Castorama in Vermont
My sisters and our families have rented a house for a few days in Vermont for a little family reunion tradition my mother dubbed “Castorama” many years ago.
Photography
Our Trip’s Last Campsite with Portraits at Sunset
This was our fabulous last campsite of the trip directly on the north shore of Lake Superior, in the Rainbow Falls campground near Rossport. This spot was amazingly lovely, although close enough to the highway to hear it.
Rocks Along Northern Shore of Lake Superior
We had fun playing with the rocks along the northern shore of Lake Superior. The colors of the rocks are very different when wet, vivid in (or just plucked out) of the exceptionably clear, cold water. I enjoyed the lichen as well.
Athabaska Falls
On our way out of the Canadian Rockies, we visited Athabaskan Falls. The stairs set into the rock the water had carved were almost as cool as the waterfall! We are now heading east across Canada home…
Photos of Our Youngest Daughter in the Canadian Rockies
It may seem like the purpose of this trip was mostly about spending quality time with our youngest daughter at this special transition time in her life between high school and college.
Photos from Jasper
We loved our time here, and it was bittersweet because this awesome trip was starting to wind to a close.
A Recent Burn
In Jasper, we were in an area where a forest fire had been raging only a week before. The devastation was very impressive, and you could still smell latent smoke tinged with the scent of pine needles.
Close Up Water Photos in the Canadian Rockies
I came here for mountains, but my new appreciation is for the water in all its variations. The remarkable pool color water comes from silt they cal “mountain flour” which changes how light refracts off of it, creating every hue from celadon and emerald, with a lot of turquoise and teal in between.
Amazing Rainbow in Jasper
We saw this amazing this amazing rainbow in Jasper, arguably either a double or a quad, because the lower one had repeating rainbows in it, which I had never seen before…
Caribou Photos
We saw caribou on three separate occasions in Jasper, every time quite close up. Their heads seemed strangely out of proportion to their bodies. The coloring of some are different from the others, so much so for a while we thought they were a different kind of animal altogether.
Lichen, Flowers, and Rock Face in the Canadian Rockies
Here are some of the close up views we had in the Canadian Rockies, mostly of rocks, lichen, and flowers.
Evening View from Island in Jasper’s Pyramid Lake
The island in Jasper’s Pyramid Lake was a wonderful place to hag out and watch the drama of the last evening light play out.
Columbia Ice Field
The Columbia Ic Field is the biggest patch of ice outside the poles. It sits very thickly on top of this mountain range in Jasper, spilling down the sides in glaciers. The melt off from this ice sheet goes into all the watersheds of the world, poised as it is on the continental divide.
Lake Louise in Banff
We returned three times to try to get a good view of Lake Louise. The first time, I exclaimed to our daughter, “This is a cathedral and (motioning to the glacier) there’s the alter.” It was so glad to be back.
Moraine Lake in the Valley of Ten Peaks
This spot epitomized my pilgrimage to Banff more than any other place.
