I’m scrambling a bit to meet the posting deadline for this challenge. (In fact, I think I’m already a day late.) For some reason, I’m finding it more difficult than usual to catch up with the backlog after being away for a week. Enough excuses…
I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time outside in September, enjoying sunshine, rain and snow (yes, already). Between a few meetings downtown, a couple of hikes and a week at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre on the west coast of Vancouver Island, I also managed to photograph cityscapes, landscapes and seascapes. Here are five of my favourites taken over the course of the month:
- Beakerhead – From September 11 – 15, Calgary hosted its first annual Beakerhead: a series of public events and activities all of which incorporated a smash-up of art, science and engineering. While my participation was limited to checking out the Raygun Gothic Rocketship and enjoying the festival atmosphere on Stephen Avenue Mall, K attended Sustainival and the final day of the International Engineering Competition, where teams of university engineering students were challenged to create a calculator from a piano and a set of billiard balls.
The Raygun Gothic Rocketship was set up just outside of Calgary city centre and was open for public access during the five days of Calgary’s first annual Beakerhead event. - Pocaterra Ridge Hike – After Labour Day weekend, Alberta Parks was finally able to open the Highwood Pass area of Kananaskis Country (closed all summer due to flood damage). This is our most favourite part of K-Country and we headed out for a hike the very next weekend: part way along Pocaterra Ridge . The weather was fantastic and – as demonstrated by the purple flea bane flowers and golden trees and grass – we witnessed a mash-up of summer and fall all along the trail.
Tarn on the way to Pocaterra Ridge - Ptarmigan Cirque Hike – Our hike along Pocaterra Ridge turned out to be just a too little early to view the larch in their golden glory, so Mr. GeoK and I hiked Ptarmigan Cirque several days later. This time out, we observed the clash between autumn and winter.
Highwood Ridge and golden larch at Ptarmigan Cirque - Bamfield – The last week of September, I accompanied 4 teachers, the school principal, 5 other parent volunteers and 98 grade 9 students from the Calgary Science School to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre where we took part in four days of labs and outdoor excursions that filled our brains with information, thoughts and lots of follow-up questions about marine environments. My favourite activity was the half-day we spent at Brady’s Beach, exploring the tidal pools. K took a short break from his observations to smile for this photograph.
K at Brady’s Beach Bamfield has interesting geography. The hamlet (pop. < 200) consists of east Bamfield (where the BMSC is located) and west Bamfield (accessible only by boat). West Bamfield is quite picturesque, with most buildings finished in red and white. I enjoyed a long walk along the seaside boardwalk to search for a cache hidden near "Penny Lane". This photo of West Bamfield is taken from the BMSC docks, where we pulled up ropes and cables to study the marine life residing there.
Thanks to P.J. over at a ‘lilhoohaa for hosting this monthly photo blogging challenge. Click here to see P.J.’s photos of “outside” and to access a list of other photo blogging posts for month seven of this challenge.