Gliding into Glacier

St. Mary Campground, Glacier National Park, MT

The Prince of Wales Lodge, looking majestic and enchanting perched high on the bluff, was calling out to us this morning. We succumbed. Ned had a mountain man omelet and I had a cheese omelet. Meh, once again we were paying for the ambiance and not for the culinary perfection. Back home, Ned and I meet my Dad and Uncle Bud once a week for breakfast. So far, nothing has come close to Penny's Diner for quality, quantity, friendliness and price. We salute you Penny.
The storm had broken, but the wind was fierce, close to 50 mph. Seemed like a good choice to do the Red Rock Drive thru Waterton Park, rather than bike, and see if we could spot any wild animals. We were in luck! Not far into the drive we came upon a mama bear and her two cubs. The cubs were beyond adorable rolling over each other, looking like puppies, and jumping around in the wildflowers. It so reminded me of the book I used to read the kids when they were little "Blueberries for Sal". We were mesmerized by their playfulness and watched them for quite awhile. A little farther into the drive we came upon another bear, much bigger, and much more interested in eating. So far this trip we've seen 7 bears!
In this area of the park there are wildflowers, blue, yellow, purple, red and white, brightly displayed and blowing in the wind as far as the eye can see. (Neise, it so reminded me of our trip last year to Mt. Rainer). The many waterfalls running off the mountains could easily give Yosemite Falls a run for its money. After two weeks spent with our northern neighbors it was finally time to say goodbye. Thank you Canada for your warm hospitality, beautiful parks, majestic glaciers and abundant wildlife.
Hello USA! We entered Montana thru the small town of Chief Mountain and were welcomed into Big Sky country. Next destination Glacier National Park. The rest of the day was spent exploring the east side of the park, securing a campground for the night and visiting a couple of the lodges. By the time we arrived at Many Glacier Lodge it was a little after 3 and we were hungry again. Once more into the breach trying out another lodge. We each had a bowl of soup and split a sandwich. It was delicious and a third of the cost of the Canadian lodges. Point USA. While this lodge is much more rustic and not nearly as fancy as the Canadian Park lodges, it also seemed that more people were actually using and enjoying the space. At the Canadian lodges it seemed people, mainly tourists, were treating them as museums and art galleries looking at the architecture and in awe of the majestic decor. At this lodge people were actually hanging out by the fire reading and working at jigsaw puzzles in various nooks and crannies. It also had a much more relaxed vibe. All the lodges in this park are Swiss themed. Apparently, the railroad built them in the early 20th century to entice tourists to the area. The advertising said something along the lines of "feels like the Old Country in your new home." The staff today is still wearing the very fashionable lederhosen.
It's dry, but cold and windy here. The forecast calls for one more day of cool weather and then it's supposed to be in the mid to high 80's! I say bring it on. Tomorrow we drive from the east side to the west side of the park over the Going to The Sun Road. We're really looking forward to it.

Heading to Waterton National Park

Location: Waterton National Park, Canada

We woke up to a soft drizzle and looking up we could see that a major storm was coming through. Looking over the maps last night we thought it would be fun to visit Fort Steele, another heritage village circa 1898. Once we arrived there the temperature was dropping and the sky looked like it was about to open up with everything she had. Since this is predominantly an outdoor event covering several acres we thought it best to pass and drive on instead, once more over the Canadian Rockies and back to Alberta.
Yesterday while driving through Kootenay National Park we saw Columbia Lake where the Columbia River originates. This side of the Rockies has also been hit hard with lots of rain and flooding. Today as we passed many rivers and creeks that feed into the Columbia River we could see that they were overflowing and filled with lots of debris. Reminded us a lot of the Mississippi River during the flood stage. It got us thinking how full the Columbia River Gorge area must be. We decided to alter our trip home to drive through that area and check it out. We'll most likely be delayed a day or two, but it should be worth a peek.
We crossed over the Continental Divide for the third time driving through a really interesting area. It's mainly coal mining towns and it reminded me a lot of our Appalachian area. There are deep hollows, the clouds hugging the mountains looked like the Smokey's and the coal mining towns looked dated and seen better times. Even the long trains carrying coal looked familiar. We thought about taking an underground coal mining tour, but it just looked too depressing. At one point we drove by the world's largest truck, for what that is worth.
Approaching Waterton National Park from the Canadian side you can really see where the prairie meets the mountain. It was absolutely beautiful even on an overcast and rainy day. Waterton National Park is much smaller than most other National Parks we've been to (both Canadian and U.S.) and I was quite surprised that there isn't a lot of "there" there. The actual town is most of the National Park. Unlike Jasper or Banff where the town is a good base to explore from, it seems that this town is the big draw of the park. What is really stunning is seeing the Prince of Wales hotel perched high on a bluff from the distance as you drive into the park. It was built in 1927, has a bavarian style architecture, and the lobby area is quite small compared to some of the huge lodges in Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. The most stunning feature of the lodge is when you first enter and are greeted with a huge glass window that looks out on Upper Waterton Lake. You can even see the U.S. at the other end. Helloooo my fellow Americans, that's me waving.
The national park campground is really a city park next to the lake. It feels so different being this exposed after our wooded campsites in Jasper and last night. The campground is overrun with what we call prairie dogs and the Canadians call Columbian ground squirrels. There are burrows everywhere with little heads popping up and they also love to stand up on their hind legs and give off a high pitched squeak They are hilarious with their little personalities and quite entertaining to watch. Funny story tonight, our neighbors from North Carolina were grilling some chicken when a crow swooped down and scooped up a chicken thigh and flew off with it. The crow then had the audacity to perch in a nearby tree and devour it in front of them. Tomorrow we are looking forward to exploring other parts of the park and hope to see bigger wildlife.