2023 CDT - Day 40 - On the Road Together

St. Mary's, MT up into Waterton NP, Alberta, and across southern BC.

Waterton NP, Canada.

This morning we were excited to be heading homeward. The KOA was still sleeping and while I finished hooking the T@B up and took it over to dump, Peggy took Beau for a pre-road potty walk. We had filled the truck with fuel the night before and now had our coffees to go and headed north. We reached the small border crossing at Chief Mountain where I picked up Runningbird a couple days before and now stood at the Canadian border waiting to be waved up to the gate. A pretty big border guard (didn't look like he was one to be messed with) and perhaps a young woman trainee, both with their bullet proof vests and gear, passed out of the office, into the kiosk, and waved us forward. They waved us forward and we pulled up to their window with the trailer quietly following. He asked with a stern face and serious voice for our passports and then asked: "any firearms?" "No sir." "Any alcohol?" "No sir." "Any cannibas or cannibas related products?" "No sir. But I do have the vaccination and registration paperwork for our dog!" "No, I don't need that." He handed us our passports back and said, "please roll down your back windows." Ah, I forgot, the back windows were tinted, probably looking for illegal immigrants. I rolled down the back windows and watched his face for from stern and tough to bright with a big smile and then a look at his partner. I swung my head around to look in the back seat to see what he had discovered that brought such a change about. There sat Beau stretched out on the back seat with his very best cute puppy look. I busted up a smile as he commented on what a totally cute pup. The border guard wished us a good visit and waved us on. Thus started our short visit into Canada.

Prince of Wales Inn and Bighorn sheep, Waterton NP, Alberta.

The mountains were spectacular and we soon took the cutoff into Waterton NP. It was a lovely community nestled into a valley surrounded by high peaks. We stopped at a coffee house for a resupply and admired the architecture of the buildings and numerous well-kept homes and inns. There was dock on the lake with a long line of people ready to board a small tour boat. The town was very clean and there were huge beautiful and fragrant hanging baskets and pots of flowers. On a hill overlooking the lake was the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel. There were a number of other remarkable inns and lodges with names like The Aspen Village Inn, the Bayshore Inn Resort & Spa, Waterton Lakes Lodge Resort, and the Kilmorey Lodge. The area had a series of paved bike paths, boat and kayak rental areas, and nicely decorated shops. Definately an upscale resort destination. As we were driving out of town there were a couple of bighorn sheep standing near the stop sign eating grass.

We drove back out on the Waterton highway and headed north on the Alberta Highway 6 and then onto the Crowsnest Highway 3 heading west in the direction of Vancouver, BC. It was a long drive through beautiful farmland and mountains, through towns with names like Fernie, Cranbrook, and Castlegar. Our destination and next port of call would be the tiny town of Greenwood in south central BC. The population in 2016 was 665 and they had a "micro-bakery". When Peggy was 2 or 3 years old she lived here for a while with her family and it seemed like a nice place to visit. She had called on the way and reserved us a spot at the Greenwood City Park. We had dinner at the picnic table at our site in the park and then went for a walk about the town, which didn't take long. We found the small Anglican Church where her family had attended services in the late 1950s. It was built in 1901 and was now badly in need of some attention or renovation. When we were walking about the overgrown yard we heard to calling of "hello, hello". We didn't see anyone but then a woman came out from behind some of the overgrown bushes of the garden. It was the current vicar who had told us she had just buried her last two parishioners. Sadly there would probably be no renovation except maybe for historical purposes, but I doubt it. Peggy visited with the pastor for a bit and then called her mom on the cell and the pastor spoke with her about the church and the town for a bit. We walked on a bit to explore the two or three blocks of the town and found the micro-bakery and coffee shop which was actually pretty cool. It was a cute little area with highway 3 running through the middle of it.

After the long drive the two of us were pretty tired and headed to sleep early. During the night we could hear the occasional truck slowing to drive through the small town and on towards Osoyoos, or Oliver, or on to Vancouver.