D20 - 05/18/24 SQUIRREL!

 

Say what ya want I tell Tim. This is what he says every time I wear this hat …  ‘There’s a squirrel on your head!’. Jealous I say!! 😉 It’s not my hair. It’s not real fur. It’s not a squirrel. It’s a cute puffy fake fur pom pom. Say what you want my head is toasty warm! I won’t let him wear it!! LOL

On my early outing at 5:30am with Jett it was 37*F and it was a spectacular sunrise with high pink cumulus clouds as a backdrop to the beautiful majestic mountains. Thank you Jett. I knew there was a really good reason to get me up early so that I could witness what Mother Nature had in store for us for the day. 

Once back in the Airstream and after much needed hot coffee and breakfast our decision was to take a few hikes. Our choice was to drive back to where the Akamina Parkway was shut down. Then hike the closed road out to Cameron Lake. Afterwords we would make the short hike to Akamina Lake. 

As you know for us things hardly ever work as planned. Tim and I drove out to where the road was closed and … it was now OPENED! So much for a hike. Once at the Cameron Lake parking lot we could not believe what we saw. The lake was so beautiful and frozen!! 

Looking at the temperature on the truck it was now 37*F there and gorgeous. As soon as we got out of the truck it began to snow on us! So beautiful in this setting! We explored pieces of the trail along the lake in both directions. Just a winter wonderland in May! And since there are still some old standing pines there that did not get burned … it smelled like Christmas!

Next up was a short hike out to Akamina Lake. We hiked through a beautiful pine forest, over flowing snow melt. The trail also took us across a few short foot bridges and through frosty snow patches to get to the lake. This lake was smaller and not frozen. 

On our return to basecamp we got the Jett out and readied to take her hiking on the shore of Upper Waterton Lake. Rain started right after we departed. Turned back. Watched the Preakness Stakes when we got back to the Airstream. My horse won! Took off again towards the lake with Jett and got a good hike in for her. 

Tomorrow is a travel day for us. We will finalize our drivers meeting later this evening and be on the road in the morning. The Epic Adventure takes us four hours slightly northwest of here! 🏔️

Oh yeah and I love my puffy skirt! And I’m not letting Tim wear that either!! LOL

D19 - 05/17/24 ‘A HAZY SHADE OF WINTER’

Today was laundry day! There’s no laundromat in Waterton Park anymore. Our only option here was the Bayshore Inn & Spa. (thank you social media) To fit in we dressed like tourists to blend in with the guests. While our clothes were washing and drying we lounged about across the street at Trappers Mountain. Had some brews and … Sweet Potato Poutine. (sweet potato fries covered in homemade gravy and fresh cheese curds). Delicious!! 

Our next stop was The Prince of Wales Hotel. We had just missed afternoon tea on our arrival and it was beginning to snow! Big flakes but not accumulating. The hotel is beautiful and darn near destroyed in 2017 in a massive fire that burned 80% of this National Park. 

The hotel is picturesquely situated on a buff overlooking Upper Waterton Lake. Designed in a Swiss- chalet style. Built in 1864 it has 110 rooms and is the parks most recognized landmark. The interior is just as majestic. 

With the snow beginning to get heavier we needed to get back to basecamp. Jett had her first romp in the snow. She loves it!! We even took her on a hike over to Cameron Falls in it. We are guessing by nightfall we had almost two inches of accumulated snow here. I think I need to get her a rain coat now! 

We anticipated snow at some point during this Epic Adventure but never this much in one day. So beautiful! Let’s see what tomorrow brings now! 

D18 05/16/24 HIKING AND SOME MORE SPECTACULAR SCENERY

 

Waterton Lakes National Park is an amazing amusement of nature. No way could we have anticipated what we experienced today. We knew the scenery would be amazing and it of course blew us away. 

The hikes we did today … were so amazing. We went out to Red Rock Parkway and hiked the Red Rock Canyon. It’s a very unique canyon with its vivid colors and natural beauty. Then we hiked out to Blakiston Falls. Exquisite views! The walkways and view points were so perfectly placed. The welding workmanship was beyond perfection. Of course I would notice! Found a few rocks to stand on along the way. 

Came back to camp to retrieve Jett. She had done some more housekeeping for us while we were out. LOL Then we all drove out the Akamina Parkway! Drove as far as we could to where the was road closed until the winter snow melt finishes. On our return to basecamp we made a quick visit to Tamarack Outdoors. Tamarack is a fabulous outdoor gear specialist with tons of selection and they also offer guided hikes in the area. 

What a fabulous first full day that we had in Canada! 🇨🇦 

Wildlife viewed:

Big Horn Sheep

Mountain Goats

Mule Deer (more)

Grouse 

Prairie Dogs

Barrow’s Goldeneye Duck