Heading to the City!
06.18.2018 - 06.20.2018
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As I write this, we are traveling through the grasslands of Alberta on our way to Calgary where we will stay for a week. Looking forward to being in a city for awhile and doing some "city stuff" before heading out to Banff and Yoho with Morgan and Courtney.
Glacier to Waterton
We are moving on from Waterton Lakes National Park. If this place isn't on your bucket list, it should be. We had a disappointing trip up from Whitefish to Waterton. The Going to the Sun Road is still closed due to the heavy snows this past winter. So that was a bummer. And the day we drove up was rainy, cold, and dense with fog. As a result, we didn't see any of the East side of Glacier, including Many Glacier, which was definitely something we wanted to see. Instead we drove a curvaceous, switch-backy road through dense fog. It didn't help that cattle and horses roamed freely, sometimes just hanging out in the middle of the road, or that there was construction on the road that resulted in places with no pavement and deep ditches filled with water. We were SO glad we were in Ruby. I felt really sorry for people in their rental cars. At times, you knew there was a tremendous drop off out to amazing views but all we saw was white fog as thick as pea soup. In a way it was pretty fascinating, exciting, and beautiful but definitely not what we had planned. There were a few breaks where we could make out a few of the mountains.
But momma said there would be days like this...
Waterton
Our first day in Waterton continued to be overcast and rainy with the fog settled low over the mountains. It was amazing because you just knew these awesome mountains surrounded the lakes since you could see their bases; it was just a waiting game to see the full view. But the lake was calm, which made for some spectacular reflections, and we saw the historic tour boat coming up when we were on the hill by the Prince of Wales Hotel for a stunning shot (IMO).
Waterton Townsite
Within the National Park is the Waterton Townsite. It has an interesting history starting as a Canadian Railways Town prior to the National Park, a mining town, and finally a recreation destination. There are historic buildings and cabins throughout the town as well as a campground. Herds of deer roam the streets, and can apparently be very aggressive!
In the off season, bears and cougar do as well. Kinda glad we missed that!
It's a great place to walk around and the lake trail takes you to where Cameron Creek empties into the lake.
Cameron Falls are just a few blocks from downtown and quite magnificent. This short clip has a view from the top and the bottom.
Yesterday the sun returned and it was a gorgeous day with light winds.
Touring About
First we went down to Lower Cameronn Lake and the Maskinonge Wetlands. There are beautiful views back up the valley, over the marsh, and out into the grasslands.
Check out this short clip for a 360 view.
Next we went out to some viewpoints we missed on the way in. This one of the entire range was spectacular.
Scenic Boat Ride
We took the historic M.V. International, the 91 year-old boat that tours Upper Waterton Lake (the same boat from yesterday's picture). It takes you across the U.S. border to the bottom of the lake. We took TONS of photos. The light wasn't great but here are a few of the best.
The Prince of Wales Hotel. It sits on a small bluff out in the lake. It's huge but looks so tiny in context like in the pic below.
The international border.
Like I said, this is a bucket list place for sure! Right up there with the Tetons!
Up next, fun times in the Cowtown! Be sure to subscribe for updates to the blog and follow us on Instagram @arrradventures.
Posted by mrb430 12:04 Archived in USA Tagged waterfalls lakes canada wildflowers Comments (0)