Waterton Lakes Cruise and Remington Carriage Museum

We woke up this morning to blue skies, a perfect day for a boat ride.  There is a 2 hour boat ride on Waterton Lake each day at 10:00 and 1:00.  We chose the 10:00 cruise as afternoon rains were forecasted.

As we left the dock, our first view of Prince of Wales Hotel from the water.

The views from the boat were pretty amazing.

We stopped for a moment in the water to observe the U.S./Canada border.  There are two markers at the edge

and a path up the mountain marking the border.

After crossing back into the United States we were told that in 1932 Waterton Lakes National Park was combined with Glacier National Park to form the world's first International Peace Park.

The boat usually stops for a short time for passengers to explore Goat Haunt,  the grassy area around the mountain below, but the U.S. rangers have not opened this area yet.  So, we just cruised by turning around for our journey back.

After the cruise, we headed home for lunch and then decided to make the 40km drive to Cardston to explore the

From their brochure: "The award-winning Remington Carriage Museum is the world's finest museum of horse-drawn whiles with over 250 carriages, coaches, buggies, wagons, sleighs and other specialized vehicles."

Don Remington began collecting horse drawn vehicles in 1954 when he restored a cutter to bring Santa Claus into Cranston for the town's Christmas celebration.  Consumed by his hobby, Don often used the early morning hours to restore carriage before going to work at his construction business.  Over 33 years he gathered a collection of 48 vehicles, donating them to the Province of Alberta in 1987.  The Province built the Remington Carriage Museum adding additional vehicles and it opened in 1993, showcasing one of the largest collections of horse drawn vehicles.

We watched a movie about horse drawn carriages and the transition to horseless carriage.  Afterwards, we met a docent for a 45 minute tour which I would definitely recommend.

This is caboose used to take children to school.  There is a stove inside and the driver can sit inside, look out the window to guide the horse outside drawing the sleigh.

This carriage belonged to Vanderbilt family in the United States, the museum was offered quite a bit of money for it by the Vanderbilt Museum, but the stipulations of Remington's will stated that none of his collection could be sold.

Vanderbilt insignia on bridal and carriage.

Here is a fashionable hearst with horses draped to creat a more stately appearance.

I was fascinated by this dump wagon.  Items would be hauled in the wagon and then the doors on the bottom would open to dump the load.

We were not expecting a lot here, but it was extremely informative and definitely worth a visit!