Alberta, Canada --- Waterton Lakes National Park

So we have finally crossed into the Great White North.  We will spend one night here in Waterton Lakes, which has been a Canadian national park since 1895.  In 1932, Waterton and Glacier national parks were dedicated as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the first peace park to cross international boundaries.  In reality, the parks are still administrated separately, with separate admission fees (too bad – our US Annual Parks Pass is no good up here).  Park administrations do work together to protect and conserve the natural resources here, though – especially since most of the animals don’t recognize the international boundary.

Compared to Glacier, Waterton is pretty small – just 52 square miles.  At the heart of the park is the tiny town of Waterton, which is home to about 100 year-round residents (2,000 in summertime).  The town sits on Waterton Lake, a glacial lake carved in the Pleistocene ice age (Waterton park currently has no glaciers, though).

A windswept hill with a great view of the townsite to the right

There are supposed to be some nice hikes in the area, but after yesterday’s trek we decided to do a short trail requiring minimal effort over at Red Rock Canyon.  Unlike the red rocks of Sedona (kind of orange-y in color), the rocks here are a true red – the stone is called argillite which can be a deep red if it’s oxidized, and a dark green if it’s not.  The rocks here are some of the oldest exposed rock in the world – up to 1.6 billion years old – although the canyon is relatively young, carved in just the past 10,000 years or so.

We didn’t see any bears or anything while driving around, just a few deer by the roadside.  But there were signs posted at the visitor center and when we checked into the campground we were warned that a cougar has been prowling around the townsite. When I asked the girl where it had actually been seen she shrugged and said, “Just in town, really. Like, right around the area here.”  I am torn – part of me wants to avoid a scary predator that has no fear of humans, but the other part really wants to add a cougar sighting to the weekly roundup.

Today was chilly, rainy, and windy so we decided to warm up by having afternoon tea at the Prince of Wales Hotel.  The historic hotel opened its doors (and more importantly at the time, it’s prohibition-era bar) in 1927.  It is situated on a high hill overlooking Waterton Lake and has a very Swiss-chalet-looking exterior.

To further add to the international confusion, our server spoke with a German accent and wore a tartan kilt (all of the staff wear kilts for some reason).  We lucked out and got a table next to the lobby’s floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the lake.  At this time of year, no reservations were necessary.  It was a bit pricey for what you get – $30 a pop for the meal.  At least the sandwich and pastry selection did not disappoint.  We did chuckle when the server brought the bill and it was in a folder emblazoned with Glacier National Park’s logo and the motto “See America First”.  That may not be the message you want to send to your visitors, Canada.