Ramblin’

Hey y’all.  How was your Victoria Day long weekend?  Jeff + I spent ours wandering around our neck of the prairies.

You Americans, just so you know!  Victoria Day is a public holiday in Canuck Land to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday.  Canucks love Queen Victoria’s birthday because they get a three day weekend.  Holla!!!!

Hmmmmmmm……Jeff stop working!!!!  Grrrr!!!!

Jeff works 14-16 hours a day!  And then after work + on weekends he’ll be on the computer inputting information + downloading continuity pictures.  The man never stops I tell you!!!  I shouldn’t complain.  At least he loves his work!

After I literally dragged him away from the computer + stopped throwing things at his head, we drove south towards Nanton.  On the drive down, since Jeff is a water baby + is always on the search for bodies of water to paddle board in, we took a detour but only found a dry lake bed.

Alberta has had it’s history in periods of drought – leaving many farmers destitute.  I wondered what kind of stories this little shed could tell.

Nanton has become a tourist destination for antiques.  But y’all don’t get too excited.  Nanton’s main drag is literally 2 blocks long, if that.  Actually, a lot of the towns close to where Jeff + I are living this summer average around that size.

Nanton’s heritage buildings are very charming!

I had to take this picture because these ultra cutesy, happy lawn figurines made me flip out in a love/hate kind of way.

As in – I kind of wanted to buy them all, but they made me kind of queasy at the same time.

There aren’t many dining options in Nanton + I remembered on the corner of Main Street there was a hotel that had a restaurant.  Needless to say, the food at the Auditorium Hotel was ooookay, but yet there were a lot of locals in the restaurant.  I had Mexican food because apparently the chef is Mexican.  It was the best Mexican I’ve had in Canada so far – which isn’t saying much because I’ve had A LOT of REALLY HORRIBLE Mexican food!!!   Here’s Jeff in the lobby.

The Auditorium Hotel was built in 1902.  Alotta history there, people!  The bar area looked really old school – we’re definitely going to hit it next time!

There are a couple good antique shops in Nanton + they are all stuffed to the gills!!!

I want to buy many, many things, but I just look + admire, because if I pick up something I like I’ll want to own it!  And y’all know we don’t need more things.

A fun place to stop by is the Nanton Candy Store.  From the outside you’re like, “Uuuuuuh…”

But the inside is BUMPIN’!!!  It’s crazy, crowded, happy chaos!  All the kids that work there seem like they’re from the popular crowd at high school + they blast country music + all sing along + bop around.  It’s really cute.  At my high school all the popular girls worked at the Italian deli.  I always wondered about that, because why would you want to smell like cured meat + cheese?

I was jazzed with one of the songs on the radio + asked one of the employees, “Who sings this song?”.  I have no idea what she said back to me + I had her repeat herself TWICE.  Ahhh, youths….

Wouldn’t cha know it, their back room is filled with STUFF!!!  Now Jeff is really like a kid in a candy store!!!

What’s up with these figurines + why were they ever created???

Looking at this wolf made me really sad.  It’s so beautiful + it’s just unceremoniously hung up on the wall with grip clips!

Well, we only hit a couple shops because we had a late start + it was getting closer to dinner time.  We drove the backroads home + it truly is big sky country out here!

There are sooooo many fields of cows in Alberta, you wouldn’t believe!  Cattle country!

How much do you love this sign?  I love this sign!

Cool murals on the gas station walls in Longview.

Well, that’s it for this edition of “Shelli + Jeff’s Country Adventures!”.  There was a lot of randomness thrown in this post.  That’s because my brain is feeling really random from staring at Jeff’s corporate receipts all day.  Anyhoooo, thanks for putting up with my cluttered brain today!