We have been meaning to try and get away for a while now and the Thanksgiving weekend gave us the perfect opportunity.
We decided to head off to Waterton. It was the last day of the season there, so there wasn't much open, but it didn't stop us sightseeing or watching the wildlife.
These are some of the views coming into Waterton.
We started in search of Bison. We didn't see many, but we did catch a glimpse of a few, including a baby.
We have always wanted to go to Red Rock Canyon, so while the weather was still pretty nice we thought we could take advantage of that and go and have a stroll around. The road to the Canyon is about 15km and about half way along the road we spotted some ears. We slammed on the breaks and reversed and spied four bears feeding. We have seen a bear before in the past, but we haven't seen any in some years, so for us, it was a rare treat.
Don't miss the little cub face in the corner of the photo!
Then mum and two cubs started crossing the road infront of us.
Now that's what we call a cute butt!
This one got left behind and had to catch the others up.
Meanwhile this cub thought it would be a good idea to climb in this bush. There were lots of noises of snapping twigs! We were convinced he was going to go crashing to the ground at any point. It didn't take long before he thought better of it and about turned and scrambled to more secure ground.
After all that excitement we carried on to Red Rock Canyon for our walk (are we wise? There's bears out there you know!) The Canyon though was lovely. Apparently it has taken the water 7,000 to 10,000 years to carve the canyon.
We weren`t lucky enough to see the bears again on the way back, but we did see them the next day although they were much further away! We headed back to Waterton Townsite to check into our hotel and have a look around. Despite a lot of businesses being closed, there were still plenty of deer around to keep us entertained.
Our hotel room had a ground level balcony, which was surrounded by deer.
We could also walk down directly to the beach. Unfortunately the wind had really picked up, making the lake look more like the sea.
The next day started well. There was no wind and the lake was lovely and calm. The weather quickly turned though and the cloud started to come right down the mountains. It was still pretty though, due to the rainbow colours coming through the clouds.
We started our day at Cameron Falls, which are very close to the townsite.
We wanted to see Cameron Lake. During the drive there, we saw our first snow of the season. We did get out of the car, but it was so snowy and windy, that we didn't even manage a photo!
We wanted to take a look at Blakiston Falls. During the drive there, we stopped off at Lost Horse Creek, which is like a smaller version of Red Rock Canyon and also very pretty.
As we got to Blakiston Falls, there was a break in the weather, so we managed a walk up to the falls, which was another stunning view.
As we were returning from our walk, the weather was getting fairly bad again, so it was time to call it day and head back to Okotoks. We managed to get a few more snaps as we drove through the townsite.
As we got close to Pincher Creek, we saw a sign for St Henrys Historic Church. There was THE most incredible views from up there, but again, the weather was turning very chilly.
We could also see exactly where the storms were!
This Province has so much to see. Even now, we are really only scratching the surface of it.
J&E
