What a wonderful world

I just came back from 6 days out in the wild by myself. I left with a rough idea of where I was going but other than 1 reservation in a campsite - the rest was all undetermined.

I headed into Waterton National Park for an hour or so before sunset, hoping to catch some wildlife and maybe colourful skies. First stop as always was in the Bison Paddock. I knew there had been a couple of new babies born this year but when I was there in May after the Lightchasers Conference, the gates were still locked.

Even though they were still a fair distance away, the bison were visible and the young ones were active and moving around. The “teenagers” were butting heads and sparring, trying to find their position in the herd and were entertaining to watch as they chased each other around.

Bison Paddock

After I left the Bison Paddock, I headed up Red Rock Canyon for a drive in the setting sun. It’s one of those places you’re almost guaranteed to see a bear in the park. I drove slowly almost to the end of the road without spotting any wildlife and turned to head back down. I did see a bear but it was face down eating berries so I just left it be. I pulled into the little swamp near the road and got out to catch the last bit of the setting sun. The sky was reflecting nicely into the little pool of open water.

Waterton Sunset

With sunset over, I headed south to try and stay at the Belly River Campground. During the drive down, I saw 2 more bears along the road. When I got to the campground, I drove through slowly twice and was about to give up finding a spot. However, 2 girls in a tent were leaving as a bear had been in their site. As I was staying in my vehicle, I was ok with that. I backed in and settled down for the evening.

I woke up the next morning to sunlight filling my vehicle (so much for getting up early lol) dug out my little camp stove and made some coffee. While waiting for it to perk, I saw so many birds around me. A Cedar Waxwing landed on a tree briefly and, I finally saw a Warbling Vireo after listening to them for 2 years and never spotting them! The highlight of my morning though was watching a chipmunk climb to the top of a Saskatoon Berry tree and perch there eating berries.

Cheeky Chipmunk

After packing up, I headed south into Montana and ended my day in another campground at the top of a hill just outside Glacier National Park.

Johnson’s of St. Mary hit all the check marks! After a delicious meal in their on-site historical cafe, I wandered the trails full of wildflowers and lay in my bed watching hummingbirds visit the fireweed before falling asleep to the sound of the wind blowing through the aspen forest.

Evening Fireweed

It was a magical ending to a couple of amazing days with more to come.