Alberta Trip 2023 Day 10 Wednesday June 14 Calgary, Airdrie

LAST UPDATED: January 2, 2026 

This is the 10^th of a series of posts dealing with my 2023 trip to Calgary, Edmonton, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a year later or to add further clarification. These are indicated by “NOW”.

 Another emotional roller coaster day. It started to rain just as I was about to leave the Calgary Hub hostel. At first it wasn't so bad and the umbrella kept my camera safe. But then the wind picked up and proceeded to wreck the umbrella, which was only in its second day of use. Someone saw me struggling and offered me a ride. My main destination would have been too soon but I agreed to a ride to a McDonald's along the way (on 32nd Ave NE). After breakfast the rain subsided and I was able to walk to Whitehorn Station okay. I had over a half hour wait for my bus; towards the end the rain picked up again. The 900 Airdrie Transit bus finally arrived. During the ride my viewsreen somehow got an internal scratch. Well, better that than the lens. No stops were announced so I took a guess where to get off, which proved to me my planned stop anyway.

 It was definitely coming down when I got off the bus in Airdrie. I stumbled upon Jensen Park, which had a covered area, so I stood in there while I figured out a plan. I walked to the not yet open Where on Earth... Antique Mall, and then started back towards where I started in Airdrie. I only got as far as Jensen Park and stood in the same covered area until it was close to the time for the antique mall to open. The workers there offered to lend me an umbrella but I politely declined as I probably wouldn't have been able to return it.

Treasure Cove Comics was open early, though there was some construction inside. A dog inside seemed curious and suspicious. I got permission to photograph the dog, whereupon I noticed my camera wasn't working right. The owner gave me some paper towels to rest the camera on and I browsed longer than planned. I did buy a Blu-ray and a TV DVD. Not sure if I managed to get that dog photo. The camera wasn't working at time of leave so tried to protect it as well as I could in my backpack.

[NOW: I did managed to photograph the dog.]

I think I just missed the bus back so tried to intercept it the other direction but got turned around. I tried taking a few photos with my cell but even that was tricky in the rain, plus cell has limited memory. I thought about going to Snap Collectibles as originally planned but I had already missed one hourly bus and it seemed unlikely I could get photos. I visited a thrift store near Treasure Cove and then returned to the bus stop, opting for the incoming stop to be in a dry bus longer, The 900 return bus finally arrived, and beyond a few hiccups, was able to get my camera working again. As long as I didn't turn it off I was fine.Airdrie did seem nice as far as I could see and I regret that the weather didn't permit me to explore the way I wanted to.

[NOW: Snap Collectibles has moved.] 

I returned to Whitehorn Station, Calgary. There was a wait, where I stayed in the indoor area, but a 202/Blue Line CTrain (all remaining transit today Calgary Transit) finally arrived. At this point I figured out I could get the camera working if I pressed the shutter while it was trying to turn on. There was some sort of incident and the light rail was one lane for a stretch, so this time the bit about "doors *normally* open on the left/right made sense. At one an area was partly blocked off. Looked like a store had a fire, ironically. I got off at West 1 St Station and grabbed a late lunch at the usual downtown McDonald's, the rain having stopped. I think cardboard covered broken glass at the entrance,two of the self-serve screens didn't work (one was smashed) and the other two were only accessible via narrow space, and one of the two pop fountain dispensers was broken but it was good enough for a meal. At a Dollarama a couple doors down (same one as before) I got some comic trades and my main objective, a new umbrella. I put the broken one in a garbage can.

[NOW: The above McDonald’s and Dollarama are on 8 Ave SW.]

 I walked to Dragon City Mall again and revisited Super Video. Curiously the mall has signage pointing to restrooms but then says they're not for the public. I walked Prince Island's Park again, spending more time there than before. At one point I crossed a large bridge and back. I eventually left the park and crossed the Peace Bridge and back (so lots of views of Bow River). I walked to a park near Shelf Life Books, Central Memorial Park. I had passed by it on day 1 and it looked interesting so I wanted to revisit it. I revisited Shelf Life Books. Some books I was tempted by, but they were new and I'm hoping to not have to pay for another check in bag at the airport. I walked to West 7th Station.

I let one 201 Red Line Ctrain pass because it was too crammed but since that appeared to be the case with all trains given the delays due to whatever incident, the next time a 201 train showed up I let myself get crammed in. No photos during the train ride. Way too crammed for that. When I got off at Brentwood Station my camera was working normally again. Not trusting the weather, I had dinner at Wendy's (same as yesterday breakfast) despite the late lunch. I visited a Dollarama at Brentwood Centre and got a couple Blu-rays at CD Trader. I took a 38 bus to near the hostel. I was right not to trust the weather; it was starting to rain again. I think either my own water bottle or the bottled water bottle I was reusing has a leak. I made it to the hostel before the rain got too bad again, calling it an early night. It was time to quit while I was ahead with the camera. Even now tomorrow will tell the tale. If it's still working okay tomorrow, I'm probably okay. I chatted a while with one of the other people staying here, so the early end of the day still had me doing something borderline vacation. Tomorrow if it comes to it I'll take a bus somewhere to get a day pass despite the extra fare, as my main priority is having a working camera Friday for the flight home.

NOW: As it turns out, the weather held for the remainder of the trip. The full name of the mall is Brentwood Village Shopping Centre.]

Alberta Trip 2023 Day 9 Tuesday June 13 Calgary

LAST UPDATED: January 2, 2026 

This is the 9^th of a series of posts dealing with my 2023 trip to Calgary, Edmonton, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a year later or to add further clarification. These are indicated by “NOW”.

In the morning the weather forecast was sunny all day so I decided to chance the last parks day. I worked my way west. I didn't realize until I was well into my walk that a backpack pouch was open and I had lost one of my more reliable pens. I was going too head straight to the University of Alberta but I was getting hungry and figured I'd have better lunch heading towards Brentwood Station, not far from the university. I found a Wendy's right by Brentwood Station and grabbed breakfast there.

[NOW: I started out from the Calgary Hub hostel. The university was actually University of Calgary]

I bought a daypass at the station and then took the Red Line/201 CTrain (all transit today Calgary Transit) one stop to University Station. I did a slight exploration of the university and then took another 201 train to the end of the line, Somerset-Bridlewood Station. Partly to kill time, I visited Walmart then took the 201 train to Canyon Meadows Island. I wanted to visit Bonaventure Island on Lake Bonaventure, but it appears some rich person had bought the trail to the island and thus the public can't access it because it's private property. I don't think you can see the lake from any direction unless you own property in the area. Not a fan of making lakes only accessible to property owners.

 I walked to the north end of Fish Creek Provincial Park and walked along the trail. To get to the south end, with better paths, I had to walk along the highway further than expected. I finally made it and explored a little. I was reluctant to reverse the route facing away from traffic and some parts of Fish Creek are pretty dry so I put my shoes and socks in my backpack and slowly walked across the small bit of small water.

I climbed a hill and made my way to Arby's. I think that was the first time I ate at an Arby's since the one at Mayfair Shopping Centre closed.

[NOW: That Arby's is on Canyon Meadows Dr. The latter mall is in Victoria.]

I took another 201 CTrain to Chinook Station and visited that area's Fair's Fair Books. I found a couple of comics related books, including the Super DC Dictionary from the 1970s. It's a children's dictionary that adult comic fans have discovered have unintentional humour. To get a sense of the appeal, Google "Luthor forty cakes"; I strongly urge you to try that.

I took one more 201 CTrain to City Hall Station and transferred to a 202/Blue Line train to Whitehorn Station. I noticed distinct storm clouds. At Books Between Friends, despite it being just after 2:30, I was told they were closing in ten minutes; they normally close at 4. I took a 38 bus west a ways.

Heading north I noticed the rain starting so I ran to a bus shelter where I switched to my slightly damaged camera, put on a coat, and pulled out the fold-out umbrella I hoped I wouldn't have to use but had prepared just in case. It started coming down hard and I recorded the sound of thunder on video. While there was no signage I found Nerd Pharmaceuticals where I chatted with the dealer a bit about the rain. He gave me an extra plastic bag to protect my stuff. The rain subsided a bit and I soon took a 32 bus to Rundle Station. From there I took another 202 CTrain to Bridgeland Memorial Station.

[NOW:  Nerd Pharmaceuticals has closed.]

I walked to 9th Ave SE and visited That Old Retro Store and Recordland Limited, and revisited The Next Page and 9th Ave's Fair's Fair Books. I revisited City Hall's fountain, then had dinner at McDonald's. At Winners I found a pair of shorts I wanted. The size is smaller than my usual but while a little tricky to get on, they are comfortable enough once on so I bought them. I returned to the fountain briefly.

[NOW: The water jets are actually at Olympic Plaza, so near City Hall but not at it. That McDonald’s and Winners are on 8 Ave SW.]

I should have switched back to the other camera sooner. I tried zooming with the damaged camera to see which bus was coming. Now I have a lens error and can't even zoom out back to default. Hope it's still under warranty. I know it's close to running. Now I'm down to one camera so have to be extra careful.

[NOW: The warranty ended a few months earlier.]

I took a 5 bus back to Calgary Hub hostel. After dropping my stuff off I did a brief stroll to Nose Creek; en route a rabbit was relaxing on the sidewalk so I got some shots but crossed the street and back so as not to disturb it. It was gone when I returned to the hostel.

Alberta Trip 2023 Day 8 Monday June 12 Calgary

 LAST UPDATED: January 2, 2026

This is the 8^th of a series of posts dealing with my 2023 trip to Calgary, Edmonton, and vicinity. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a year later or to add further clarification. These are indicated by “NOW”.

 Definitely one of the better days despite a few quibbles. My alarm from last week woke me up around 4; that was supposed to be one only. Did manage to get a bit more sleep. Sleeping in a bed is far nicer than a bunk. I eventually got up and checked the forecast. The next two days were supposed to be sunny (albeit smoky today) followed by rain Wednesday and Thursday. Since I had park focussed days scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, I hedged my bets and did my Wednesday itinerary today. Passing a rabbit (maybe the same one as before) I had breakfast at the A&W nearest to the Calgary Hub hostel, after a short bit of wandering around before the dining room opened at 7. Unlike what I'm used to, that A&W asks to stay or to go rather than for here or to go.

[NOW: That A&W is on McKnight Blvd.] 

Because of the limited places you can get a day buspass I walked the long distance to SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. I think it was there that I saw another rabbit. There was construction there but finally managed to reach the light rail station there. I bought a daypass (all transit today Calgary Transit) and took a 201/Red Line CTrain to 39 Ave Station. I bought a Slurpee at a nearby 7-11 and walked to Stanley Park, which I also visited last Tues. I walked to Britannica Park (my map book called it Riverdale Park but it's a bit outdated). I saw people walking through the river because it was so shallow. I walked in a little but decided that while crossing the river would have made for a good story, I didn't want to risk slipping and dunking the camera in water. From there I crossed over to the not entirely accurately named Sandy Beach. It did have a restroom. I walked west and then south to a Circle K. They were almost out of sandwiches so because I knew I'd be at my next destination awhile, I reluctantly spent over $8 on two premade sandwiches, and also bought a Pepsi Frostee.

[NOW: That Circle K is on Crowsnest Trail SW.] 

Heading south I dodged the metaphorical bullet: my backpack has two separate zippers to the same back section and the lower one had started to unzip; I noticed this when I sat down for a rest and saw my other camera sticking out. I zipped it up and soon after saw my next bus (66) on a layover and ran to it. Had I not needed a rest right before then, there's a good chance that when I ran for the bus, the other camera would have fallen out and landed on concrete. Instead I had a more relaxing trip to Weaselhead Flats. 

Weaselhead Flats has some amazing views of the Elbow River, some from above, some at ground level. It was a nice place to hike and I got some great shots. There's one area for people who are a bit... uninhibited (as tends to be the case for some middle-agers, but not this particular middle-ager). Fortunately because there were only a few and mainly spaces apart a fair ways, I was able to get photos of the river without people in the shots even there. But that was only a tiny section of the nature reserve. I also saw a group of school kids so it's definitely all ages friendly overall. And there are so many nice and distinct views of the river, including where it curves, I would say that it's not to be missed when visiting Calgary.

 I took another 66 bus back downtown (it arrived at the stop just after I did; really lucked out there). After grabbing some bus schedules from a transit centre, I walked to City Hall, having noticed on the train that this one also has water jets, though the set-up's a bit different (larger so jets more spaced out, and apparently not chlorinated). One guy was scolding the fountain. Restrooms were closed and the sign said they weren't to be used as changing rooms anyway. There were portable potties nearby so I changed into my swimsuit and walked into the jets.

[NOW: The water jets are actually at Olympic Plaza, so near City Hall but not at it.]

I was supposed to bus to Chestermere soon after but it's an hour each way and there were only two buses going there spaced an hour apart. Plus it would have made for a more late dinner. I decided not to risk it. I instead took a 202/Blue Line CTrain to McKnight-Westwinds Station. I couldn't find Talwandi Video. The Real Canadian Superstore wanted too much for cold drinks. I took another 202 CTrain to Calgary Zoo Station.

[NOW; Talwandi Video Store, if still around at the time, is now closed.] 

I visited the zoo, focussing on animatronic dinosaurs. I did see one wild animal: a large garter snake crossed the path I was on. I know some would be unnerved but it was just going about its business same as me. I took another CTrain back to City Hall. Definitely time better spent than in Chestermere. I grabbed strawberry water from a tourist shop and then grabbed a 3 bus; this time being unencumbered I was able to switch from the 5 stop to the 3. A little worried that the guy behind me was coughing. I got off and grabbed dinner from my usual A&W before returning to the hostel. I told a guy what I did today and he said it was a busy day. I told him this was one of my slower days.

[NOW: There’s more to the zoo story but I decided I didn’t want to share it with the public. I folded in the snake bit from a later report.]