Sheep and Deer and Bears, Oh My!

*New critters seen on 2009 trip so far: beaver, groundhog, prairie dogs, big horn sheep, buffalo (bison), white tail deer, chipmunks, pronghorn, burros, pika, moose, Uinta ground squirrel, mountain goats, mule deer, fox, moose, black bears
*New birds seen on 2009 trip so far: wild turkeys, osprey, western meadowlark, mountain bluebird
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2009 trip so far: 15
*State Parks visited on 2009 trip so far: 2

Just about 20 miles north of St. Mary is the Canadian border, and there Montana’s Glacier National Park meets Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park (http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/Waterton/index_e.asp). Though one park basically flows into the other, there is a separate entrance fee, and we were not able to use our National Park pass. Even so we decided to take a day to visit (plus it gave us another Canadian province to add to our journey!) Though not as breathtaking as Glacier, it was still a beautiful drive.

We had read about an easy trail along the edge of Cameron Lake that was prime grizzly bear country, and it’s one of the critters Russ has really wanted to see on our trip. We’ve listened to all the safety talks and knew to talk or make noise of some kind while on trails so as not to startle a bear (you never want to surprise one!) The trail was 1.3 miles round trip and basically flat. On one side was Cameron Lake and on the other a very dense forest where just about anything could be hiding! Though the view of the mountains reflected in the lake was beautiful, and it was a nice walk, we didn’t see any grizzlies. In fact at the end of the trail was a sign warning not to go any further except at your own risk because you might run into a bear. Well, shoot, that’s why we had taken this trail! But we didn’t chance it and turned around. Guess we’ll have to see one another day.

However we did see plenty of other animals in this park and without walking anymore trails. Shortly before reaching the entrance to the park we had to stop in the middle of the road to allow a black bear and her cub to cross. But they didn’t just cross the road, they came back across, stopped in the middle (as you can see in the photo we think mama bear was giving a lesson on what a car was and how they could be dangerous), then crossed back to the other side, and stood on her hind legs! Fortunately there was no traffic behind us as this entire process took nearly 10 min., and I was standing on my seat, taking pictures out through the sunroof. A short distance later a deer was running down the middle of the road before finally crossing to the other side. And later in the day four big horn sheep were walking down the oncoming lane with three cars behind them! Again I stood on the seat to take some pictures, and as I did I noticed that the car directly behind them was a park ranger’s. Since traffic was now beginning to pile up, the ranger began sounding a horn to herd them off and they ran right past our car.

We drove through the small town of Waterton, which is located right in the park and home to the historic Prince of Wales Hotel, and saw a couple mule deer grazing in someone’s yard. We decided to head home and as we passed Lower Waterton Lake, we saw more mule deer in the water with some nearby picnickers trying to get photos so naturally we pulled over to take some photos, too. Russ suggested I go around through the bushes to try and get a better shot, and as I was walking I nearly walked right into two more that were lying in the grass! I slowly stepped back and took more pictures as those that had been in the water joined those in the bushes. If you look closely, you can still see that the velvet on the male’s antlers.

On the way back a fox crossed the road in front of us, and we saw quite a number of cows outside the fences on the roadsides. The cows were tagged and/or branded so we knew they belonged to someone, and we’ve wondered if this wandering is something specific to Indian tribes as we’ve seen it several times on the reservations. (This area is actually on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.)

Glacier NP has many entrances and one of them is called Many Glacier named after the historic Many Glacier Hotel that is located within the park. The hotel was built in the period between 1910 and 1915, and it has a Swiss chalet alpine theme because the area had been promoted as the “American Alps” when it was built. The hotel is charming but the views of the lake and mountains from the back deck are spectacular. We sat in a couple of the wooden deck chairs for about half an hour just enjoying the view and the solitude.

Not far down the road from St. Mary in the small town of Babb, MT, is a place called Two Sisters Café (http://www.twosistersofmontana.com/). One of the sisters had received her culinary education in New Orleans before relocating back to MT, and every year they advertise a Cajun Feast for the 4th of July. Having lived in Baton Rouge for awhile, we grew to love the food so looked forward to enjoying dinner there on the 4th. Known for its colorful, eclectic atmosphere and down home feel, the restaurant has been featured on the Food Network and in various publications. Their extensive regular menu was available, but we were there for the specials! Russ and I each started with a bowl of Kick Ass Gumbo followed by Jambalaya full of crawfish tails, shrimp, and andouille sausage served over Cajun rice accompanied by a fresh tomato and basil salad…mmm-mmm! We left full and happy!

If you’ve never been to this part of the country, it stays light very late during the summer. In fact you could still read a newspaper outside at 10pm! We stayed at the KOA in St. Mary and had finally fallen asleep about 10:30 the night of July 1 when we were awakened by a loud explosion. It was 11pm and looking out my side window, another big bang was followed by a big, beautiful burst in the sky. We figured we might as well get dressed and go outside to enjoy fireworks. I figured the campground was just extending the July 4th holiday but discovered the next day that they were celebrating Canada Day which is July 1. And because it stays light so late, fireworks don’t go off until 11pm.

There must be no ban on fireworks in MT or at least in the campground because beginning early in the evening on July 4 quite a number of campers were setting off fireworks, firecrackers, and sparklers. Around 10pm we turned on the outside TV showing the DC fireworks, started a fire in our firepit, and got the tripod ready to attempt some photos of the campground’s fireworks. This photo of me was taken at 10:15PM and you can see how light it was (I’m sure the full moon helped but still…). In the past I’ve had trouble getting good shots of fireworks but am rather proud of this one. Every so often you get lucky.

We left July 6 and spent the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Bozeman, MT. We wanted to stock up on supplies for the next couple weeks because we would be in areas without nearby groceries or Wal-Marts. Supplies in St. Mary had been very limited, and we checked out the price of a gallon of milk at the St. Mary KOA and it was $6.25! Our next destination is Yellowstone where we hope to see even more wildlife. Oh, yeah, and that big geyser, too.