Sea to Shining Sea
FALL 2021
Crypt Lake Hike Description: “This trail is the most well-known of the Waterton hikes because it involves a bit of an obstacle course — you need to climb a steel ladder bolted into a rock face, climb through a small natural mountain tunnel and edge along a narrow cliff face to reach the lake.” That earned a hard pass from us!
10/1/2021 Our October started in Waterton Lakes, checking out the town. One of the cool things they do in town is to take two red Adirondack chairs and rotate them around to various scenic locales. It’s invitation to relax and enjoy the beauty of the town.
The Prince of Wales Hotel was not open but we drove up to check it out anyway. There were signs saying that even though they were closed for the season, to please feel free to check out the hotel and grounds, which seemed pretty friendly. We would definitely like to go back when they are open.
After checking out town we decided to head up to Cameron Lake. Along the way we encountered some roadside Big Horn Sheep. They didn’t seem to be bothered by their proximity to the road.
Not far up the road from the Big Horns we saw two Magpies fighting over some morsel. In NC the road kill clean up duties are left to the vultures. In the West Magpies do a lot of the cleanup and are much more attractive.
Cameron Lake was well worth the drive. It is a beautiful alpine lake. This was the first time in several days we saw a lake with no whitecaps on it. It was nice to get a little relief from the wind and wind chill.
On the road back down from the lake we ran into a Big Horn parade. They were walking right down the middle of the road leading a small car up to the lake. A lady from Alberta informed us that Big Horns enjoy hanging out by cars especially in the winter when they can lick salt from the cars that have been driving on salt treated roads. Who knew?
Sue has never seen a moose even though we have been in lots of prime moose territory. She heard from someone that there were moose spotted in an area near a ski resort about an hour from the park. So off we went. The drive took us through the charming little town of Pincher Creek, Even a small town in Canada warrants a curling rink.
We went up to the ski resort but alas struck out on our moose hunt. We were both a little depressed until Spotter Sue redeemed herself with the big spot of the day, a Tim Horton’s. For those of you who have not ventured north of the border, Tim Horton’s have the best donuts in Canada and possibly the Western Hemisphere.
We made it back to Waterton Lakes in time for the evening elk show. It was still pretty dark but the elk were a little closer.
Bulls spend all of their time during rutting season trying to keep their harem of females intact. They do not want any of their cows wandering off into another bull’s harem.
We will be sad to leave Waterton Lakes tomorrow and are hoping that we will be allowed to re-enter the U.S. We held on to a couple of Tim Horton donuts just in case we need to bribe a border guard,