Teresa's Summer of '09 (pt. 2)

black wolf & 5 black pups along the Bow Valley Parkway ... what a treat to see these gorgeous black buddies bouncing along in the tall grasses! (20 July 2009)

Hello Dear Friends & Family,

Hoping all is well for each of you wherever you are these days, here's an update I've been meaning to share for quite awhile ... go figure, I had drafted this update last year & never finalized it so that I could post it on my blog until now ... still fun stories & some neat pic's to share nonetheless ... had trouble getting some of the remaining photos uploaded (with my limited highspeed Internet access), last year & even now, so I'll have to try to add those in the next time I am on a solid cyber connection ... ENJOY!!!

JULY 2009

How fortunate & blessed I've been this Summer, with the encounters I've had with my neighbours ... I had the great pleasure of spotting a black wolf two mornings in a row ... through the trees along the Bow Valley Parkway ... & totally loving being on alert for such wildlife viewing opportunities!!!

02 July 2009 - I got totally excited about this morning's encounter with another black wolf ... this one walked right across the Bow Valley Parkway as I came along in my car, our eyes met for a shared gaze after I stopped ... THEN, I found myself looking into the face of another gorgeous wolf, this one, a big grey wolf, stalking its way toward me on the road. Then the two wolves walked slowly along the roadside ditch before they moved into the pine forest nearby.

The more common Columbia ground squirrels, ravens, fresh mountain air have been quite marvelous as well :)

BEARS

we had front rows seats to the most spectacular encounter btwn. a wapiti (elk) & a grizzly bear ... out on the meadow in front of our staff cabin ...






... eventhough the bear initially scared off the wapiti when it clamoured across the road into the meadow, the wapiti returned & opted to continue eating grass for awhile longer before the disturbance from the many cars that had stopped along the road became too much of a threat for the wapiti to stay around the meadow.



We watched this great show for at least 15 or 20 minutes before the bear eventually did move on ... to get away from the many cars that were stopping & watching/taking pictures & as the daylight was fading.

A couple of the guys saw the bear about half an hour later in the campground beside our cabin!


WOLVES

here's one of my favourite pic's from this Summer ...

20 July - I was very honoured & excited to see another one of my black wolf neighbours ... this one was also close to the road as I returned back home to the cabin ... BUT this time, ... the black wolf I saw ... was accompanied by FIVE little pups, were truly a delight to see on my way home from only half a shift since I was not feeling very well that day :) :) :) The lovely little pack of wolves was absolutely gorgeous!!!


one of my black wolf neighbours from this Summer ... just up the Bow Valley Parkway from where I was living ... & the 5 new cubs that were added to the pack :)

25 July - I got out to Paradise Valley & the Giant Steps yesterday ... HOW GORGEOUS!!! Thanks for the recommend on this hike Kim Wallace :) I was able to join a few of the campers from our campground who needed a fourth hiker to comply with the 4 person minimum for this trail due to the bear activity in the area.

Saw a couple of marmots on the way down to the Giant Steps & even a nice little toad along the trail. The waterfall at the Giant Steps was absolutely awesome, can't wait to go back with other friends in the near future ...

(pic's fr. Trish)

Summer fun out at Island Lake not far from the cabin at Protection Mountain :)
(paddling with my driftwood paddle + Island Lake wide & zoom shots)


AUGUST 2009

I had to finally say "goodbye" to my trusty travelling companion ... my Canon Powershot camera ... it helped me capture many, many, many splendid critters & gorgeous places ... plus so many wonderful & dear friends, family, & their furry friends ... after ~18,000 pic's & a couple trips Down Unda ...
(young bear near BVP on the way to work)

07 August - here's one of my little buddies from the Bow Valley Parkway ... filling its belly with buffalo berries & not interested one bit that we were just on the other side of the road in my little car.

I am sure going to miss these gorgeous neighbours out near the cabin ... will just have to get out there often & rejuvenate my spirit :)

By far, the pic's I took that morning on the way work were the most fun I'd had with my new camera up to that point ... a few more bear (& wolf) pic's will follow in the next little while now that I am able to tap into a solid cyber link more readily ...

M-F & her boys out for a visit ... brunch, canoeing on Moraine Lake, hiking to Island Lake, cookout at the firepit by my cabin at Protection Mountain. Great food including banana boats for dessert YUM!

Lake O'Hara at the end of the month - Pam got us in on a cancellation at the Parks Canada "back country" campground. We took the shuttle bus 11 km to the campground & enjoyed tramping about the trails & taking in the totally gorgeous views from high over Lake O'Hara.


SEPTEMBER 2009

Pam & I enjoyed a GREAT week-end at Waterfowl Lakes ... got out on the Upper Lake in a canoe ... saw a moose in the water, saw an osprey overhead, & heard a couple of loons after one of them called us from the other side of the lake :)



Wrapped up my Parks job at the Lake Louise campground after the 1st week of September & enjoyed 3 great days of hiking in the Rockies with Pam, my new nature nut of a girlfriend :) ... totally gorgeous, sunny, blue sky days & the cold, clear, star-filled nights at the Little Yoho warden cabin :)

Now that I have wrapped up my campground attendant season with Parks Canada, I'll be getting into the swing of things with the healing folks at Gaia Collaborative Medicine ... this dynamic group of health & wellness practitioners in Canmore.


OCTOBER 2009

Enneagram workshop in Calgary this week-end with Eileen Head ... http://lifeequationsinc.com/ ... also, here's a link to do a free online Enneagram quiz ... http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/dis_sample_36.asp?discover ... which unconscious pattern/type do you resonate with?


NOVEMBER 2009

Victoria, British Columbia - Chilkowich clan gathering for my folks anniversary & my step-mother Cecilia's 60th birthday ... more on this & a few pic's in my next posting ... :)

I led my first Nature Reconnecting walk for a woman who brought along her lovely little dog ... this is the first such walk that I have offered through Gaia Collaborative Medicine ... all went well & the client/patient really appreciated the reconnecting time with nature and the activities we did along the way :)

Hope your 2009 was as blessed as mine has been with the spectacular wilderness experiences and reconnecting with family & friends!

Big hugs, Teresa