a Bearmageddon while Day Tripping July 30, 2026

Today was the day to go road tripping! I’ve been feeling a tad lazy lately so getting a mountain fix by sitting for a few hours was exactly what was needed. The route I picked was to drive out and back along “Highway 40 where life begins” in Kananaskis.  As I drove along the route, seeing +6C on the dash thermostat was refreshing. The air was mountain fresh for a couple of hours but that did go downhill eventually.

the tailend of the early morning alpenglow as I entered Kananaskis

After having much fun playing “Hiking Bingo” while hiking Forum Lake in Waterton a couple of weeks ago, I prepared one for today’s road trip. During many stops, that’s when I checked off what I had seen so far. That's my bear spray holding up my Bingo Card.  While "out & about" in these regions, I never step out of my vehicle without the spray in hand.  

reflection in Mount Lorette Pond

I believe this is a Mom Common Merganser with her two babies beside her.

The next stop was at the Wedge Pond picnic spot. It was too early for snacks. A trail leads to the back side of the Pond, that's where I captured this reflection of Mount Kidd. The trail around Wedge Pond is closed due to washouts from the recent rain and flooding.  

After admiring those beautiful reflections, it was time to continue road tripping down Highway 40.  When no traffic was coming behind me, I drove slower than the speed limit with my eyes to the sides. YES! How sweet it was to see this very healthy collared Black Bear from the safety of my vehicle.  I was on the opposite side of the road yet I could here it squashing the dry brush as it walked along.

A mere few minutes after seeing the Black Bear, I came upon these four male Mountain Sheep. I took this photo through my windshield. I stopped to let them go about their business. The one at the front walked  towards me and passed by very close to my vehicle. The other three.....   

.....crossed the road then walked single file along the edge.

A mere few minutes after seeing the Mountain Sheep, I spotted a male and female White Tail Deer.  

They were watching me and did until I drove away.  

Time came to find a place to have a snack and enjoy some scenery. The Canyon Day Use area is a nice place to stay a little while.  As I pulled up beside a picnic table, a commotion in the bushes caught my attention.  The commotion was a collared Grizzly Bear munching on berries. You can see her tooth and tongue. I did not take time to enjoy a snack here while the Bear enjoyed her snack.  I did not stay awhile nor did the Bear.  I did enjoy this scenery until when a few minutes later the Bear disappeared into the bushes then I drove on down the road.  

The tag on the Bear says 175. This is a female Grizzly Bear born in 2018.  She is the daughter of Bear 139.  Bear 175 has a sister Bear 169.  Bear 175 has had no cubs to date.  

The Upper Kananaskis Lake would be the ideal place for a snack.  I always enjoy sitting at a picnic table down by water so made that my next destination.  I arrived to this view with an empty parking lot.  The first thing I noticed was the sign seen at bottom right in photo.

While the picnic area was open, the trail leading to the right was not. Beside the sign was very fresh scat. I did have my bear spray in hand.  The coast looked clear but I knew this was not the place for me to be right now.  I went back up the hill to my vehicle where I had a snack from the safety of being inside it. 

After snack time, I stepped out of my vehicle to snap this panorama with my iPhone.

Out of no where came a Bald Eagle!  By this time I had my camera in hand. I watched it fish but it had no luck.  I was able to capture a few seconds of action which I included below this photo.  Time came to continue road tripping deeper into Kananaskis.  

I drove as far as Highwood Pass and made that my turn around point. By now I could smell the wildfire smoke which was blowing in. The views were somewhat obscured by it. On the return trip I stopped at the Rock Glacier Trail which I had never done before.  I strolled around for a little while. 

I was feeling  ready to hit the road to home but not before 

stopping to capture a few more shots of the beautiful scenery.  

What I saw next during the drive along Highway 40 assured me I could now call today's road tripping a Bearmageddon experience.  When I saw three Grizzly Bears crossing the road, I pulled over to let them cross and with hopes they would be visible once they got into the bush.  I was able to get two Bears in the shot, the third darted into the bushes. The Mom is the one you can partially see heading into the bushes.  This young one (not born this year) sauntered along while the other young one was quick to dash off.  

This is Mom!

This is one of the young ones.  

I was not able to capture a photo of the other young Grizzly Bear.

By now I was feeling so fulfilled. 

I was content with no other stops for the ninety minute drive home from here. 

BINGO!

when windows open

When my windows are open it's because I am welcoming the cool, fresh air into my home! That's not happening enough these days! When windows of opportunity are open, I have been taking advantage one way or another.  Being "out & about" lately comes very early in the morning and for a shorter period of time.  While I have been working at getting my fill of nature, I have also been participating in searching for a boy from my neighbouring hood, who has gone missing.  Those walks are slow and deliberate, off trail, with 99.9% of my focus not on nature.    

When nature was my focus, the air was somewhat clear and my camera was in hand. 

 The Wild Roses are thriving!

Brown-eyes Susans are at or past their prime!

Wild Daisies are in abundance!

This season has been the biggest Bird Baby Boom I have ever seen! A fellow told me he noticed some birds have recently started their second round of nest building.  Cries for food are spilling out of the trees, shrubs and bushes.  While the babies are easy to photograph because they stay in one spot, they are a challenge to photograph because they are hidden amongst twigs and branches.  

This baby Grey-Catbird bellowed out the entire time I was in the area.

This baby House Finch fluttered and fluttered while hollering for food!

Only when it stopped for a second was I able to capture a clear photo.

The baby Northern Flicker was very hard to spot with the lighting.  

I focused on where the cry was coming from and eventually spied the right spot.

This baby Yellow Warbler was easy to find as the bright yellow stood out!

I saw many other baby birds crying out or being fed but my photos were not the greatest. What was great was seeing this beaver having breakfast. It was right there below the bridge I was standing on, it was not concerned with me.  To capture this shot of the Kingfisher, I was behind a bunch of bushes with a very small opening where I could zoom through. I like how the photo of the Deer turned out.  It looks like it is smelling the flowers yet it is not, it is just the angle.  

Shades of orange are my favourite colours yet not when this is the look.  A view like this happens when the wildfire smoke is at a high level.  On this morning the rating was on the lower  side of moderate.  For me this was a window of opportunity to get "out & about".  I took advantage of this open window and enjoyed getting my fill of nature and also opening the windows in my home. 

On Friday the rating was at the worst. I woke to quickly closing my windows and turning on the air purifier.  The wind shifted direction, not only did the smoke from the west and north make its way here, the smoke from the wildfires in Washington state in the United States arrived also. I accepted this as another category of when a window opens!

Windows in my home remained closed and the air purifier remained running. I settled in for a day of watercolour painting, a FaceTime session and trip planning. Lots was accomplished this day behind closed doors. These are the two paintings that filled a few hours.  Both reference photos were captured while I was in  Waterton Lakes National Park. 

It appears windows will open and close off and on over the next little while.  

I will find a way to enjoy all opens and closes!

The Eyes July 20, 2026

👀What came to the forefront these past few days was related to the eyes!👀 

The day after returning from my get-away to Waterton Lakes National Park, I paid a visit to The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary to see what transpired there over the past week. Within the first thirty minutes after passing through the gate, I saw at close range an Osprey, a Great Blue Heron and the Inglewood Eaglet! While I saw many other sights, it was these three sightings that stood out.    

The big yellow eyes of the Osprey were intensely focused on the water!

It was early and I may have disturbed the Great Blue Heron from sleep!

When I pointed my lens in its direction, the eyes then opened!

The best sight of all this morning was seeing the Inglewood Eaglet, right there in front of me, when I walked to the edge of the trail towards the water.  This Eaglet hatched around May 9th.  I watched it on a weekly basis from the first time I saw the little ball of white fuzz peek about the edge of the nest. I spied it a week ago sitting on a branch a few trees south of where its nest is. This morning it was on my side of the river sitting between the trail and the water. The eyes were focused on the water. I wondered was it learning to fish.  

During this visit, I checked out the location where I knew there was a Cedar Waxwing nest. The previous visit before this one, the Mom was sitting on the nest. This time I saw two heads with brightly coloured beaks pointing upward from the nest. I saw an Adult fly in to feed the babies. I was not quick enough to snap shots so was not able to capture reference photos for a painting. I know what I saw with my own two eyes during those few seconds. I closed my eyes and made as crisp a memory as I could. This watercolour painting reflects what I saw. I don't know what the babies were being fed so I just picked a berry to add as the snack.   

Full focus has not been paid to July being "World Watercolour Month".  I took a few of the daily topics and incorporated them all into one painting. The topics were all about blending colours using various techniques.  For this watercolour painting which I completed in about an hour, I combined four separate lessons from four different days.  I have missed numerous days' lessons due to time constraints.

The wildflower show was wonderful while I was in Waterton!  The colours, the variety and the multitude of flowers were a feast for the eyes. I enjoyed painting this from one of the photos taken while hiking to Summit Lake.  

This was my reference photo.

I hope your eyes are getting to feast upon beautiful sights! 

I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit with me!