13 June – Waterton to Canmore

On the way out of Waterton we stopped at the Waterton Lodge to use their WiFi to wish James a very happy birthday (as it’s the 14^th in Australia). We had to buy some coffee and bacon and eggs so we could get the password. Canadian money is cool. The $2 coin is gold in the middle and silver on the outside ring.

We headed off out of the Waterton Park and on the road to Banff. The drive took us through cattle country, very green rolling pastures. As we started to head through the foothills of the Rockies, there were wind turbines on the ridges. Only about half were turning, which was interesting – they obviously have more than enough generation. The cattle farming turned to ploughed fields, sown with alfalfa and wheat. The farmyards were very neat and tidy, with all the outbuildings painted red and white. It was like a toy farm set.

We passed over Crow’s Nest Pass and through the township. They have had 3 major disasters, two mine explosions and a massive rockslide that buried about 100 people under 30 meters of boulders. The mountain top is still unstable and has monitors on it, looking for signs it might be about to happen again. The road cuts through the rockslide, a huge scree of massive boulders.

The mountains above us were very snowy, and the rain came and went all day. We passed through the town of Sparwood, and saw a coal train being unloaded by excavator onto trucks. The town boasted “the World’s Largest Truck” – a mining truck, but we figure that it was the American thing of “the world” being just America. As in “World Series Baseball”. They don’t invite any other countries to participate.

We turned off to the entry to Kootenay National Park, the road to Banff. The entry was through a narrow canyon with high walls. It was a bit of a squeeze!

We then renamed our trip Ros and Steve’s Awesome Animal Safari. Within 10 minutes we saw a black bear eating on the side of the road! Stop. Photos. Videos. Awww. 

Not five minutes later we saw another one! Stop. Photos. Videos. Awww.

Then another one! Stop. Photos. Videos. Awww. 

Then 2 coyotes. Then 2 eagles feeding from a carcass on the side of the road. They flew to a tree nearby when we stopped, but still got some good pics. 

Then 3 deer. Stop. Photos. Awww. 

Then a bit further on a mamma bear with her two baby cubs. One brown, one black. Right on the roadside! When we stopped, they were no more than 5 feet away. Photos. Videos. Awww. We sat and watched for a bit. The babies were playing around, turning over rocks with their paws to look for insects while mum munched dandelions. Just adorable! Steve was thinking about getting out for a photo that showed how close they were to the RV, but we remembered that mamma bears are VERY protective.

We were so excited about all the wildlife that we forgot about the fab scenery. Finally turned onto the Canadian no 1 highway. We bypassed Banff in favour of Canmore, as we needed an RV park with a laundry. Parked up, dinner, laundry, some RV repairs and blogging. Sadly, although we have email, no internet, so no blog posting tonight again! Now enjoying some Prince of Wales tea. We got 2 packs of tea bags from the PoW as part of the high tea.