Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park July 9, 2021

Where the prairies meet the foothills meet the mountains!  I can get that "being in the foothills" feeling at The Ranch yet from The Ranch this morning you would never know there are mountains that meet the foothills.  Driving west I could already tell this would be a day of admiring close ups and not far off views.  Whether it was haze or smoke, I was not sure, but the mountains were no where to be seen!

A warning for the black bear who shows up here each summer is in place!

I headed down Glenbow where I could pick up Yodel.  

At the intersection this is looking back up from where I came, at that long and winding trail.  

On such a hot morning already that is also very dry, there is still moisture everywhere.

Any shade is nice and I knew along here I could find a little bit more.

"a very cheerful happy hello to you"

is what it sounds like the wild brown-eyed susan is saying

It was the legs of this sparrow that caught my eye as the sun shone brightly upon them.

The ground squirrel shouted out a warning as I passed by!

a prairie view

It was the eye on this bird that caught my eye as the sun shone brightly upon it!

After completing the river loop, I stopped under the second new shelter for some shade before heading to the wide open blazing sun for the balance of the hike back up to the parking lot.  On any normal nice weather day,  the long stretch of mountain peaks would be visible straight ahead.  What I can see is the ridge part of Yodel along the right hand side.  

By the time I reached my vehicle I was a hot mess, and this was not even the hottest part of the day nor the hottest day to come yet.  It pays to be a morning person these days!