Adventures in Waterton!

We left Kumeu at a Kennel for the first time (mama may or may not have shed a tear or two but that's a story for another day), and went camping with some good friends of ours. Zab- who is currently living in Kenya- was here for a visit with his girlfriend, Ruth, so the four of us met Bret, Sheena & kids as well as Lowell's cousin Trav in Waterton.

Bret & Sheena had arrived earlier than us, so they set up a tent for Zab, Ruth, Trav, Lowell and me beside their trailer. This kind deed bought us some extra time to stroll through the town, greet the deer, and GET ICE CREAM (a Waterton MUST)!

Little Bella and Elijah are just soooo cute and my camera was very attracted to them!

After perusing the town, we headed back to our campsite for burgers and S'MORES (a camping MUST)...

Bret was all eager to create a little kissy kissy photo op, but Sheena would have none of it!

It got down to 2 degrees Celsius on the first night, and although five of us were snuggled in one tent, we were soooooooooo freezing cold...

We did, however, manage to sleep, and woke up bright and early to throw some oatmeal and coffee down our throats before we hit the trails.

Crypt Lake here we come! I recently read a book called 'A Bear's Embrace' which is about a woman who was mauled by a bear while hiking Crypt Lake- THE VERY HIKE THAT WE DID. I've already done the hike twice, but STILL... such reading material tends to make one a TAD nervous. However, we learned that there have been no bear incidents at Crypt since camping along the trail became prohibited, and I'm happy to report that (other than Bret's knee) we completed the hike unscathed.

Bret hurt his knee, so Dr Ruthie bandaged him up. We found him a walking stick, he popped a few advil, and he was (almost) as good as new!

Some people are put off by the confined cave and narrow cliff walk. It's a little awkward to be sure, but nothing to keep you from doing the hike...

...especially when this is the view on the other side of the tunnel...

Here we are... destination Crypt Lake!

Of course undie-clad Lowell and Trav took a dip in the FREEZING COLD lake (while the rest of us relaxed and ate chocolate)...

Back to the campsite for an evening of showers, campfire, s'mores, conversation, Bella entertainment, and cuddling with Rudy (the dog)...

On morning two, we downed a delightful pancake breakfast, packed up, and headed home. Buh-bye Waterton!