At the Waterton National Park's visitor centre, we were told that two of the most scenic drives are along the Akamina and Red Rock Parkways. The Akamina Parkway begins at Waterton Townsite and runs 10 miles along Cameron Valley with views into Cameron Creek. The parkway ends at Cameron Lake, which had a snowy mountain in the background. It was beginning to rain and very windy so we didn't stay long. Red Rock Parkway is 9 miles long and runs along the prairie. The park's highest peak, Mt. Blakiston (9580 ft.) is seen here. We also saw many samples of red rocks but were disappointed not to see any wildlife, which is said to be common in this part of the park. A new exhibit has been built in the marina and it is here that you will find the World Heritage Site plaque. It's in a hidden corner and the exhibit, which I found odd, but I was happy to locate it anyway. The Prince of Wales Hotel is worth a visit. It is a grand chalet-type establishment with a beautiful view of Upper Waterton Lake and snow-capped mountains. It was on the premises of the hotel that we spotted our first mule deer.

We camped at Glacier National Park (in Montana) for two nights and absolutely fell in love with the place! The Going to the Sun Road is worth the drive, although we could only drive up to Logan Pass, due to a rock slide the had taken place the day before. If you are up for a challenge, hike along the Hidden Lake trail (pictured above), which is 1.5 km each way. It is challenging because you are not only hiking on snow almost all of the way, but you are also on the side of a mountain. I was proud of myself for having completed the trail without injuring myself. I think hiking boots are a must for this, but my husband managed to do the hike in his sneakers without feeling any kind of discomfort. In the parking lot of the Logan Pass Visitor Centre we saw our first bighorn sheep, 5 of them. Lots of people had their cameras to take pictures of the sheep. Some of them were too close, I thought, but no one was harmed. During our stay in the park, we also saw moose, mountain goats, a beaver, and coyotes. Another hike we enjoyed was to Redrock Falls, which was much easier than Hidden Lake. This is the place where we saw a mother moose and her two calves. I started to panic about coming face to face with a bear but it didn't happen!

I can recommend both of the campsites where we stayed, Rising Sun and Many Glacier. When you wake up in the morning and get out of your tent, the mountains greet you and it is an indescribable feeling. One place to eat that I highly recommend is the Park Cafe in St. Mary, which had excellent choices of salads and buffalo burgers and is famous for its homemade pies. If you leave Glacier to return to Waterton, stop in Babb, Montana at The Babb Press for a meal. We enjoyed their "presses" (toasted hot sandwiches) and their vegetable soup.