The weather in Waterton Park is not good right now; rainy, windy and cold but not so bad that it has deterred us from going for a hike. Yesterday morning when we got up, the sky was actually brighter than we expected so we decided to walk into the village and then take a short hike to Lower Bertha Falls.

The trail to Bertha Falls winds up the side of a steep, rocky mountain directly behind the RV Townsite. As we wandered in the direction of the trail we came across a dozen deer, casually feasting in the backyards of several homes in the park. They are so used to people that they didn’t even move as we crept closer for pictures. One of the 25 year-round residents here that we spoke to this morning refers to the deer as “rodents with horns” because they are such a nuisance; eating every bit of decorative vegetation in site. We find them to be beautiful, peaceful creatures fascinating us and the tourists that come here from around the world.

After our 5.5 km. hike, we drove into Pincher Creek, the closest town and 50 kms. away, to pick up a few groceries. On our way we drove through the Buffalo Paddock, a neat little drive, to see if we could view some buffalo from a closer distance. We found them at the far end of the paddock grazing and oblivious to visitors in cars. The forecast is calling for more rain tomorrow but if it is accurate, we should see a big improvement by the weekend. It is just so beautiful here that we have decided to stay until next Tuesday and whether or not the weather improves, we will do some more exploring.