Our next stop was Calgary. Time for the big city! I had no idea how big Calgary was, with a population of 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. We were staying in an RV park in Okotoks, a town about 24 miles from downtown Calgary. I was thinking it was going to be a small town, nope! As we drove into town, there were all the big stores and restaurants you would see in any US town. I later learned it is a bedroom community of Calgary and from the looks at traffic, many of the resident’s commute into Calgary. We were there for two nights and used our free day to explore Calgary.
We dropped Murphy off so he could have a fun day at doggy daycare and we set off. First, who could not resist a stop at Calgary’s #1 donut shop. Then on to an indoor farmers market (Calgary gets 135” of snow a year). Dave bought a bottle of Ruberts Whisky, which just won a Platinum award at the 2024 Spirits Competition in San Francisco. On to downhill karting at the Calgary Olympic Park. Oh dratz, the karting was closed until Saturday. We headed into downtown for a walk along the Riverwalk and Helen and I found another fun playground. Yes, I know, we are in our 60’s, but girls just want to have fun no matter how old they are. We ended our Calgary tour with a stop at Prairie Dog Brewery. Since we had seen so many prairie dogs in South Dakota, we thought it was apropos. And, who could resist the Extreme Poutine, which we shared. It may not look appealing in the picture, but it was so good and very filling. We tried, but could not quite eat it all.
Our next stop north was in a little town of Wabamun, camping at a Provencial Park (they are like a State Park in the US). In town, we spied a giant Dragonfly. Each year, thousands of Dragonflies are hatched on nearby Lake Wabamun. Of course, it was a picture opportunity! At an evening campfire, we also tried our next variety of S’mores – this time the marshmallows were replaced with Circus Peanuts. The verdict: 2 for, 1 against, and 1 not quite sure. Hum…what will be our next S’mores experiment? Any suggestions?
Our final stop this week was another gorgeous Alberta Provencial Park, Youngs Point. I was a little apprehensive as there are lots of signs saying you are in Bear Country, “Bear in Area” and what to do if you see a cougar. Nonetheless, Greg, Helen, Murphy, and I ventured out for an early morning hike, this time Murphy was proudly wearing his bear bell. We had no bear sightings, but did see a big pile of Moose poo. The park is along Sturgeon Lake and it had a great place for Murphy to take a swim (even though it was 40°!).
I cannot wait to share our pictures from our next stop as we reach Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.
Thanks for following along.
I really don’t want to see a bear while hiking Brenda, Why would anyone mess with S’Mores Dave, and So excited to swim again Murphy
I am so enjoying traveling with you folks!
Reta
Two thoughts – I can’t believe you were in that tube – so claustrophobic! Also, such a cute picture of you and Helen with those pot dolls!
Thanks Susan! We had fun crawling through the tube. Luckily, there weren’t too many kids in the playground to laugh at us!
I agree with Dave, you cannot mess around with S’more’s ingredients.
It is just not right to alter a campfire tradition.
At least re-name the recipe–like this one might be called NoMore’s 😉
Safe travels!
Thank you for your support to help me deal with this insanity!!!!
The mushroom. Is it edible. Did you see lots of dragonflies ? What time of year do they migrate. ? Is it like the butterflies in Monterey. ? Weather? Cooler than here ? What is the exchange rate in Canada. I’m sure our dollar is worth less. I would look it up but too lazy. lol. Give Murphy a big hug for us
Hi Ron. Yes, the mushroom is edible. Also known as a porcini. Didn’t see too many dragonflies (the ones we saw were very small) as they were just hatching in June. The weather has been quite cool – low in the lower 40’s and high in the 50’s and 60’s. Locals say it is unusually cooler weather for June but it has helped contain the fires. The exchange rate is 0.73 so our dollar is going much farther here. The cost of fuel is much higher (we are paying $4.50 for a gallon of diesel). Its such a remote area and the oil from Alaska heads south to be refined. Thanks for following along and Murphy enjoyed the hug. He said to say hi to Daisy.