Bow River, Banff National Park, Canada - Sunshine After Rain

 

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18 NIV

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada - "The One Who Gives Life to Every Heart"

 The Lord most high is the one who gives life to every heart, who gives life to the spirit!  Look, he indeed exchanged my bitterness for wholeness.  You yourself have spared my whole being from the pit of destruction, because you have cast all my sins behind your back.

Isaiah 38:16-17 

Waterfowl Lake

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV)
⁹ But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

Columbia Icefields

The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains of North America.  Located in the Canadian Rockies astride the Continental Divide along the border of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.

"Before the Mountains were Born

"Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God."   Psalm 90:2

Banff Mountain

Psalm 147:8
Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

Bridal Veil Falls

Sonnet 03: Mindful Of You The Sodden Earth In Spring

Mindful of you the sodden earth in spring,
And all the flowers that in the springtime grow,
And dusty roads, and thistles, and the slow
Rising of the round moon, all throats that sing
The summer through, and each departing wing,
And all the nests that the bared branches show,
And all winds that in any weather blow,
And all the storms that the four seasons bring.

You go no more on your exultant feet
Up paths that only mist and morning knew,
Or watch the wind, or listen to the beat
Of a bird's wings too high in air to view,—
But you were something more than young and sweet
And fair,—and the long year remembers you.

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

"Time does not bring relief”

“Time does not bring relief; you all have lied”    

Time does not bring relief; you all have lied   

Who told me time would ease me of my pain!   

I miss him in the weeping of the rain;   

I want him at the shrinking of the tide;

The old snows melt from every mountain-side,   

And last year’s leaves are smoke in every lane;   

But last year’s bitter loving must remain

Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide.   

There are a hundred places where I fear   

To go,—so with his memory they brim.   

And entering with relief some quiet place   

Where never fell his foot or shone his face   

I say, “There is no memory of him here!”   

And so stand stricken, so remembering him.
By Edna St. Vincent Millay  (1892-1950)

Morant's Curve

Morant’s Curve is located on the western end of the Bow Valley Parkway near Lake Louise. It’s a beautiful spot that the railway passes through.

Down Bow River

Down the River

Henry Lawson, 1909

I've done with joys an' misery,

       An' why should I repine?
There's no one knows the past but me
       An' that ol' dog o' mine.
We camp an' walk an' camp an' walk,
       An' find it fairly good;
He can do anything but talk,
       An' he wouldn't if he could.

We sits an' thinks beside the fire,
       With all the stars a-shine,
An' no one knows our thoughts but me
       An' that there dog o' mine.
We has our Johnny-cake an' "scrag,"
       An' finds 'em fairly good;
He can do anything but talk,
       An' he wouldn't if he could.

He gets a 'possum now an' then,
       I cooks it on the fire;
He has his water, me my tea —
       What more could we desire?
He gets a rabbit when he likes,
       We finds it pretty good;
He can do anything but talk,
       An' he wouldn't if he could.

I has me smoke, he has his rest,
       When sunset's gettin' dim;
An' if I do get drunk at times,
       It's all the same to him.
So long's he's got me swag to mind,
       He thinks that times is good;
He can do anything but talk,
       An' he wouldn't if he could.

He gets his tucker from the cook,
       For cook is good to him,
An' when I sobers up a bit,
       He goes an' has a swim.
He likes the rivers where I fish,
       An' all the world is good;
He can do anything but talk,
       An' he wouldn't if he could.

Mountains Thrilling to the Stars

 
 
 
 
 

Nothing like getting a lift on a gondola that takes you up 6,850 feet to look across the mountain range, valley and Lake Louise.  This is the most beautiful scenery in the entire Rocky Mountains in North America.  The breathtaking peaks of the Canadian Rockies make the Colorado Rockies look like hills.  The bonus is there is a restaurant on top and the burgers are cowboy size and delicious!

A Jewel of Lakes

 

Moraine Lake is breathtaking from the ten peaks to the turquoise waters.  It is a shining, glistening jewel among the ten peaks.

Moraine Lake Valley of the Ten Peaks

The Mountain And The Lake


I know a mountain thrilling to the stars,
Peerless and pure, and pinnacled with snow;
Glimpsing the golden dawn o'er coral bars,
Flaunting the vanisht sunset's garnet glow;
Proudly patrician, passionless, serene;
Soaring in silvered steeps where cloud-surfs break;
Virgin and vestal -- Oh, a very Queen!
And at her feet there dreams a quiet lake.

My lake adores my mountain -- well I know,
For I have watched it from its dawn-dream start,
Stilling its mirror to her splendid snow,
Framing her image in its trembling heart;
Glassing her graciousness of greening wood,
Kissing her throne, melodiously mad,
Thrilling responsive to her every mood,
Gloomed with her sadness, gay when she is glad.

My lake has dreamed and loved since time was born;
Will love and dream till time shall cease to be;
Gazing to Her in worship half forlorn,
Who looks towards the stars and will not see --
My peerless mountain, splendid in her scorn. . . .
Alas! poor little lake! Alas! poor me!                       
                                               

by Robert William Service (1874-1958)

Mount Temple

Mount Temple is a mountain in Banff National Park of the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Mt. Temple is located in the Bow River Valley Creek and is the highest peak in the Lake Louise area.

The Clouds Came Down to Earth

 

This particular morning was raining, dark and dreary.  You could not see the mountain range for the low hanging clouds.  The clouds came down to earth.

The Rainy Day

  The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Castle on a Cloud

 

Castle Mountain, Banff National Park, Canada

 

 

"There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a room that's full of toys,
There are a hundred girls and boys,
Nobody shouts or talks too loud,
Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a lady all in white,
Holds me and sings a lullaby,
She's nice to see and she's soft to touch,
She says "Cosette, I love you very much."

I know a place where no one's lost,
I know a place where no one cries,
Crying at all is not allowed.
Not in my castle on a cloud."

Les Miserables - Castle On A Cloud Lyrics 

Bow River Pale Emerald Waters

Bow Rover was beautiful with it pale emerald waters.  We drove by it on different days, sunny or cloudy the green waters glisten.

Mount's Curve at Bow River

The drive on Bow Valley Parkway mountain scenery was surreal.  I was in awe at every turn.  This is at a overlook of Mount's Curve at Bow River.  Mount Temple is the majesty peak in the top photo.

Sulphur Mountain Banff Canada

We stayed in the town of Banff which is located in the World's first National Park located in the Canadian Rockies.  Driving on 1A you can see Sulphur Mountain, we were headed to Lake Louise.