I took Highway 22 home from Cranbrook last weekend. This is a view of the landscape from in my car. I was following a transport. If not for him, I would have felt alone and little overwhelmed. This is the area in Alberta where they film a lot of Hollywood Westerns including Brad Pitt's Jessie James movie a few years ago, as well as Brokeback Mountain. This area gives you a good feel for the kinds of wild open spaces that Alberta and west are known for, compared with the more urban areas I live in, along Highway 2., the major north-south corridor.
Here is a hardy herd of ranchland cattle taken carefully as I flew by in my car. I am very sorry that I didn't get a photo of a group of elk. I thought of turning around, but was trying to beat home a winter snow advisory and drive as much as possible in the light. I would not want to break down along here! Very few cars and such an imposing landscape. Also, home to Grizzly Bears and Cougars. Enough to make this 'northern Ontario' girl feel humbled.
The ranchland along this route, also called The Cowboy Trail, is just east of the mountains. These are huge properties with the occasional fence marking the end of one ranch and beginning of the next. The famous, historic Bar U Ranch is along this highway. I also passed through a little town with all historic-fronted buildings, and a bar that is apparently owned by Ian Tyson, Canada's famous country singer. I turned onto this highway after going through the Crowsnest Pass, and turned off at Black Diamond, driving from there through Okotoks to Calgary. 
Here is a link to the Bar U Ranch on the Cowboy Trail Web site - for more information on this beautiful highway - http://www.thecowboytrail.com/baru.html These photos were taken around 6 PM on a very threatening winter afternoon on Sunday, March 22.
This is a photo of the organizer of the workshop I gave last weekend. She is waiting for her turn with her dog. I took this photo because I wanted to capture the beautiful mountains that surround Cranbrook BC. I told the workshop participants that I just can't get tired of looking at mountains! They said that they have grown up in the mountains, but they don't get tired of their beauty either. 
On my way to Cranbrook last Friday, I drove past Olds Alberta and spotted a herd of Buffalo (or Bison) fenced in on a huge field. I stopped to take some photos, walking towards the fence. This big guy looked over and it hit me - he is HUGE! I didn't walk right up to the fence, because it suddenly looked very flimsy, if he decided to charge. Jet and Ted my Border Collies were barking in the car. I don't think they would get far herding this "big brown sheep."
Here is another view of the herd of buffalo. Amazing to think the Prairies were once covered with so many that it took a day for a whole herd to go by. What a majestic and prehistoric-looking animal. Restaurants in this area offer Bison Burgers and "Beefalo" which is a cross. I gather the meat is leaner than Beef but quite good - have not tried it yet.
