There hasn’t been much computer time on our trip because we’re having such a wonderful time. Since leaving Calgary, we’ve been on the trails almost every day—first in Glacier National Park, then Waterton Lakes, and now Banff and Lake Louise. We’ve just about hit the 50 mile mark for hiking; should make that tomorrow. We’ve had a couple days of rain, and the forecast is a bit iffy, but yesterday was absolutely perfect. #1 on our bucket list of hikes was the hike to The Plains of Six Glaciers. It starts at the Chateau Lake Louise and ends at a tea house high in the mountains. I’ll have more photos of the hike and more details about the tea house once I get home. But I uploaded two photos for this week’s Pairs (thanks, Helena!), so you’ll get an idea of how beautiful it is here. 

This photo of the Chateau Lake Louise was taken from the lake shore path which is the beginning of the hike up The Plain of Six Glaciers. The water really is that turquoise!

If you look carefully, you’ll see the Chateau at the end of the lake. This was taken before we reached the tea house.

Both Tracy and I are awed by the beauty and grandeur of the Canadian Rockies. The scenery in Montana and Waterton Lakes was wonderful, but the magnitude of the Canadian Rockies is simply amazing. We have three more days in the Banff/Lake Louise area and then head up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper for four days. 

Quite awhile ago, we gave up trying to drive the whole way from Rochester to Chicago, and usually break it up into two shorter trips. This week we decided to go all the way since we only have two days with Sarah, Adam, and Caleb before we fly out to Calgary. But we decided to break up this trip with an adventure that would get us out of the car and on our feet for an hour or two. Initially, we thought we’d visit a museum, but both of the ones on our bucket list were closed on Mondays. So we decided to stop at the Indiana Dunes State Park, and take a hike. 

We had a choice of 10 different trails, and chose one listed as “Moderate” in difficulty that went along the shore of Lake Michigan. It turned out to be more challenging than I expected for two reasons. First, the trail is composed of deep sand—not easy to walk on, and especially difficult when climbing. Our legs got a good workout. Second, it was 88° and humid, and I got overheated about halfway through the hike. Luckily, we had lots of water with us, and I could splash some cool water on my face from Lake Michigan. We were rewarded after the hike with dinner at a great burger and craft beer restaurant in Chesterton, IN. I don’t remember the last time I enjoyed a beer quite so much.

Here’s one of the trails up to the top of the dune. You can just see Tracy on the top of the path on the left side of the photo.

I waited until Tracy got down the other side of the dune before taking this photo so you can see how high these dunes actually are.

I’m not expecting such hot, humid temperatures in the Canadian Rockies, but the forecast for Calgary the next two days is exactly the same as we had at Indiana Dunes. It’s going to be HOT at the Calgary Stampede! When I checked before we left, the range of temperatures for Jasper, AB (our most northern destination) , the temperature ranged from 39° to 90° so we’re prepared for almost anything (except snow!) 

Linking up with Helena (as always) where you can find more Pairs each Wednesday.

My friend, Debbie, and I walked 5 1/2 miles along the Erie Canal this morning, and I found my “Pairs” for this week. The girls’ two-person boats were out for a practice run.

More two photo pairs can be found on Helena’s blog right here. 

Miss Skylar and I went for a walk last night, and happened upon this beautiful garden. The tall purple and blue flowers reminded me of my mother who had great success growing them. (Thanks to Mary-Lou, I now know they are delphinium; none of us could remember the name last night.) We often had a tall blue cut-glass vase filled with them on our grand piano. After I took the first photo of Skylar admiring the flowers, I asked her to turn around so I could take another photo. She’s not always amenable to such requests, but I got a cute smile this time. So here’s my pair: Skylar from the back and from the front. (Love those braids.)

I’m always curious to see what other pairing show up on Helena’s blog each Wednesday. You can check them out here.

We’ve been in Chicago since Sunday helping Adam and Sarah move to a new house. Their landlord didn’t renew their lease because he wanted to move into the house himself. Despite the hassle, they’ve found a much nicer place—more room, much more light, and a great location—so it’s all turned out quite well. We can walk Caleb to his new school—only two blocks away, it’s less than a block to a Walgreens, and just over a mile to a lovely shopping area. Despite the nearness of stores, the house itself is on a nice residential street, and none of the commercial activity impinges on it. We have most rooms fairly well settled, and most boxes unpacked, but there’s still a lot of cleaning to do at the old house, and some decisions to make about where to put things here. Tracy and Sarah have been busy the last two days building shelves in the garage (yeah, for a garage!), and organizing a workshop in the unfinished part of the basement. I was in charge of the kitchen (much larger, nicer), and except for one box of stuff that needs to be curated, it’s done and functioning well. Last night, Sarah and I sorted most of Caleb’s toys and decided where to put them in the new playroom/family room.

Through all of this, I’ve been thinking about pairs, and had several ideas, none of which worked out. This afternoon I went for a walk through a beautiful Memorial Park about a block away, and discovered the perfect pair.

There are only a couple of spots in Rochester where you might get a photograph of swans, but it’s rare that they are in an area where you can get a good shot. This photo was taken with my iPhone.

You’ll find more pairs to enjoy at Helena’s blog. We’re here for just one more day and then heading home for a brief stay before leaving again to visit my brother and meet my new grand-nephew.

When I took up photography as a serious hobby about eight years ago, I learned to see in new ways. Colors, light, composition, contrasts, photos within photos . . . all took on new meaning. We spend a fair amount of time on the road these days, and I’m always struck by how many wonderful subjects there are for a good photograph, if only we had time to stop!

For years, I’ve wanted to be able to draw. Last summer, thanks to links on Alexa’s and Deb’s blogs, I enrolled in Sketchbook Skool. Learning to sketch opened a whole new world of seeing. Every angle and detail matters. I see things when I’m planning and executing a sketch I’d never seen when composing a photograph. Like photography, sketching has improved my vision.

Truthfully, I love both hobbies. In May, I participated in a sketching challenge called Everyday in May. I drew all 31 prompts, but the day I had the most fun was a week ago when I met up with the Rochester Sketch Meet-up Group to sketch on the Canandaigua Pier. Here are two ways of seeing:  the photograph and the sketch.

There’s so much more to learn for both hobbies. I could spend all day watching videos and reading about both of them. As it is, I’ll keep practicing and trying to improve.

I’m linking up with Helena’s wonderful meme: Pairs. You can find more of them here.

A week from now, most of the flowering plants and trees in Highland Park will be past their peak. It will still be a beautiful place for a walk, but all the stunning color will be gone. This past week the azaleas stole the show. I ended up there in mid-afternoon, not the best hour for good photographs, but you’ll get the idea. I’m posting four photos (2 pairs?) so you can get the whole effect: a zoom out, zoom in sequence.

I must admit I’ll miss all the gorgeous color when we walk.

When we moved into this house nearly 30 years ago, a kind neighbor walked us around the property pointing out some valuable plants that might not have been recognized. One was a tree peony. Sadly, it’s in our lower yard, in a corner that can’t be viewed easily from the house or our patio. One year when Matt was living here, he cut one of the flowers and floated it in a bowl. Ever since, that’s been our practice, so now we can enjoy the beautiful blooms for as long as they last on the tree.

On the Bush

In the Bowl