Polar bear dip.

The other day, Seamus and Al went swimming in the semi-icy lake. They've actually been meaning to do this since New Year's but it never happened. They are champs!

Another walk, another sunny day.

Yesterday we went on an exploration. Look at me, clambering over a tree! We saw some new wildlife, and Seamus skimmed stones (I took photos of him skimming stones, and put my hands in the icy lake then shrieked). And look at the photo of the mountains reflected in the lake! The lakes are melting, which is pretty exciting (clearly, our lives are a little boring) and Seamus and Al are going to do a polar bear dip tomorrow. Maybe. Everything is Waterton looks a bit ugly right now, because the snow's melting, highlighting the grey grass/trees/WORLD. Clearly, that one raining episode this week was not enough.

We leave in 16 days! Can you believe that? Six months is a very, very long time in the Waterton winter.

Moonlight drinking.

It was full moon again the other day, so this time we went down to the lake and drank some brandy. Well...I didn't. I drank a beer. Alex, Al and Seamus are all brandy drinkers and every time we hang out, they end up drinking brandy in a classy and grown-up manner, whilst I swig beer from the bottle. I tried to like brandy, I really did, but it just felt like I'd lit my mouth on my fire. Why would anyone do that?

Of course, drinking in public in Canada is illegal, but this time, I stand by the usual excuse people use in Waterton to justify criminal activity ("but there's no RCMP in Waterton in winter anyway, so we may as well..."). Unfortunately, people also use this excuse when they drink-drive or speed here. Apparently getting caught is the worst potential outcome of drink-driving.

Drinking in public is totally ok though. To be honest, I feel a little like my civil rights are being violated by the law restricting drinking in public. What about summer....? There are also pretty much no beer gardens here. It's heartbreaking. Canadians must either a)drink indoors in the summer b)not drink in the summer. Hmm.

The first goodbyes.

Last night Sue and Zen, our (ex)managers left to move to Victoria, and tomorrow morning, our friend Irina moves to Canmore. This means our clique is down to four (and goes to two once Seamus and I leave). Irina is the Russian I've mentioned a few times here. She is a fantastic woman. I have so many stories about her (her life has been so amazing, I'm just living vicariously through her). We met tonight for tea and cheese and bread, and talked and laughed and listened to Russian music. She gave Seamus and me a picture each. Mine is a sketch of our ski hill, and Seamus' is a beautiful painting of Bear's Hump (the mountain all our photos are taken from). Those are some pretty good souvenirs of our time in Waterton.

There's so many goodbyes right now, for one reason or another, but thankfully the next ones should be when we leave. At least then we're in control of the goodbyes. The photo above is me, Seamus, Al, Alex and Irina. Irina has the orange hair and is about fifteen years older than you'd guess. One of the kindest people I'v met here, even though I am convinced she and Seamus were having an affair (you should have seen the goodbye kissing between them tonight....maybe it's just a Russian thing)...

Rain.

I just got up and it's RAINING. I am in shock, and hurt that the Canadian meteorological system would do this to me. It has rained ONCE since we were in Waterton (once! in five and a half months! Imagine that, British people!), really early on, and I haven't missed it at all. In fact, the lack of rain is what makes me want to live in Canada. Seamus said the other day that he "kind of misses" the rain, but we all know he's not that normal. I hate the rain, and have loved not having any. Give me snow and -30 over rain anyday. But now it's pouring and it's making me glum. And yet, a little excited because it means work will be quiet. Despite Canadians not really celebrating Easter, it's still been busy this weekend. Bring on Monday morning rain!

Sitting in the sun.

On Wednesday, Seamus was working so I went for a walk alone. It was lovely. I saw big horned sheep and mule deer and white-tail deer. I sat up on the hill by the Prince of Wales Hotel, and got a little bit sunburnt. Even though the day was really bright, and the sky was really blue, for some reason this photo came out all grey and war-era. I like it though, it looks cool, don't you think?

A map.

This is the best I can do. White dots are places we're stopping at. You'll probably have to click the map to enlarge it to full size.

I'm grumpy because I have to go to work now, and the Newfoundland leg of our trip is NOT WORKING OUT.