Two Curious Cubs

One of my favorite roads to drive (here in southern Alberta) is Highway 40. I start at the Longview end (where it's HWY 541) driving up and over Highwood Pass, all the way to Kananaskis Lakes and back. Reaching an elevation of 7200', this is the highest paved road in Canada - but it's seasonal, only open from June 15-December 1.

Today being June 15, I had to do the drive. Most often, this drive is good for moose or bighorn, but today - what a treat! I ran across a grizzly sow with her two young-of-this-year. They were down near the Lower Kananaskis Lake.

With mom not far behind, but hidden by the brush - these two youngsters seemed quite curious (and skittish at the same time). They only stayed in the open for a few seconds, then went right back to mom's side in that dense brush. They never did seem to stray more than 10 or 12 feet from her.

I was able to sit in my car for another 5-10 minutes, listening to mom chewing on whatever she was finding back there, likely dandelions, then they moved on without really coming out into the open again.

1/250 sec @ f/8, ISO 640, 70-300mm lens @300mm, handheld (sitting in car). Slight crop and desaturated the greens a bit (used CS6 and NIK for processing).