1st Visit to Cochrane
I'm not yet up to hiking the mountains following my illness so I took myself off to Cochrane, a small town west of Calgary to have a look around. The town is actually a thriving modern town much the same as many other Canadian towns, but it does have a few streets that take you back a little.
I parked beside a small mall with a candy store that promised 'British sweets', I knew I would be making a stop in there before I went home.
I parked beside a small mall with a candy store that promised 'British sweets', I knew I would be making a stop in there before I went home.
Sugarbritches was now on my radar but I decided to take a look around before buying anything to carry home.
there are a several blocks of old western style buildings all in the same area and they make a nice stress free wander on a beautiful sunny day. Temperatures are running about 10 degrees today so my T-shirt is all I need.
as is always the case with such areas the stores are focussed on art, gifts and cafes, the perfect place for Sarah.
Apparently the Rocky View Hotel is the place to be in the evenings, it has a good bar and restaurant and if anyone is interested at the time of writing they are seeking doormen for Friday and Saturday nights.....cowboy fights no doubt part of the job.
McKays Ice Cream has been here since 1948 and had a good number of customers as I passed by, I didn't go in but I'm sure I will see inside there when Ethan comes over again....or maybe before if Sarah has anything to do with it.
now we're talking.....I resisted the urge to take on a huge steak pie but did wander around the store. They had some great western stuff for the tourists....I still don't know if I'm one of them or not but I do like to browse these places, they always have some weird and wonderful stuff.
along a side street I saw two barbers next door to each other and two hairdressers next door to each other too, can't weigh up if they have a particularly hairy population here or they are trying to p*** each other off.
I had a good look around all the nooks and crannies before returning to the main street and beginning a small shopping spree.
I made some rash purchases in one particular store, so much so that I had to leave the stuff there and go bring the truck up to collect them, or maybe it was just easier to do that.....either way that was what I did and the weight of one particular piece when I collected them left me glad I did.
On the way out I collected a good selection of sweets and some other little things for Sarah before taking the longer route home along highway 1a, making a nice circuit. I stopped on the aptly named 'Big Hill' to take a shot of the beautiful blue sky and whisps of cloud, the Rockies away in the distance look beautiful with the naked eye though a wide angle lens from distance prevents me sharing that particular view.
It was a nice little wander for a sunny afternoon, it's great to be back in a T-shirt and exploring the area again, I think Sarah will have me back here before very long if only to try McKays Ice Cream.