Winter Arrives

On the morning of Saturday October 10th we woke up to snow in Nordegg.  The weather forecast seemed to scare a lot of people away, as it wasn't very busy up in the subdivision, or down in town.  Margarit came out with Ryan and Braeden on Friday evening.  On Saturday we pretty much just laid low and hung around the cottage.  The snow kept coming down lightly through most of the day.  We kept the fire going and just hung around the cottage visiting and relaxing.  We brought out a bunch of the fallen apples from our tree in the city and the deer loved them as usual.

Last Round of Golf in 2026?

On Thursday October 8th I headed over to the golf course in Nordegg.  It was partly overcast, breezy and cool, but I thought I'd get in my last round of golf of the season.  It was gloriously quiet, and I was the only one on the course.  I took a few practice shots, and played the round with two balls.  I shot a 39 with one and a 42 with the other.  These are among some of my best scores of the year.  It's sad that I'm finally getting a little better at the game, just in time for the season to come to an end.

Back to Nordegg

On Wednesday October 7th I headed back out to Nordegg.  Margarit and the kids were planning to join me in a couple of days for Thanksgiving.  I arrived in the early evening and pretty much just settled down and got a fire going.  On Thursday the 8th I headed over to the golf course and got in what would likely be my last round of the year.

On Friday October 9th the sun was out in the morning, and into the early afternoon.  The forecast was calling for rain turning to snow over the weekend so I thought it best to head out for a little drive while I could.  I drove up to Abraham Lake and on the way there I saw two different herds of wild horses, a small herd of Bighorn Sheep, and a few deer.  

The lake level is not quite as high as it was last fall, and is not yet up into the trees.  I took a couple of shots with my big camera.  By the time I got as far as Preacher's Point the clouds had rolled in and the sun was gone.  It started to rain off and on as I slowly made my way back home to the cottage.  It was a nice afternoon and it might be the last of some good weather for the next little while.  I have a feeling I may wake up to the white stuff by morning.

Prince of Wales

Margarit and I really enjoyed our stay at the historic Prince of Wales Hotel.  The place just has such character.  The huge timber framed building just has such an ambiance, and there is an aroma that speaks of the decades that have passed.  The huge timbers that it was framed with a very impressive.

The staff were extremely friendly and helpful.  The old elevator is apparently among the oldest in Canada.  It has to be operated by one of the bellhops, and you have to buzz one of them whenever you need to use it.  Four buzzes lets them know that you want to come down from the fourth floor, for example.  We stayed on the fifth floor, though the elevator only goes to the fourth.  So we had to take a flight of stairs to get up to our level.  

I don't believe that the hotel has central heat.  I didn't notice anything down in the lounge area on the main floor, and the windows were all just single glazed.  Lots of people we sitting around with blankets and sweaters to keep warm.  There was a large radiant heater in the restaurant, but I didn't notice any elsewhere.  There was a small electric baseboard heater in our room.  The hotel closes for the season in mid October, as does most of the Waterton townsite, and they don't re-open until spring.

It was a wonderful experience and we would certainly like to return and experience it all again at some point in the future.

Monday in Waterton

It got very windy on the evening of Sunday September 27th.  Margarit and I enjoyed our Anniversary Dinner that evening in the Royal Stewart Dining Room.  I had a strip loin steak and Margarit had a trout dish.  That evening the wind really picked up and we were told it was gusting to 100km per hour.  Up in our room, the poor old building was showing its age, and the windows didn't fit that tight any more.  The wind blowing in off the lake was whistling in around the edges of the window.  In fact all night long we could feel the entire building swaying whenever there was a big gust.

In the morning we went down to the dining room for high tea.  They served each of us three different kinds of tea, as well as a selection of pastries, sandwiches and dessert.  We were absolutely stuffed by the time we were done.

After tea we wandered down into the townsite, hoping that we could keep out of the wind somewhat.  We explored the pond below the hotel, as well as the Salamander crossing on the highway.  After a brief stop at Cameron Falls we headed back up the Akamina Parkway.  It was a lot quieter now that it was Monday, and the weekend was behind us.  This area, in the narrow valley of Cameron Creek, was somewhat sheltered from the brisk wind that was howling all day.  We made the best of it, and enjoyed our afternoon.  Later in evening we headed into town and had the locally famous Fried Chicken at Zums restaurant.  We hung around the lounge in the hotel that evening and had a couple of drinks, and listened to a talk about the history of the park.

Red Rock Parkway

On Sunday afternoon, after our stop at Cameron Lake, Margarit and I backtracked to town, and then headed up the Red Rock Parkway.  This is also a dead end road that runs about the same distance as Akamina, roughly 15km, up to Red Rock Canyon.  It follows the Blakiston Creek Valley.

As we were driving we saw a couple of bears up on the open slopes.  They were digging... probably for ground squirrels, and preparing for their upcoming winter nap.  The park wardens were keeping an eye on things, and parking along the road to make sure that no one tried to venture up towards the bears.  We saw one big grizzly up on a slope above us, and for an hour or two he was just occupied digging, while we explored down below along the creek.

It was really busy up at Red Rock Canyon.  We felt like minorities as almost everyone that was up there was either wearing a turban, or sporting yellow skin.  It was too busy for our liking, so we headed back down the valley and made a couple of stops at quieter locations.

By late afternoon we made our way back to the hotel.  We had a dinner reservation at the Royal Stewart Dining Room that evening for our 25th Anniversary Dinner.

Cameron Lake

On Sunday afternoon we continued on up the Akamina Parkway, and eventually ended up at Cameron Lake.  It was moderately busy in the park, with a number of people around.  Waterton is a close day trip for people that live in the Fort McLeod and Lethbridge area and it seemed quite a few were just out for the day.

Cameron Lake is at the end of the road.  It is in the extreme southwestern corner of Alberta.  The peak at the end of the lake, with the dusting of snow, is actually down in Montana.  The ridge on the right side of this image is actually the continental divide, and it separates Alberta from British Columbia.

I took a shot here with my view camera, and then we made our way back towards the townsite.

  

Akamina Parkway

Sunday September 27th was the first full day that Margarit and I spent in Waterton.  We were staying in a room up on the fifth floor of the historic Prince of Wales Hotel.  The hotel will celebrate it's centennial in 2027.  Our room faced Upper Waterton Lake, the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies.  The far end of the lake is actually across the international border in Glacier National Park, Montana.

We had a leisurely breakfast in the Royal Stewart Dining Lounge, and then set out for a day of exploring.  We took Margarit's little Toyota Tacoma on this trip, because the price of diesel fuel is out of control, and it costs almost a dollar a liter more than gasoline right now.  My truck, even though it gets really good mileage, would have been a lot more expensive to travel with.

The day dawned partly sunny, without too much wind, so after breakfast we set out exploring.  We decided to take a drive up the Akamina Parkway.  This 15km road follows Cameron Creek, all the way from the Waterton townsite to Cameron Lake.  Along the way there are a bunch of trailheads, as well as the first oil well drilled in western Canada.

Lightning started a large forest fire in the park in 2017 and it burnt three quarters of the trees in the park in a single day.  The evidence of the fire is everywhere.  We spent the early afternoon exploring a number of the burnt areas and taking a bunch of photographs.