Evening Drive in Banff NP

One of our favourite activities on a summer evening is a drive along Highway 1A in Banff National Park.This scenic road parallels the Trans Canada Highway between Banff and Lake Louise, a much quieter and more interesting road. We always enjoy the scenery and sometimes, like today we see some wildlife.

Today’s first encounter was a wolf that we saw crossing the road perhaps 200 m in front of us. He was going somewhere with a purpose and did not tarry long enough for us to get a photograph. A little further, we were able to loop back and retrace our path in the hope he might return. Along the way we spotted a small black bear, who quickly left the road and plunged into the woods. Again a very brief sighting and no photograph.

Soon after we turned back to the west, we were rewarded with finding a mature black bear grazing along the roadside. I was driving, Rolande got the photograph. Nice shot!

We continued on but no wolf. As we approached Johnston Canyon, we came upon a bull elk. He posed majestically in the sunlight, proudly displaying his modest 4-point rack (8 points is really impressive!). This is a new rack, replacing the antlers he would have shed in the winter. You will note the velvety coat on the antlers. This will be shed soon, leaving the bare antlers. The velvet is recovered from farm-raised elk and sold for its medicinal properties.

Our next stop was the bridge over the Bow River at Castle Junction. I was hoping to find and photograph some osprey who usually nest there each year. Saw the nest atop the bridge but no sign of any osprey. The consolation shot was this picture of a magpie, strutting his shiny plumage.

We decided to return to where we had seen the wolf and the black bear. No wolf, but I was able to get some more shots of the bear, this time from a little closer and more in the open. This next shot was the best of that set. A good sized bear who did seem at all concerned with our presence.

We then headed for home and again we saw an elk, wandering along the road. He came very close and I had to rein in my telephoto lens to get something more than just his nostrils in the picture. Here’s one I like, probably my best for the day.

As we turned onto the Trans Canada Highway, I thought our photography was done for the evening. Fortunately,I did not put the camera away. As we approached Canmore, Rolande spotted another black bear ambling along the railway tracks, CP Rail’s main line to the West Coast. One of the commodities shipped on this line is grain from the Prairie provinces. The grain cars do leak and small quantities of grain are spilled along the rails. The grain attracts the bears and regrettably several are killed each year by trains. This bear was taking a risk he didn’t understand and I hope we won’t soon read about his demise on the railway tracks.

This was a very good outing. We’re not always this lucky, so we really appreciate these occasions when we get to enjoy the wildlife.