Gail South

Then we took a short hike and saw a mama moose having dinner.

Continued on to Waterton Park town, where a Rocky Mountain Bighorn ewe ran in front of the camper.

The 10 mile drive to Red Rock Canyon abounds with views of hanging valleys, alpine meadows, and jagged mountain peaks. Arriving at the Canyon, we noticed the striking colors of the bedrock layers. The layers of red and green colored minerals offer a brilliant contrast to each other and the lush surroundings. The Red Rock Parkway in the Blakiston Valley is the drive which best represents Waterton Lakes National Parks' main theme, "where the mountains meet the prairie". The Blakiston Valley is rich with both history and in archeological sites. Thomas Blakiston of the Palliser Expedition entered the prairie from the west through the South Kootenay Pass. The pass was important to the Kootenai Indians who traversed the mountains to hunt bison on the east slopes. Evidence of bison hunts and travel along this route date to more than 10,000 years ago. We took Abner on a short trail around Red Rock Canyon. The stream has cut through layers of sediment typical of Waterton-Glacier, including red and green argillite. Ripple Marks, mud cracks and fossil, blue green algae (stromatolites) are visible along the path.

Thursday, September 18—St. Mary to Banff—269 miles, but it took a long time. The skies were gray. I thought it was cloudy, but it seems it is the result of the fires in California. Hours and hours of wheat fields, stretching to infinity. Nothing at all till Calgary—a truly amazing place. I will Google it when we get wifi, but it is a hive of construction, new houses and complexes everywhere. Sort of like Oz, emerging out of a flat plain. We stopped for groceries and got lost for almost an hour. After we got onto CA1 the ride got more and more beautiful as we approached the Canadian Rockies. Saw a lot of Red-tailed hawks looking for mice, voles, chipmunks, etc.

Along the road, we saw a Rocky Mountain Gray Jay. The birds have mostly gone south. Stopped at the grocery store/gas station (gas $4.18/gallon; loaf of bread $4.99) and home.

​Wednesday, September 17—48 degrees—it will eventually get to 80—bright and sunny. The Red Bus picked us up for our seven-hour Going-to-the-Sun road trip. Each summer, a fleet of red “jammers”—busses from the 1930’s—weaves through the parks. Drivers began jamming gears on the coaches in 1936, but today they even have power windows. Gail got the shotgun seat, and Jerry brought up the rear.

Then onto the Akimina Highway

Arrived at the Banff NP Trailer Court about 4:30—covering 270 miles. The site is very nice. Jerry saw an elk when he took Abner out.

This was one of the most spectacular, awe-inspiring roads I have ever been on. I can’t say more than the photos above. And, as the guide kept repeating, it was all built by hand.
After we returned to the campgound about 4, we decided to drive the Many Glacier Road to look for wildlife. We were lucky. First (and then again last), we saw a grizzly.

A short time later, we saw a mama black bear with two cubs.