Waterton Lakes National Park of Canada

Our next stop of the morning was about 2 ½ hours to the south of Calgary, only a few miles from the United States Montana border, Waterton Lakes National Park (Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park). The first thing that catches your eye after you soak in the majesty of Upper Waterton Lake is an old historic brown and beige building called The Prince of Wales Lodge. It is a wooden structure that sits proudly up on a rocky ledge overlooking the lakes and at first glance reminds you of a large Swiss chalet. When you enter this grand old building, you know that you are not in a Swiss chalet; you are in a remnant of the grand old hotels of Canada that were influenced by ever present British heritage. Once you walk into the lobby, your eyes are instantly drawn to the plate glass windows on the lake side of the building. It isn’t until later that you notice the three leveled wrought iron chandelier that hangs over a majority of the lobby. The view from the lobby makes you wonder why you are so blessed to be able to view one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I won’t even try to describe the beauty of the lake. The pictures will have to speak for themselves even though I will tell you that due to the clouds and the limits of our little point and shoot camera you can’t even begin to capture the true beauty of the lake.

Outside the lodge you are immediately taken back by the 50 plus mile per hour winds. The air blowing off of the lake was amazingly cold which is easy to understand when you see the mountains on the far side of the lake with the snow still on the higher peaks. Add the winds to the cool temperature and if you are like I am, you are almost immediately ready to retreat back to the shelter of the Prince of Wales Lodge lobby where by the way, they offer coffee, tea, and even high tea at the appropriate hour. If you are like Peter with some of the salty North Sea in your veins, you embrace that feeling.