For I think seven years now my family has been having an annual family weekend somewhere in the mountains. In recent years we have mostly travelled to Jasper, but in the past we have also spent weekends in Banff, Waterton and near Nordegg. These weekends have included my two brothers and their families, and my parents. In years past we always considered this an opportunity to spend some time with my Dad, while he still could. I'm really glad that we took the time to get out with him while we had the chance. This year was the first year that Dad did not join us. Although we all recognized that he would not have been able to travel, and would not have enjoyed it, for me at least it was kind of a realization that he can't do stuff like this anymore... and it was more than a little sad... Since he moved into long term care earlier this year, his Alzheimers has progressed and he has become even more confused, and even less aware of what is going on around him. He has become more unstable on his feet, and mostly is in a wheelchair....
But, Mom came along again and I think she enjoyed the time spent with family and with her grandkids, even if Opa couldn't be there. We had three adjacent cabins at Beckers Chalets just outside of the Jasper townsite. In recent years we have mostly stayed at Alpine Village but this year they were booked up, so we tried something new. It is a very similar complex and we really enjoyed it. When we arrived at our cabin we were greeted by this Sphinx moth on the jamb of our door...
The next morning I got up early and wandered down to the banks of the Athabasca River with my view camera. I met up with my brother Wes... who whas shooting both still and video images with his digital camera. We wandered along the shores to the Athabasca, which was running high and fast as a result of the spring runoff that was just getting underway. We followed Whistler Creek up into the woods behind the cabins. On a couple of occasions we saw a cow elk, and didn't think much of it. As I was setting up to photograph some aspen trunks with my view camera, Wes decided to head back to the cabin to help with breakfast. I thought it rather unusual as I watched the cow elk take off after him as he left. I though that she was just anxious to get away from me... but that was not the case. I didn't think much of it, and a short time later my brother Greg and his wife Barb wandered by. Eventually I made my way back towards the cabins and soon I came across Wes, Margarit and some of the kids... and that cow elk. It turns the elk was very aggressive and we figured out that she must have a calf hidden in the woods there somewhere. She had chased Wes and had him hiding behind some tree trunks. I understand it took him about a half hour to back his way from tree to tree out of the woods. He even managed to shoot some video of himself being accosted by the elk. By the time I arrived we were nearly at the edge of the woods. But she was still pretty upset and pretty aggressive towards me as well.
Later that morning we had a big family breakfast and then headed out for the day. We tried to head up to the Geraldine Lakes trailhead, but the road was still closed. We ended up wandering down to the shores of the Athabasca River, just downstream from Athabasca Falls. We all marvelled at how many Calypso orchids were blooming in the woods...
After that we slowly made our way back towards town. We stopped once and went walking along the shores of the river. Later, as we got closer to town, we came upon a "Bear-Jam". This was reminiscent of a trip that Margarit and I have made down to Yellowstone about 10 years earlier. Cars and motorhomes were parked all over the road, and a big crowd had gathered on the edge, overlooking a slope below. There were tripods and big lenses all over the place. It turns out that there were two little bear cubs up in a tree, and their Mama was asleep down at the base. We all watched for a while, and took a couple of snapshots of our own before eventually continuing on our way.
I sure have seen a lot of bears this spring. These three, plus the Mama Black and her cub out on the Kootenay Plains a couple of weeks prior. Later this afternoon we also saw what appeared to be a juvenile Grizzly cross the highway near the Jasper townsite.
We drove up to the Jasper Park Lodge. Most of the gang wanted to wander around the Lodge area for a while. Margarit and I went off on a walk with Helena, mostly because the place was very busy and there was limited parking... particularly for a truck as long as mine. We later learned that there were two weddings and a graduation going on that afternoon. I managed this shot of a dragonfly in a meadow near the edge of the Athabasca...
Eventually we made our way back to the cabins. We had a pot luck barbecue and sat around together visiting and playing cards until late into the evening. The next morning I took my view camera out again and went for another walk down to the river. This time there was no morning fog, and it was rather overcast and cool. I avoided the woods where we had run into Mama Elk the morning before. By late morning we packed up and got ready to leave, but not before reserving some cabins for the 8th Annual Weekend next spring. Eventually we made our way into town... bought some ice cream for the kids... and wandered around some of the "tourist trap" souvenir shops. Of course all of the young girls wanted to buy everything in sight. Eventually Greg's family hit the road... taking Mom along with them. Wes's family and mine went for lunch together before eventually saying our goodbyes as well. They had to make their way back down the Icefields Parkway to Banff and on to home in Calgary. We hit the road to the east, back home as well. We made a brief stop out by the dunes along Jasper and Talbot Lakes. Hailey and I went for a short walk while the other girls waited for us in the truck. It was a little too windy to think about any serious photography at this stop, but I'd like to try and come back and shoot here some other time.
It was a rather uneventful drive home after that. We made a couple of pitstops to try and keep all the little girls happy but by the time we finally arrived home, shortly before 8:00PM, everyone was pretty worn out and more than a little grumpy. We eventually got the girls off to bad and all of our gear unloaded from the truck. I really look forward to the day when I can get back into the darkroom and start processing film again. That is one of the most magical moments in photography.... when you turn on the lights and take a look at your negatives for the first time... still wet in the fix.... I have hundreds of sheets of film to process, as well as dozens of rolls... some of it dating back as far as 2009... I haven't stopped shooting, but with all the emphasis on the Procession West project in recent months, I haven't done any processing. These next two weeks coming up will be very busy for me. All of my prints for the Procession West project are mounted and matted, but I need to get them all spotted and framed and delivered to the Art Gallery of Regina by the middle of June. I'm on schedule... but really looking forward to the time when this will all be done, and I can get back to my regular photographic routine.
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