Come for a stroll with me around Nose Hill Park - a large chunk of natural environment situated in the north west of Calgary, Alberta - it is apparently one of the largest municipal parks in North America and is approximate 3 miles (4.8km) north to south, and about 2.5 miles (4km) east to west.
It has hundreds of walking trails, some purpose-built with asphalt, and some just worn away by many feet, but not always of the human variety!
An hour or two up here offers a city dweller a welcome feeling of space and fresh air in amongst the city limits and lies in the midst of blocks and blocks of timber and rooftile suburbia. The lay of the land rises up some 300 feet, and the grassy hills are a notable feature of this quadrant of the city.
And it's worth a walk to the top -
you can see across the city from up here.
(The above photo courtesy of Kevin Cappis via wikipedia.)
In the first week of July, wild flowers abound.
I took the dogs for a walk here on a thankfully cool and slightly wind-swept visit this week
(we've been mostly cooking with temps in the high 20's and early 30's - I'm not complaining though).
It's rough and wild, and natural and colourful right now.
Many people bring their dogs up here for walking.
But take great care.
The parkland is notorious for coyote attacks.
Every year there are reports of pet dogs being tempted into the tall grasses by the crafty coyotes, and there are several fatalities. The coyotes are hungry and merciless.
This hand-made warning poster this week states the owner's dog made it through his ordeal, after extensive surgery.
Yikes! A wake up call.
So have a wonderful Scenic Sunday,
and if you are in Calgary soon, take a morning out of your schedule to come and have a wander.
Coyotes are getting more and more fearless.
ReplyDeleteI tremble to think of your little dogs and a coyote, but no more than I tremble at the thought of our own overweight Golden Retriever and a coyote.
ReplyDeleteScary! And it's true, they hardly fear humans any more because they see so many of us encroaching on what they consider their territory!
Your photos are beautiful, however, and I've learned a lot about a park that has only been a place on a map to me. Thanks!
— K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Looks like a pleasant place to be for a weekend hike. Glad I came here.
ReplyDeleteFollowed your blog, by the way.
Lovely, lovely post. I'm glad we didn't find any coyotes while we visited with you!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed that Calgary has such a large park! I hope environmentalists can keep it from being developed.
ReplyDeleteGreat scenery! I visited that park when I was in Calgary.
ReplyDeletethe coyote part is scary.
ReplyDeleteCoyotes are being really aggressive here too. My ancient old Wolfdog had a run in with a pack recently. He is a scary old beast in his own right, but I have never seen the coyotes quite as brazen.
ReplyDeleteDingbat