Oh Canada! | East Texas Based Travel Photography

Oh Canada!

Let’s start with your border crossing guard at the Port of Chief Mountain, Montana/Alberta. I know he’s not a Mountie (aka the RCMP officers), but can you ship him to my house? I know he bluntly corrected my pronunciation of a certain city I’m sure nearly every American butchers, but his looks more than made up for the brief lapse in tone. (plus, the Mounties I did encounter were either married, taken, or old.)

Then there is the place called Waterton Lakes National Park. Stunning, absolutely stunning. There’s a reason why Waterton-Glacier is called the “Crown of the Continent” — this park is truly a crown jewel. The small portion I saw left me with my jaw hanging, literally. Then there is the Prince of Wales Hotel. Named for the Prince of Wales, which has never visited (at least prior to Prince Charles, not certain about him). From the details in the architecture to the waiters and waitresses wearing kilts, it felt like I was in the British Isles, if only for a few minutes. I could go on, but I’ll let the images do the talking …

First … just after we left the extremely good looking Canadian border agent … not a “Welcome to Canada” sign, just informing us we were still in the national park — the Canadian portion, that is.

Several yards up the road … nope, still not a “Welcome to Canada” sign, just a “Welcome to Alberta” sign … come on folks, is it too much to ask for a “Welcome to Canada” sign at Chief Mountain, eh?

Zooming on ahead, one more sign … about ice block depression. Bet you didn’t know ice blocks suffer from depression …

On one of the Waterton Lakes — see the kayaker? (is that a word?)

And there … in the distance atop the hillside … its the Prince of Wales Hotel!

… closer …

… and from behind …

… turn around from the point where that image was captured and you’ll see this …

… as well as this …

Now let’s pop back around front to go inside … first, note the ornate entrance:

… now the interior …

Sadly, our visit to the lodge and the park was way too short. After consulting with Domo, our tour guide/bouncer/mascot, we concurred that the Prince of Wales Hotel narrowly took the crown (excuse the play on words) in our unofficial Glacier/Waterton National Park Lodges contest, with the Many Glacier Hotel coming in a very close second. Domo also insisted on being photographed before we headed off … next time he gets his own camera to take self portraits!

Next up, a few more images from the Waterton area, then on the road in Alberta en-route to Medicine Hat …