've stopped to see how the landscape changes each year. I've seen the burnt logs lose their bark, the wildflowers take over the forest floor, the new trees begin to grow and the birds return to the new forest. There was no stopping this time. Thick fog replaced the blue sky and sunshine. I was ready to turn around and head back east. I wanted to see the mountains. I endured the fog for a few more kilometers and was blessed with blue sky and sun for the remainder of the trip.

The Cline River runs along the highway. It is running fast and high. There were rapids in an area that had rock and sandbars for years. 

I didn't see any wildlife but the ditches were filled with wildflowers of every color. As I drove west, the color purple, was prolific. The Spreading Creek Wildfire went through this area. Last year the hills were covered with charred tree trunks. This year the hills are covered with fireweed.

There is a rest stop / look out at Saskatchewan River Crossing. The first time that I ever stopped there, I was wearing a pink jacket and I got buzzed by a hummingbird. I must have looked like the biggest pink flower it has every seen.

No hummers today, just beautiful mountain vistas.

I don't really need to leave the area that I live in to find things to do. That's the positive to living in a wilderness area with hiking trails at three different parks within 5-15 minutes from my backdoor. That being said, I do need a mountain/camping fix a couple times a year so I went on a two day road trip.

I left home at 7:30am on Thursday and arrived at Fish Lake in David Thompson country at 11:30am. I knew the outing was going to be a good one when I caught the first glimpse of a doe and two fawns getting a drink of water from a pond. Beauty.

There were storm clouds on the horizon as I headed south but I stayed dry. In fact it was dry until I got camp set up. I snagged the last first-come first-serve site. It was meant to be. Well, there were other sites but nobody pays heed to the park regulations that state 'no saving spots'. On the way to my site, there were at least 4 if not 5 of them saved.

The camping part of the trip was a last minute decision so totally unplanned but I keep all the gear together. Well, at least I thought I did. The normal routine is to roll the poles inside the tent and store it so when I grabbed the tent, I thought the poles on top of the second tent belonged to it. Wrong. I had the tent but no poles.

That worked out okay because I rented a car with seats that could be adjusted so they fit like a glove and they were heated. Had the best camping sleep ever! Didn't hear any of the things that go bump in the night or the slamming of outhouse doors. It was drier than the tent would have been from the overnight showers and in the morning I turned on the car, cranked up the heat in the seat and was 'mosty toasty' when I crawled out to pack up the gear.

I wanted to leave early so I could capture the morning light on the mountain peaks and had hoped that the animals would still be out in search of food.

Fish Lake itself was my first stop before leaving the campground. It was cool overnight but the sun was out and steam was coming up from the water surface. The water was like glass. The only creature I saw in/on the lake itself was a dude skinny-dipping by the dock. As I left and headed west along the David Thompson highway, the first critter I spied was a hare. 

The highway heading west is a tale for another day.

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There is a pond along the way to work. I've watched the Canada Geese from nesting to today when their two surviving goslings are almost the same size as the adults. I would have to say that this mama duck was a little slow out of the gate. Her nine babes just hatched not long ago. She was out for a morning swim and was having one heck of a time with all those little ones but she soon got all 'her ducks in a row'.

Southern BC was the final destination of the road trip. Our resident tour guide (my son) drove us around the beautiful Elk Valley. He found a wonderful fishing spot that Grandpa could access. Rosen Lake is home to painted turtles. I did see one underwater but was not able to get a photo. What a great place to spend a morning. 

Fernie Alpine Resort, a trip to Elkford, a stop at Sparwood and a quick visit to Elko rounded out the trip.

Largest dump truck at Sparwood

Resident of Fernie Alpine Resort

Rosen Lake

Last week the highway led me through southern Alberta. Mountains, foothills, rolling fields of canola, rows of wind turbines and even a few storm clouds made up the scenes through my windshield.

Rolling hills close to Okotoks

Okotoks Erratic

Wind turbines close to Pincher Creek

Golden canola fields

My summer hiatus from the blog is over. I've been out and about enjoying the weather, the flowers in my backyard, the trails at the Strathcona Wilderness Centre and a scenic drive to Fernie BC.

The combination of rain and hot weather has created a jungle in my backyard. The shrubs have grown at least a foot and the beebalm that is getting ready to bloom is more than four feet tall. The butterflies will be very happy. I have to say that it has been an amazing growing season.

The blooms on the geraniums, petunias and scarlet runner beans have been providing a smorgasbord of nectar for the hummingbirds. It is pretty exciting to be standing less than four feet away from the bean teepee to watch the hummers flit from flower to flower.

I have a hard time being comfortable in the summer heat but I am enjoying the beautiful colors and seasonal birds in the backyard.

More photos at https://www.facebook.com/outdoorrambling/

Who needs an alarm clock when there is a pair of house wrens in the backyard? Everyday between 4am-4:30am, they begin their serenade. It used to be the robins providing the wake up call until the wrens made a home in my backyard birdhouse. They have a very BIG song for such a tiny bird. Their antics and their songs keep me entertained for hours.