Timing was on my side one morning to get the setting moon and the Sulphur Mountain Weather Station building in one picture. Norman Bethune Sanson, who was appointed the curator of the Banff Park Museum NHS in 1896. He not only looked after the museum for 36 years, but he was also the meteorologist in charge of the weather station. Ottawa sent him enough recording paper to last 33 years, but Sanson was still climbing Sulphur Mtn past that time period to record weather related observations. Including everything else he encountered, one of my favorites from his recording was the regular sighting of Mountain Goats. Today close neighbours of the goats, Bighorn Sheep can be observed up there.
Sanson claimed he had gone up to the weather station at least 1000 times, travelling by feet only, he was not a fan of horses. Return trip from the town of Banff is about 12 km, therefore he would have covered 12 000 km. Which is greater than the 10 921 long kilometer circumference of the moon.
Today we have some options when visiting the weather station, from walking to taking the gondola. The moon would still be some distance away, here, thanks to the compression properties of the lens gives us the illusion of the moon being close to Sanson’s Peak. Still, the view should be awsome day or night on top of the peak.
