Alberta | |
Okotoks to Cranbrook by Greyhound | |
Some of this journey was done by car before repeating it in its entirety as part of the first section of a coach journey from Calgary to Vancouver, stopping off at Nelson and Kelowna along the way. The coach makes stops at the principal towns and at some of them there is a short break which gives a chance for photography. But a car is essential if you want to spend longer in any of the places. Cinema goers may recognize the Java Shop in Fort Macleod which features in Brokeback Mountain. Passengers have time there to get a snack in the Java Shop which is the Greyhound Agent and at which the coach stops for a short while. The opening scenes of the film also show Cowley (the next stop) purporting to be Signal, Wyoming. But you have no opportunity there to leave the coach. Although Heads-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is not on the Greyhound route and you need a car. One thing to remember if you intend breaking your coach journey along the way is that there may not be another coach for 24 hours. | |
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Okotoks, Elizabeth Street - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Okotoks, MacRae Street - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Boot Hill Gallery, Okotoks (left); Longview Jerky Shop, near Okotoks (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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This grain elevator (above) at Okotoks no longer stores grain and the brown building in the background is the former passenger depot. An empty grain train (right) heads out of town from Okotoks - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Harvest fields near Okotoks - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Railway bridge at High River (left); Route 216 (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Colourful restored grain elevators at Nanton - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Nanton Air Museum - photo editing has removed the stands. The indoor collection includes an Avro Lancaster - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Nanton - modern grain silo (left) and Aunt Alma's home cooking (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Route 216 between Okotoks and Fort Macleod - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Claresholm - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is not on the Greyhound route - a car is essential to visit here - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Fort Macleod at Crowsnest Highway and 2nd Avenue with the Fort Museum (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Fort Macleod standby Greyhound coach outside the Java Shop in Fort Macleod - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Fort Macleod Java Shop in 2nd Avenue. Greyhound Coaches between Calgary and Kelowna make a brief stop at the Java Shop which doubles as the Greyhound agent- PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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The inside of the Java Shop may look familiar - it features in the film Brokeback Mountain - PHOTOS Malcolm McCrow |
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Silos by the railway at Fort Macleod - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Cowley, Alberta (Signal Wyoming) is the next stop for the coach after Fort Macleod. The rail tracks feature in the town's coat of arms (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Cowley, Alberta also features in Brokeback Mountain as Signal, Wyoming. - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Cowley is not a large town and the Greyhound calls only briefly but you need to come by car if you want to see the [parallel] street and buildings which appear in the film - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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The butcher's shop (above) - viewed from the railway - was boarded up to appear as a warehouse in the film Brokeback Mountain and Joe Aguirre's trailer was located in the car park; careful camera shots and a fence were needed to obscure the wind farm on the hill behind the church (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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The Frank Slide occurred in April 1903 when the side of Turtle Mountain collapsed and engulfed the town of Frank - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Grain elevator forms a backdrop to a coal train (left); wind turbines (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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Mural on a wall in an unidentified town (left); arriving Cranbrook, BC where the coach stopped for about 40 minutes (right) - PHOTOs Malcolm McCrow | |
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A trio of Canadian Pacific SD40-2s head a manifest through Cranbrook, the last stop for the Greyhound in Alberta - VIDEO CAPTUREs Malcolm McCrow | |
Canada | |
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