Keeping With The Times

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Abraham Lake, Alberta is a Hidden Gem!

September 30, 2016 by Barb 5 Comments

Abraham Lake on the David Thompson Highway is, in my opinion, one of the most spectacular sights in Alberta! and truly is a hidden gem!

We’ve driven past it dozens of times, but always on our way somewhere else. I was never sure what it was called since there are no big signs on the highway and the turnoffs are not at all obvious. Of course we’ve stopped and taken the obligatory photo of someone standing in front of it, but never have we explored the area. So on our way home from Emerald Lake, we decided to take the time to really look at it.

Abraham Lake was created in 1972, with the construction of the Bighorn Dam. Although man-made, the lake has the blue color of other glacial lakes in the Rocky Mountains, which is caused by rock flour as in other glacial lakes. (Wikipedia)

Abraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the Times

Abraham Lake, Alberta

Abraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the Times

Best skipping stones ever!

Natural or man-made … it’s spectacular! and with the golden autumn colours against the turquoise of the lake … well, it just doesn’t get any better.Abraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the TimesAbraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the TimesAbraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the Times Abraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the Times Abraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the Times Abraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the Times

You’ll find campgrounds with makeshift stone fire pits and picnic tables scattered throughout, as well as many hiking trails … a real getaway here people!!
Abraham Lake, Alberta Canada, Keeping With the Times

I discovered Abraham Lake is also a winter destination for ice bubbles formed due to trapped methane gas. Way cool. I now have another one for the bucket list, people!! Do you not just love it when you have to add something to your bucket list!

After a couple of hours spent exploring and taking photos we headed down the highway, only to be lured off the beaten track once again. This time to explore the Bighorn Dam area on the North Saskatchewan river.

The Bighorn Plant is TransAlta’s highest performing hydro plant, producing an average of 408,000 megawatt hours each year.

When TransAlta built the Bighorn Hydro Plant, it created Lake Abraham — Alberta’s largest man-made lake. The plant is one of two TransAlta hydro plants on the North Saskatchewan River System in Alberta.

In addition to TransAlta’s hydro plant, Bighorn is a name given to a lake, river, creek, canyon and mountain range in western Alberta because of the abundance of Bighorn sheep.

TransAlta’s hydroelectric plants primarily provide electricity during periods of peak electrical demand and ensure system stability. Their operating flexibility means they can start quickly to introduce hydro power within minutes, balancing out shortages due to unexpected outages, or providing power at times of high demand. (Transalta)

North Saskatchewan River

North Saskatchewan River

I have no photos of the actual dam since it required a bit of a hike to get to it, and we were running out of time … but oh my, swooning once again here … north-saskatchewan-river-4065 Bighorn Dam on North Saskatchewan River

So there you have it … a veritable photo dump!

It was a spectacular day which ended with supper at Boston Pizza in Rocky Mountain House, and finally home to Red Deer.

You might also like:

David Thompson Highway, Alberta Canada

Emerald Lake Getaway 2016

Filed Under: TRAVEL Tagged With: abraham lake, alberta, travel

Explore Magazine Feature

July 20, 2016 by Barb 7 Comments

I was pretty chuffed to find one of my blog posts was referenced in Explore Magazine’s Alberta’s 25 Best Hikes. It’s for a post I wrote last year on Sunwapta Falls and Old Man Mountain. You have to scroll down a bit to find the article (it’s #5) and the link to my blog, but it’s there! I mean … who would have thought ;)

… and in case you don’t know what Explore Magazine is …

Founded in 1981, explore is the award-winning national lifestyle magazine that delivers the information and inspiration that active outdoor-loving Canadians want-or more accurately, can’t do without.

Explore Magazine Feature, Keeping With the Times

*with permission

This seemingly small “nod” has done a couple things for me.

First, I’m so happy I took the time to document our trip last year. This blog is my life’s journal but to be recognized by a magazine adds an extra element of excitement and it has encouraged me to share more of our travels. I do share some, but often I let it lapse, thinking “who cares” (blog fatigue.)

Secondly, I’m determined to keep improving my photography. When I went back and looked at my post, I was relieved to see that my photos were pretty darn good! I’d taken the time to look for interesting angles and small details, sharing only my best shots. So thank you Explore Magazine for the pat on the back, and the encouragement to keep blogging!

If you’re interested in our complete trip, check out my post Our Canadian Rockies Getaway and follow the links.

Featured in Explore

Filed Under: TRAVEL Tagged With: alberta, landscape, travel

Autumn in Alberta II

October 6, 2015 by Barb 4 Comments

Autumn in Alberta II … because it’s just so amazingly gorgeous out there and I want to remember it … one of the reasons I continue to blog.

The wood pile photos were taken a few weeks ago as we started the preparations. We ordered a full cord of birch which will probably last us three years! Hubby stacked it all … I begged off because of a bad back, and sore knees, etc. etc. etc.

Keeping With the Times, Autumn in AlbertaKeeping With the Times, firewoodKeeping With the Times, firewoodMost of my Upcycled Toolbox Planter is going to have to hit the compost heap … I simply cannot save everything (that succulent in the middle being an exception).
Keeping With the TimesI dropped everything and took a walk …
Keeping With the Times, Autumn in Alberta DSC_0974 Keeping With the Times, Autumn in Alberta DSC_0939 DSC_0932 DSC_0928 DSC_0925 Keeping With the TimesIf you click on the following photo you will be taken to my new IG account @barbbrookbank where you can watch the leaves fall, and listen to the sound as a light breeze blows through them …
treesHave a wonderful Tuesday!

Filed Under: Autumn, PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: alberta, autumn, landscape

Autumn in Alberta

October 2, 2015 by Barb 6 Comments

Autumn in Alberta is beyond stunning this year, and I can’t remember such colour! Everywhere I look I imagine flames …

Autumn in Alberta, Keeping With the Times

I used a polarizing filter on this … pretty dramatic …

I was out and about on Wednesday and stopped to take a photo of the landscape, but look who was hiding in the trees waiting for me (kinda wish I’d used my filter here). Do you ever use a polarizing filter? Truthfully, I’d forgotten about it …
Autumn in Alberta, Keeping With the Times DSC_0834 DSC_0835 DSC_0836 DSC_0838Almost home …
trees_road_barbbrookbankMy back yard …
barbbrookbank_autumn2I am not looking forward to the first winds … and I’m sure you can guess why … .

Autumn in Alberta, Keeping With the Times

Thank you so much for dropping by and have a wonderful Friday!

You might want to check out Autumn in Alberta II

SaveSave

Filed Under: Autumn, PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: alberta

Our Canadian Rockies Getaway Part I

September 10, 2015 by Barb 14 Comments

The Canadian Rockies mountain range spans the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. With jagged, ice-capped peaks, including 3,954m Mt. Robson, it’s a region of dramatic wilderness, alpine lakes, diverse wildlife and many outdoor recreation sites. National parks include Yoho, home to Takakkaw waterfall, dropping a sheer 302m, Jasper, famed for its Athabasca Glacier, and Banff, site of glacier-fed Lake Louise.

My husband and I have lived most of our married life in Alberta, and every time we take a trip through the Canadian Rockies we are blown away by the beauty and majesty of it all.

This trip was a late 40th wedding anniversary celebration (we’re almost at 41 now), and it was pretty memorable.

We left early on September 4th, headed to Jasper National Park, where we stayed for two nights at Becker’s Roaring River Chalets, just off the Icefields Parkway and adjacent to the Athabasca River.

Canadian Rockies

View from the dining room. Mount Kerkeslin in the background.

The chalets were warm, comfortable, and clean. The food in the dining room was pure deliciousness … and I know good food!

Canadian Rockies, Becker's Chalet, Athabasca River

Canadian Rockies, Jasper National Park, Becker’s Chalets

We were in for a bit of a surprise when we discovered the Tour of Alberta was scheduled to go right past our chalets!

We waited …
Tour of Alberta

… and waited …
DSC_9487

… finally they appeared … and we were just mere metres from the riders!

It was quite the exhilarating sight … they were escorted by countless RCMP vehicles, event organizers, and marshals …

Tour of Alberta

Tour of Alberta

Tour of Alberta

Canadian Rockies, Becker's Chalet, Athabasca River, Tour of Alberta 2015

Canadian Rockies, Becker's Chalet, Athabasca River, Tour of Alberta 2015

… 30 seconds later, they were gone!
Canadian Rockies, Becker's Chalet, Athabasca River, Tour of Alberta 2015what a blast!

OK … wait … don’t go! Check out the Tour of Alberta, Rocky Mountain (Bighorn) Sheep Style:

Bighorn-Sheep-1 Bighorn-Sheep-2 Bighorn-Sheep-3 Bighorn-Sheep-4 Bighorn-Sheep-5 Bighorn-Sheep-6 Bighorn-Sheep-7
:)

See Maligne Canyon for Part II.

Filed Under: LIFE, TRAVEL Tagged With: alberta, landscape, rocky mountains, tour of alberta, travel

Autumn Colour Inspiration

September 22, 2014 by Barb 5 Comments

On Sunday morning, we took one more tour around the lake for some autumn colour inspiration; brilliant blues, yellows, greens, and golds.

It was a perfect morning with wispy white clouds painted across the blue skies, calm glassy water, and other than a couple of people fishing, we were the only ones out there.

Later in the day the lake exploded with boating activity complete with music blaring from speakers until about 10:00pm when it was completely dark. There are two types of lake-life here … early morning coffee cruisers, and late night partiers.  Kind of hard to picture the latter when you see this:autumn colours {keeping with the times} Autumn Reflections Morning02 Autumn Reflections Morning04 Autumn Reflections Morning05 Autumn Reflections Morning06 Autumn Reflections Morning07 Autumn Reflections Morning08 Autumn Reflections Morning09 Autumn Reflections Morning10 Autumn Reflections Morning11 Autumn Reflections Morning12 Autumn Reflections Morning13 Autumn Reflections Morning16 Autumn Reflections Morning17 Autumn Reflections Morning18 reflections of autumn Autumn Colours Autumn Reflections Morning21

So this is it for my autumn lake reflections (I know, it was a bit of a photo dump). We’ve brought the boat in, put it away, and covered it for what is surely coming … the autumn colours will inevitably be replaced with browns, and greys, and eventually white.

If you want to see our evening tour, check out my post, Autumn Reflections.

Have a Happy Monday! and thank you for dropping by!

Filed Under: Autumn, PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: alberta, lake

Autumn Reflections

September 21, 2014 by Barb 9 Comments

One of things I look forward to in September is our last tour around the lake, to take in the autumn reflections. Here’s the view from our dock, and you can see that some of the leaves have already fallen off the tallest trees. It happens so fast …

autumn, {keeping with the times}

Autumn Reflections_15 Autumn Reflections_14 Autumn Reflections_13 Autumn Reflections_12 Autumn Reflections_11 Autumn Reflections_10 Autumn Reflections_9

We were the only people on the lake … and it was absolutely incredible. The photos don’t do it justice.
Autumn Reflections_8 Autumn Reflections_7 Autumn Reflections_5 Autumn Reflections_4 Autumn Reflections_3 Autumn Reflections_2

Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night

~Hal Borland~

 

Filed Under: Autumn, PHOTOGRAPHY Tagged With: alberta, lake

Marsh Marigolds

June 3, 2014 by Barb 18 Comments

Marsh Marigolds [caltha palustris] are one of the first (if not the first) wildflower that pops up around here. Every spring these wonderful flowers light up dark boggy areas with their bright buttercup-like flowers and are a welcome sight to us winter-weary Albertans!

I braved a swamp and an army of mosquitoes to get these photos (and a small handful of marigolds).Marsh Marigolds, Keeping With the Timesmarsh marigolds, Keeping With the Timesmarsh marigolds, Keeping With the Times

Caltha palustris is more commonly called marsh marigold or kingcup. It’s rather toxic and requires careful handling as it can cause blistering. I used rubber gloves to pick and arrange these little beauties.marsh marigolds, Keeping With the Timesmarsh marigolds, Keeping With the TimesTruly a welcome sight in these here parts! Thank you for stopping by!

Filed Under: GARDENING, What's Up? Tagged With: alberta, flower, flowers, spring, wildflower

Welcome! I'm Barb, and this is where I practice my mantra to "learn something new, try something different". It's my hope that something I do here may inspire you! Read More…

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