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.

Glacier National Park

June 30th-Saturday we arrived at Glacier

The temperature that day was 84* and fantastic weather.

McDonald Lodge was one of our first stops in the Park.

When the lodge was built the only way to access the lodge was from Lake McDonald.

So the entrance below was the back of the lodge where most people enter today.

Below is the restaurant in the lodge.  Dave and I ate here the first night.

The food was good and we had a window table with a view of the lake.

The central entrance/lobby of the lodge.

The lodge is 3 stories and has rooms on the top 2 floors

The front/lake side of the lodge has a nice porch with chairs and rockers.

A couple that was sitting next to us on the porch wanted me to take their picture and in return wanted to take ours.

The river next to the lodge going into the lake below.

Notice the color of the water in the lake.  It really was that pretty blue. 

The red jammers are one type of transportation in the park.  

After we had dinner at Lake McDonald Lodge, we went on an easy short nature hike called the "Trail of the Cedars"  

Just  right after dinner.

The cedar branches look so pretty and spring green in the sun. 

These falls are on hidden creek.  You cross a bridge in front of these falls.

The color of the water is amazing. 

Edited 3-20-18.  I have since learned that the color of the water is caused by glaciers grinding the rocks and minerals which stay suspended in the water causing the chalky blue color.

I don't know what these light blue flowers are, but they were cute. 

Update: the forest botonist said that these are forget-me-nots

July 1st-Sunday we went all the way over the "Going to the Sun Road"

We stopped at the visitors center at the top of the summit.  It was not the sunny warm day as Saturday.

No, in fact it pretty cool, cloudy and occassional rain showers. 

The clouds continually rolled in and out most of the day.  So the view was not the best.

We took the shuttle buses and went over to St. Mary's which is on the other side of the pass.  We decided to walk over to the lodge and have lunch.  But we talked with someone on the bus and they suggested that we eat at the Park Cafe.  So we did.  It was a small eclectic place with only about 8 tables in it and a counter with stools.  The place was full when we got there, but there were a couple stools at the counter available.  Dave and I both had burgers, but the real find was the PIE!

Yes they had homemade pie and it is good!  We were stuffed from the burgers, so Dave and I shared a peice of banana cream.  I noticed that they sold T-shirts with a colorful logo and it said "Pie for Strength".

Well we liked the pie so much we stopped on the way back from Canada Tues evening to have dinner.  There was a waiting line and we didn't want to wait, because we still had a long drive back to West Glacier.

So of course... we got pie to go! 

I got the banana cream again and Dave tried the raspberry-cherry pie.

After we got back to the cabin the rain had stopped and there was this cool rainbow.  I didn't want to miss the shot, so I took the picture with my phone.  The people in the picture were having an evening beverage and I found out they were from Michigan.

July 2nd- Monday we had origanally planned to go horseback riding, but our reservation got lost...

So we decided to take advantage of the sun and go back to the visitors center at the top again.

But this time we would be headed for the GOATS! 

Below you can see the valley and how a glacier formed it giving it the rounded shape.

Below is the weeping wall.  There was construction going on, apparently it has been for the last 5 years.

They were resurfacing the road and fixing the rock embankments to keep you from going over the edge.

So you sometimes have to wait for about 20-30 minutes to drive thru the one way construction zone. 

Looks like we are not the only ones going to see the goats.

(see the tiny dots on the snow as you go up the mountain?  Yes, that is where we are going.  In fact it was on the other side) 

And off Dave goes.... 

It was quite the hike in the snow.  But it was a lot of fun to see the mountain goats.

 The Babies are so damn cute!

And to think they are only about 1.5 feet tall.

Yes, they were pretty close!

At times I had to back up to get far enough away to take a picture.  Who knew? 

We also saw these two Mountain Sheep lounging on the rocks below. 

As you can see below, the view was beautiful! 

Heading back down the mountain.

 It was the perfect day!

July 4th- Wednesday, leaving Glacier today.  It was another gorgeous day!

One last picture of Lake McDonald after eating breakfast at Eddie's cafe and one last shopping spree at the visitors center in Apgar Village.

The rocks in the lake are really colorful and the water was so still and clear you can't really tell that they are in the water.

 We wanted to go home by way of Seally Lake.

So we drove down east of Columbia Falls.  Turning off just before Big Fork.

 Looking out over the valley....What are all these fields of yellow stuff?  Mustard???

I had to stop someplace near it to get a closer look. 

It looks like mustard, but it's not.

Hmmm,  What is it?

It just so happened that the next day after we got home, the local news did a report on all the yellow fields in the Flathead Valley. 

It seems the yellow crops are being pressed into oil- Safflower Biodiesel. 

Much of the crop is going to Canada to be expeller pressed.

So there you have it.  Not mustard, but Safflower. 

Update:  My Mother sent me an email and told me that it isn't Safflower.  It is Rape or sometimes called Canola.