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We visited Peyto Lake, in Banff National Park in May of 2015. The park had just opened for the season and we were likely the first on the trail! It was an incredibly stellar day; the air was crispy clear, the colours were vibrant and the late spring snow added so much beauty. "Lucky us!" we both exclaimed! I'm easily drawn into this photo and taken to this very spot. It was here that I was reminded of Mother Earth’s fragility, of its tranquil beauty and its grandeur; then later I was reminded of our human fragility. As we hiked the trail my friend came across a beautifully polished jade heart that was approximately 3 inches in diameter; it was definitely not something that belonged there. It was flat on the bottom side (so it could sit on a table) and rounded on the top and on the top side there was round indentation (about the size and the thickness of a dime), obviously something had been glued in there, at one time. “Hey, look what I found”, my friend exclaimed! Instantly I was overtaken with emotion and tears rolled down my face; it was a baby’s urn. Raw memories of my own family’s stillborn and urn overtook me; my tears ran deep. I suspected this was a chosen, final resting place for this precious tiny life; what a spectacular view. We were standing near a ledge, where there was a full view Peyto Lake, and its turquoise colours. We had been walking on a snow-covered trail so I surmised that the parents couldn’t walk any further so they either placed the urn in a tree or perhaps lovingly and carefully tossed it. We knew that if we were to leave it, where we found it, then the next group of hikers would likely take it (being that it was jade); not knowing what they had found. “This baby”, I said, “deserves a beautiful resting place, somewhere it's parents would have intentionally and lovingly placed it". With that, I walked over to the mountain’s edge, laid on my stomach, reached over and down and then with my hands found a safe resting place for it to sit. Perfect ...tears. Tears are words that can’t be expressed just as grief is a love that has nowhere to go. Love is what binds us all. Be vulnerable, be you; it’s okay to cry... you’re human. This photo reminds me that I’m human, on a human journey on this amazing earth! Life is short; write a story! ...and take your camera! Peyto Lake is a glacier-fed lake, along Columbia Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It was named for Bill Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff.
The Ice Fields Parkway is a 230km (143ml) mountain highway that runs through the heart of both Banff and Jasper National Parks. It parallels the Continental Divide and is considered to be one of the most jaw dropping scenic routes in the world. On the April day that we traveled the parkway, the air was crisp, the sky was clear and impressively blue. A late snowfall, a late spring thaw and the southern sun were all on our side as we set out on this photo journey. As we drove north, we often stopped and turned around to capture yet another amazing shot (luckily there wasn't much traffic!). As mentioned, the sky was impressively blue and as a result, the remaining snow absorbed the same blue tones. Observe too, the colors of the mountains, which are also blue; albeit darker in density. This photo has a definite abstract element to it; it’s comprised of two colors (blue and green) and has some strong angular lines.
