Shunda to Columbia Icefields, Alberta Rockies in July

[cohan]

now up the road just a little way, still along Abraham Lake....

pics 1-3 excavation for the roadway has bared the rock strata that form the mountains, hinting at the massive forces that created this landscape...

pics 4-7 the rain of yesterday (this morning?) has left clouds reluctant to move on, they linger,caressing the rock faces, enjoying the adulation of this thirsty place..

[cohan]

another short stop: we go down a short gravel road, and walk out onto the lake bed--amazing to us, since the last couple of years this was all water--in the  pics 3, 5, you see the tree lined shore at the back, in 2008, and esp 2007, the water was lapping at those trees..
now, the lake is little more than river width due to low rainfall this year, and likely the cool summer's slow melting from higher places..
for scale, in pic 2 look for the speck in mid picture, which is my friend walking out to the water's edge; in 6, he's arrived.........

[cohan]

of course i looked at plants at that stop
pics 1,2 cress
there were large patches of grasses and probably annual weedy things growing in the lakebed, the only one that caught my eye was this cressy/mustardy thing--ok, so brassicaceae are another family i cant id from my book...lol..not even sure if its a native or a true weed, but i like the flowers..

3 more plants were up on the gravelly banks
4,5,6 Gaillardia aristata
sporting happily in the breeze and sunshine, their roots cool and moist from the rain..
7 Linum perenne
8 Zigadenus elegans
9,10 Campanula rotundifolia
on a rock outcropping, in pockets and patches of soil; along with Pulsatilla occidentalis and others; again showing their love of spots with a view!

[Sinchets]

Another stunning road trip, Cohan. 

[Ragged Robin]

I'm with the Campanula rotundifolia in that I enjoy the spots with the views - there is so much to see and take in on this trip, Cohan, so I will have to re-visit tomorrow as it's 12.40pm!  Thanks for all the interesting places and plants to dream about 

[cohan]

robin and simon--glad you are enjoying!
back to editing for me, i think there are another 5 or so stops on this trip!

[Gerdk]

Another stunning road trip, Cohan. 

Yes, Like the northern landscapes and the plants shown!

Gerd

[Lori S.]

Cohan, I was wondering about the mystery of water levels in Abraham Lake... as I suspected, it's a reservoir for a hydro dam, where the North Saskatchewan River was dammed up, so the lake levels are being controlled by the dam operation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lake
(See also Bighorn Dam in the above link.)

[cohan]

Cohan, I was wondering about the mystery of water levels in Abraham Lake... as I suspected, it's a reservoir for a hydro dam, where the North Saskatchewan River was dammed up, so the lake levels are being controlled by the dam operation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lake
(See also Bighorn Dam in the above link.)

hi, lori--yes, for sure they are letting varying amounts of water through the dam, but during no past visits over the last two years did it ever approach these low levels, so i assume that the lower levels of water available mean that after whatever work they need the water to do, there isnt much left this year.. i dont think the dy year is any record in this year, just that the last couple were extra wet..
certainly you are right that a natural lake wouldnt be likely to fluctuate so dramatically....

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Love it Cohan !!
Great drive through the Rockies !
Keep 'em coming !! 

[Paul T]

Cohan,

Impressive scenery, isn't it?  Some wonderful plants too, particularly that Zigadenus.  Thanks for showing us.

[cohan]

thanks, gerd, luc, paul..
beautiful scenery for sure
paul--sooner or later, i will get pics posted of a Zigadenus i have growing on the edge of  my old (overgrown) rock garden..after being neglected for a couple of decades of my absence, i got it weeded when i came back in 07, and it was finally ready to flower this year, and it did so splendidly with several flower spikes...with the dense glaucous foliage and creamy flowers, it looked like a small yucca in flower..

[Paul T]

I have rarely seen the Zigadenus referred to other than here on the forums.  A quick check of Wikipedia informs me that there is now only a single species and all the others have been recategorised into 4 new families (I've included details here, ust in case anyone is interested)...
    * Zigadenus (south-east USA): rhizome (no bulb), 2 conspicuous glands per tepal.
    * Amianthium (south-east USA): ovoid bulb, seeds with red to purple sarcotesta.
    * Stenanthium (south-east USA): slender cylindrical bulb, seeds brown with no sarcotesta.
    * Toxicoscordion (mid-western USA and western North America): tepals with claws and 1 conspicuous rounded gland.
    * Anticlea (Asia, North and Central America as far south as Guatemala): narrow tepals with 1 conspicuous bilobed gland.
As can be sen, apparently bulbous or perennials, the flowers certainly do look like they're from something bulbous (particularly the one you have shown in this topic).  How tall was the one you showed (and how big were the flowers).  As I said, I've heard the name before but never really "looked" at them until your wonderful photo above.  Thanks for sparking some study!    Good stuff!

[cohan]

interesting to see this reorganisation--so they are out of zigadenus (i guess my species would be inToxicoscordion) and also out of Liliaceae (wasnt EVERYTHING  in liliaceae at some point?..lol) into Melanthiaceae....--with trilliums, et al!
interestingly, another genus in the family is Stenanthium, which i have a plant of also, a tiny thing with a little stem of bronzey bells, also a relict in my old rock garden, growing almost beside the ex-ziga! both of these would have been planted prior to 1982, from collections somewhere in the foothills or mountains--at least, i think so, as both are technically possible in my area, but i have never seen the Stenanthium around, so i dont think it has seeded in...

[Lori S.]

That is interesting about bronze-bells (Stenathium occidentale)... Very common in the foothills and lower montane here, and in bloom now where we were on Tuesday.  Moss & Packer show it as occurring up as far north as the headwaters of the Athabasca, so perhaps your immediate area is not in preferred habitat ("moist banks and woods")?
Yikes, more reorganization, and more to remember!