Waterton-Glacier
Trip Start
Sep 18, 2005
1
8
15
Trip End
Oct 02, 2005
Waterton,
Alberta,
Canada
Sunday, September 25, 2005
It's a bit different over there in Waterton- more civilized. We went to the town of Waterton to begin with because we couldn't figure out what else to do. Waterton reminded me more of Europe- quaint buildings, tourist shops and restaurants, sidewalks- a real city inside the park. We took the bikes off and rode around town- stopping to fulfill my horrible need for caffeine in coffee form. We rode along the path by the lake- a deep blue green feature beneath soaring peaks. The wind was ripping- making the lake into an ocean and making our bike ride difficult at times (and easy for others).
After our bicycle foray in the town, we decided to go hunt down some wildlife. We based our assumptions off the visitor center- but it didn't work out so well. Not a bear, not a moose to be seen. We did get out by a marsh to see some moose and I managed to capture a deer in my binoculars- resting in the tall grasses. As we drove back to civilization, we also spotted a coyote who was carefully thinking about crossing the road. He decided not to and turned back the other way after we snapped a few pics from the car. We took one more hike- a short one in the hopes of seeing something except for a bear.
Curious Coyote
Turns out we were more scared of bears than we should've been and ended up turning around pretty quickly- after having only seen a few pheasants crossing the way. Kind of like flying chickens. On the way back, we did spot some elk running across an open field... that was cool.By the time we headed back to the U.S. part of the park, it was getting dark and we were hungry. We stopped in at the Cattle Supper Club and tried to decide what to do we I had a beer and Michal and Sarah had sissy drinks. We needed firewood, but the Cattle Supper Club sure didn't have any. Their suggestion was to chop some down (gotta love Native Americans... so forthright...). But we ended up a campground- where there was some firewood prominantly displayed, but no one around to sell it. Michal stuck a $5 in the mailbox and a note and we took off back to the Supper Club for dinner.
George the bartender asked us if we had been successful and we told him the story. The owners of the campground where we had gotten the firewood were there as well and George introduced us. They were a nice couple- but the woman was cynical about my trip to Alaska. Said it was too cold and remote (geesh lady, you live in Montana where the only place to eat is the Cattle Supper Club, serving 10 per night in the winter... if that...) I ended up speaking to the owner of the place- an old native guy called Bob, dressed in flannel. His son lives in Alaska. Nothing like a place like that to make me feel like a yuppie in my North Face jacket and my city accent. I'm telling the absolute truth- I felt like a YUPPIE.
We headed upstairs after the chitchat and ordered dinner. BEST STEAK EVER... it was the small one- and it was HUGE and thick and incredible. Served with bread, veggies, and a potato. So wonderful and not a bad price either. It was probably slaughtered earlier in the day. When we crawled into the tents, there was silence. No elk, no wolves, just wind.
Best steak ever.
