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11/7/2015 Part 7: Fort Calgary - October 12, 2015 On the last day of this weekend visit to Alberta, I had a decent bit of time before my flight back to Seattle from Calgary. So I decided to go and check out Fort Calgary, which sits just outside of Downtown. The fort is the location of the first settlement in Calgary, and it was where the Royal Canadian Mounted Police originated. The fort sits on the converging point of the Bow and Elbow rivers. Upon arrival, these plaques and signs help to introduce you to Fort Calgary, and one of Alberta's most prominent people, James Macleod, who served as the second commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police (the group that would later become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police).       There are a collections of statues on the grounds of Fort Calgary, from the bison that roam the lands of Central North America, to the likes of James Macleod mentioned above and another Mountie. There was even a garden with a Mountie scarecrow.  
 The museum for Fort Calgary is a combination of an interpretive center that was built in the 1970's, and and an old barracks building that was used at the turn of the century from the 1800's to 1900's. The barracks has an exhibit that shares the story and history of Fort Calgary, and the Mounties. There also are models of the layout of the fort at different periods of time. 
  One of the interesting ways that they share this story is by making their signs and displays in the form of social media posts from the different people who were prominent to the settlement of the area, as well as natives who lived in the region at the time.
 Inside of the connecting interpretive center, there are replicas and displays that show what life was like at different time periods in Calgary, from the times of European Settlement in the 1800's, progressing into more modern times.     One of my favorite parts of the interpretive center is where you can dress like a Mountie! They have a variety of hats, gloves, boots and other accessories that you can wear. 
 And like any good museum-type facility, they have a gift shop. This may be the biggest collection of mountie themed items I have ever seen. They had everything from nutcrackers, plush toys, glasses, figures and books.
   On the way out, I couldn't help but notice that you get an excellent view of the city from the grounds of the fort, which was certainly a nice farewell to receive before heading back home to the Seattle area.  And with that, the weekend visit to Alberta was complete. I want to thank you for taking to time to read this Travel Log, and I hope that you'll come back for more on Coasting with Culutre. Take Care and Safe Travels! |
