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Bow Lake

11/30/2015

Heading north up the Icefields Parkway, from Banff to Jasper National Park, we stopped at Bow Lake again. The sun was struggling to get through the clouds, and I just took a couple of quick photos, thinking I'd get another chance in a few days when we'd be coming back down here again....

But a few days later, on the way back down, it was terrible weather with pouring rain, and all the mountains were completely obscured by clouds and fog. I didn't take any photos at all that day. Just goes to show it's not wise to put things off assuming there will be a second opportunity.

Moraine Lake

11/30/2015

One of the most beautiful settings in Banff National Park, is Moraine Lake, which is near Lake Louise. Of course when we arrived, it was dull and overcast, but I was determined to make it to the top of the 'Rockpile' to take doll photos. It took me a while to ascend the trail with the 100 stone steps, and at first I was hesitant to take out my dolls. There were so many tourists! After waiting a while, I finally decided that with endless busloads of Asian tourists, we'd never have the place to ourselves, so took my dolls out anyways. Even so, I was still rather self-conscious, so wasn't too creative with posing the dolls.....

Christmas Lights

11/29/2015

Christmas lights are popping up everywhere now, and the kids had heard that Rachel
& Teagan's house was very nicely decorated, so they wanted to go see it...

"Wow, that's a LOT of lights!"

*Note: My camera doesn't do 'handheld' at low light at all, so I though of bringing along our wooden step-ladder to pose the dolls on, and set my camera on a tripod with timer. Faces were lit with a flashlight, but in such low light I can't see very well, so the dolls aren't necessarily looking where I wanted. But the technique worked well, and the Christmas season is just starting.

the Kicking Horse River

11/28/2015

After visiting Emerald Lake, we stopped at 'Natural Bridge' on the Kicking Horse River.
There's a hole worn in the rocks where all the water rushes through, but with the shadows
late in the day it doesn't show too well in photos....

The Kicking Horse River was named back in 1858, when James Hector, a member of the Palliser Expedition was kicked in the head by his packhorse. His comrades thought he was dead, but he was only knocked unconscious, and the river was named after the incident. T

Today the Trans-Canada Hwy crosses the river several times before ascending into the Kicking Horse Pass from Yoho into Banff. It's only one of three passes through the Rockies from British Columbia into Alberta. The other two are Hwy 3 through the Crowsnest Pass way in the south just above the US border, and Hwy 16 through the Yellowhead Pass in the north to Jasper.

Owen and Coco enjoy watching the rushing water...

Modifying my Head

11/27/2015

The sculpting on my old man's head goes very slowly. I've decided to take some stress off and not try to push him to be done for Christmas photos this year. Which means he'll probably start life out as a Wizard early in the new year. That will give me all of next year to make some old-fashioned Father Christmas costumes. After all, next year there will be another Christmas.

So in the meantime, when I do add a bit to his face, I just mix up pea-size balls of Apoxie. That way I can't get carried away sculpting too many things at once, and then accidentally mess things up when I invariably over-work stuff. The last few bits of Apoxie were used to add to the forehead, soften some of the wrinkles, raise the top of the cheeks, and extend the lower lip downward.

I need to add a tiny bit to his lower lip, and add some to the top of his ears, since they seem way too low. Then I need to learn about painting resin and Apoxie. I've already picked up a can of Testor's Dullcote - not that I have any experience using it.

Christmas Sweaters

11/27/2015

I decided the sweaters were too much trouble to put on by removing my doll's heads, so decided to give them back openings. I picked off the neckband, cut the sweater up the centre back, and FrayChecked everything. Then I zig-zagged all the interior seams so tiny fingers would't catch, and replaced the neckband, and sewed on a back binding the same colour as the sweaters....

..and then glued all the sequins back on that fell off while I was doing the above.

More Fun at Emerald Lake

11/26/2015

Coco couldn't get over how big the pinecones were....

Holly was eyeing the canoe rentals......

....but we didn't have any tiny life-jackets. So Lonnie decided to climb up onto a large rock,
and everyone else decided to scramble up after her....

Taking Pictures at Emerald Lake

11/25/2015

The next morning it was so foggy that we passed through Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks without ever seeing a mountain. By Golden the fog was so thick that visibility was at a minimum, but as we started the climb into the Rockies the fog started to clear. By the time we got to Emerald lake in Yoho National Park, we were enjoying hazy sunshine.....

the Thompson River

11/24/2015

After leaving Vancouver, we took Hwy 1, the TransCanada, up through the Fraser River Canyon. The 2-lane highway winds it's way north-east through the rugged, forested, river canyon and then turns to follow the Thompson River into the dry desert-like interior of British Columbia. The two busy rail lines on both sides of the river are the main railway corridor from eastern Canada to Vancouver.

Milo watches for a train....

The scenery here looks very much like the US Southwest.

The Thompson River flows into Kamloops Lake.

Making Progress

11/24/2015

Slowly making progress on my head. I only mixed up a very small amount of Apoxie at a time.
The first time, I built up the upper and lower eyelids, the baggy cheeks, and added to the
nose. After that was partially set, I added the forehead, built up the nose and added to the
cheeks. Now it needs a bit of refinement, and some sanding.

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