Day 13 - Sunday, September 29

Sorry for the late post - it was a late arrival. We left Rocky Mountain House and are now in Okotoks, essentially a southern suburb of Calgary. Before leaving RMH I noticed the standard "Do Not Disturb" sign on our door - I always appreciate humour in unexpected places.

Once again we took the secondary rather than the main highway. Always a better choice if you have the time. The Cowboy Trail, Highway 22, runs 584 kilometres through the foothills and ranch country along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. It made for a pleasant trip.

The Longbranch Saloon in Caroline was sadly but not surprisingly closed. It was for sale but I'd rather visit cool stuff - far too much work to run it.  😅

This was a totally unexpected serendipitous occurrence. I had no idea it existed, much less here along the road we were travelling. My new book Canada: Coast to Coast to Coast will be a three volume set. Volume 1, Heading East is available now. Volume 2 should be ready by late spring 2025. It is titled Westward Ho. So this was so cool...

Continuing south we stopped at Bottrel at Alberta's oldest general store. It was the local version of a Route 66 memorabilia store. The woman who ran it was eager to talk so engaged Karen for about half an hour. An amazing stop.

As we were about to leave, a local woman suggested I go into the vintage phone booth on the edge of the property and read the sign. Always happy to oblige, I'm glad I did. What a beautiful thought.

We found a great old place in Okotoks and I do mean old. A 1929 inn, it still holds an authentic charm and there's a great pub attached. Sweet landing spot and it should serve as a good location for exploring the area.

😎