Trip to Waterton Lakes National Park - Canada

Waterton Lakes National Park is just north of the Montana border in Alberta, Canada.  From our KOA at St. Mary (east Glacier) it was just a 45-mile drive through beautiful pines and mountain views.  Throughout this area of Montana there are lots of range cattle and they seem to love hanging out on the roads.  You can find mamas standing in the road while their calves are nursing.  It’s probably a good thing that the speed limit on the roads where we have encountered these cattle is only 45 mph and typically rough and bumpy roads.  I do have to wonder, with so many of them being black, how often they get hit at night.  I know nothing about range cattle so I also wonder how the ranchers manage their cattle.  They are all marked but they just wonder wherever and I’m sure they are all mixed up with several ranchers’ cattle.  Hmmmm.

Okay back to our day trip.  The girls, John and I started out for our adventure about 9:30 am.  Crossing into Canada was a breeze.  Just a single woman in a booth who asked us a few questions and reviewed our drivers’ licenses, passports and the dogs’ vaccination certificates.  I also had to roll down the back window so she could see inside where the dogs were.  Our window tint is so dark you cannot see into the vehicle.  We drove into Canada right beside the national park and found the entrance just a few miles down the road. 

The drive in is flat and runs beside a pretty lake as you work your way back into the

mountains.  As we approached the small village of Waterton we found a road that went back to Lake Cameron.  It was about 10 miles and wound its way up and down and around in the mountains.  We saw water falls, babbling creeks, lots of very tall pines and incredible views.  At the end of the road was a small lake surrounded by a mountain that was indescribably beautiful.  It was a very cool day and a bit rainy and we didn’t really dress appropriately or we might have rented one of their paddle boats to spend some time on this lake.  The lakes in all these mountains are crystal clear and look like you could drink straight from them safely.  They are also cold.

After spending some time at Lake Cameron we headed into the village of Waterton which is very quaint.  It is definitely a tourist area but you will not find any name brand hotels, restaurants or fast food as we know it.  We stopped at a Weiners of Waterton for lunch.  They had a big kettle outside with a fire burning in it and picnic tables.  You ordered inside and ate outside.  These were probably the best hot dogs I’ve ever had.  The buns are homemade every day.  I ordered the ¼ lb dog with cheese, onions, a sliced pickle, shredded ginger carrots and their special sweet tomato sauce.  It was yummy!  As we wondered around town in the Jeep we found a great waterfall but it was pouring rain so John couldn’t get a photo with the good camera but I did get one with my phone.  Then

we headed up to the Prince of Wales Hotel that sites up on a hill overlooking the lake and the village.  We were hoping to get a view of everything from the hill but it was raining and the view was completely obscured.  BUT – running across the field outside the hotel was a black bear.  I barely had time to get a shot of it. 

We then headed off to check out the one other road we could drive down and again, the scenery was breathtaking.  Lots of open fields between the mountains full of colorful wild flowers.  The rain had stopped and the colors were glistening and fresh. 

As we returned to the United States the border crossing was a much different experience.  There were two officers and before coming to the booth you drive through an enormous thing that apparently scans the entire vehicle.  While one officer is standing behind the car reading off the plate so it can be run, the officer in the booth is running checks on us and asking us questions.  He was actually quite nice and did ask us about our visit and if we enjoyed ourselves.  It just felt like a more thorough check to get back into the States.

John and I were so glad that we took the time to check this place out on our last day on the east side of Glacier.  We weren’t able to make it to Banff on this trip because of our RV repairs which got us off schedule and we hope someday to make it there but after this trip, even without Banff, we will be on scenery overload.

We finished off the day by treating ourselves to a great steak dinner at Cattle Barons 

Supper Club in Babb, Montana.  Babb is a blink and miss it town in northern Montana but they have this great little supper club.  Inside it’s all built in a log theme.  The bar stools have big red cushioned seats and if you want to dine at a table you go up a winding log staircase to the loft area that circles around the downstairs area with a balcony so you can look down onto the lower level.  All the tables are by windows and very nice.  We split the T-bone dinner, which was huge, and added a side salad.  There was enough meat to feed three!  You could cut this steak with a feather and the flavor was unbelievable.  I can honestly say that this T-bone and the smoked ribeye at Smokin Joes in Davis, OK are the best steaks I’ve ever had.

Tomorrow we move to Glacier Haven RV Park near Essex, MT on the southwest side of Glacier for a few nights before moving up to the west side of Glacier.  The east side of Glacier is so beautiful and I highly recommend seeing it.  There are several places to stay from tent and RV camping to cabins and a lodge.  There are shuttles that can get you around the area and in the park they are free.  There are miles and miles of hiking but you cannot take your dogs on the trails.  The only down side is that there are no big towns nearby so the prices are very high.  Gas was nearly $0.75/gallon higher and over $6 for a box of Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuit crackers!  $2.29 for a can of Cream of Chicken soup!  Yep – those are high prices but for a vacation to see all that God created here, it's worth it.  And you have to try the huckleberry ice cream – YUM!