We arrived home last weekend, after a week en route.

We stopped for the first two nights in Canmore, Alberta. I was looking forward to photographing a sunrise the next morning over the Vermilion Lakes in Banff National Park. We were out at 6:30, but sunrise was not to be seen. The skies were completely socked in, as this photo reveals.

Home 1 The day turned sunny later in the morning. Here is Veda on an ice flow at the shore of Two Jack Lake.

Home 2 In late afternoon we returned to the Vermilion Lakes drive, hoping for a sunset, but because the skies were clear, there was no dramatic end of the day. This photo of one of the lakes was my best effort.

Home 3 I thought that Two Jack Lake would be a good location for sunrise the next morning. I was anticipating that the rising sun would nicely illuminate Mount Rundle. So again we set out at 6:30 that morning.

Home 4 But I was skunked again. Cloud cover completely obscured the sky. The previous day's warm weather had melted the ice at the edge of the lake. I shone my car lights on the foreground rocks trying to give a little life to this photo.

The drive across the prairies did not inspire any photos from me - strong winds, wet snow falling, slushy road, bland skies.

We connected with Rose and Tom Tammi, who were also on their way home. We spent nights in the same motels in Medicine Hat, Brandon, Winnipeg, and Thunder Bay. We had good meals and the occasional bottles of wine together. In Thunder Bay, we went for breakfast at Hoito Restaurant, a Finnish establishment since 1918. The original labour hall is a designated National Historic Site. The plaque in front explains its significance, in Canada's three official languages (English, French, and Finnish).

Home 5 The drive along Lake Superior was on a nice sunny but windy day. Last year at this time, Superior was completely frozen over. I was hoping, in both years, to photograph ice piled up on the shore by the usual strong winds. This was the scene at Katherine Cove in Lake Superior Provincial Park.

Home 6 As you can see, no piles of ice. In fact Lake Superior had very little ice cover this past winter. 

The only signs of winter were the large amount of snow in our yard when we arrived home.