August 5 - Where are You Rooster

Everyone has gone for a hike, leaving me to spend a quite day alone. After spending some time alone reading, I went for a quick walk around the river and then decided that it was time to find that silly Rooster. I took another spin through the industrial area and then up towards Exshaw. My latest directions said it was located off Hwy 1A across from a parking lot in at Canmore Welding Ltd., across the road from Burnco Rock Products Concrete Plant. Problem a: Canmore Welding Ltd. doesn't seem to exist online or in the phonebook. Burnco Rock is located Hwy 1A, 3 km east of Canmore Limits. No such luck. Much like Depression Pete in Legal, the location on the Rooster will have to be found on another day.

August 2 - Canmore Day Two

After dropping the boys off to hike, my mother and I went to find the original mine entrance. Beside the mine entrance is the original lamp house structure. I was excited to see this one, because I had read so much of the history. First, my mom and I needed to wind our way through some street and then find a place to park. Once we left the vehicle, we quickly realised the errors of our ways: we'd both sent the mosquito spray with our men. Hoodies up, we braved our way through the long grass. I was mortified to see how much vandalism and graffiti had overtaken the sight. It reinforced the need for someone to take ownership of the propriety and for more funding for the arts.

Covered in mosquito bites, we decided to stay in the car for the next few items. It turns out we stayed in the car longer than anticipated, as we drove around trying to find the metal rooster. We drove around the whole industrial area. Some how we ended up back on Hwy 2 and needed to take an exit back into Canmore. One more quick tour to try and find the rooster, before giving up. Heading back to the condo, I decided to make a quick stop to get a photo the eagle statue in the creek parking lot.

A quick drive by the hoodoos and the day is of big thing hunting.

August 1 - Canmore Area

It always amazes me that no matter how many times you might visit somewhere there are always new things to be discovered. I think that one of the most enjoyable parts of these road trips as been playing an Alberta tourist. We never truly think of ourselves as tourist in our own city or province for that matter. This summer I am stopping to look at things from a visitors perspective, and in doing so I am seeing things that I may have normally walked right past.

When we were in Canmore for the Easter break, the boys pointed out a cool big head at the beginning of main street. We of course stopped to take pictures. This time, I was again stopped to look at the big head and again take photos of this striking sculpture. It is appropriately named Big Head that is apparently a translation of the Gaelic Ceann Mór, which happens to be a variation of the town's name. It is located on 8th Street, at the Northeast side of the bridge over Policeman's Creek.

Continue walking down main street and you will eventual see a statue of a miner. The bronze statue was set up on Miner's Day in 2008 as a tribute to all the men who worked in the Canmore Mines.

After a quick visit down main street, we went towards Eagle Terrace, for a walk up the creek, towards Lady McDonald. Although the weather was chilly, and the boys had refused to bring their swimming trunks, it was time for a quick stop to play in the creek. I stayed with the boys by the "pool", and the others went for a short walk up the creek. I had so much fun watching the boys move rocks around and splashing in the water. Eventually, I managed to dare them both to go under the water. Unfortunately once we were done playing and heading back to the car with the others, I noticed how many mosquito bites the boys both had. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought they had Chicken Pox.