Sunday, September 19, 2004
Weekend in Edmonton (Sunday Afternoon in a Ghost Town)
Well, we're back again after our wee weekend in the big provincial capitol, Edmonton. After we had both done our work on the Friday afternoon, we had a very relaxing and laid-back weekend and had much more fun than we anticipated. Before we set off, Calgary folks told us that the capitol should really be called 'Deadmonton', as there was nothing to do there... But we had a really good weekend anyway!
There's a lot of rivalry between the two cities, because Calgary always wanted to be the capitol but Edmonton pipped it to the postback in the 1910s. Now, Calgary is bigger and trendier and is the business and administration centre of the province, while Edmonton is more of a service centre for the oil and gas business. Locals say that Calgary is 'white-collar' while Edmonton is more blue-collar, and there may be some truth in this. In one respect they're quite similar - Calgary has a radio station called JACK FM (96.9FM), while Edmonton has JOE FM (92.5FM) and both stations make random calls at random times - if you answer with 'I listen to Jack (or Joe)', rather than 'hello' then you win 1,000 dollars. And the JACK catchphrase is 'Playing what we want' while JOE is 'Playing... anything'.
Spot the difference
Anyway, one thing that Edmonton certainly is is a LONG way away from here. 294 kilometres, to be precise (184 miles). You can get some idea of how far it is here:
We left Tuscany at 08:45 and headed north on the big highway 2 ('Deerfoot'). Three hours later, we still weren't there! In fact, we didn't arrive until 12:30! Anyway, after P had her meetings and I had given my little talk in the downtown, we headed for our hotel in Strathcona. This is a trendy, slightly bohemian community just south of the North Saskatchewan River, which more or less cuts Edmonton in half.
P and the downtown skyline (just south of the river)
The North Saskatchewan River
In fact, the town of Strathcona was formed where the train line going north stopped because the Canada Pacific Railway couldn't be bothered building a bridge over the river! Anway, we stayed in the Varscona Hotel, which was excellent value (half the cost of the Ptarmigan in Banff, with free valet parking, morning paper, complimentary breakfast and nightly wine and cheese tastings!) and was right in the heart of Strathcona. We had dinner in a Thai restaurant on Friday and then flaked out, going to be bed early partly due to the long drive and partly due to the long day I had in the operating theatre the day before.
The Varscona
We had intended to go see the West Edmonton Mall on Saturday, but somehow we just never got around to it... We got up late (what luxury!), had a late breakfast in a proper cafe (read the New York Times with my hot white chocolate and appel strudel) and then wandered off to the local farmers' market in Strathcona before stumbling on an antique restored streetcar which runs from Strathcona across the river into Downtown Edmonton. It turns out that it's the highest streetcar in the world, as the bridge is extremely high! The fare to downtown was 3 dollars return (a bargain!) so we hopped on! The streetcar service is run by a group fo elderly volunteers who are enthusiasts. Apparently Edmonton ditched all of its own old streetcars, and so they had to get an refurbished one from Osaka, which is why all the signs in it are in Japanese!
So we went on a jaunt across the river into the downtown (which was pretty dead, on a Saturday) and took a quick walk to the Legislative buildings of the province before catching the streetcar back again.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the various Strathcona neighbourhoods, buying hiking sticks from the farmers' market (35 dollars for 2 from the bargain bin), buying Union Jacks from a wee Indian shop (for the front window, of course!), sharing a hot dog (a cheddar smokie) in the sunshine from 'Fat Franks', and generally just pottering about the various shops around the place. We had dinner in a sushi bar (very good sushimi, gyoza to die for) close to the hotel and never quite managed to make it to the Mall!
Today we toyed with the idea of going to the Mall, but we never got around to it somehow... Up late again, breakfast in a cool bread and continental cheese shop, then off home again. But rather than taking the motorway down again, we decided to see another part of Alberta and struck out west and south to find Highway 22, which is the road that runs through the edge of the 'boreal forest' which stretches all the way to the Rockies from the edge of the Great Plains. It took us nearly 6 hours to get home again, but it was a really different experience. At first, very flat land with lots of grain elevators and scattered farming communities (like Conjuror's Corner, Wizard's Edge, Alberta). Then south and west to Pigeon Lake which looked a lot like Lough Neagh on a cold day.
Pigeon Lake
The forest
Buffalo farm
The autumn (fall) is really taking hold here in central Alberta and the trees are all sorts of colours, from bright red to a russet orangey-yellow. Long curves on the road, and a long steady climb up into the foothills on the long pull which will eventually take you all the way to Lake Louise and Jasper.
Lots of big trucks on the road too, both 18-wheelers and logging trucks, with their snow chains out, ready for winter which is just around the corner...
We struck out west from Pigeon Lake and headed for the oddest tourist attraction I've ever seen - 6km east of Alder Flats, right on the edge of the Forest, the only privately-owned ghost town in Alberta, Em-Te Town! Down a dirt track, it's basically a mocked-up main street from the old west, complete with all-wooden run-down buildings, a working saloon, a campsite and church which is available for weddings! It's been there for over 20 years and has been slowly added to over the years. Apparently it's very popular with the locals! 7 dollars in - that's each, you know! So we spent 20 minutes wandering around this 'ghost town' in pretty muddy conditions (good thing we brought the hiking boots) marvelling at such sights as the 'Sawbones Morgue', the Lost Women motel and the 'DO NOT USE' signs on the toilets!
The 'Town' of Em-Te
Em-Te Mainstreet
Em-Tee Livery & Stable
Saloon of Lost Women
How weird! All the buildings were filled with 'antiques' which were mostly old junk. And there were no staff anwhere apart from the bartender in the saloon. I suppose a ghost town is supposed to be deserted, but we were pretty much the only people around on a cold September day at the start of the autumn. We didn't hang around... Apparently we had just missed a wedding. Maybe the locals here haven't got much else to do...
First Bank of Em-te
The local sawbones (and morgue)
No loos!
We headed south again, skirting the forest now, to the little town of Rocky Mountain House which is right on the edge of the oil and gas fields, before coming a little east to Sundre and eventually (200km later) making it home to western Calgary.
Small gas plant
Our big Monster Truck has to go back in the morning, and to tell the truth, we'll both miss it. It's nice being up in the air a bit when you're driving, especially when about 50% of the other vehicles on the roads here are 4x4s, pickups and trucks. Looks like we might be investing in a 4x4 for the winter months at some stage...
In other news... our friend Emma Breitmeyer gave birth to a baby boy shortly after noon on Saturday 18th September. Benjamin James was almost 6lb, and he's doing well, and so are his mum and dad (Richard). Congratulations, you old Kiwi!
There's a lot of rivalry between the two cities, because Calgary always wanted to be the capitol but Edmonton pipped it to the postback in the 1910s. Now, Calgary is bigger and trendier and is the business and administration centre of the province, while Edmonton is more of a service centre for the oil and gas business. Locals say that Calgary is 'white-collar' while Edmonton is more blue-collar, and there may be some truth in this. In one respect they're quite similar - Calgary has a radio station called JACK FM (96.9FM), while Edmonton has JOE FM (92.5FM) and both stations make random calls at random times - if you answer with 'I listen to Jack (or Joe)', rather than 'hello' then you win 1,000 dollars. And the JACK catchphrase is 'Playing what we want' while JOE is 'Playing... anything'.
Spot the difference
Anyway, one thing that Edmonton certainly is is a LONG way away from here. 294 kilometres, to be precise (184 miles). You can get some idea of how far it is here:
We left Tuscany at 08:45 and headed north on the big highway 2 ('Deerfoot'). Three hours later, we still weren't there! In fact, we didn't arrive until 12:30! Anyway, after P had her meetings and I had given my little talk in the downtown, we headed for our hotel in Strathcona. This is a trendy, slightly bohemian community just south of the North Saskatchewan River, which more or less cuts Edmonton in half.
P and the downtown skyline (just south of the river)
The North Saskatchewan River
In fact, the town of Strathcona was formed where the train line going north stopped because the Canada Pacific Railway couldn't be bothered building a bridge over the river! Anway, we stayed in the Varscona Hotel, which was excellent value (half the cost of the Ptarmigan in Banff, with free valet parking, morning paper, complimentary breakfast and nightly wine and cheese tastings!) and was right in the heart of Strathcona. We had dinner in a Thai restaurant on Friday and then flaked out, going to be bed early partly due to the long drive and partly due to the long day I had in the operating theatre the day before.
The Varscona
We had intended to go see the West Edmonton Mall on Saturday, but somehow we just never got around to it... We got up late (what luxury!), had a late breakfast in a proper cafe (read the New York Times with my hot white chocolate and appel strudel) and then wandered off to the local farmers' market in Strathcona before stumbling on an antique restored streetcar which runs from Strathcona across the river into Downtown Edmonton. It turns out that it's the highest streetcar in the world, as the bridge is extremely high! The fare to downtown was 3 dollars return (a bargain!) so we hopped on! The streetcar service is run by a group fo elderly volunteers who are enthusiasts. Apparently Edmonton ditched all of its own old streetcars, and so they had to get an refurbished one from Osaka, which is why all the signs in it are in Japanese!
So we went on a jaunt across the river into the downtown (which was pretty dead, on a Saturday) and took a quick walk to the Legislative buildings of the province before catching the streetcar back again.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the various Strathcona neighbourhoods, buying hiking sticks from the farmers' market (35 dollars for 2 from the bargain bin), buying Union Jacks from a wee Indian shop (for the front window, of course!), sharing a hot dog (a cheddar smokie) in the sunshine from 'Fat Franks', and generally just pottering about the various shops around the place. We had dinner in a sushi bar (very good sushimi, gyoza to die for) close to the hotel and never quite managed to make it to the Mall!
Today we toyed with the idea of going to the Mall, but we never got around to it somehow... Up late again, breakfast in a cool bread and continental cheese shop, then off home again. But rather than taking the motorway down again, we decided to see another part of Alberta and struck out west and south to find Highway 22, which is the road that runs through the edge of the 'boreal forest' which stretches all the way to the Rockies from the edge of the Great Plains. It took us nearly 6 hours to get home again, but it was a really different experience. At first, very flat land with lots of grain elevators and scattered farming communities (like Conjuror's Corner, Wizard's Edge, Alberta). Then south and west to Pigeon Lake which looked a lot like Lough Neagh on a cold day.
Pigeon Lake
The forest
Buffalo farm
The autumn (fall) is really taking hold here in central Alberta and the trees are all sorts of colours, from bright red to a russet orangey-yellow. Long curves on the road, and a long steady climb up into the foothills on the long pull which will eventually take you all the way to Lake Louise and Jasper.
Lots of big trucks on the road too, both 18-wheelers and logging trucks, with their snow chains out, ready for winter which is just around the corner...
We struck out west from Pigeon Lake and headed for the oddest tourist attraction I've ever seen - 6km east of Alder Flats, right on the edge of the Forest, the only privately-owned ghost town in Alberta, Em-Te Town! Down a dirt track, it's basically a mocked-up main street from the old west, complete with all-wooden run-down buildings, a working saloon, a campsite and church which is available for weddings! It's been there for over 20 years and has been slowly added to over the years. Apparently it's very popular with the locals! 7 dollars in - that's each, you know! So we spent 20 minutes wandering around this 'ghost town' in pretty muddy conditions (good thing we brought the hiking boots) marvelling at such sights as the 'Sawbones Morgue', the Lost Women motel and the 'DO NOT USE' signs on the toilets!
The 'Town' of Em-Te
Em-Te Mainstreet
Em-Tee Livery & Stable
Saloon of Lost Women
How weird! All the buildings were filled with 'antiques' which were mostly old junk. And there were no staff anwhere apart from the bartender in the saloon. I suppose a ghost town is supposed to be deserted, but we were pretty much the only people around on a cold September day at the start of the autumn. We didn't hang around... Apparently we had just missed a wedding. Maybe the locals here haven't got much else to do...
First Bank of Em-te
The local sawbones (and morgue)
No loos!
We headed south again, skirting the forest now, to the little town of Rocky Mountain House which is right on the edge of the oil and gas fields, before coming a little east to Sundre and eventually (200km later) making it home to western Calgary.
Small gas plant
Our big Monster Truck has to go back in the morning, and to tell the truth, we'll both miss it. It's nice being up in the air a bit when you're driving, especially when about 50% of the other vehicles on the roads here are 4x4s, pickups and trucks. Looks like we might be investing in a 4x4 for the winter months at some stage...
In other news... our friend Emma Breitmeyer gave birth to a baby boy shortly after noon on Saturday 18th September. Benjamin James was almost 6lb, and he's doing well, and so are his mum and dad (Richard). Congratulations, you old Kiwi!
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