Late in July, we went on vacation! Mary’s family had a reunion in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada. Mary’s mom was Canadian; her (Mary’s) great-grandfather homesteaded southern Alberta. There were over 100 US relatives who attended; there was also a lunch meeting in Raymond (ancestral home) with many Canadian cousins. Here are a few photos from our trip.

This is the lodge where we stayed. Mary’s mom and dad were married in the Cardston Alberta Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1945 1943 and they spent their honeymoon in this lodge. We told everyone that were staying in the same room they stayed in, but of course, we don’t really know that. LOL. The lodge was opened in 1928. The current owners bought it in the 1960’s IIRC. They actually live in Utah. The lodge is open for business from May to (through?) October. Family members rotate from Utah to Waterton monthly to work at the lodge. The private entry to our room is the gray door on the right.

The first day after arrival, we climbed Bear’s Hump, a relatively short but very steep hike to the top of a mountain overlooking Waterton Village. Most of the family in attendance made the climb. It was a little cold and very windy. In fact the winds were so high that tents in the campground were blown down and some even had their poles broken! We were told that several campers packed up and left in the night, not any of our family members, though, we’re much hardier souls! Mary’s daughter’s family’s tent did collapse with a couple of broken poles and we shared our room with two of their children the rest of the week while the parents either slept in the car or shared a tent with someone else. If you look carefully at the lake in the background of this picture, you can see the areas of ripples on the water that indicate oncoming gusts of wind.

Saw this cute fellow on the way up Bear’s Hump.

And this guy on the way down. He was blocking the trail while noshing on the vegetation.

We went to one of the many nearby lakes (remember the name of the place is “Waterton Lakes”) where we took yet another selfie, waded in the water, and saw more deer.

One evening we went “bear hunting.” We drove up a likely road where bears had been sighted and Stan finally saw his first live wild bear! The picture on the left was taken through the windshield as the bear began to cross the road.

The next day, Stan hiked to Lower Bertha Falls and came upon a small grizzly bear slurping up the Saskatoon Berries. He was very mellow and not interested in hikers at all. You can barely see him the center of photo behind the berry plants.

Finally, here are some strange and interesting warning signs found in that foreign country known as Canada. First we have the warning that there are mountains ahead. Strangely, this sign is always found near a speed bump, don’t know why. Next is a warning that sword fighting may lead to amputation of hands and feet. This sign really works because we didn’t see anyone fighting with swords. Finally, the last sign notifies all that this marks the end of the bowling zone. No more bowling on the street past this sign. It seems to appear only at the end of a playground, not sure why.

We had a great time in Waterton Lakes National Park and found it beautiful, well-managed, and clean. Several national parks are within a 4 or 5 hour drive from our new home! We scored an annual parks pass so we hope to visit more parks in the coming year.