Canada-Waterton Lakes Park

On July 3rd we left the country!

(to see Waterton Park)

The rain stopped long enough to get a quick pic at the sign.

I think I have a pic of me in front of this Alberta Canada sign taken almost 40 years ago. 

I should find it and post it also.

 We had lunch at the Prince of Wales Hotel overlooking the Lake.  Very fancy hotel on the inside.  The waiters wore kilts.

 After lunch we went to Waterton town and went thru the shops

We took a side trip/short drive to the Red Canyon.  At the end of the road is Red Canyon.  And it sure is red (see below)

The Wildflowers were very abundent.  Of course I had to take pics of them.

Update: I talked with the Botonist and she said that the flower below was a Pontentilla

The flowers below are called "Sticky Geraniums" 

I love the color.

I'm not sure what these are.  I will have to ask the botonist in the office.

Update: the forest botonist said that this was Death Kamas, Such a pretty flower for a horrible name.

I found these lilies blooming along the side of the highway as we entered the park.

I am thinking they are not native...

Update:  the forest botonist said that there are native lilies in the area and that these probably are native...Who knew?

The hillsides were full of flowers.

Red Canyon was pretty neat looking and we happened to get a little sun break on this rainy day. 

Dave found a bear and made friends.

You can always make friends with Fritos 

On the way back to Montana we found a rainbow on the prairie.

It was a rainbow kind of trip.

Dave took some pics of the next storm moving in. 

This pic below you can see the edge of the storm front.

Beautiful views everywhere you look.

We stopped and looked inside Glacier Park Lodge which was completed in 1913.

It is a really nice lodge and very large.  It is located at one of the East entrances of Glacier Park.

You can still take a train to get to Glacier because this lodge is right next to the train station.  The Great Northern Railway built this lodge as a way to promote passenger service and compete with the other railroads that provided services to Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.

There was a display inside that showed pictures of the lodge when it was first built.  It was very interesting to read excerpts from journals that tourists had written in the 1900's about Glacier Park.

The hallway that connects the main lodge and the Great Northern wing, where rooms are located (building on the left completed in 1915), has chairs and tables set up to play games or read.  They were all being used when I walked thru there.  A popular place to hang out.

The view from the lodge of the mountains behind is very impressive . 

The The main lobby of the lodge is very unique with HUGE Douglas Fir pillars (see lobby below) that are over 40' tall and have the bark entact.  Apparently these fir trees were brought in from the Pacific Northwest and specifically cut before the sap had risen in the trees to ensure the bark stayed in place. 

The fireplace if very large.  A person could stand up straight in it.

This is the only lodge that I have seen that has sky lights.

The two upper levels of the main lodge have guest rooms too.

There is a heated outdoor pool in the back too along with a 9 hole golf course.

The lobby has a dining room, cafe and a bar.