Day #12 St. Mary, Glacier National Park to Waterton, Canada

We had breakfast at the Park Cafe close by the St. Mary Lodge and Resort and were on the road again by 9:15. Service at the cafe was very slow.

Great Grandma had bought KC a stuffed bear in Yellowstone and she grew very attached to it, hugging it while napping in her car seat.

There were quite a number of people who were surprised to see four generations traveling together and commented on the pleasure of seeing it.

At last! We were in Canada!

And so were the bears!

What a surprise! In all the years where we've been warned about bears, this was the first time we'd actually seen them in the wild.


This mama black (looked brown to me) bear with three of her cubs went right by our car on Akamina Parkway. Tiffany quickly rolled up our windows... just in case, especially with KC wanting to stick her head out for an even closer view.

We thought there were only two cubs until we saw the third slow poke come moseying out of the woods.

Surprisingly, we saw bears two more times while in Canada. I guess the bears like Canadians just like we do.


Lake Cameron was covered with ice and snow. You wouldn't think KC was from Chicago. She had such fun stomping on snow and rolling snowballs.


And yes, we took a million photos here. I'll spare you and post just these few.


A Canadian visitor (I just love LOVE the Canadian accent) said this bird was a Camp Robber or a Whiskey Jack. When I checked my Pocket Guide, it's listed as a Gray Jay.

When I think about it, it must be funny to listen to our group. We had a Midwestern accent, a baby accent, a Japanese accent and a Hawaii accent... well sort of. Local people say Art and I haven't quite perfected the Island speech yet.

We stopped along this roadside to look at all the gorgeous wildflowers. I don't have enough adjectives to describe the beauty of the day.

I wish I knew the name of this flower.


This is a Larkspur.

Lungwort is rather a funny name for this shy flower.

Red Rock Canyon was also full of different wildflowers.


We stayed at the Bear Mountain Motel and were surprised to be charged less than we thought we were going to have to pay. We are quite aware that the Canadian dollar is doing better than ours right now.


Despite the little chill, nobody passed up the chance of having ice cream.


We took a walk around town and managed to find a park where KC had a fabulous time.


Dinner was at Zums right in Waterton. Tif drove her grandmother, grandaunt and me back to the motel while Art walked back with KC.

When we were all settled for the night, KC asked, "Can I have a foot massage, Grandma?"

She remembered my giving her foot massages when they were in Hawaii last December.

Our trip was coming to a close and I really didn't want it to end.

We had only one day left to be together.