Mohkínstsis — 1.6 million people at the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 400 high-rises, a 300-metre SE to NW climb, over 1000 kilometres of pathways, with 20% of the urban area as parkland.
Alberta and Canada's newest UNESCO World Heritage Site, Writing-On-Stone (Áísínai'pi) Provincial Park. The park was inscribed by UNESCO this past Saturday. It is Alberta's 6th world heritage site, and the 20th in the country. This makes it the 5th UNESCO World Heritage Site within a 3-hour drive of Calgary, and Canada's only site in the Mississippi Drainage Basin (a weird little tidbit).
Mohkínstsis — 1.6 million people at the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 400 high-rises, a 300-metre SE to NW climb, over 1000 kilometres of pathways, with 20% of the urban area as parkland.
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I am so glad that Áísínai'pi made the cut as a Wold Heritage site; indeed, the inscriptions make it a very significant place, but the landscapes are stunning too.
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The emerald waters of Portage river, in PERCÉ (Gaspésie), QC
Lovely setting. But nobody swimming. Something we have to live with here in Canada as has been discussed before. Beach season and swimming season are only concurrent for a short period of time over the year.
This pic looks very similar to the stretch of beach in Georgian Bay we cottage at. Only a small number of beach goers are swimming right now with a high percentage of them being kids. Today I was along Lake Ontario and only two people swimming in the two parks in Oakville I was at. For both these places, tonnes of people would normally be swimming but the garbage spring pushed things way back. I was ankle deep and that was enough for me.
Though if I had gone to Burlington Beach with its shallower water and actual sand I'm sure there would be more swimmers.
However, there are smaller lakes like one I go to up north for fishing that do have natural sand beach and the water has been comfortable for several weeks now, but nobody will confuse those with scenic beaches like above. Another is Professor's Lake in Brampton, with clear water but their beach is man made.
However, there are smaller lakes like one I go to up north for fishing that do have natural sand beach and the water has been comfortable for several weeks now, but nobody will confuse those with scenic beaches like above. Another is Professor's Lake in Brampton, with clear water but their beach is man made.
There's a variety around the Halifax area. This is at the extreme cold end since it's an exposed beach facing the open Atlantic. The picture was from a few weeks ago. There's a big lag in ocean temperatures so September is much warmer than early July. Some sheltered saltwater beaches are a bit warmer and then the lake beaches can be much warmer on warm days. Around June or July the lakes are pretty good and then August is the height of swimming season, although an area like Crystal Crescent probably rarely gets much above 20 degree water temperatures if it even hits that point.
Lakes, mountains and ferries in the West Kootenays
Slocan Lake with Valhalla Provincial park in the Selkirk Mountains in the background
Looking north and south from the Needles ferry on Lower Arrow lake with the Monashee mountains in the background
Kootenay lake taken from the Osprey ferry headed to Balfour from Crawford Bay with the Purcell and Selkirk mountains in the background
The west arm of Kootenay Lake, from Balfour to Nelson. View of the Balfourvferry terminal from the patio at the pub and crossing the Harrop-Proctor cable ferry
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Short term pain for long term gain
Couple of weeks ago, we spent a weekend Harrison Hot Springs camping in Sasquatch Provincial Park. During our trip I realized that this was only my third time in Harrison during the 7.5 years we have lived here, which is strange, as it is really a really nice town and it is not that far from the city.
The road to the campsite runs along the beautiful lakeshore.
Our campsite was next to Deer Lake which is pretty small. The muddy beach didn't invite anyone to be swimming there, even though it was very warm the whole weekend.
Our major activity for Saturday was climbing the Campbell Lake Trail which also has a nickname Harrison Grind due to how steep and tough it is. Be extra careful in case you run into a sasquatch while hiking!
Halfway view towards Mount Cheam in Chilliwack.
For the most of the hike there are no views, but up on top there is a small lookout.
Phew! After a five-hour hike, we were finally back at our car and hungry for some lunch. Fortunately there are lots of food options in Harrison along the lake shore. It was busy with people as in July they also have an Arts Festival on every weekend.
Harrison Lake has a nice sandy beach with incredible vistas, however water is super cold even in middle of summer. We only dipped in briefly which was very refreshing!
Our weekend in Harrison Hot Springs was excellent. I have yet to dip in the hot springs themselves and there are also few other hiking trails we want to do, so we should be returning there soon again.
I love those little rock teapot islands on the Atlantic and Lake Huron coasts.
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Strong & Free
Mohkínstsis — 1.6 million people at the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 400 high-rises, a 300-metre SE to NW climb, over 1000 kilometres of pathways, with 20% of the urban area as parkland.
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