Starting to lose track of the wildlife!

Official wildlife count:

6 moose

1 black bear

1 brown bear

1 herd of bison

4 deer

1 bunch of goats

1 fox

1 elk

and a partridge in a pear tree

Today was almost disappointing in the wildlife hunt... especially since we both had pretty high hopes. We started the day off seeing a lone fox trotting (HA!) alongside the road before we'd even really gotten away from Dawson Creek too far. After that, it was a drought until early afternoon when we finally saw another moose. This one was a little too quick for the camera (or maybe we were the ones going to fast to stop...), so no pics of it, but it was a pretty big one, with antlers that were just starting to come in.

From there, it wasn't until we got into the confines of Jasper National Park that we really saw some eye candy. First it was a big herd of goats alongside the road. And then, as we rounded a corner, we saw all kinds of cars lined up along the side of the road. I was amazed to see the most beautiful (and big!) elk imaginable! And I was more amazed that he just calmly went about grazing while tens of people stood around taking his picture, myself included. I even got a little brave and ventured closer than may have been wise... but I figured at least one other person there had to be slower than me, and that as long as he didn't choose me in particular to charge at, I was fine. Anyway, here he is:

For the record, I'm pretty sure I was zoomed out all the way in that first shot... to 75mm anyway. Yep, kinda close. In the second one, I'm only at 110mm, so still pretty close there, too! He really didn't care at all!

We didn't stop for the herd of goats, but I did snap a quick (not so great) picture of this guy as we made the turn into town. It was like he was saying, "Welcome!" (and that's from the car, so it's not great at all!)

And as if the wildlife weren't a cool enough welcome, the stunning views of the mountains drew us right in. Hopefully these are a sneak preview of what's to come tomorrow (as long as the weather clears - it's not so nice right now!!).

Backtracking just a smidge, the other thing we saw today was canola. A lot of canola. Did anyone else know what the plants that turn into canola oil look like? No? Me neither. For the record, they're low-growing plants with bright yellow flowers. And they grow a LOT of it up here. (Again, taken from the car... I can't be held responsible for the quality.)

That was our view for a good part of the day today. And I have a sneaking suspicion these little flowers - or their cousins - also have something to do with my dry, itchy eyes and my stuffy nose. Seems being in the land of more trees/plants than pine trees has brought my allergies roaring back to life. Yay.

Finally, in not so great news, we left from Dawson Creek this morning after a little issue with the transmission (on a Sunday, of course). Jason is hoping it's a low-fluid problem and nothing more, but we definitely had a moment of panic when he tried to pull into an intersection and nothing happened. We then stalled twice today. Totally not cool. Of course, we had everything looked at right before we left Kodiak, just to be sure we'd be ready for the trip, and then this happens! So say a few prayers that, if there IS a bigger problem than low-fluid, it decides to not manifest itself until we're somewhere south of Glacier National Park mid-week. We have no idea what we'd do if anything really bad happened up here.

Oh, and for anyone keeping track, we hid between the beds again tonight, but for no reason! At 8:30-ish, after I nursed her, Jason put the baby down and she just grabbed her blanket, rolled over, and went to sleep! That probably has something to do with the fact that she was up at 2:30 and 6 to eat this morning and didn't get much of a morning nap, but we'll take it!

Off to Banff, via Lake Louise, in the morning, and totally looking forward to it! If all goes well, stunning views to share tomorrow!!