Kootenay Plains,Alberta Rocky Mountains

[cohan]

a very short jaunt into the mountains, just under 2 weeks ago;
we didn't go too far in, as it looked like winter up there: we got just to the border of Banff National Park, and already there was some  snow/ice on the road, whereas lower there had just been a dusting which was gone in most sunny places..

this is the same general area as some earlier trips which i put in the Flowers and Foliage Now section, Alberta Rocky Mountains;
this is the David Thompson Highway, which starts east of me, here in central alberta, and runs west (and later sometimes south) into the mountains, into banff park, ending where it meets the Icefields Parkway-banff-jasper highway)..

first, as usual, some general views, taken from the moving vehicle-morning sun in the foothills, leaving the town where i work, where we stopped for breakfast, on through rolling hills, forest and muskeg--i often think of early travellers going through this area, must have been awful, very dense growth in many places, especially the frequent low/wet areas--of course they would have stuck to the rivers as much as possible.. certainly the modern highway does not avoid these low spots, i'm not sure if there was  a trail before that managed it (a quick search has not revealed it, when i have more time, i'll look more carefully..)
gradually, the hills get higher, and the first peaks come into view..
more and larger pics are here:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/cactuscactus

[cohan]

the first stop, a typical gravelly dryish slope beside the road..
low, chilly morning sun turning frosty plants into jewels..
pics 1-3 Arctostaphylos (presumed uva-ursi)
pics 4-6 Antennaria sp
one of the larger species, rosettes maybe 4-5cm across
pics 7,8 unknown Composite
i didn't visit this exact spot in flowering season, so i'm not sure what this would be-roughly 15cm tall, maybe erigeron
pics 9-10 Oxytropis
maybe splendens, i didn't look closely enough at the leaves, and the pic is a bit hard to see well enough

[Gerdk]

Wonderful impressions - thank you, Cohan.

Gerd

[cohan]

pics 1,2 Anemone
something like a small cylindrica, maybe
pic 3 Fragaria vesca
still not positive about  species; easy to ignore these, they are so common here and into the mountains, but they are pretty..
pics 4,5 Solidago simplex v spathulata
i think the foliage goes with this, the shot was taken out of sequence..
pics 6,7 Juniperus communis
a staple from the beginnings of the foothills onward; here on the farm we have exactly one wild plant...
pics 8,9 Dryas drummondii
another staple at mid elevations; the characteristic fluffy seedheads already taken by fall winds and early snow

more and larger pics at:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/cactuscactus

[cohan]

thanks, gerd--best views will come when we get to the Plains themselves, where i spend more than a few minutes outside the car...lol
on a trip like this--a couple hundred km in a morning, then on past home into the city 65 kms away for shopping, its more time driving than anything, but worth it for the views, and the hour out on the plains with no other person in sight!

[cohan]

finally continuing, on past Nordegg, towards the second stop, as always at Abraham Lake..
low wintry sun and morning hours still giving long deep shadows in the valleys, the peaks getting higher and snowier as we go farther in...

[cohan]

just a couple more of the from the car views before the next stop..

[David Nicholson]

Great stuff Cohan. Keep 'em coming please.

[cohan]

Great stuff Cohan. Keep 'em coming please.

tks david off to bed belatedly now, but we may stay home today if forecast snow comes..

[Maggi Young]

I'm really enjoying this outing, Cohan....the landscape is so fine.....it is great to see the snow pick out the features on the mountainsides.
 I must make mention of your first picture in reply 5.....view091114_103259.JPG where the strata of the rocks on the mountain are echoed in the shadow pattern  through the trees onto the road...... beautiful!!  

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Great views of the Rockies Cohan !!! 

[Ewelina Wajgert]

Oh Cohan, you have spilled honey on my soul. Wonderful summits

[cohan]

Oh Cohan, you have spilled honey on my soul. Wonderful summits

tks, ewelina that's a very nice, poetic phrase! the wild places really can touch us, cant they?

luc--the mountains are extra picturesque in winter, i think; the snow has to be good for something!

tks, maggi--i'm glad you noticed that--i love that kind of detail of pattern, texture and light!

[cohan]

to see these same places in July, look at:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3923.0
replies 3-14 cover this same area at the Abraham Lake viewpoint
you can see the Oxy splendens in flower, there, and the DaisyA in reply 5 i believe to be the plant marked 'composite' from this set..


and from May,
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3743.0
replies 5-9
EDIT: a fuller/larger set posted to picasa...
http://picasaweb.google.ca/cactuscactus/AlbertaRockyMountainsNovember142009Site2#

this spot is windy almost every time we go there, this day was near freezing, much colder with a strong wind!
pic 1 shows me on the roadside turnout at Abraham Lake (a reservoir for a hydroelectric dam); the grassy slope to the left is where the plants are photographed
pic 2 the view without me
pic 3looking the other way, across the lake and to the east/north
pic 4 my friend at water's edge
pic 5,6 composite a yellow flowering plant i didn't id-see above, first link
pic 7 Artemisia sp
pic 8 Juniper local rock 'gardening'
pics 9,10 Oxytropis splendens interesting even in winter with fuzzy leaves and seedpods

[Gerdk]

Cohan,
Enjoyed your impressions very much - nevertheless I began to shiver -
endless rain here and much warmer than in Alberta!

Gerd