SHORTS: you can wear shorts, a beer tee shirt and sandals in Buford, Thorsby, Calmar, and Leduc Alberta. Everybody does, or nearly. In the elevator of our hotel in Leduc a guy asked me if I was a cowboy. I was wearing flippers, a pair of old khaki shorts and a beer tee shirt. There was a cowboy conference in the hotel. This was really confusing because I"m very aware of what cowboys usually wear. I turns out the guy was an oil field worker. I've come to the conclusion most people can't tell a person by their dress. So don;t worry about it. It is beautiful country especially between Camrose and Forestburg, some of the prettiest farm country I've seen anywhere. Relatives were visited, beer was sampled, and the prices of everything was duly noted. We brought back Robin Hood flour, and an assortment of candy bars. You should go.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33818 posts
I was wearing flippers seal?
Posted by
OP
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
Sated.
Posted by
OP
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
We were just a few hours ahead of the flood when going north. Emergency vehicles from Edmonton were driving south on the other side of the freeway. A week later as we were returning the flooding was over in Calgary but some of it had moved further east. We had no trouble, hovever, Calgary really suffered. The town of High River had moved all the residents out of town and they were still evacuated as of last Friday. RCMP were keeping the residents from returning and the resident, understandabley were warning of civil unrest if they didn't get to return to their homes. A First Nations reservation in the area also suffered badly. Apparently, the flooding in Calgary was the worst ever. In the Calgary Stampede arena the water reached up to the tenth row of seats. Really bad. As we were driving through Montana the southern edge of the storm was letting down rain and hail. At one point the hail was so bad traffic was stopping. We have a few hail dimples in the roof of our Honda Fit. Inside the care the hail sounded like bullets. Then there's the guy in the elevator asking if I'm a cowboy. The oil boom in Alberta has brought a lot of prosperity to the region. Highways are excellent, prices in grocery and liquor stores is higher than in Idaho, especially groceries and beer. The people are salt of the earth. Fine, fine folks. They are good neighbors who are trying to understand how our politics has gotten so devisive. We were there for a Russian Orthodox funeral, my wife's parents. We visited two of the old Orthodox country churches, saw lots of relatives, and tried to keep up in the liquid category. If I can help with specifics let me know
Posted by
St. Louis, MO USA
1976 posts
Thanks for this trip report. I'm definitely interested in exploring more of Canada. What's the latest news on the flooding in Calgary?
Posted by
Peterborough, ON, Canada
1631 posts
Might I ask why you purchased Robin Hood flour?
Posted by
OP
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
Yes, you might. My wife, who bakes, claims it is the best baking flour there is. You should see the quizical looks on the border agents face when we tell him/her what purchases we are bringing back. Two years ago when we were coming back with flour the woman agent and my wife had a talk about the benefits of Robin Hood flour and she wrote down the name so she would remember to get some.
Posted by
Peterborough, ON, Canada
1631 posts
Interesting about the flour. I've not heard that before. Next time I'm in the kitchen I'll do a test on Robin Hood vs. Bulk Barn flour. That should be at Christmastime,knowing me!