remembering & rendering that April 28, 2014 day

The day was April 27, 2014 when I sat at a look-out location along The Rim Trail at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, USA.  It was a Sunday morning and I was hiking the approximately fifteen kilometre one way trail to Hermits Rest. The plan was to get a lay of the land and a feel for what the next day would hold in store for when I would be hiking down into the soul of the Canyon.

I remember sitting here and wondering what am I getting myself into!  I would be doing the hike solo, I felt both excited and scared about the whole thing. Then I got drawn in and lost in my thoughts, thoughts of is this real what I am seeing in front of me, it looks like a painting!  No wonder the Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World! It offers much to wonder about!  

Fast forward to almost ten years later when the Grand Canyon came to mind and I began to wonder could I paint it!  I am an adventurer who wants to be an "Artist”! It became an adventure trying to render a creation from photos I took while hiking there. Over the past few days, I sketched many outlines, did lots of erasing, then eventually laid many layers of watercolour paint. When I stood back and looked at my finished creation, I felt fulfilled and also felt like I reached a summit.  It was quite the journey to get to this destination!

These are three of my photos I used as references.

Similar to the way lots of planning goes into creating a painting, lots of planning went into that one day hike down into the Grand Canyon.  It took loads of prep work and planning to give myself the best chance at experiencing a successful and enjoyable adventure.  Hiking on that Monday April 28, 2014 day was a dream come true and a lift changing experience!

The maps I used. 

at Skeleton Point on the South Kaibab Trail

the red line shows the track from my hike 

down South Kaibab

across Tonto

up the Bright Angel switchbacks

After hiking The Rim Trail the day prior, I purchased a fridge magnet and got my Passport book stamped.  I was not sure what condition I would be in after hiking up Bright Angel other than to get to my car and get to the bed in my home away from home.  I did not purchase a sticker to put in the square but in hindsight I wish I did.

my Passport book

I also purchased two patches that I sewed onto my backpack.

Hiking down South Kaibab, across Tonto and up Bright Angel was a very enjoyable and rewarding adventure.  So too was painting my version of what I experienced that day at the Grand Canyon.  There are more adventures I have been fortunate enough to experience,  now I wonder can I turn those into a creative journey!

Sugar Mama : Bobcat : Fullerton Hike October 29, 2023

In a week I will get my All Seasons changed over to my Winter tires, until then I have not been venturing far.  The All Seasons were purchased this past spring so I felt confident enough with them that a drive to the Elbow Valley area of Kananaskis Country should be fine.  The road was bare and dry until with a couple of kilometres left to go to the trail head, the winding, hilly Route 66 was mostly ice.  It was early enough there was no traffic, yet early enough the sun did not have a chance to melt the ice.  I motored slowly and surely enough made it safely to the parking lot.  Whew!  My first winter driving conditions experience outside of the city is always a white knuckle drive.

From this parking lot, there are numerous routes to follow, I picked a route that would make a big loop including Elbow River,  Sugar Mama, Bobcat, Fullerton, Elbow River. It was a very nippy start so donned all my layers along with strapping on my spikes.  This was the view as I followed along the Elbow River trail.  Many people must have hiked here yesterday as the trail was well packed.  Only a runner was ahead of me this morning. 

The runner headed towards Snagmore while I took the turn off to hike along Sugar Mama.  The trail was as I hoped it would be with lots of snow on the ground and on the trees.  I could feel my nose was no doubt red and my cheeks felt pink, there was a slight build up of frost on my hair and I could not stop smiling wide!    

crossing a bridge over a frozen snow covered creek

continuing to ascend along Sugar Mama

The higher I went, the more sweet sugar there was.  

I also began to see the mountains through the trees. 

This squirrel was curious!  It ran back and forth along a little narrow trail it created in the snow.  It came close to me, stood up then scurried back, only to do that a few times.  I watched for a little while, it was so cute with the snow flakes on its head.  

Then, even more snow as I carried on ascending along Sugar Mama.  

The trail name was quite fitting today, as the snow was so sugar-like.  

Of course, my inner child voice told me to stop and play!  I listened and I did as I was told!  I had my hiker tripod with me so that made it possible to capture my play time in my mountain playground. 

When I arrived at the intersection two people with four dogs caught up to me.  They took the turn to Strange Brew and I veered off in the opposite direction to hit Bobcat.  Bobcat was just as beautiful as what I saw so far.  By now I was noticing more icicles. 

It became a really slow go along Bobcat, so many little things were capturing my attention.  I liked the look of how this large snow covered tree framed the right side of the tree in the middle.  It was my intention to capture that look in a photo, it was when I got home and downloaded my photos that I saw I also got the "glory" and a "bubble"!  That's what I'm calling the sun glare effects the camera picked up.

There is a section along Bobcat that has a long log with a big flat rock on it.  This would be a perfect spot to sit awhile and savour my lunch and the scenery.  Before doing so, I captured this location shot.  

Along with a boiled egg, peanut butter sandwich and two home-made health cookies, I had a thermos of Maple Chai Tea (purchased in Victoria, BC in September) spiked with two teaspoons of Rolo Hot Chocolate powder.  It's that time of year when a hot beverage does the trick!  

Time came to finish the Bobcat part of the planned route and hook up with Fullerton.  This is the view from a high point along Fullerton. You can see the mountain range off in the distance and a load of clear cutting in the middle. 

I did not get behind my camera to snap this shot, I just put my camera under and behind the icicles and snapped, hoping to catch something. This was a nice surprise to see when I got home, I like this look!  

Getting up close and personal with ice tiny formations offers up the wondrous workings of Mother Nature!  I think bejewelled, bedazzled when I look at this!  

Nearing the end of Fullerton, there was one more bridge to cross before being back on the Elbow River Trail. From here it was just a klick back to the parking lot.  That klick took awhile as I continued to admire the beauty.  By now, it had warmed up a bit and I knew the first couple of kilometres of driving would be better than the experience of a few hours ago, and it was a smooth sail home!

Accumulating Kilometres up on Nose Hill October 27, 2023

My goal for 2023 is to cover 2023 kilometres (1257 miles) by way of mountain hiking, urban hiking, skating, kayaking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. After being "out & about" today, I have covered 1741 kms (1082 miles) so far this year.  One never knows how user-friendly November and December will be weather-wise, so I am getting the distance in when I can this past little while.  

With a couple of hours to fill this morning, I added eight kms of Nose Hill urban hiking to my goal. The added layer of long underwear, heat wave gloves and a down jacket with a hood were a blessing when I stepped out of my car and began ascending in the wide open where there was a windchill of -21C (-5.8F). 

After another snowfall or two, this will be all white with no brown peeking out.  I am excited for that!  Until then, it is easier going along the trails where you just swish a tiny bit with no high knee lifting. 

I believe I may have come around a corner and was in the right place at the right time!  I startled the coyote who was approaching the deer which it was startling.  Once the coyote spotted me, which was just as I snapped this shot, it hightailed it out of there in a flash.  I stuck around for a few minutes to see if the coyote would return but it did not.  Shortly thereafter, the deer began to go about their morning routine.  

As I worked my way further up and long into another area, it seemed like a whole different world.  Every sprig of grass, every leaf, every branch, anything that could hold ice, held ice!  I have seen this many, many times and it always draws me in. 

With it being cold and damp enough to create ice on vegetation, I had a bit of collection to create frosty fringes.  Yes it is wintry out there and in weeks to come, just like the ground, all that brown (my hair) will be white. Stay tuned!

ice galore

enjoying what Mother Nature created while trying to be creative in capturing her display

Time came for a little ascending so I could begin descending back to where I started.  

Wonderful White Gold October 24, 2023

Yesterday I let Mother Nature do her thing! First it was rain, that turned to sleet, then came the white gold!  After spending yesterday waiting out the weather, I was excited to "make waves" out in the brand new snow today.  With some streets, roads and highways being compared to skating rinks, I cared not to venture far. Meandering around the Birth Forest and then along Nose Creek were the ideal places to accomplish the few missions I had for the day.    

Donned in winter wear, a wandering I went! 

There was a perfect amount of snow to give a lovely glow.  

There are a few paths to follow in the Birth Forest and this was where I went first.

One of my missions was to investigate how the Siberian Larch Trees were doing.  

This one was still holding enough needles to support a few centimetres of snow.  

My favourite area to hike through after a new snow fall is shown in this video.  I recorded just a short stretch as I ended up having to duck down lots to go under the branches.  The snow was heavy in the forest and added much weight to the branches.  

Another mission I had for today was to photograph my most recent Virtual Challenge Medal.  During rain, sleet, hail or snow, the post-person does their duty.  The medal arrived in the mail yesterday.  I must confess, I miss participating in a virtual challenge!  

a close up view before heading out in the snow

After spending time in the Birth Forest, next came descending down to the creek.

It's much more fun to run down hill when you have snow to swish through!

The Male Mallard was oblivious to the snow, cold and windchill!  

When I arrived at the erratic rock, I was surprised to see how big the icicles were and  also how many were hanging from the rock!  Yes, there was lots of moisture over the last number of hours and the temperature was cold.  Seeing these was another mission accomplished, this photo would be my inspiration for a watercolour creation.   

This is my version of that!  

I used these three photos, that I took today, as my references.  They were enjoyable to paint and it was very early on when they began to take on a life like look.  I think I would like to paint more!  

Just like the Male Mallard, this Muskrat was oblivious to the wintry weather!

I truly enjoy admiring the creations made by Mother Nature!  

This could be my next ice painting!

There was so much to love about being "out & about" today!  

Creating from Mother Nature's Inspiration!

This week I went in search of inspiring ideas that I could bring home and place on paper!  On this day I ventured down into Dale Hodges Park.  I am thankful to have places like this to go to that are almost city centre yet gives you that feeling of escaping from reality.  I descended the trail and when I reached the bottom, I was hit with a slice of reality when I found the wetlands were completely dry.  It may be because of construction in another section of the park but it could also be due to the lack of moisture we have received in the past number of months.  The river that runs through the city is at its lowest level in one hundred years.  We remain under mandatory water restrictions which have been in place since mid August.  

What I did find very appealing though, the autumn shades were vibrant.  I liked this look of the hill formations framed on the bottom by the colourful vegetation.  This gave me inspiration!

I liked this look too!  The clouds looked like they were exploding from the tree tops!

After exploring the wetlands and seeing no wet, I veered off into the bushes.  Another slice of reality came my way.  Yes, with a big city comes big city problems.  As I was venturing in, a gentleman and his dog were hiking my way, he recommended not to go in as there was unsavoury activity taking place.  He suggested another trail to try.  

I took his advice and found that trail which is one I had not been on before.  It is mainly for mountain bikers so I needed to be careful at the blind corners.  This was near the beginning of the trail and already this early on, I was inspired by what I was seeing.  

Then I reached this point on the trail and I knew this was what I came here for!  

I continued further west along the trail and snapped many shots.  For the hike back, I crossed to the hills on the north side and followed those back to the wetlands.  I took no photos of where the water should be at the wetlands as those places were not pretty sights.  I thought this kind of shot of the wetland area was pretty.  

This was the view looking back after ascending along the trail back to where I started.  

Here is the outcome from the collection of this day's inspirations!  This creation was done in a new smaller sketchbook journal.  The painting measures 4" x 6.5".  I like this size for this type of project.  It takes less time and I can compete it to include in my blog post on a timely basis.  

These were the three photographs I used as my references.  

🖌🖌🖌🖌🖌

With a motive in mind, one day this week, I hiked up Nose Hill with a plan to be higher up before the sun came up.  I wanted to capture photos of the sun as it peeked above the horizon, giving off rays and creating the bokeh effect.  I wanted that look as my inspiration for another watercolour creation.  I got all those in a few photos and this was my favourite.  With already accomplishing my main reason for coming here, it was now time to cover some kilometres enjoying everything else there is to enjoy up on The Hill.  

a split shadow shot as I ascended higher

It was a bird off in the trees that drew my attention, until a quick loud movement beside me made my heart skip a beat!  It must have been snoozing curled up in the grass.  I did not see it, but I must have woken it and startled it.   It got out of there in one direction just as quick as I got out of there in the opposite direction.  A male deer is not an encounter I care to make at this time of year, which is rutting season.  This is a zoomed in shot that I grabbed when it stopped further away.  

This was the bird that I had been focused on.  It is a Northern Shrike.  Instead of migrating to warmer climates in the winter, they migrate to colder climates.  The Northern Shrike is a tiny bit bigger than a Robin but oh so vicious.  You can see the hooked beak, it is a bird of prey and can do damage!

a Merlin, another bird of prey, don't be fooled by the cute fluffy look

On this visit to Nose Hill instead of hiking back down the hills,  I descended into the ravine to follow that winding, tree-lined trail back to where I started the day.  This is a video of a section of that trail that gave me inspiration for a creation.  

Instead of creating a painting showing the sun peeking above the horizon at sunrise time, I created this painting.  It has the sun peeking out from behind the tree, it shows the rays and I also added the bokeh effect.  Once again, this is a smaller painting and I was able to complete it in a timely fashion.  

These are the three photos I used as references.  I took these while hiking in the ravine.