Beautiful Photographs from Banff National Park: Scenes from the Bow Valley Parkway, Moraine Lake and Sunshine Village
I have mentioned Morant’s Curve located on the Bow Valley Parkway (Hwy 1A) in my previous photo pieces published on this blog! It is famed because of the CP freight trains that come through from the direction of Lake Louise travelling towards Banff. The sight of the front red engine as it comes into view is thrilling. The arrival of the trains is unscheduled and some photographers wait for several hours at Morant’s Curve to get the perfect shot. In my recent drives through the Parkway, I came across another beautiful lookout point for trains as well as the Bow River and the mountains around. The lookout/picnic area is known as Storm Mountain and it is a couple of kilometres west of the Castle Mountain Chalets. It offers several picnic tables that overlook the Bow River. I designate it as Morants Curve 2! I think it offers an equally stunning view of the trains. It appears to be closer to the Bow River; the presence and impact of the river is greater here than at Morant’s Curve. The colour of the river too is magical.
Generally, when a CP train is approaching the bends, you know it several minutes ahead. Often, the train blows a whistle that can be heard miles away and noise of the train echoes through the mountains. However, a group of us who were at the Storm Mountain lookpout were totally taken by surprise when a Rocky Mountaineer passed by very very quietly! I grabbed my camera and managed to get a photo of the last few carriages. Luckily, Oregon’s Chris Bebber happened to be in a perfect spot to see the train coming through, while he was taking photographs of the stunning sunset. I thank him for allowing me to reproduce the photograph he took in this post. Enjoy Bebber’s extraordinary photograph and the remainder that follow which were taken by me over the past few days.
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The Dazzling Colour of Glacier Fed Lakes
Moraine Lake (Banff) and other glacier fed lakes such as Lake Louise, Peyto Lake (both Banff) and Emerald Lake (Yoho National Park, BC), among others, owe their stunning color to the presence of glacial silt or rock flour that is brought down by the melting of the glaciers. These minuscule particles remain suspended in the water, scattering sunlight and giving it a unique emerald or turquoise appearance. The rock type and the amount of it in the water causes the color to vary from lake to lake and month to month, even week to week (compiled from Wikipedia and discover canada tours.)
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Date posted: August 4, 2023.
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Simply fantastic pictures worthy of putting them on yearly calendar or in a museum.