Waterton Wildflower Rally

Did you ever wonder about signing up for a Rally half-way across the continent where you don't know anyone? We wondered and then signed up. Here's a day-by-day write-up of the experience.

Planning our first big western trip, we ran across a post on the RV Lifestyle (formerly Roadtreking) Facebook group about a Wildflower Festival get-together in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. We signed up for notifications and made reservations in January directly with the Townsite Campground in the park. Throughout the winter and spring, Rhonda, Daniel, Lynn and Sandy, the volunteer organizers, posted helpful information about things to do in the area.

Waterton Lakes National Park from the shoreline at Townsite Campground

6/13/2019

Fast forward six months and 5,635 road miles:  we are at the campground for our first full day! Still acclimating to the higher latitude sunrise, we were up at 5:30 to witness nice color on the western mountains. Took the 1000 cruise on the motor vessel “International" which we detailed in yesterday's post.

At noon we disembarked and headed to the community center to sign-up for wildflower festival events. Most had already sold out, but Beth got the last slot in a horseback wildflower outing for Sunday. If you plan to come, don't wait until arriving to reserve your slot for tours and events.

Here's a look at the campground where everyone parks surrounded by mountains and dandelions. After a fun morning, and figuring out the wildflower events, we relaxed before making dinner. A wild thunderstorm lit up the skies and churned up the lake as we ate.

By 8:00 the rain had stopped and it was finally time to meet our group. With strong winds, the get-together was moved indoors to campground shelter number three where we enjoyed introductions and snacks. Eleven vans were in attendance, ten of which were Roadtreks. It quickly became apparent that all of us shared a love of exploring. Several enclosed shelters with wood stoves are scattered around the campground. "Shack 3" became the place where we would begin and end each day.

6/14/2019

We walked to Cameron Falls and snapped some wildflower pics on the way back. Met the group at 9:00 for coffee. Talked to a  couple with a 2000 Excel and they joined in so now we aren’t the only Pleasure-Way.

We walked back to Cameron Falls with the group at 1100 to find that the lighting was better. We did a group photo, then I fooled around with slow shutter speeds to try and blur the falling water. The summer sun was just too bright to allow the desired effect.

Ate lunch at the Community Center where native Americans were cooking fry bread (yum) tacos and Soup with honey and huckleberries.  A craft fair was in the same community room with only a few, but high quality, vendors. A camera shop from Calgary was selling macro lenses. They are going to bring a Neutral Density filter tomorrow so I can use slower shutter speeds for waterfall blur. Folding reflectors for helping illuminate small wildflowers appeared to be big sellers.

Beth made BBQ soy curls for tomorrow’s pot luck. We hope they will absorb more flavor sitting overnight. I edited out some of the photo library, then imported some local wildlife photos from that afternoon like this one.

6/15/2019

One of the few scheduled events was a cooking demonstration by Mary Jane Curry. She is the author of Small Kitchen, Big Flavors, with recipes designed around the small kitchens available in camper vans. Mary Jane prepared a couple of dishes and gave us helpful hints for food prep in small spaces. I didn't get any good photos, but did capture one of a young buck visiting their campsite while they were away doing the cooking workshop.

Walked into town for ND Filter, and a reflector. Here's the result of the lower shutter speed allowed by the neutral density filter.

That evening we gathered for a Pot Luck dinner. All the food was delicious. A favorite was this salad with Asian white, not yellow, noodles. Saskatoon Berry (Service Berry) pie was a new flavor for us. It's a local treat and we could easily get addicted!

Still full from the pot luck, we walked into town to the Thirsty Bear where a poster had advertised folk music. It was more like honky-tonk, so we only stayed for one round of craft beer and dessert donuts.  Mark and Carol had also wandered down to the Bear, and we enjoyed conversing with them on the way back to the campsite. They had been to Newfoundland, a place we're thinking about going, and they recommended planning for 12 days including two nights with cabins and showers on the ferry. Information like that is one of the many perks of attending a rally.

Wandering back to the campsite we relaxed in a set of traditional Canadian National Park red chairs. Peaceful and much more quiet than the bar, there was still plenty of daylight at 9:30 PM.

6/16/2019

Horseback riding was on the morning agenda. Beth had signed up for the last slot on the ride. When we arrived, they said there was a horse for me if I wanted to come along. That was a first time experience. The organizers were patient and explained how to ride before any of us mounted up.

Just after the first rider was settled on her horse, a Mother Moose and calf galloped through the clearing. It spooked all of the horses, including hers, but luckily, no one was hurt. The trail boss said that Moose are the only animals in the area that horses fear.

She must be right, as passing a bull elk, and then five black bears, during our ride didn't bother the horses at all. Wild flowers were abundant, but it was difficult to view them in detail from the height of a horse.  I'd highly recommend the experience even though my knees hurt a bit after the two and a half hour ride. Beth needed help to get off her horse or maybe that was just an excuse to have the burly young trail hand lift her into his arms. We ate our lunch in the parking lot after the ride and learned that the stables burned in the fire two years ago. New stables should be completed this summer to replace the ones built by the owner's grandfather. They now have to reapply every seven years to run their business in the park.

Exciting news arrived by telephone and that afternoon everyone was invited to remotely celebrate the birth of Jane and Gary's first grandchild. Our group was becoming one big temporary family.

Evening in "the shack" brought those interested in playing games together. Beth introduced people to Quiddler, our favorite portable word game.

6/17/2019

Rhonda and Daniel have coffee perking at 9:00 every morning. Not having a horseback ride scheduled today, we attended and enjoyed sipping and conversation. We helped get inflatable kayaks pumped up and launched. Though invited, we were a still little stiff to go paddling.

What we did instead was walk up the road to the Prince of Wales Hotel.

Set high on a point, the hotel has gorgeous views from the lobby and dining rooms.

On the way back we walked down this cliff side trail...

...stopping to photograph wildflowers.

Here's one of many photos Beth has to memorialize the spring blooms at Waterton Lakes.

The group gathered after dinner for games again in Shack #3. Daniel invited me to go for a kayak paddle. We went to Bertha Bay returning at 9:15. The lake water is cold, but the inflatable kayak had double hulls and was well insulated. Met a couple of Hobie kayaks with mirage drives.

A toasty fire in the wood stove greeted us back in the shack where we toasted marshmallows for s’mores. Someone brought Reese’s spread rather than chocolate bars and it was pretty good.

6/18/2019

Seeing how other folks outfit their vans is always fun for us. Most people opened their van's for viewing that day.

Sharing ideas always works better with beautiful scenery in the background. We enjoyed seeing the layouts of ten different vans.

Other people in the campground had interesting rigs too. This one came over from Europe for a summer of exploring North America.

Our overall favorite owner customization was this Trekin' interior with custom seat covers.

When walking between campsites everyone had to be cautious not to trip on baseball sized holes.  The holes are from a robust population of Columbian Ground Squirrels inhabiting the campground. Beth set-up the tripod and caught one of these prairie dog like creatures snacking on a dandelion head. After hearing their name we thought they might be an invasive species from South America. That is not the case. Columbian is spelled like the Columbia River, not the country of Colombia.

6/19/2019

Coffee and goodbyes to the group this morning marked the end to the official get-together. We are here two more days longer than anybody else.

Walked up to watch “The Bear Man of Kamchatka,” an excellent movie about grizzly bears. The link above lets you watch the movie, at least in January 2020. This is also the last day of the Wildflower Festival.

All week long we noticed deer, often with fawns, around the town and campground. An Aggressive Deer Warning sign warned folks, especially those with dogs, to steer clear of the deer.

Sure enough, we witnessed someone walking too close to a doe. She left her two fawns and started charging this dog and his owner. They backed away in time to avoid any injury.

The campground is a bit stinky today since the perimeter roads are being paved around us. They probably won't work too long as there are severe thunderstorm warnings for noon to 11:30 tonight.

We decided to get out for a while, so drove to Bison Prairie where we photographed wildflowers. Stopping at an overlook we saw a mother moose and calf along with a couple of sandhill cranes. The moose may have been the same one that spooked the horses before our trail ride.

Back at campground by 1630.

Waterton, the town, is adjacent to to the campground. There are all kinds of unique eateries, so someone with unlimited funds could spend time here and never cook.  Waffleton was intriguing, but the prices scared me away. We opted for dinner at 49th Parallel Pizza. Pineapple and artichoke plus a Fernie “What the Huck” huckleberry ale were delicious. On the way home we stopped at the Lakeside Motel to check on their laundry room. It was small and clean with a fee of $4 Cad each to wash and dry. Beth wants to wait until we’re at Glacier.

Back at the campground we met a couple with a PleasureWay TS from a farm on Alberta and showed our van to another couple who walked by and asked questions.

6/20/2019

Last full day in Waterton. Woke up to a lake that looks like a river with rapids. Winds were gusting to 31mph.

We walked the trail to Bertha Lake, but turned back before reaching Bertha falls. Wind and rain along with Beth not liking the cliff on the water side turned us around. We did see lots of wildflowers right beside the trail.

Here's the view looking down towards the campground. Back in town the rain really opened up and the wind shook our van. I walked into town so Beth could nap. Returned with a hot “Beavertail” pastry covered with hazelnut spread.

With lousy weather, we decided to do laundry after all. We drove over to the Bayshore Inn Lakeside Resort and Spa where we could wait in the van while the washers and dryers exchanged loonies for clean clothes. For those that haven't seen Canadian coins, there is a loon on the 2 dollar piece, so that gives them that nickname.

Reflecting on the rally, we had a wonderful time and would highly recommend this gathering. The location was great. Proximity to hiking trails, the lake, and mountains, along with the amenities of town kept everything within walking distance. A huge shoutout of thanks is due to volunteer organizers Rhonda, Daniel, Lynne and Sandy. They achieved a perfect balance between organization and flexibility. Everyone was free to pursue their own interests, but there were anchor points of socialization available at the beginning and end of each day.

If you would like to see more photos from the rally, here's a link to our Google Photos album.