September 17th - Day 2 - Whitefish to Waterton

Once again we were pleased to see clear skies on Tuesday morning. As we were to have a picnic lunch in Glacier park we congregated at the Safeway store in Whitefish to start our drive. Unfortunately, when it came time to leave, Lynn's Series 3 V12 failed to come to life. As befits the Oil Leak crowd, there were soon a group of faces staring into the engine bay offering help and advice.

Greg assists Lynn in trying to determine whether the ignition is generating a spark

Unfortunately, on this occasion the combined efforts of the team were unable to fix the problem which was diagnosed as failed Crane Ignition system. Lynn finally persuaded us that there was nothing to be gained by delaying the drive for the rest of the group, so we left him and Mary with plans to hire a U-haul truck and trailer, load the car, and drive it back home to Boise. We were very sorry to see their Oil Leak end in this way, and wish them a safe trip home.

The group then set off for Glacier Park which was only a short distance away. After a group photograph, we then set out on the famous Going-to-the-Sun road.

Group photo by one of the park buses. Note Debbie and Greg's companion border collie Rounder.
From L to R: Rounder, Debbie(C), Greg, Glen(W), Georgia, Norn, Deidre, Glen(B), Debbie(L),
David, Phil, Denise, Michael and Tom

The Going-to-the-Sun Road is always popular - indeed, a few weeks earlier in the season reservations were required to make the drive. Finding a turnout where all our cars could stop together was likely to be a big problem, but we lucked out when a great viewing location appeared with room for all our cars.

The Oil Leak convoy parked together on the Going-to-the-Sun Road

We decided that this was likely to be the best opportunity to sit and eat our lunches together, with magnificent views in all directions:

Views in all directions

Photographs (at least the ones I do!) do not do the views justice

After our picnic lunch we continued the drive through the park, exiting at the St. Mary's gate on the east side. From there our route headed north towards the Canadian border where a border guard gave us entry after giving some of us the third degree! 

The group waits for the border interrogations to be completed!

Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta is magnificent. We were at our hotels in Waterton village by around 4pm, which gave us an opportunity to explore before dinner. Debbie and I decided to walk from our hotel at Kilmorey Lodge (built in 1926) around the edge of the lake and up to the Prince of Wales hotel located on a promontory above the lake.

The Prince of Wales Hotel (build 1926-7) by the lake

We were able to go into the hotel and enjoy a drink in the lounge that overlooks the lake with amazing views.

Amazing views from the lounge at the Prince of Wales Hotel, Waterton

View of the lake from the grounds of the hotel

In the evening we enjoyed a splendid dinner in the restaurant at the Kilmorey Lodge, and were unexpectedly joined by Jan Wittlesey and Glen Enright, who have leaked oil with the group in previous years, and who happened to be visiting the same place at the same time! It was a great end to a great day though we all wish Lynn and Mary could have shared in the fun.