About a month ago I went camping in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, just south of Hinton, Alberta. For many years, this area has been one of the coal mining regions on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. There are still a few operational mines and lots of evidence of the history of the area. The only remaining town in the area is Cadomin. I had never been to the area so it seemed like a good time to go do a bit of exploring and look for Fall colors.
There was no difficulty finding Fall colors, although in Alberta, the colors consist of mainly yellow and orange. Occasionally one finds patches of red brush to add a bit more color, but we certainly don’t get the range of rich colors experienced on the East coast.
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Aside from photographing larger landscapes, on this trip I also enjoyed spending time walking about making images of smaller scenes that caught my eye.
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One interesting location I came across was the Mountain Park Cemetery, which is at the highest elevation of any cemetery in Canada. The huge coal deposits in the area were discovered in 1895. The Mountain Park Coal Company was established in 1914 and a railway was constructed from Hinton to the mine and newly developed town of Mountain Park. At its peak, the once thriving town had a population of about 1500. Falling demand for coal resulted in the closure of the mine in 1950 and the town was soon abandoned. All that remains today are the remnants of a few foundations and the cemetery. In 1997 a group of volunteers, comprised of former town residents, family and friends, restored the overgrown cemetery. It continues to be maintained by volunteers.
As mentioned above, there is still mining taking place in the area. Just south of Cadomin is Lehigh Cement which is mining limestone. The rock is blasted off the mountain and dumped into a shaft inside the mountain. The limestone is crushed and stored within the mountain until it is loaded onto rail cars for shipment.
North of Cadomin, on the road to Hinton, is the Luscar Coal Mine.
On my drive back to Hinton, I happened upon a little stream and waterfall that just capped off my 3-day visit.
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Wind At Your Back 
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