Tag Archives: Rocky Mountains

Sunwapta Falls in Jasper

Posted on August 27, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I got closer to these waterfalls then I normally do and they are impressive. I had not visited Sunwapta Falls before, but they offer an incredible view, sound, and event.

This is a view at the top of the falls looking back upstream.

This is the first chute of water over the top of the falls as it shoots through the narrowing of the channel and over the lip of the valley.

A second view of the top of the falls with a tighter shot on the small cave across the gorge.

And then a last view of the river as it flows down the canyon, crashes into the end wall, takes a sharp left, and disappears from view.

Mount Kerkeslin stands guard over the Icefields Parkway between Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls.

Have a great Monday August 27. 2012.

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On the Edge

Posted on August 25, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Kathy and I are back on the road this morning. It will be Monday before I post again. I disconnect to reconnect. I feel on the edge at this time of the week and summer. I go back to work next Wednesday and, for the first time in my career, I am not looking forward to going back. I am on the edge and find faith in something other than me.

Each step

Brings me to the edge.

Uncertain balance

On the edge.

Instability dances with stability

Harsh with the gentle.

Quiet the self

Hear the soul’s gentle words.

A still space reveals wisdom

A spirit of Faith.

Look forward;

Look down.

Go forward

Accept hands proffered in similar Faith.

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Posted in Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath, Uncategorized and tagged creativity, Mindful Practice, nature, poetry, Rocky Mountains, sabbath, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Stairway to Heaven (Sunwapta Falls in Jasper)

Posted on August 24, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I was sure I had visited Sunwapta Falls before, but, when we got there, it realized otherwise. Sunwapta River flows from Athabasca Glacier and the falls plunge over a hanging valley left by receding glaciers about 8000 years ago.

The path down to the overview above the falls is unique with the tree roots playing an integral role in the stairway. I got closer to the edge than I usually do. Initially, I was going to post a number of pictures, but changed my mind when I looked at this picture taken on my camera by Kathy.

Gnarled it wends

Nature’s stairway

Reveals beauty

Safely, I gain confidence.

I find a way

Previously impossible

Life now fuller, richer

Nature and creation await.

A ray shines down

Lights the path

Shines on each step

Of this ‘highway to heaven.’

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Jasper Park Maligne Canyon

Posted on August 23, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

The cow elk picture posted yesterday was at the end of our trip to Maligne Canyon. It a challenge for me along the canyon rim with a drop of up to 50 metres. The canyon was an issue for explorers finding their way downstream to the Athabasca River.

This is immediately above the drop into the canyon and the river shows its turbulence already.

The river drops suddenly and its power is obvious. The holes are a product of the swirling water over time.

This is the first part of the canyon and the holes are visible in the top left hand corner of the picture.

The river turns 90⁰and hollows out the rock wall into a cylinder-like churning machine before roaring down the canyon.

The canyon has six bridges at various locations along the canyon and beyond. Bridge 5 is currently out of commission due to high water. Kathy took this picture from Bridge 1 looking back upstream.

After crossing the bridge, Kathy took this picture. In a particularly harsh environment, the trees are exceptional survivors in places as demonstrated here. This place is probably close to the 50 metres.

As we descended into the canyon, the river began to run slower, but there is evidence of the power of nature over the centuries.

Kathy took this from the 3rd Bridge where our hike ended. The gorge drops again and the river plummets one more time over and around the rocks in its pathway.

The Maligne River flows into the Athabasca below the 6th Bridge. We drove to this bridge and walked to where the rivers converge. We opted to skip the 4th Bridge because we would have turned back due to the closure of some of the trail.

On our way back into Jasper, we made a stop at an overview of the Maligne Canyon. Initially, there was not much to see and we were disappointed. As I walked to the other end of the walled parking lot, this lovely young elk caught my eye.

It took us about five minutes or more to walk carefully closer and not startle this animal. This is her home.

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Jasper and Its Surprises

Posted on August 21, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

It was a perfect day. We wandered in Jasper, enjoyed great scenery, and I was with my favourite person.

We found the best at the end of the day. I posted a picture of a bull elk on Yellowstone 2005 in May. I took the picture from about 15-20 metres. Today, Kathy duplicated this with a picture of a cow elk chewing her cud. She seemed aware of our presence, but we were quiet and as others joined us in a secluded area she posed. The wall is about 1 metre thick wall and a similar height.

We hiked for two hours in the Valley of Five Lakes and could have spent more time exploring the small lakes. We crossed the Wabasso Creek and its valley before beginning our ascent. What is surprising about this hiking area, is it is only about 10 minutes from the town site.

We had no easy access to the first lake (they are unnamed), but I used the trees to frame the lake and its prettiness. One of the things we noted about all the lakes was the way they mirrored their surroundings.

The second lake mirrors the mountains and trees vividly in shimmering waters below.

The third lake is a deep green and is very deep in the middle. This lake reflected clouds and trees. The green appeared to be algal growth and not from the source of the water.

We could not get a good angle for pictures of the fourth lake, but it was the home of frolicking dragonflies. Kathy captured this one with amazing patience.

We only got glimpses of the fifth lake. Thick foliage and steep banks surrounded it. We tried several different paths but to no avail. One thing along the paths was the frequency of large rocks left by glaciers which formed this valley and its small lakes.

I enjoy Robert Frost’s The Road Less Traveled. As we began our hike, we saw this path and wondered where it went, but stayed on the main path. As we climbed back out of the Valley of Five Lakes we had a choice: go right or go left. We chose right and found ourselves on the path we wondered about almost two hours before. We took the road less traveled. It was a challenging part of the trip physically.

And, at the end,

We emerged at the beginning

At the trail head,

Mountains rediscovered

Blue skies gone

Clouds not only threatened;

They delivered a promise

Like our day.

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Jasper National Park Day 1

Posted on August 20, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Kathy and I are in Jasper for a couple of days. It was a great way to spend the Sabbath.

I find it deceptively spectacular here. In Waterton, did a lot in three days, but here you have to choose; there are so many places to go. It is a larger park with a much longer connected set of trails.

We took the first pictures a few kilometres inside the park. This is looking east and downstream on the Athabasca River. The Athabasca originates at the foot of the Columbia Icefield. It joins the Peace River and forms the Slave River, which flows into the Great Slave Lake where the Mackenzie River discharges and flows to the Arctic Ocean. From the source of the Athabasca a drop of water flows about 6200 km.

This is an upstream view of the Athabasca River. What looks like a ‘saddle’ on the mountain in the middle, is actually two mountain peaks. As we drove closer to town, the angle shifted and the distinct shape of both mountains became visible. Further upstream, people wade a 100 metres out into the river and, depending on snow melt, there is sometimes only the main channel of the river. Today, it is running high.

We don’t stop very often for mountain sheep. They are fairly common along the roadside, but we don’t often get an opportunity for a picture of a ewe and lamb.

We don’t often get this chance either. It appeared as though the little ones were learning climbing skills. This one stopped and posed; looking straight into the camera.

Mount Edith Cavell is a prominent feature in the Park. It is visible from a variety of locations and has many hiking trails. Park officials closed the mountain to hiking due to a recent ‘avalanche.’ The dark spot between the two large white areas was a large block of glacier which recently collapsed. We took the picture on Highway 93 (Icefields Parkway) which is the highway to Banff.

This is Mount Kerkeslin which is on the opposite side of the Highway 93. We took this picture later in the day with shadows and it had become overcast with rain showers popping in and out of the area.

These are some palisades that tower over the valley a little further south of Mount Kerkeslin.

Today, we are off to do some hiking and sightseeing in Maligne Canyon and the Valley Five Lakes Loop.

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Safe Haven

Posted on August 15, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Kathy went to the farm yesterday and walked in from the road. Although it is overgrown, it is full of memories. One can think of the farmhouse as uninhabited, but visitors still abound. We sat at the kitchen table many mornings, watched the barnyard, and viewed assorted wildlife that found safe haven. Yesterday, this deer visited while Kathy visited and stirred memories.

The farm is in west-central Alberta and on clear days (yesterday was not) you can see the Rockies in the distance at various points on the drive out.

Sense serenity

Surrounded

By nature and memories.

Some visible

Others invisible

Each appears.

A home for being

A work place

A learning place.

A deer poses

Momentarily safe,

Human memories stir.

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Sabbath and Haiku Haven

Posted on August 11, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I am unsure whether I will be back today. We are sorting out our home Internet issues. We think the router blew up in a recent storm. This was good, because it was an unplanned daily Sabbath for me.

On a routine morning drive, I observed the sun rising in my rear view mirror with the moon still visible. It was early in the school year and I had just returned from BC. I began that morning’s haiku class with poems which described phenomena I took for granted most days. I try to emphasize for students poetry is the routinely observed. Poetry lifts it to the extraordinary nature of things often taken for granted. I try model this through poetry chosen and shared i.e. Pablo Neruda and Mary Oliver and I write poetry on what I observe in life.

Majestically,

Touching endless sky above

Roots firmly grounded.

Greeting and adieu

Sun and moon share the one sky

Guide our daily drive.

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The Woodcarver

Posted on August 10, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

When I walk in nature and see the panoramic creation, I recall this is a gift. Each day I am present and stop to meet what is there, is a day I move beyond my ego. I am grateful for simply being . It is the greatest gift.

The Woodcarver

Khing, the master carver, made a bell stand

Of precious wood. When it was finished,

All who saw it were astounded. They said it must be

The work of spirits.

The Prince of Lu said to the master carver:

“What is your secret?”

***

Khing replied: “I am only a workman:

I have no secret. There is only this:

When I began to think about the work you commanded

I guarded my spirit, did not expend it

On trifles, that were not to the point.

I fasted in order to set

My heart at rest.

***

After three days fasting,

I had forgotten gain and success.

After five days

I had forgotten praise or criticism.

After seven days

I had forgotten my body

With all its limbs.

***

“By this time all thought of your Highness

And of the court had faded away.

All that might distract me from the work

Had vanished.

I was collected in the single thought

Of the bell stand.

***

“Then I went to the forest

To see the trees in their own natural state.

When the right tree appeared before my eyes,

The bell stand it also appeared in it, clearly, beyond doubt.

All I had to do was to put forth my hand

And begin.

***

“If I had not met this particular tree

There would have been

No bell stand at all.

“What happened?

My own collected thought

Encountered the hidden potential in the wood;

From this live encounter came the work.

Which you ascribe to the spirits.”

***

Palmer, P. J. (2004). A hidden wholeness: The journey toward an undivided life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Parker Palmer attributed his source as The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton and published by The Abbey of Gethsemani in 1965.

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Pensive Pirate

Posted on August 5, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Several months ago, Francesca at Words/Love provided advice for aspiring writers. She advised other writers to keep pen and paper close at hand. More and more, I do this. This morning, about 6:00, I woke up with poetry on my mind. I scrambled, grabbed writing gear, and jotted ideas down. I hope I can flesh the ideas out over the next few days.

It is during unexpected times or quiet moments I find creativity. Kathy surreptitiously took this picture at Kootenai Lake in Glacier National Park. I was feverishly scribbling ideas that had popped up during the hike. It was easy in those surroundings. I hope to continue now that we are home.