Cold Lake Fishing

 It's been a few years since we went fishing at Cold Lake with Bob and Donna.  Time to change that.  

My friend tells me I should write a 'Bob and Dave' fishing adventures book.  It seems like there's always something that happens when those two go fishing.  In this adventure, the trip was shortened from 10 days to 5 due to work commitments.  Then, there were challenges getting there, sunburnt knees, and bait forgotten at the trailer. 

But all in all, some good days of lake trout fishing happened.  The weather was incredible. While the men fished, the ladies walked around the campground, played scrabble, and just generally enjoyed a relaxing time together.  

Dave, Bob and Harvey - all smiles after a few good fishing days.

After the others left, Dave tried his hand at some fly-fishing along a river that flows into Cold Lake. I did some sketching.  It was a relaxing ending to a wonderful time at Cold Lake. 

Points South: Writing-On-Stone

 After Waterton, Paul and Mavis headed home and we continued on, meeting up with Dennis and Irene at Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park.  The last time we were here was many years ago when our kids were still all teenagers.  It's a beautiful hidden gem far off the beaten path along the Milk River in southern Alberta.  

We had a fun time clambering up and down the cliffs, walking along the river, and as it was so very hot, slipping into the water to cool off! 

The only drawback - those pesky 'no-see-ums"

     Writing-on-Stone is known for the petroglyphs and pictographs created the First Nations people.  The hoodoos and cliffs are a sacred place and the rock art is probably ceremonial in nature.  We took a tour of some of the artwork.  It is being protected from vandalism and accessible only with a tour.  

Points South: Kimberley & Waterton

 Where has the time gone?  The summer is past and we're staring down another winter with continued COVID-19  restrictions in place.  

Looking at my posts from last summer, this year is a reprise in some ways.  But each trip has different highlights.  

We began the camping season heading to southern Alberta.  The first night was spent at Riverbend Campground right along the Sheep River in Okotoks.  The fisherman was all excited, until he learned that the fishing season doesn't begin until the day after tomorrow.  Thankfully we had A/C in the trailer to beat the +30 weather.  

The next day we met up with our good friends Paul & Mavis and after a bit of retail exploring in Nanton we all made our way to the Riverside Campground in Kimberley, B.C.  After a bit of a stressful parking experience, we got ourselves set-up, a couple of sites apart, ready for an awesome adventure together.  

Over the next couple of days we went for a hike along the St. Mary's River, rode bikes along the Rails to Trails network, enjoyed the coffee shops and farmer's market in the Platzl, and just generally relaxed and enjoyed ourselves.  

The campground is right along the St. Mary's River.  

The hiking trail we found took us to the top of the cliffs and down to the shoreline.  

The bike ride on the old railway between Marysville and Kimberley was a continual climb.  And then coasting all the way back to the starting point.  

From Kimberley we moved on to the Crooked Creek Campground at the edge of Waterton National Park.  

On the way, we ducked into Fernie for lunch.  Downtown Fernie has some wonderful art shops and several cafes to choose from.  The locals recommended the Big Bang Bagels and they did not disappoint.  

The next day looked a bit gloomy, but we thought we'd beat the rain and explore Waterton.  Not so fast!  Our truck had a flat tire that needed to be repaired first!  Fortunately, there was a tire shop open in Cardston on a Saturday morning.  

So now it was raining.  Oh well. Might as well go exploring between rain showers.  We walked around town, to the Cameron Falls and a little bit up the Bertha Lake trail. The Akamina Parkway is open again since the fire so we drove up to Cameron Lake and Red Rock Canyon.  And then, of course, a stop at a coffee shop!

Cameron Falls with Paul, Mavis and Molly.

It's starting to rain!

Along the Bertha Lake trail.

Cameron Lake

Along the Akamina Parkway

The next day was much nicer.  We hiked up the Crandall Lake Trail.  A number of years ago we'd tried doing this hike but had to turn back because of a bear.  Now that the trees were burnt, you could see where you were along the trail and hear other hikers and potentially scare away any bears.  The lake was beautiful and Molly had a blast retrieving sticks from the water.  

Back at camp we were joined by Marilyn and had a wonderful relaxing afternoon and evening.  

Crowsnest Pass Getaway

 The pandemic was starting to wear on us.  No matter what we would plan, it would eventually get cancelled and so we remained "on the couch, saving the world." 

Finally the Arctic Vortex lifted, the days were lengthening and the restaurants reopened.  It was time to hit the road.  

We took a little vacation to Crowsnest Pass.  To make getting there half the fun, we drove along Highway 22, following the foothills.  It was a beautiful day to see the mountain vistas in the distance and we had time to stop for lunch and coffee in little places like Sundre and Bragg Creek.  By the time we reached the southern end of the road, a stiff Southern Alberta wind was blowing, threatening to shove us off the highway!  

We arrived safely and settled into the cute little Gnome Home in Coleman.  Let the wind howl.  

The next morning was still quite windy as we ventured out to explore Coleman.  Founded in 1903, it's former glory was in the days of coal mining. The last mining operations ceased in the 1980s and the town has since been designated a National Historic Site.  The main street buildings had historical markers describing the building's former life.

We went to Blairmore which is the main commercial centre of the Crowsnest Pass.  It's still a bit of an 'old school' community with many places closed on Mondays!  We found a delightful coffeeshop called The Cherry on Top Bakery and Coffie Shop.  Just saying the name makes you happy.  

During our stay we found a few more coffee shops:  A Stone's Throw Cafe in Blairmore and the Crowsnest Cafe and Fly Shop in Coleman.  The fisherman was perusing the fly collection and happily dreaming of summer, although one could river fish at this time of year too.  

Tuesday was a beautiful day to try cross-country skiing.  The Allison Lake and Chinook Recreational area has an amazing network of ski trails and snowshoe trails.  We chose the easy trail along a summer roadway up to the lake.  Once we rounded the last bend, the wind hit us full-force, erasing the trail in short order.  

The next day we tried out the snowshoes we'd rented at Spry in Blairmore.  We had a blast stomping along the trail in the woods on top of the ridge, out of the wind with the sunshine filtering through the trees.  What a beautiful afternoon in God's creation.

Each night we found a different restaurant for dinner:  The Rum Runner, Limber Pine Smokehouse & Taberna, Tin Dogs Pub & Brewery, and The Pass Beer Co.  Our favourite meal was the ribs at the Tin Dogs.   All the food was excellent, as was the service. It was great to be able to eat out again, although the waistline might not think so.

But all good things must come to an end and Thursday morning we were back on the road home.  This time we took the faster route.  

Now we're dreaming and hoping for restrictions to lift so we can travel to other parts of Canada again.