Kootenay National Park, British Columbia

We were in Edmonton this summer to see our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, and on the way spent some time in the Canadian Rockies and first in Kootenay National Park.  We drove up from eastern Washington and came into Kootenay through Radium Hot Springs, from the south and west.  We spent the first night camping at Macleod Meadows along the Kootenay River and then drove on the next morning through the park to Canmore, south of Banff National Park where we spent the rest of the day hiking.  That, however, is the subject of another post.

South of the park we took pictures of Columbia Lake the source of the Columbia River,

and just beyond Columbia Lake, near Fairmont Hot Springs,

the sandstone formations known as the Hoodoos.

In the park our first stop was near the entrance

where we took pictures looking back over the valley.

We also found our first orchids beyond the entrance:

the Mountain Lady's Slipper,

the Northern Green Bog Orchis,

the Estes Hybrid Rein Orchis,

and the Tall White Northern Bog Orchis

(one of the parents of the hybrid).

 These latter two were growing together in a meadow near the road.

My wife found and photographed an unusual beetle which we couldn't identify.

The sun was setting before we reached our campground at Macleod Meadows.

The next morning we explored an island connected to the campground by a bridge
(the Macleod Meadows campground is on the Kootenay River).

There we found more Northern Green Bog Orchis and Estes Hybrid Rein Orchis,

and plenty of other wildflowers,

including the Blanket Flower,

Pacific Aster,

Canada Locoweed,

and Sulphur Cinquefoil.

Finished exploring we continued north through the park,

stopping at various turnouts, including Verdant Creek,

and Numa Falls.

At Verdant Creek, while waiting for my wife,

I photographed this Oxeye Daisy, non-native, but beautiful.

Leaving Kootenay we headed south through Banff to Canmore

where we spent the rest of the day hiking.