Saturday, February 26, 2011

Against All Odds!

At the day's end when chatting about what we experienced and how we would describe it, the words "survival of the fittest" and "against all odds" were thrown out there.  I found the true meaning of "against all odds"  to be "despite seemingly insurmountable opposition or probability",  and have to say that accurately describes today's adventure.  Wandering  around Waterton in the dead of winter has to be one of the wildest and wackiest, not to mentioned windiest adventures I have ever experienced!

We were on a mission and nothing was going to stop us!  
No fence nor snow bank was high enough to deny us going the distance!
Herds of Angus cows couldn't block our way or our view!
We worked our way through white outs!
Added to that mix of obstacles, we scurried away from a possible gas bar robbery, dealt with the intimidation of an eagle protecting its' nest and came out unscathed from a swervy, curvy, twirly, swirly roadway encounter.  Not all obstacles had successful surpasses so now have head bangs, bruised bodies and shattered glass to contend with in the aftermath!    But...we did enjoy the journey to our major destination!  No body was home in Waterton, there were no sales in the outdoor store,  a snow bank blocked our way from picking up souvenirs and it was a good thing we topped up the gas tank elsewhere.  
Waterton was an eerie ghost town that gave off a surreal feel and I loved it!
After five hours, and beating the odds so far, we searched for a little warmth and shelter. 
We opted to have our late lunch in the vehicle before exploring around the town site.  If you have ever been to Waterton and know what the main street is like, you probably cannot imagine being lost on it in a whiteout!  Believe me, it's possible! I had to get out in my bright pink jacket (the only color to be seen) to give direction a mere 5 feet ahead, of where the road was and where to drive.  We found our way to the Akamina Parkway which was cleared for most of the way and afforded us an overview of the town.
We dropped by the boat dock to find it snowed under!
This was as close as we could get to the Prince of Wales Hotel!
Camping season is well off in the distant future!
As the daylight hours were drawing to a close, we agreed we were ready to leave Wild Waterton and hit the highway home.   On the outskirts of the Park, we took one last look!  This view left me with the feeling that I didn't have enough and want to return one weekend before winter winds down and preferably when the windchill is not -40C and the wind is not gusting to 110 km/hr.
"Against All Odds" was a fitting opening to our day and we earned "Survival of the Fittest" as an ending remark for beating those odds! 

4 comments:

  1. Amazing story and pics! Despite all the snow it certainly doesn't look bleak or uninviting, quite the contrary!

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  2. I am always breathless watching at your pictures and reading the reports. Your blog is very interesting expecially for a person like me who lives near the sea, works in a port and never sees the snow in his city.

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  3. How surreal! Amazing photos...I love following your adventures :)

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  4. The gas station is my favourite.

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