Alberta Wanderings

Lloyd and I have been doing lots of wandering around Alberta thse past few months. It's such a huge province (255,500 sq. miles or 661,848 sq. km.) and the scenery varies from mountains and lakes to prairies, boreal forest lands, badlands rich in dinosaur digs, cities, towns, villages and everything in between.

When we looked at the map closely, we discovered (several years ago actually) two towns in south-central Alberta with my not-so-common first and second names.  So on one of our trips between Lethbridge and Edmonton we went in search of the towns of Millicent and Patricia.  Interestingly enough these two places were located within 10 km of one another.

Someone liked my name enough to name a community Millicent.

This road is all there is to the unincorporated community.  Lovely
farm land all around.

And then there's Patricia.  A small town at the gateway to the
Alberta Badlands and Dinosaur Provincial Park.  Every small town
in Alberta has an annual rodeo and Patricia is no exception.

Many dinosaur fossils and bones have been found in the Alberta
Badlands, making it quite an popular area for naturalists.

 And while we're on the topic of my name, my last name, MacKenzie, is very well represented in Alberta.  The highway north that Lloyd has travelled for the past 19 years is the Mackenzie Highway, and one of our longest rivers is the Mackenzie, both named after the famous explorer Alexander Mackenzie.  So, I feel right at home in this province.

Here's a few more Alberta sights.

Every town has it's claim to fame! Potatoes are Vauxhall's.

This bridge is located by a recreational area not far from Drumheller

Pigeon Lake near Edmonton

Prairie Sunset with windmills near Taber

Twilight and granddaughter at Henderson Lake in the middle of Lethbridge

Mountain in Banff National Park

Cameron Falls in Waterton Park

Oversize traffic that forces other vehicles off the side of the road.

Oil jacks and bales of hay coexisting in the fields

And lest you think Alberta is all rural, here's some
of Calgary's buildings.

And there you have it - a thumbnail sketch of my adopted province.   Come visit sometime.  You won't regret it.