This picturesque park is sandwiched between the Varsity Estates up on the bluffs and the Bow River behind us. We are in the middle of Calgary, a city of two million people in Western Canada. These photos were all taken on a perfect fall day, last October.
The fountains have been turned off in the Nautilus Pond. These swamps and ponds are to filter stormwater so the runoff doesn't make the Bow River dirty. Collecting sediment, dirt and whatever people poor into the drains on the road is important to keep the river system healthy.
The Park is named after Dale Hodges who was a longest service city council member. He was a friend of the environment and spent much of his career protecting park land, so they named this 40 hectare park after him.
I believe the city acquired it from a gravel miner, which is why the cliffs are set back from the river. Every growing city needs aggregate pits and it is nice to know they can become beautiful spaces once again. This place is beloved by local residents for walking, biking and general recreation.
We are looking towards the Rocky Mountains. They're about 60 kilometers from here and would be visible but not so well on a phone camera. The communities here are called Bowness, Silver Springs and Varsity. The later being one of the nicest places in the North West of the city. The houses directly on the river would be very expensive and sought after.
A Suburban dream. On a nice day you could float downtown to work. I am sure these houses are in a floodplain and the millionaires get bailed out whenever the river breeches the banks. They don't build houses on low lying land anymore as once in a hundred year floods happen more often than the name implies. Yes...I am just jealous!
Cattails surround the marshlands next to the river. Much of the river is parkland and you can bike along dedicated paths throughout the city. We often walk down here because you forget it is just a five minute drive from home being in such beautiful nature.
If you look hard you can see the mountains from here. Winsport, where they hosted the ski jumping and bobsledding in the 1988 Olympics is visible in the upper left corner.
Finally almost 7 months after this photo was taken the leaves are coming back to the trees. We have a long winter here so one must make the most of ever nice day.
This duck makes the most of every small body of water. They would head South or towards open water this time of year and are enjoying the last of the great North before it becomes a winter wasteland.
Calgary is one of the best places to take up mountain biking. There's plenty of hills to practice on in the city and as one heads West the rides get more and more epic.
This city is built on the edge of the great plains, or prairies up in Canada. The endless fields of wheat give way to the foothills and cattle grazing land. We are just north of Montana and our skies are even bigger.
Here is almost all of the park fit into one frame. I'd like to come back here in the Summer for a walk soon, the weather is just perfect this time of year so I hope you all find some time to talk a walk out in nature.
Thank you for reading and have a nice week. All of these photos were taken with an s24 and are unfiltered.