Taking the Time

The weeks are flying by now that I am working.  I'm enjoying the job but it keeps interfering with the extra things like ....this blog.  However, with the job being so flexible it means that Ron and I still get most days off together and since we had such a great weekend I thought I should take the time and share some beautiful pictures of our short little time away.


Ron got off last Wednesday night at midnight and Thursday morning we decided that we would go to Radium to see if the big horned sheep were still head banging.  They actually have a festival for this which we missed by one week.

There were lots of potential head bangers but we just didn't catch them in the act.  It was so interesting seeing them prance down the streets of Radium.  Cars mostly just given them the right of way.

They made me a little nervous when they would stop and stare at you but thankfully I was near the truck but lots of people were out walking their dogs along side.  I don't think Tanker and Bentley would have been so quiet with them being so close.


When we were leaving town in the morning we had to go slow up the hill as these guys were headed the same way we were going.

It was a foggy morning but still the landscape around Radium is quite spectacular with the way the road has been cut through the mountain.

We decided to make it a full day of hiking.  Our first stop was Dog Lake.  My hiking book said that this trail is in one of the most temperate valleys in the Canadian Rockies so it can be hiked later in the fall.  It was a cool morning but we were dressed for the weather.  The hike had a number of suspension bridges which took us over the Kootenay River.

The woods that we walked through reminded us of Ontario.  It consisted of Douglas fir, white spruce and the ground had a lot of feather moss.

This was the only time that we have ever hiked and not seen any one else along the way.  We missed the views at Dog Lake because of the heavy fog but it was a nice hike and one that we will have to do again to see what we were missing.

When we came out of the woods and got back to the river a breathtaking view awaited us.

And this is exactly why we like to go for hikes in the mountains.  From Dog Lake we drove to the Paint Pots.  It started out over a bridge as well.  This one over the Vermilion River.

Iron-rich mineral waters have stained the clay along this trail.  A little history lesson about this location:  at one time natives used the coloured clay for body paint.  Early white settlers mined the ochre for a time and shipped it to Calgary for use as a base for paint.

We came out of this walk a little dirtier and I haven't even tried to get it off our hiking shoes.  From there we drove to Marble Canyon where we walked along the most amazing canyon.

There were a number of bridges all along the canyon that you could cross and walk on either side.  Pictures don't do it justice.

It was a nice gentle walk and a beautiful one to do.  The mud on the path soon changed our yellow hiking boots to a muddy colour but it was worth it.

With both cameras going we got lots of pictures, some good exercise and great memories.

At the one end we found the red chairs that are located around the parks and had to stop for a selfie.

It was a great couple of days away and when you live this close to the mountains you just have to go!  Now its back to work for us but we've been there, took the pictures and we will be going back again!