Alberta, Canada - May, 2004 (Re-run)

 After crossing into Canada, our first stop was Waterton Lakes National park, founded in 1895 and sister to Glacier National Park.  In fact, some parts of Glacier are most readily accessible by entering through Waterton.  The two parks are jointly designated an International Peace Park.  One interesting thing about Waterton is that the park actually includes a charming town that occupies a peninsula that juts into Upper Waterton Lake.  The town has a summer population of 105 residents, but only about 30 stay through the winter.  Homes are mostly log cabins that are so appropriate for the location.

Entering the park, one is greeted by the iconic view of the Prince of Wales Hotel, built on a bluff overlooking Upper Waterton Lake.  The hotel was completed in 1927 in hopes the Prince would stay there during his visit to Canada that year.  However, the Prince chose to stay at his own ranch nearby in Alberta.

Like Glacier, Waterton Lakes contains numerous mountains, rivers, waterfalls and lakes, not to mention a similar variety of wildlife.  Cameron Falls is located tight in town.

 

 

Cameron Lake in May still had lots of snow and ice, so was not the playground it is in summer.

Although we saw no bears or moose on this visit, there were lots of deer, and my first ptarmigan sighting.  Along the highway, there were several beaver ponds, but all the furry rodents must have been inside their lodges waiting to come out at night.

Having never been to Edmonton, a stop there was a definite requirement.  As the capital of Alberta, a tour of the Parliament Building was of great interest to me.

 

For many people, the Edmonton Mall might be of greater interest.  At the time, it was said to be the largest in the world.  I've read that Minnesota's Mall of America has since expanded to reclaim that title.  Whatever, this mall was truly huge and had some impressive features, such as its own beach, a   hockey rink and a Chinatown.  I'm not sure how long it might take to see the entire mall, but I certainly didn't do that.