Thursday, June 30, 2011

Canada, Eh?

Glacier National Park – Thursday, June 30, 2011

We’re off to the northern part of the park which is in Canada and is called Waterton Lakes National Park. Yes, Canada has National Parks too. We were on our way after we went to the ranger station to see if we could stay another 2 days. There is so much to see and do here we didn’t want to be rushed! We can’t keep the same camp site, but we are confirmed.

We thought we could use this as a dry run through customs.  When we got to the border, we chatted up the border agent who was very friendly.  Since we had to wait in line, we had several minutes to talk to him.  He gave us some hints about what we could bring over in the RV, but said in the end, it all boiled down to the agent at the crossing.  Since we would be going into Canada at a different crossing the next time, what we could bring over was still up in the air. We’ll play by the rules to be safe.

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Once in the park, after the Visitor Centre, the first stop we made was the Prince of Wales Hotel.  We thought about having Afternoon Tea there, but couldn’t find the price.  The Tea Room was packed and we figured if you had to ask the price you couldn’t afford it.  The hotel was beautiful.  It’s built high up on a hill overlooking the lake and town.  Well the wind comes roaring down out of the mountains, across the lake and up the hill towards the hotel.  We tried standing on the lake side to take some pictures and had difficulty standing up.  The wind had to be blowing 35 – 40 mph.

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We headed into town to go to lunch at Pearls Internet Cafe for a sandwich wrap and some internet work. The wrap and salad were excellent, the service was minimal, and the internet was non-existent.

We saw the Cameron Falls, and drove the Akamina Pkwy to Cameron Lake.  We started to hike around the lake, but partway around the trail was underwater.  We tried striking out through the woods to bypass the submerged trail, but no luck.  Then Frank finally understood that we couldn’t hike around the lake anyhow, because it was closed at the far end due to deep snow covering the trail.  Bummer, return to start.

P1040878P1040883Next, we’re off on the Red Rock Pkwy to Red Rock Canyon and Blakiston Falls.  As we had just finished our hike to the falls, a person rushed up to warn us about a bear he had just seen on the trail we had just come off of.  Good thing we weren’t 5 minutes slower or we could have been bear bait!

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We went back to the village of Waterton to do some shopping.  Frank found a nice light weight day pack with a good frame and support.  Now he can ditch the kiddy back pack he’s been using and complaining about almost daily.  EJ found some potential gifts for friends (that’s if she doesn’t keep them for herself). Also saw a group of deer grazing in the park.

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Time to head  back to the US border and the RV at St. Mary.  While we were pleased with the friendliness and efficiency of the Canadian Border Crossing, we were made to feel a little like criminals when crossing back into the US.  No banter at all, just a “Turn off your engine, unlock all the doors, and stay in the car”.

We drove back on Chief Mountain International Hwy and saw some neat mountain shapes including Chief Mtn (9080 ft).

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We made it back to BG about 9:45PM.  Taz and Mocha made sure we were aware of their displeasure about dinner being 3 hours late.  Apparently our cats think they have a rough life.

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BG Miles Today

0

BG Total Miles

3381

Eat Out total $

245.43

BG Total Fuel $

1694.53

Entertainment total $

74.50

Total Camping $

438.71

E Miles Today

145

E Total Miles

1271.5

E Total Fuel $

227.41

Day # of Trip 30

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