We thought we’d treat you to the best wildlife photos of the summer! You can expect to see all of these animals along the rivers we paddle in northwestern Alberta (click on any photo for a full-size version):

Just a few notes: The buffalo are only seen along parts of the Hay River — all other animals are fairly common along the Hay, Peace, or Chinchaga Rivers. Throughout the summer, we also saw other types of eagles, many ducks, Sandhill Cranes, and deer (mule and white tails). Also FYI, all the photos were taken on our various trips last summer (2011), except the first Elk photo and the second Canada Goose photo which were taken in 2010. Looking forward to this summer!

Last June, we ran the York Boat expedition on behalf of GeoTourism Canada. We still have hundreds of pictures we haven’t shown, so we thought we’d post a few more!

Showing the York Boat to school kids was one of the highlights of the trip.

At times, the York boat was 50% woman-powered!

Rowing away

The last photo is courtesy of James Tupper.

Remember way, waaaaay back, when it was summer? Well, we did an unprecedented York Boat expedition on the Peace River — 538 km, 18 days, one big wooden boat — and as a result, we had a lot of interest from people throughout Alberta. A group called Corner 24 Media made a promotional video about the northern Peace Region and, of course, featured the York Boat. Have a look!

The Amazing Crew! Teresa Griffith

Teresa was the faithful captain of the trip. She started out as manager of the project and graduated to captain. She was able to keep the crew in line (which was easy) and got to make all the big decisions (which was hard).

The Amazing Crew! Gary Christopherson

For most of the second week, Gary joined us, camera always in hand (almost). That's how he got his nickname, "Garyrazzi."

The Amazing Crew! Jason Penner

Jae was with us for the first 4 days (and 2 days before the trip began) and the last 4 days. His skills in the bush and around the campfire amazed us and we *loved* his coffee.

The Amazing Crew! Andre Pittard

Andre spent most of the trip with no shirt and no shoes on (good thing there were no restaurants!). He was often our anchorman (pulling or holding the boat with a rope) and also seemed to find his way into a lot of mud.

The Amazing Crew! Greg Nichiporik

Greg was only with us a couple of days, but we appreciated his hard work and easy-going attitude. He was a valuable member of the team!

The Amazing Crew! Tim Heemskerk

Tim the Powerhouse had the incredible ability to pour on the power one minute and nap the next.

The Amazing Crew! Cheryll Welke

Always strong and beautiful, Cheryll Welke. She wears the red sash because of her Metis heritage.