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23.12.15
Winter Walks In Banff
Showing posts with label Adventure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adventure. Show all posts
16.11.15
Blessed by the Siksikaitsitapi
With the change in season I thought it was time to take another trip up to Nose Hill Park to see what it looked like compared with when I was there in Summer. It was a pretty windy day, and as soon as we reached the top I realised the hair down approach just wasn't going to cut it.
I've tried Geocaching once before with absolutely no luck. So I was excited to spot this Geocache, underneath a tree, without even trying!
As we were walking, eagle-eyed Andrew spotted a buck in the distance.
The trail we were on led us right past him, so it was great to be able to get closer. Nose Hill Park is visited by walkers, cyclists and dog walkers, so the deer are very familiar with humans. He spent a lot of time eyeing up two dogs that were on the hill, we decided to keep our distance so he didn't feel too confined.
We managed to stumble upon a Native Medicine Wheel, that was created in September, representing all four tribes of the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot) Confederacy; Siksika, Blood, Northern and Southern Peigan.
We left an offering (some money) to the creator, which meant that in return we would be blessed.
I've become really fascinated by Native American cultures, and it was lovely to be able to see something that would have been around thousands of years ago coexist with a modern day cityscape.
While walking close to some trees we managed to accidentally spook a herd of White-Tailed Deer. When they feel as though they are in danger they flick their tails upward showing the white underside as a way to send a message to the rest of the herd.
This doe was very curious and started walking towards me.
On our way back down the hill, we spotted another herd of deer. Similar to my thoughts on the Medicine Wheel, there's something quite magical about being so immersed in nature while there's still a city in the background.
Just across the hill was another buck who seemed to have taken a fancy to the herd. Well, it is mating season after all.
17.9.15
Koocanusa Camping
Two weeks ago we went on our second camping trip to Lake Koocanusa in British Columbia. During our first trip, back in July, we had the weather on our side and our friend brought his boat, so we spent a couple days boating on the lake and playing Beersbee on the beach.
This time, however, Autumn/Fall had arrived and with it came a whole day of rain. Thankfully because of the weather the recent campfire bans had been lifted, so we spent the day around the fire, playing cribbage and card games.
On the second day the sun managed to come out so, after a game of Bocce, I took a walk along the lake and around the campsite.
Lake Koocanusa is a 90 mile long reservoir, stretching from British Columbia to Montana, made by the damming of the Kootenay River by the Libby Dam in Montana. It was created to generate hydroelectric power and offer flood protection in Northwestern USA. In 1973, the Canadian government set fire and blew up various parts of the town of Waldo, BC with dynamite and buried it so that the reservoir could cover the area.
The lake was named by Alice Beers in a competition, she took the first three letters of Kootenay River, Canada, and USA, and *voilá* Lake Koocanusa was born.
As usual, the sentence 'Lisa, you live on a farm, stop taking photos of *insert farm animal/item here*' could be heard. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for cows... and sheep.
By this point in the walk water from the forest floor had started seeping through my shoes and I thought it was best to head back to the fire and dry my toes off. We'd also gotten into a conversation about bear attacks, and I realised I wasn't really in the mood to fight a bear. I'd much rather sit by the fire and drink a beer.
15.8.15
Nose Hill Park
