Saturday, 7 July 2018

Exploring Wood Buffalo National Park - Day 1

Saturday, July 7th, 2018


I leave fairly early this morning to go  exploring the Wood Buffalo National Park. Christine has kindly provided me with breakfast to go.


It has been a while since a cow pat excited me as much as this one did. It is, of course, a bison pat and therefore evidence that they are around.

The road is a very good dirt road, going through a forest of predominantly pine and silver birch. 
The temperature has dropped a lot since yesterday and I feel it very keenly whenever I stop and get out of the truck. 


There are quite a few campers in the camping grounds by Pine Lake, but the occupants are obviously still asleep. It is very lush everywhere I look.


This is just one of many patches of pink clover, and most of them are as lush as this one.


These rather large daisies are very plentiful too. I can only imagine how pretty it would be if the sun was out.




My hostess kindly provided me with this mosquito jacket. Zipping it up is a must every time one leaves the vehicle. No sitting outside to have my picnic. 
I remember wearing something similar when I had a go at beekeeping many years ago.



Walking on this meadow at Peace Point by the Peace River is like walking through a herb patch. I can see chamomile plants not quite in flower yet, and something smells distinctly minty under foot.





Still down at Peace Point I can't resist taking a photo of this striking stand of birch trees. There seems to be a tiny settlement around here, but I still haven't seen any people.


I spotted this little thing moving on the road way in the distance. Zooming in as far as possible, camera in one hand and still driving on with the other, I try getting as close as possible. I also take a few more shots, but they never hit the target.
It is only when it suddenly turns sideways to run off into the forest that I recognize the distinct shape of a young calf.
This is a terrible picture, but it is also the most exciting one. Since it may well be the only Bison picture I can capture, I will not delete it.


A rose bush near the Salt River, and below a couple of pictures of the Salt River from the picnic spot above.





The weather forecast for tomorrow is a fair bit warmer and no rain. I'm planning on doing some more exploring and also a wee bit of hiking. Nothing too strenuous as I am still walking on a broken toe



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