It was another sunny day as we headed back towards Sparwood and highway 3...but there were some high clouds forming. Once we hit highway 3, we turned left and continued east. Our original plan had been to just travel to Crowsnest Pass and explore that area. There is some great ATV’ing in that area and we were going to contact the local Club to see if we could hook up with them on a ride. But as they often do, our plans changed and we decided to take a break from ATV’ing and carry on to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta...it was our final eastern destination this summer. We had had a great week of quad riding in Elkford so thought we would hit the Crowsnest Pass on our way back after a visit to Waterton.
Our ETA was 12:07...so a two hour drive wasn’t bad (although longer than most of our travel days during the past couple of months!). It was a beautiful drive...we were both surprised at how the countryside changed as we drove into Alberta...it opened up into rolling hills...and so much sky!
Here are some pictures taken along the way....
At the park entrance we managed to find our National Park Pass that we had purchased last summer...it was good for a year and didn’t expire until the end of August...perfect! The town site is 8 kms into the park...we were keeping our fingers crossed that we would be able to get a site in the town site Campground but we were not to be so fortunate. It is the largest campground in the Park and has full hook-ups...something we haven’t had much of this summer. They were completely booked for the weekend but gave us a couple of options for campgrounds that were just outside of the Park. We ended up making reservations to return here Sunday for 5 nights and now we just had to find somewhere for 3 nights. The first place we called said they didn’t have spots large enough for us...so the other option was Crooked Creek Campground (which is run by the Waterton Heritage Society) but there was just a recording saying to leave a number for a call-back. After trying numerous times, we decided to just start driving that way.
Crooked Creek Campground is 5.5 kms further along the highway from the Park entrance. When we arrived, there was no one in the office but there was a sign saying they would be back at 1:30...hmmm...in 5 minutes...that’s not too bad. But we waited and waited...the husband and wife couple that run the campground finally pulled up in their truck around 2:15....just as I was on the phone to another campground that was about a half-hour away. I guess they had been delayed at medical appointments.
We were given site #45, a large pull-through site with power and water...no sewer, but that’s okay...we are only here for 3 nights...and the cost is just $25/night...reasonable. Once we got levelled, unhitched and the sliders out, the first thing I did was give the inside a much needed vacuuming since we had shore-power.
We have a beautiful view of the Rocky mountains, good cell service, good Internet with the Rogers Stick and had no problems getting a satellite signal...so all is good. Now I’m going to be busy getting caught up on our travel blog!We ended up having an early dinner...with nothing but a granola bar since breakfast this morning, we were pretty hungry. I had neglected to make sandwiches to take with us on the drive and it probably wouldn’t really have been an issue had we not had so much trouble finding a campsite.
We spent a relaxing evening watching TV. My brother, Dennis called and it was great getting caught up with him and Suzanne. They just traded their 5th wheel and truck in for a big 38’ Class A Motorhome...how exciting! We are looking forward to connecting with them down south this winter.
You have a nice blog. Very informative. My husband and I were in Pincher Creek this summer and have an almost identical picture to your windmills. The sights were awesome. We visited Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump and took the Pincher Creek route via Cowboy Trail back to Calgary. Wanted to go to Waterton but it was all clouded over and we were on a day trip. I don't have a blog but have been enjoying the RV group for a year now hoping someday we will be RV'rs.
ReplyDeleteBev in Halifax NS