"The mountains are calling and I must go." John Muir
The nice thing about travelling in the middle of May is that everything is open and hardly anyone is about. Waterton, in southern Alberta, was stunning. Imagine my surprise as I drove into town only to face a huge Big Horn Sheep, bold as you please, walking down the middle of the road. The sheep seemed to be milling about as if this was just what they do. As I looked at the scat later on the sidewalks I realized that, yes, they do just make themselves at home in the streets here. Overlooking the lovely town that is poised in a mountainous valley, consisting of a chain of lakes, is the striking Prince Of Wales Hotel.
Unfortunately, the hotel was closed but as I walked around the outside there were sheep wandering around there too. I read that the Blackfoot believed a wind god protects Waterton and that when the hotel was built in 1927, 100 kilometer gales lifted the hotel off of the foundation by 20 centimeters. The hotel is still operating so maybe the wind god changed his mind. The beauty in this special place filled me. I felt revived and refreshed. I retrieved from within myself what I was searching for and so was able to depart with gratitude from this stunningly beautiful shangrila.
