Saturday, September 1, 2012

Where has all the Traffic Gone...

Mom drove Dad and I all over Medicine Hat today so that we could see the sights. It is a lovely city with parks everywhere. We drove through Strathcona Island Park, and then on to Police Point Park. The bike path winds through both, and I suppose join up with the one from across the city. At Police Point we went for a walk along the trails - it was so pretty with glimpses of the river and the cliffs. Huge cottonwoods tower overhead, and low sagebrush perfumes the air. I couldn't resist brushing my hands through the sagebrush leaves (I would have rolled 1/2 dressed in them if I wasn't afraid of rattlesnakes - oh and if my parents hadn't been there!).

Next Mom dropped Dad and I off at the precipice of the cliff. Stairs (many many stairs), some very scary high overpasses over the roads and the railway (no train thank goodness), and we were down at the bottom. Mom was already waiting for us so we piled (or would that be squeezed) into the car and drove around the corner to see the 12 stations of the cross (plus 3 more for good luck). They were made by an artist from clay bricks that he carved and then fired. It is in a lovely garden with an amazing American Elm in the centre. There were even a doe and a fawn grazing on the lawn.

Let's talk about the traffic... there is none! Even in the "busy" mall/big box store area the traffic is light compared to Ottawa. Some of the lights make up for it though! My gosh a person could go grey waiting for the lights to change in the more complicated intersection. Which brings me to city planning - why are there so many weird angles? The streets seem to run helter skelter... perhaps due to the hills, as much of the Hat is terraced into the cliffs of the South Saskatchewan.

There is an ice cream place not that far from Graham's. We pass it often in our trips about town. BUT... I am quite certain that if I tried to walk there now I would get lost. There is at least one Y intersection, and there might actually be two... I'd have to lay a trail of crumbs.

We stopped at the mall for a quick Chinese food lunch and then wandered over to the western store. Oh my THE BLING!!! I love western bling! Some of the belts were over the top, but gosh they'd be good with a pair of jeans (if only they were on sale). And the cowboy boots - lets just say that there was every colour combination you could imagine. There were some really cute ones with soles like blunestones and short cowboy tops (I want some! if only I could fit them in my suitcase, or I could wear them with my dress on the plane - I've done stranger clothing combinations!). I might have to visit again tomorrow and treat myself to a birthday gift - and save Carm the trouble of shopping ;-)

We stopped for another visit with Uncle Olaf. He was napping when we got there and was obviously very tired from yesterday's interview and Thursday's picnic. Back at Graham's I switched over to his car and we drove to the giant grocery store.

Tonight will be a quiet night as everyone is pretty tired. Maybe we'll go for a walk to that ice cream shop though!

No comments: