I mentioned in an earlier post that we picked up a hire car. What I really meant was the big arsed pick-up truck above. Apparently there had been a serious hail storm some months previous that had all the cars in Calgary booked out. We had a choice between the dodge Ram & the Dodge Ram. It was in fact a pretty good rig & they didn't charge us any extra. It wasn't too hard of fuel considering the size of the thing.
About 100kms south of Downtown Calgary along hwy 22 is Longview. It's a hub for farming & some of the oil wells in the area. Just south of Longview there's a strange phenomenon (above). For a couple of kilometres there are hats nailed to fence posts. We worked out that there are over 1000 hats!
We arrived in Waterton early afternoon & didn't have any luck checking in so we grabbed some lunch & set off on a short hike to Crandell Lake. We took the longer of the two trails from the Red Rock Canyon road. It was longer, but only 2 kms each way along a easy but somewhat nerve racking trail. The nerve racking bit comes from the fields of berries (above) either side of the trail. We were on high alert for both types of bears, but fortunately saw neither. 
When we reached Crandell Lake (above & below) we were nearly blown back into the bush! The lake is exposed to the prevailing winds which are harsh in that corner of Alberta. The trees in the photo above are hammered by the wind so much that they grow on an angle.
It's not the most picturesque lake in the area, but we had to go & see it for ourselves.
We headed back to the hotel & were able to check in. We offloaded our gear & got straight back in the car to go out & find some animals. We tried the Akamina Parkway first without success. Cameron Lake sits at the end of the road (more on that later). We parked up in the car park & took the short walk to Akamina Lake (below). There was some hope that we would spy a moose in the marsh at the edge of the lake. Again, no luck.
Back at the car park there were a few birds including a very camera shy Steller's Jay & a Grey Jay (below).
Plan B. Red Rock Parkway (the other main road in the park). It's been a happy hunting ground on previous visits, but not on this occasion.
We didn't see any bears, but the cloud formations to the east caught my attention (above). The cool winds rush across the mountains & meet the warm air of the prairies causing what the locals call the Chinook. It creates the cloud formations & in the colder months actually warms the air giving the residents some welcome respite from the bitter winter temperatures. 
Near the start of the Red Rock Parkway is a small marshy area that has a resident family of reclusive beavers. We didn't see them but their lodge was unmistakable (above).
The last throw of the dice was the grassy meadow opposite the golf course. Late in September the rut is in full swing & every night the elk emerge out of the forest & gather in harems. The bulls make a horrible noise that is known as bugling & strut around trying to increase their harems. 
It was getting pretty dark by the time we left the elk but there was time for one last photo of the Middle & Upper Waterton Lakes with the sun disappearing over the horizon.
It was getting pretty dark by the time we left the elk but there was time for one last photo of the Middle & Upper Waterton Lakes with the sun disappearing over the horizon.
