Today can be summed up in two words – Oh Wow!
After breakfast we checked out of the Bison Creek Ranch – it was a lovely stay, and was supposed to be on night longer, but we had to move to another cabin, and, well, being basically lazy, we decided to move, but to another country! We left without a reservation for tonight, but we have the backup of a tent and camping equipment (if necessary).
Before moving on, the Bison Creek Ranch is a great, family run operation. Keith (dad), daughter Molly and son Aaron do a great job. The meals have been great, and inexpensive! Sleep has been great. The cabins are rustic, yes, but clean and adequate. The feeling of community is great. We really enjoyed our stay there, and wish it could have been longer.
But the new plan helps us, in that we gain some ground today, going north into Canada instead of south back to Bison Creek Ranch. That’s going to make tomorrow much easier, driving wise.
Leaving Bison Creek, we head back to West Glacier for one last time. Our first stop, thanks to Keith, is at the Alberta Visitor Center at the park entrance, to pick up a guide to places to stay. With the guide, we call the Heritage Inn here in Pincher Creek and make a reservation for the night. That’s that – all is taken care of, and the camping equipment can wait for another day! (S-H I had anticipated camping but the mosquitoes and more importantly the presence of Grizzly and Black bears are determining that we’d rather have a room.)
Today we drive across the ‘Going to the Sun’ road. That’s where ‘Oh Wow!’ gets said a lot, and there’s no way to describe it – look at our pictures on Flickr, look at professional pictures, you just gotta be there. Get Out There!
On the way we took two short hikes. The first was a quick ten minute (one way) jaunt up the trail to Sperry Chalet – a trail we hiked a bunch of years ago with good friends to stay at the Chalet. Lots of memories there, but I did not remember the trail being quite so steep! Perhaps I was younger? The second hike was another quick 30 minute jaunt (one way) on the trail to Granite Park Chalet. This trail brought back memories too. First, it starts out as a narrow trail on a very sheer face cliff. That gets the juices flowing. Then there are the goats – they are still there, right where they were so many years ago. I wish we had time to hike to both Chalets – hiking in Glacier is great (but you must be aware of bears!).
We continued through the park to the Mary Lake entrance, then up and around, finally using the Chief Mountain port of entry into Canada. No traffic, very little wait. The Canadian were inspecting several vehicles in detail, but passed us through with only our paperwork and a brief Q&A session. We drove on to Waterton, where we purchased an annual pass for Canadian National Parks (Waterton, Banff, Jasper for starters). A quick run through some of the park and then on to Pincher Creek and our hotel. (S-H: We are in a smoking room because that is all they allow dogs in, smells and even our spraying Febreze doesn’t overcome the smoky smell.)
By this time it’s well after 7pm, and it has been a long time since breakfast! After checking in, we go in search of food. Turns out it is Sunday, and most places are CLOSED! But the desk clerk recommended Luigis Pizza (and Steak House), so we found it, and got in just before they closed for the evening. We both had pasta, and it was great (plus a little Shiraz, of course). Talk about lucky – phew! Just under the wire!
Now we’re back at the Heritage Inn, and it’s after midnight as I am finishing this. A long, great day. Oh WOW! Good night!
1 comment:
Beautiful photos. Really so much better than waiting for the slide show. Yay progress! WLC.
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