August 20, 2015
On a recent family trip to the Canadian Rockies, I couldn’t help but notice the many beautiful colors around us. Red and white in the Canadian flag, blue in the glacial lakes, yellow, pink and purple in the flower beds, browns of every shade imaginable in the mountains. Color was everywhere. Towering around us were mountains covered in ice and snow, waterfalls splashing about, crystal clear lakes, amazingly beautiful flowers and yes, the occasional wildlife (no, I’m not talking about my children!).
In Banff, Alberta our family took a gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain and took in a 360 degree view. The surrounding area was spectacular – multiple shades of green in the trees, the brilliant blue in the sky and Bow River and mountains in brown, grey and black.
A spectacular view from Sulphur Mountain to Banff and the Bow River. Look closely and you can see the Fairmont Hotel which was built with local rundle stone rock.
The glacial lakes in Banff National Park are spectacularly blue in color with glaciers hanging precariously above them. Banff is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks and is approximately 6,183 feet in elevation. Two of our favorite lakes were Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. The crystal clear hues of blue in the glacially-fed lakes are due to the refraction of light off the rock floor deposited in the lake on a continuous basis.
Beautiful blues, greens, browns and white surround Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada.
Crystal clear water on Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada.
Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada – and yes, we paddled around in these beautiful red canoes!
Lake Louise, Banff National Park
The hanging baskets spilled over with luscious flowers of all colors, shapes and sizes. Our daughter would often fall behind because she was taking dozens of amazing pictures of the abundant flowers.
Flowers baskets with the mountains of Banff in the background, are overflowing with pink and purple petunias.
A favorite family spot was Columbia Icefield, the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains of North America astride the Continental Divide. We laced up our waterproof boots, zipped up our matching down vests (yes, my Mother thought matching vests would make the family Christmas card perfect!) and loaded the bright red Terra Bus to walk on the Athabasca Glacier. Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal “toes” of the Columbia Icefield. It is 3.7 miles long, 300-980 feet thick and covers an area of 2.3 square miles.
Headed up the Columbia Icefield with the bright red Terra Bus ahead of us.
The colors in the Athabasca Glacier range from brilliant white to ice blue. (The dark grey color on top of the ice is soot from the wildfires in Washington.)
Headed back towards Lake Louise, Alberta along the Icefields Parkway, we ran across this beautiful sight. Another crystal clear blue glacially-fed lake with an enormous slate grey mountain and bright white glacier. Can it get any more picturesque than this?
The Bow River and Bow Glacier.
Even the elk’s brown coloring is beautiful when seen close up – and I mean close up!
What colors do you see in the work around you?
