Wagons West

Canon EOS with EF 10/22 @ 10mm -f16 - 1/125sec - ISO 400 - fill flash

Last night with snow coming down in Calgary and snow flurries in the forecast for today, it left me cold as far as what I would be up to this morning. I crawled out of bed at 6:30am and a look out the window showed partially broken skies with a promise of better things to come. So grabbing my cameras and associated gear I was out of the house and headed west after stopping to pick up a coffee. I have noticed of late a change of color happening as the nights get cooler with the temperatures dropping in to the minus side with frost in the mornings. I wanted a look at the rocks to the west to see what they looked like in the early morning light with a fresh covering of snow on them. I was not disappointed as they came into view as I cleared the city limits on my way to Cochrane.

I did not plan on getting to far away from home as I had things to attend to later in the afternoon, so I planned on looping around through Cochrane and over to the Springbank road and then east past the Springbank airport for a look at the water bombers stationed there. I came down off of the bench into Cochrane and as I exited on the west side, I decided on a whim to stop at the site of the historical Cochrane Ranche for a look-see. I have driven by this historical site many times and it has been years since I have made the stop. I was glad I did with a hike up to the bluff overlooking the site of the former Cochrane Ranch that in 1888 consisted of 190,000 acres, the first real cattle ranch in the area. The "Men Of Vision" bronze statue by cowboy artist Malcolm Mackenzie is more than worth the hike up to the bluff. Back in my truck and under way, I noticed more snow had fallen over-night out this way with snow remaining in shaded areas along the road. I made several more stops to capture images with color and some showing the remains of the overnight snowshowers. Winter draws nearer.

Canon EOS with EF 70/200 @ 70mm - f8 - 1/250 - ISO 400

Canon EOS with EF 10/22 @ 22mm - f16 - 1/125mm - ISO 400 - fill flash