Day 10, Retitled: Fernie to Waterton Lakes, AB

Slow and intermittent internet here in Waterton Lakes, so the same for posts.  The map above doesn't really apply to this post, but it shows some of it.  We'll be back on course in a few days.

We drove Das Car today from Fernie to Waterton Lakes today.  It felt odd, driving.  But we covered the distance that we would have ridden in 6 hours in a bit less than 2, and that included stops for coffee and other necessities.  From Fernie we climbed into the Crowsnest Pass area and there is some beautiful country.  One fascinating location is called “Frank Slide.”  It is an enormous rock slide that broke loose in1903 due to mining activity and obliterated the town of Frank, and most of it inhabitants.  It is amazing how much of the mountain crashed across the valley, with boulders the size of RVs.  There are also numerous coal mines in the Crowsnest Pass area.  They’ve destroyed entire mountains.

It takes big trucks to take down mountains

Soon enough we dropped down onto the Alberta prairies.  What a difference!  Flat as far as the eye can see, with a variety of different types of crops; grass, wheat, alfalfa, etc.  But we could see the Rockies off to the south all along.  There were signs along the highway that warned of high winds, and there were lots of wind farms.  The wind was blowing westerly at about 40 kph.  Both of us decided that we are glad to be in Das Car rather than Das Bike.  It is funny, we drive in our cars and never notice things like wind and rain.  If the wind is in front of us, we step on the gas and speed up to 60, 70 and never think about it.  But on a bike, a slight shift in the wind or its direction is a big deal, and if the wind is in your face, it makes life difficult.  And rain causes multiple stops for clothing changes to make life more comfortable.  That’s part of the fun of riding I guess.

We turned south at Pincher Creek and headed toward the park.  A sign for a bison viewing area convinced us to take a detour to check it out.  We drove over a few cattle guards and were able to see a couple of bison.  Most were snoozing in the warm sunshine, but one big male was wandering around.  They’re huge!

Big bull bison

Because Das Car is so fast, we made it to the Waterton National Park in no time, much earlier than our motel would be ready, so we headed up a side road to the Red Rock Canyon.  The road was pretty quiet at that time of the morning with little traffic.  We came around a corner and there beside the road was a Grizzly bear cub.  He was munching on some berries and we stopped immediately and tried to get some photos.  He stood up when he saw the car and checked us out.  We knew that mama must be nearby, and as soon as we had a photo he took off like a rocket.  Cool!

Grizzly bear cub

The Red Rock Canyon was a good diversion and on the way back to the village we saw a black bear and several mountain goats. 

Mountain Goats

Prince of Wales Hotel

The wind is crazy here.  It blows so hard and never lets up, confirming that for the next day we’d rather be driving than riding.

The biggest reason to be at Waterton Lakes is the hiking, and we took a short hike up the Bear’s Hump, which is about 300 meters above the lake.  There is a good view down to the village and the lakes.

Bear's Hump

The “Prince of Wales” hotel, which you will recognize from the photos, is interesting and historic but aging without much grace.  We checked into our hotel and walked up to the area where it is located on a windswept bluff overlooking the lake.  It feels very isolated.  The village is far more inviting, but the hotel is worth looking at for its historic value.

Prince of Wales Hotel

Beer

Today we're taking a ferry to Goat Haunt (which actually is in the US) and will hike to some alpine lakes.