Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park

Today, I ventured to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, one of Alberta’s newest provincial parks. Located along the north shore of the Bow River between Calgary and Cochrane, it consists of more than 1,300 hectares of foothills parkland. I arrived early after driving Rolande to the airport. The skies were cloudless but the park was shrouded in low level fog which lasted until about 9:30 am. Today’s photographs are a mix of those taken early (foggy) and the later ones (bright and sunny).

My first picture is my favourite for today, three horses that greeted me as I walked past the pasture where they grazed. They came to the fence and posed very nicely for me. They were far enough away that they appeared almost ghost-like in the mist. I refer to them as the spectral horses.

The next picture was taken later in the morning as I returned to my car. I chose a trail that took me to a high point in the park, with great views in all directions. By this time the sky was entirely clear and I took a number of shots, including this view to the west. The splash of bright yellow you see on the left is a canola field. If you look closely, you can also see the Rockies on the horizon. The atmosphere out there was pretty hazy so they’re not as visible as they could  be. I’d like to see this view on a clear day, in the spring or fall when there is snow on the peaks. Perhaps I’ll return for that! I took this picture and most of the others at this location using my tilt-shift lens. I used the tilt feature to achieve sharpness throughout the image. I don’t think it would have been much help in the earlier, foggy conditions.

I’ve included the rest of today’s pictures as a slideshow. As always, click on the right side of the images to advance ; on the left to reverse.