It was a lovely late autumn afternoon, when we went up Red Rock Parkway in Waterton Lakes National Park. We hoped to see some wildlife before the sun went down, but on the way up we had not been lucky we had already reached the end of the road and just started on the return trip when I saw little white dots moving high up in a mountain wall. My sister braked sharply (...well, perhaps I a little overexagerating. She is a most careful driver...) and parked the car in a little side track. Spying through our cameras we detected a group of mountain goats climbing downhill. We spent a while watching the little dots, while being eaten by the moskitoes. Then returned to the car glad that our tour had not been totally fruitless.

We had just started the motor again and driven down the road a couple of metres, when something dark and big was moving behind a bush near the road. A blackbear's head appeared nosing for berries between the twiggs and on the ground. It's dark fur shimmered in the evening sun. The bear slowly strolled through the golden grass. A line of colourful trees, tinted in bright yellow, green and autumn brown lay just a bit back and completed the breathtaking scene. We could not fathom our luck. It was such a big present.

The bear moved onwards behind the bushes. One moment you could glimpse a paw, another moment the tips of its ears. After a while my sister started the car again. Highly elated we made our way back to the valley and the village, keen eyes spying, if we would be blessed with another animal sighting.
We made two or three further stops just to enjoy the evening landscape.

When we reached the plain and came close to the entry of Waterton Village we observed a big crowd of cars in a side road. It was like in Yellowstone or like being on a safari in Africa: Where there crowds there is wildlife. Turning down the windows we could already hear what was expecting us. Rutting elk were filling the air with their eerie sound. A big herd was grazing on the nightly prairie. People were listening fascinated and tried to spy the animals in the dark. Some were near the road. Others just dark schemes in the distance.
Half an hour might have passed. Than our stomachs decided it was time to head for a restaurant.