28 December, 2013

Unnatural Beauty? - Project 52 Week 47

UPDATE: This is indeed natural oxidation in the swampy waterways of the Squamish valley. Having lived here for several years now I see this in the water relatively frequently in certain places.

A walk through the forest in the Valley floor led to us stumbling across these sections in the waterways that appeared to have fallen victim to the dumping of chemicals or petroleum. We contacted local authorities who suggested this may be natural oxidization which I found to be surprising, but I am not an expert so I wasn't sure how to feel about it. If it is natural, it is incredibly pretty, if it isn't, well, it still is quite beautiful, but at what cost? It's proximity to a The resemblance to a pool of oil on a wet driveway is what still leads me to believe it isn't natural.

Natural oxidation on creek water. Mimics the look of pertroleum based products that spill.

Snowfall to Sea Level - Project 52 Week 50

Our first snowfall of the 2013-14 winter right down to sea level. There has been snow gathering higher up in the valley sides, but this was our first real coating for this season. It started snowing the evening before and finally stopped at around lunch time the next day. Approx 4 inches fell and the entire town and surrounding area looked incredible. Just days before Christmas it was a welcome site!

Snow and golden sunlight makes for impressive scenes

Winter is here - Project 52 Week 49

Alpen glow on a clear winter evening is one of the most impressive things I think you can see. With freezing temperatures finally arriving it was bitterly cold getting this shot. Even though the cold had come, we had still seen little precipitation, leaving the ski resorts begging for a storm system or 3! This can be seen from downtown Squamish from a few different spots.

The last sun lights up the western faces of the mountains in Garibaldi Park.

Salmon Runs - Project 52 Week 48

With 2 record Salmon runs this Autumn, there are thousands of Salmon carcasses littering the waterways of the Squamish Valley. This of course brings Eagles, and we are seeing large numbers so far this season, hopefully this leads to a large count on January 5. Some of these fish were 2 feet in length, and as can be seen in the below image, had a mouth full of teeth!! The Bald Eagles continue to feed on the rotting carcasses weeks later.


A Salmon carcass decomposes along the Squamish River

Temperate Rainforest - Project 52 Week 46

Another hike in the forest led to discovering an amazing grotto of boulders, fallen trees, moss, fungi and mushrooms. The impressive greenery is found in a section of the woods with an opening in the canopy which lets just a little bit of extra light in to the forest floor. We explored around this spot for about half an hour, it was a lovely place to sit and take in. The moss on some features here was a couple of inches thick.

Tara on the base of a massive fallen tree in the Moss Grotto

Upper Shannon Falls - Project 52 Week 45

Tara and I took a hike up to the peak above Shannon Falls. We found snow line right at the top, and passed under the lines for the new Sea to Sky Gondola which opens up in May 2014. The view from above looking over Howe Sound and the winding road of the Sea to Sky Highway is very nice, especially when the light is playing with the clouds.


Howe Sound and Hway 99 from Upper Shannon Falls