Waterton International Peace Park: A Quick Jaunt into Canada before Heading Home

Waterton Lakes National Park

Today's adventure involved crossing the Canadian border into the adjoining Waterton Lakes National Park, which together with Glacier NP forms the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. We woke up early to start our drive through the customs checkpoint since we planned on catching an early boat tour.

Glacier National Park: Amazing Views in Many Glacier

Many Glacier

With the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail behind us, we navigated our way past the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and continued along route 3 to Many Glacier Hotel.  We got a tip from a ranger to catch a small nature trail near the Grinnell Glacier trailhead.  This trail hugged Swiftcurrent Lake and provided our first views of this historic hotel that we would be calling home for the next two nights.  

Spurred on by the hopes of Huckleberry Ice Cream, we pushed through the final half mile and arrived sweaty and smelly into the Swiss Chalet themed lobby.

Glacier National Park: Away from it All at Granite Park Chalet

Our day began like most others with an early departure since we planned to drive along Going-to-the-Sun road in the early morning light. Our goal was to arrive at Many Glacier Hotel where we would be staying in two nights. Tonight, we were staying at the Granite Park Chalet, which is accessible only by hiking. So, we needed to leave our car at Many Glacier, take the hiker's shuttle to the St. Mary Visitor Center, transfer to a bus, ride the bus to Logan's Pass, switch to the west side bus which would take us to the Loop trailhead.

With so few people on the road, we had ample opportunity to safely pull over and enjoy the early morning sunrise along Going-to-the-Sun road. Well, Nate enjoyed the morning light, while Ashley dozed in the passenger seat.

Glacier National Park: Going to the Sun

Although we had scraped ice off our windshield just a few days ago, a heatwave suddenly swept through the region and we found ourselves driving through Montana with temperatures in the 90s. Ashley recalled the hotels in Glacier National Park proudly advertising the lack of air conditioning because you "won't need it." They jinxed us!  Even when we checked into Lake McDonald Lodge after dark, the receptionist remarked "but you're from Florida" when we mentioned the unexpectedly warm temperatures. That doesn't mean we're used to sleeping in it. However, she did kindly remind us that a complimentary electric fan was in our room. 

Despite the slightly uncomfortable sleeping conditions, we were extremely excited to explore this Crown of the Continent on Going-to-the-Sun Road tomorrow morning. 

Yellowstone: The American Safari Experience

Having enjoyed several days focused primarily on geothermal features, it was time to change our home location to Roosevelt Lodge near Lamar Valley.  But we had a full day planned of wildlife watching and hiking before we would enjoy a Cowboy Cookout near our cabin.

We were out of our room by dawn in order to get to Hayden Valley for one more opportunity for animal spotting.  It was another chilly morning with the popular location (1.5 miles north of Trout Creek) already full of spotting scopes and binoculars when we arrived.  Only a few minutes passed before someone spotted a wolf coming out of the tree line in the distance.  Over a mile away, we strained our eyes through our binoculars and cameras trying to catch a glimpse of the wolf (click the picture to enlarge and look for the small dark spot on right half staring at the bison on the left half...just trust us, it's a wolf).

Typically one or two of the individuals with scopes at this location are volunteers who track the pack, documenting when they are spotted, how many were out, and if they are known to have made a kill.  They were friendly and willing to share information as well as occasional peeks through the scope.  It was amazing how powerful their scopes were, getting close enough to see the wolves wagging their tails, digging, and just having fun playing amongst themselves.  We would definitely consider renting or buying a scope for future trips and would recommend the same to others who are interested in observing animals in the valley.  

There was growing excitement when several other members of this pack also came out from the shadows.  At one point, there were six adults (or juveniles) pacing, playing, and laying near the tree line.  Unfortunately for us, we never saw the pups, though we heard they had been seen for a short period of time.  Reaching the limit of our camera and lens zoom capabilities, we were able to catch a few of the larger wolves (above and to the left of the buffalo below).  After playing for nearly an hour the wolves disappeared back into the trees.