TRAVEL | CANADA | GRAY | MONOCHROME | MONTHLY CHALLENGE
Travelling Through Western Canada’s Gray Days
From March to November 2023
We arrived back in Canada in March of this year after being away for just over three years. My hometown of Canmore, Alberta, was still blanketed in snow and we would endure a couple of months of cold temperatures before summer started to show itself. We didn’t mind too much. We had been preparing ourselves for these temperatures as we traveled through parts of Europe on our journey to get here. Plus, we marveled at the mountains' beauty as they were covered in snow.
This time of year brings a mix of different weather. As winter starts to shed its fury and the snow starts to melt, the atmosphere is steeped in heavy cloud covers and days that make you want to crawl back inside to wait for more signs of spring.
In this section of the river, the moving water can just barely be seen through the thin layer of snow and ice on its surface.
I’m sure it looks colder than it is. Usually, the gray days are warmer than the clear days as the clouds act as a bit of a blanket to insulate us. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing it was around 0C (32F) on this day in March.
After spending a couple of weeks around Canmore, we made our way up to Rocky Mountain House to visit Chris’ sister. Now, one would think that a place with such a name would be nestled right inside the Rocky Mountains, but it isn’t. It actually lies about 100km (60 miles) to the east of the Rockies.
On one particularly gray day, we were driving around with Chris’ sister and her boyfriend when we came across a harem of wild horses. I had no idea that wild horses still existed in this part of Canada. Their presence was made even more magical by the small snowfall that we drove into while seeing them.
I love the way the horse bounces off the background and the large snowflakes become more obvious when I turn this image to monochrome.
At the end of April, we made our way to Canada’s most western province and the center of British Columbia to visit some friends and family members. This is near Kelowna, in the Okanagan Valley. While the Rockies were still steeped in snow, the Okanagan was enjoying warm weather and the full glory of spring. However, the skies looked gray and ominous as we set out on our hike above Okanagan Lake.
This lone scraggly tree that we found looks great in monochrome in my opinion.
Rock skipping is a favorite Canadian pastime and it seems like we are never too old to do it. Here is my cousin in his full rock-skipping glory. He is the only color that is set against the differing grays — green-gray, brown-gray, and blue-grays — of the background and shoreline.
According to Wikipedia, rock skipping is defined as:
the art of throwing a flat stone across the water in such a way (usually sidearm) that it bounces off the surface. The objective of “skipping” is to see how many times a stone can bounce before it sinks into the water
My cousin was good at this! He must practice a lot:)
Sadly, this summer brought numerous forest fires to Western and Northern Canada. Each year the forest fires seem to increase in intensity. I don’t know if it is a natural cycle or if we are the ones causing it, but it is terrifying to witness nonetheless.
This is back in Canmore and, if you can imagine, there are huge towering mountains on the other side of this smoke. I suppose this color is more of an orange-grey.
Thankfully this particular episode only lasted a few days in May, but many intense days of smoke would blanket the valley, and most of Alberta, over the summer months as well.
But it didn’t stop us from enjoying the nice days and taking in the splendor of the surrounding mountains. This is one of my favorite views in Canmore — looking up to the Spray Valley. Ha Ling Peak sits prominently above us, seemingly acting as the protector of its valley below.
And while in Canmore, you can not avoid watching the train go by. It happens many times throughout the day, rain or shine.
Gray mushrooms spring up as the weather warms and summer starts its swing. I couldn’t help but include these as I just love the delicate intricacy and uniqueness of mushrooms.
By now we had arrived to the prairies of Canada. Large rocky mountains are flattened out into vast flat lands that stretch out in every direction. Shots from our vehicle show the flatness of the land as storms start to move in. Thankfully this rain would provide temporary relief from the smoky days that we found there as well.
The prairies are full of all kinds of different churches that dot the landscapes. Some are placed out in the middle of nowhere and I had to wonder who the heck would go all that way for a Sunday service. However, this one was located right smack dab in the middle of the town of Camrose. I found it quite interesting with its swirly metal steeple. Plus it was so bright and white against the evergreen trees that surrounded it.
We spent September staying at a farm near the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. It was so much fun to be involved in the day-to-day goings on of a huge commercial farm and I learned so much about how hard farmers work to keep our country fed. They truly are the real heroes of our societies.
During this harvest time of year, farmers across the country race against the clock to get all of the crops in before winter. Long days of work are put into it, as they say, ‘to make hay while the sun shines’.
These gray days are nerve-racking as the rain means that work stops until things dry out again.
A couple of weeks ago I woke up to a bit of gray winter wonderland while staying at a friend's place. Again, we were in Western Alberta near Rocky Mountain House. The area is full of wildlife and despite the snow, the deer still came out to find some food in my friend’s backyard.
And now, we find ourselves located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where we are staying with Chris’ Aunt. Saskatchewan is definitely the heart of Canada’s farmland, and she also has a farm. While the seasons are again shifting, we have been finding ourselves steeped in some very gray days.
As the land warms up from the sun through the day, the frost that falls overnight evaporates into a thick fog. The fluctuating temperatures make for some very interesting days.
This was a rather spooky day. I watched the fog come and go across the landscape for most of the day, and then close to sunset, I went outside to capture some photos.
But I didn’t know that another even grayer day was on its way. Just a couple of days ago we woke up to a frost-covered landscape. This is what happens when the damp fog freezes on everything in sight overnight.
Despite the very cold temperatures, I couldn’t help but walk around and capture some of the items in the farm yard that were also covered in frost. It truly blanketed everything.
On our way to work that day, we also had to stop and capture the contrasts that existed between the gray surroundings and the brown roads and train tracks. It truly was a magical morning.
As we are moving from fall into winter these days, we find ourselves wondering what the heck we are doing in this imminent frozen wasteland. But we are also in a comfortable spot and have found some work that is helping to fatten up our bank accounts. As usual, we will take things one day at a time to see where they lead us. We will know when it is time to move on, but for now, we will continue to find beauty in our surroundings because it truly is everywhere.
Our November prompt at Globetrotters is Gray. Are you interested in submitting a response? My fellow editor, Anne Bonfert, has put this great introductory post together to get your creative juices flowing:
And here are a couple of other great gray articles by fellow globetrotters:
Brad Yonaka highlights a gray item that most of us take for granted, I am sure.
Elvie Lins captures some incredible black-and-white images from her travels.
More from me:
The Many Colors of a Canadian Prairie Fall
Many Shades of Gray — Temples, Tombs, Fortresses, Cemeteries and Churches
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