This was a busy August 3rd, TransCanada highway, with a lot of people going places.

Today's hiking group.

Young lodgepole pine.

A transition point it seems. We are leaving the burnt out forest and entering the unaffected portion.

After dropping off three passengers, the helicopter pilot connected a cable to the undercarriage and headed up.

Ochre beds. Ochre is an earthly pigment containing ferric acid which gives the clay its rusty colour.

Not sure what is going on, but whatever it was it looked interesting, and a photo was in order.

Its about waist deep.

Passing through Canmore Alberta, one of the first towns ravaged by the flood waters that recked havoc throughout south-western Alberta.

The Vermilion River is our companion as it makes its way south-west towards the Pacific Ocean.

Washed up debris suggests the river did indeed overstep its boundaries.

As I look back and take a boo, the transition is quite remarkable.

Having a look-see.

These pools are fed by underground water as well as mountain runoff.

Storm Mountain is flanked by the burnt out forests of Kootenay National Park.

Follow us. During normal circumstances, visitors would park and walk less than 1/2 km. to the Paint Pots. But because of a bridge wash out, this is our fate. And as fate would have it, this was worth the extra distance.

Vermilion River.

Towering Spires.

The burnt forest is behind us, but the colourful backdrop remains.

To our bewilderment nothing was attached.

In later years, the clay was dug up and piled into mounds such as this one. It was then collected and shipped to Calgary for processing. Later when the Kootenay National Park was established, this harvesting of clay was discontinued and so the mounds remain.

Beyond the ochre beds are adventures left for another time.

Contrasts of Nature--entering another world. Personally speaking, I enjoy the openness of the burnt out forest, with its beige and crimson spires, the undergrowth of multi-coloured wildflowers, and the dwarfed emerald green pines now ten years young. The mature growth forest somehow seems old hat in comparison, only to offer up shaded tones of green and grey.

There is really no significance to this photo and the rest of our day, except this fellow kept following me around in the parking lot while I was preparing for our hike. As I was squatting to tie up my laces he passed under my knee, and so I figured, what the heck.

And so on they went. It took me a short time to catch up, but catch up I did.

Old, New, and not so Old.

Artifacts of an

I thought this mountain top was interesting because I was reminded somewhat of the spiked hair cut of a "this is me" teenager.

Let's go!

Fireweed is one of the first flowers to populate a burnt out area.

After the aerial show, we are a mere .3 km away from the paint pots.

After forming the red clay (ochre) into paddies, drying them in an oven, and then crushing the paddies into a powder, the natives would then add water turning the crushed clay into a paste. This paste would then be used for such purposes as to decorate tipis, design colourful crafts or, it could also serve the purpose of a body paint.

As water, containing iron deposits, spills over this crater, the iron builds up and hardens, creating a metallic ring around the lip.