Waterton Lakes National Park

Ted. Judy and I had dreamed of visiting Alberta, Canada since before the pandemic hit. We finally decided that this would be the summer for it so flew from Atlanta to Calgary on July 31. We arrived safely but were an hour late. All passengers had been informed that they were required to wear masks on Canadian planes. One woman refused, so our plane had to return to the gate where she was unceremoniously ushered off (I guess she ended up driving to Canada).  As we entered the arrivals hall in Calgary we were warmly welcomed by our friend Patty. Judy will report on that visit shortly. 

After a few days of being spoiled rotten by Patty, it was time to begin our exploration of the Canadian Rockies. We headed under sunny skies to Waterton Lakes National Park. It sits right on the border with the US and is contiguous with Glacier National Park. The two parks are known collectively as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The road we took south from Calgary was on the plains, just to the east of the front range. As we approached the park, we veered to the west and were stunned by how the mountains in the park lept suddenly from the plains with no foothills at all. The area at the foot of these peaks is known as the Waterton Front.

We only spent two days in Waterton so could barely scratch the surface. We saw a lot by car but limited our hikes as Judy had just undergone a procedure to ease some arthritic pain in her spine. 

Back on the trail!

The park is known for an  abundance of wildlife and we saw two bears, a few bison and lots of deer. Sadly, many of the trees in the park had been killed by a terrible forest fire in 2017.  Possibly because of this, crowds were virtually nonexistent and we often had the place all to ourselves. 

Blakiston Falls

Red Rock Canyon

Waterton Lake

Suffice it to say, our first Canadian national park did not disappoint.

Cameron Lake