Waterton Is Scarred But Still Stunning

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to head out to Waterton not once, but twice. And due to some snow, I saw it in two different states.

I don’t know how many people have been out since the Kenow Fire. I know I watched all the videos and saw all the photos on Facebook, but nothing puts it in more perspective than actually being there.

On Friday evening, I headed out for dinner at Vimy’s with Keirstyn. I didn’t know what to expect but was happy that as I approached the park, there was still lots of lovely fall foliage.

But the moment I was in the park, the burn scars started to show themselves.

I was most surprised to see a small fire still burning on the side of one mountain.

 

But as sad as the scarred landscape was to see, there was still a lot of beauty too. Keir and I enjoyed a long dinner at Vimy’s Lounge & Grill, one of the few restaurants in town open.

On Sunday, I went back to the mountains for a girls day with Rachelle, Jenna, and Cat. We had this day planned for awhile and when the forecast called for rain and cooler weather, we decided to still go for lunch and to check out the townsite.

We were surprised (some pleasantly, some not) to run into snow by the time we hit Mountain View. I LOVE snow and was very excited to see it falling.  We first bypassed the park and went to Twin Butte General Store & Mexican Restaurant. I hadn’t been in a couple years but man was it ever tasty! I ordered the pork & pineapple tacos and they were so good! They also gave me so much pork, I couldn’t eat it all! Honestly, one of those tacos would keep you full for hours!

We were also surprised to see how bustling the place was too on a snowy Sunday afternoon. After a long lunch, we headed to the park to check things out.

It definitely looked different than it had on Friday because the burned ground was covered in a white blanket. But the trees and mountain side still showed their scars.

But we were all surprised at how much yellow there still was. And the beauty of the contrast of the warm leaves and the cool snow.

 

When we went down to the lake, it was so quiet. There was no wind, no other people, just the sound of the rain falling softly on the leaves.

So while this weekend didn’t consist of my usual hiking, it did give me a chance to reconnect with Waterton and to know that it’s still just as beautiful as ever. And though these fires suck, they are a chance for regrowth and burnt or not, Waterton is still gorgeous and worth visiting.