Relaxing at the Lake Louise Ski Resort.

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In an effort to be sure all sketches are posted online, I’ve started signing sketches once they are published. This way, hopefully, no sketches will slip through the cracks. In the early years sketches often slipped by because the latest sketch and experience seemed fresher and more exciting. Looking back at vacation sketchbooks, I was surprised to find this Lake Louise, Canada sketch unsigned. That morning, Terry decided she was going on a horse back ride up to the lip of a glacier. I don’t trust horses so the morning was mine to find a sketch opportunity.

I went through the town maps and brochures and decided that the gondola ride was probably sketch worthy. It was summer however, so there wasn’t much snow on the lower slopes.
The Lake Louise Ski Resort
(1 Whitehorn Road, Lake Louise
Alberta, Canada, T0L 1E0) had this gorgeous ski lodge at the base of the mountain. I could faintly see the gondola snaking it’s way up the first slope. I went inside to check on ticket prices. After a quick deliberation, I decided the lodge would be my subject. I had to sit in the parking lot to do the sketch, so I was always looking around to be sure I wasn’t run over by a wayward tourist bus or an RV.

Every half hour or so a bus would park in front of the lodge. All the tourists would pile out of the bus, take a cell phone photo and then pile back in. I’m glad that Terry and I travel at our own pace. Back at the hotel, Terry made fun of me for not riding the Gondola. She made clucking noises to rub it in. Her morning had been a real adventure riding her horse through muddy slopes to the glacier.A little friendly competition on vacation isn’t a bad thing. I grant Terry won this round.

Jump Start your morning in Banff

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Every morning while staying in Banff, Terry and I would start our day at Jump Start Coffee (206 Buffalo St, Banff, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada). This is a small coffee shop that is frequented by locals who order a cup of coffee and read the morning paper. Terry and I would order an egg sandwich or muffin and then some extra food to take out for lunch later in the day. The proprietress was pleasant so it made sense to, keep returning. The food was simple but good.

The view out the front window was of the town park and the history museum as well as the huge mountains. Some locals returned every morning and the coffee shop became a place to gossip[ and find out what was going on in town. It felt like a welcome relief from the endless tourist stores that tend to line the main street. The place felt much like the local places I return to often in Orlando whe I find some spare time between sketch opportunities.

Relaxing by a glacial stream

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Terry and I stopped at a narrow valley in the Canadian Rockies which had a trail leading to the cliff edge of another glacier. The parking lot was right beside a meandering glacial stream. This became the resting spot for tourists before the hike and after. I hiked with Terry up to a rocky overlook that gave a sweeping view of the whole valley.

A warning sign marked the trail from this halfway point toward the glacier wall. It warned that if the glacier calved, that hikers could drown or be crushed by building sized chunks of ice. Terry wanted to push forward on the unmaintained trail but I turned back to sketch at the stream. One woman was carving her initials on a rock using a smaller rock as her writing tool. I don’t understand this basic human need to scar a gorgeous landscape to prove that you had been there. I suppose I’m doing the same thing by sketching. I need to leave a mark. Stones probably last longer than paper, so maybe I picked the wrong medium to work with.

We had drinks in the car, so I grabbed one and hiked back to the first overlook. I got a bit nervous when I finished my sketch and Terry hadn’t returned. Of course if the glacier had calved, I would have noticed the immense surge of water down the valley. Of course she didn’t know where I had set up to sketch, so I hiked back to the car. When she returned, we had lunch in the car and then pushed off to the next sight.

Lake Louise is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world

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Terry and I stayed in the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta Canada and the room had a fabulous view overlooking the lake. While Terry explored the hotel, I sketched. The hotel isn’t as gorgeous at the Fairmont hotel in Banff but the view made up for any deficiency. The pool was under repair and the lobby seemed to always be full of bus loads of Japanese tourists. The lake had a magical turquoise color that is hard to capture with a simple watercolor wash. The color is caused by the cloudy glacial silt that is always suspended in the water.

Terry and I walked to the far end of the lake where rock climbers were scaling cliffs. I wasn’t tempted to try this myself. I would need to loose a few pounds before trying to support my weight from my fingertips. We took another trail that went half way up a steep slope to an overlook that offered a birds eye view of the lake. It started to rain and we put on our rain gear. Tiny yellow canoes dotted the lake everywhere. When we got back from that hike, we saw a couple in a canoe that capsized. That glacial water is ice cold so they were in danger of quickly drowning. A motor boat quickly got out to rescue them and tow the canoe back.  At diner that night the capsized couple were the topic of every conversation. Terry and I didn’t rent a canoe.

The Baniff Marathon Fills the Quiet Mountain Town

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Terry and I used Banff, Alberta Canada as our home base for quite a few days. The town park near the river was the starting line and finish line for a marathon. We were hiking into town from our hotel and came across the marathon just outside of town. I decided to sketch runners as they ran the final few yards to the finish line. The building in the sketch is the Banff Park Museum. We never did go inside. Terry shopped in the many stores along the mains street while I did this sketch.

Banff is in the Banff National Park in the Alberta Canadian Rockies. Banff is a resort town and one of Canada’s most popular tourist destinations, known for its mountainous surroundings and hot springs. It is a destination for outdoor sports and features extensive hiking, biking, and skiing areas within the area.

By the time I started to sketch, the lead runners had already finished. The spectators cheered just as loud for the people who were struggling just to finish the race. Finishing a marathon is an achievement in itself. Some runners had slowed down to a walk, but thanks to she cheers and knowing the finish line was in sight, they often started to run again.

When I was in high school, I trained extensively for the cross country team. I wasn’t very fast but I always finished any race I ran. I started training for a marathon to be held in Atlantic City. I ran further than the marathon distance on some days. I was obsessed. However on race day, I missed the bus to the starting line. So I have never officially run a marathon, so that is something that is still on by bucket list.

A Hike Up to Johnston Canyon

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Terry and I flew to Alberta Canada for a week away in the Rocky mountains. On the flight across America I looked out the plane window and watched the grid of the country slip by. It was clear that we were flying North West because the grid was always at an angle. We landed in Calgary and rented a car for our trip up into the Rockies. The airport hotel we stayed in the first night was located right next to a junkyard. It would have made a scenic sketch, but I never had the time to catch the clutter.

When we drove north west out of Calgary the landscape was surprisingly flat with suburban monotony. When we got to Baniff the mountains finally jutted upward. Our first stop was Johnston Canyon.

In 1910, Johnston Canyon was named after a prospector who discovered gold in the creek. The work that went into building the trails up to the waterfalls is quite impressive. Walkways were built right into the canyon walls. The bridge in the sketch crosses over the canyon and then enters a cave that opens up right at the base of the waterfall letting people experience the full force of the water and it’s spray.

Terry decided to walk further up the trail to the top falls and I took the time to get this quick sketch done. Terry tends to get vertigo when on bridges, so it was surprising that she ventured further up on these walkways. It is a testament to the engineers who made the trail vertigo proof. When she got to the top, she took a photo to prove she had made it to the top.

Walter Phillips, a renowned artist and namesake of the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff, Alberta, said, “Water is the most
expressive element in nature. It responds to every mood, from
tranquility to turbulence.”He was born in England, and  travelled the world before settling down in
Canada, specifically Banff, where he fell in love with Johnston Canyon. He spent much of his career sketching and painting the canyon’s beauty. I can understand how it could captivate an artist.

July 4th Fireworks at Lake Eola Park

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July 4th was my first day back from a vacation in the Canadian Rockies. It turns out that they celebrate Canada Day on July 1st, the same week as our Independence Day. Terry and I went to watch fireworks in the small mountain town of Jasper Alberta. The whole town must have shown up to see the fireworks display on the soccer field of the local high school. Everyone found a spot on a steep grassy hill. Some people wore the Canada flag as a cape and there were plenty of Canada flag temporary tattoos. At the base of the hill next to the baseball diamond was a fenced in beer garden. People got anxious as it got closer to the start time which was very late. The sun sets much later way up north in the cool mountains.

It was still dusk when the first burst went off and echoed off the mountains. Streaming rockets that looked like comets reached up to the night sky.  There were fireworks I had never seen before like twirling disks and showering curtains of light. I watched the crowd whose faces became illuminated by the bright explosions. Huge bursts went off only a few feet above the ground. A mortar rotated, firing like a machine gun in quick succession. Smoldering embers burned out in the grass. The crowd was constantly muttering oooh and aaah in appreciation. There was a magnificent finale with bursts layered on top of each other in a thunderous roar. People applauded and were surprised by a second even bigger finale. Then there was the crush of the crowd as everyone tried to leave. I took Terry’s hand so we wouldn’t be separated. One family had watched the fireworks from a boat that sat on a trailer next to the park. “Only in Jasper” one local high school student remarked.

Terry wasn’t up to going to Lake Eola to see Orlando’s fireworks. She needed some down time after all our traveling. I ventured out on my own to sketch. People had staked out their viewing spots hours before the fireworks were to start. The family seated in front of me must have been tourists from Eastern Europe. They came prepared with a full picnic and plenty of reading material. All around the lake, the crowds grew thick. The Orlando Concert Band played John Phillips Sousa tunes in the Band Shell. When my sketch was covered with red white and blue, I decided to leave. You can watch fireworks every day of the week in Orlando if you drive towards the theme parks at dusk. A woman was grateful to take my prime viewing real estate. As I walked away from the lake, crowds flowed toward the lake. Robinson was shut down. A mom explained to her daughter, “Look, its a walking and biking street!” I continued upstream like a salmon.

On the drive home, I heard a noise that sounded like something was hitting the inside of my wheel well. I turned off my radio to listen. I finally realized it was the sound of fireworks. In every direction, huge plumes of sparkling spheres exploded. Everywhere I looked the sky was on fire. In my subdivision neighbors competed with each other for the biggest blast. It was a beautiful sight. Back at home I watched Dead White and Blue with my very content Cockatoo cuddling in my lap. I got to experience Independence Day in two different countries this year. I have much to be grateful for.