With summer coming to an end and COVID still going strong, it is time to think about weekend road trips. Recently, we hopped into the car and headed northeast to see what “off the beaten path” Alberta places we could find.

Having covered most of the small towns immediately northeast of Calgary in a road trip last year, we headed a bit further afield this time.

It was reminder, there is always something fun to find if you live your life everyday with the curiosity of a child. In this case, it turned out to be a historic main street, a funky pharmacy museum and a town full of back alley murals.

First Fun Find: Delia

From our home, its 187 km to Delia on Highway 27. And, after two hours in the car, we were ready to stretch our legs. It has a lovely main street, with its remaining buildings in good repair (sadly something that is not the case for many prairie villages).

What is unique is that where old buildings had been torn down, signage has been installed showing a photo of the building that used to be there and its history. This made for a very pleasant self-guided walking tour.

While wandering, a chance encounter with a local, resulted in learning the historic red brick bank building (most prairie towns have one) had been bought by a Calgarian who was restoring it as a weekend getaway. The light bulb went on…I knew who had bought it - an architect at Riddell Kurczaba Architects who I used to work with.

After a lovely stroll, it was time to move on.

Second Fun Find: Castor

From Delia, Castor is 108 km away. The main reason we stopped here is a colleague of Brenda’s when we first moved to Alberta and she worked for Alberta Agriculture in Valleyview was from Castor. And we were curious. We weren’t expecting much – but were pleasantly surprised!

When we saw a sign for Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital, it sounded interesting so we decided to check it out. WOW…what a hidden gem.

The original 1911 hospital is still there – along with a west wing (added in 1920), an acute care wing (add in 1962) and a long-term care unit (add in 1994), with a courtyard between the three wings. Unfortunately, COVID prevented us for exploring inside.

Link: Canada’s Historic Places: Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital

Nearby, we discovered Castor’s lovely linear park and pathway that meanders through the town along a creek.

Tough it would make for a fun stroll, we opted to check out main street.

We were nicely shocked, as the two block main street was full of stores still in operation. There was even a car “show and shine” happening.

As we wandered, we came upon the Castor Pharmacy Museum, which when peering through the window (as it was closed) looked very interesting.

A sign on the door with a phone number to call said someone could come on short notice (if available) to provide us with a tour.

We decided to move on, and checked out Purple Platypus the used bookstore across the street. The woman there, noticing we had come from the museum, encouraged us to give the owner a call. We did and sure enough, he was there in 15 minutes. It was the best call we have made in a while!

Turns out the museum is the work of Mike Bain, a retired pharmacist from a family of pharmacists. The museum building was the original Bain Family Drug Store.

Yes, Mike’s Dad was also a pharmacist, as was a sibling and his daughter. It not only has a huge collection of pharmacy artifacts dating back to the 1880s, but also an equally impressive collection of mid-century drug store memorabilia – everything from cameras to candies to a soda fountain bar.

It is an amazing trip down memory lane, when the locally owned drug store was more like a general store and often a hang-out spot for teens and seniors. Bain spent over an hour with us, sharing his insights and family’s experiences.

You could feel his pride and passion for his profession. All for no charge (never even mentioned anything about a donation), but we found the donation jar hidden away and made a deposit.

You don’t want to miss this, so best to call ahead (403-882-3356) to ensure you can meet up with Bain and get your personal tour. The Bain Pharmacy Museum is a “must see” tourist attraction in my book!

Video: Mike Bain / Castor Pharmacy Museum

**Looks like we might have to go back to Castor as we missed a lot of fun things. Thanks Jenessa for bringing to readers’ attention that Castor has a lot more to offer than what we have included.**

Third Fun Find: Lacombe

Tough to beat that but we hopped into the car again. A quick 137 km jaunt west from Castor gets you to Lacombe, which not only has a lovely main street, but an excellent mural program. The back alleys, full of murals that celebrate the history of the town, make for a fun walking tour.

Speaking of alleys, a fun things to do in Lacombe is the mid-century Ambassador Lanes bowling alley. Call ahead to reserve your lane (403-782-6119). We also enjoyed browsing in Building Blocks Thrift Store.

By now we were good and hungry (best to bring along some snacks maybe even a lunch when you are on a road trip as often the only places to eat are fast food chains). There are a few good places to eat in Lacombe - Kavaccino’s and Cilantro & Chive are two. For a different dining experience, try The Track On2, just outside of town on Range Road 272 next to Highway 2 (QEII highway). It is a horse racing & event centre that includes a one mile dirt track and the only 7/8 mile turf track in Western Canada. The facility includes a grandstand, a riding arena and a number of stables. Open year round, the facility it is also home to an amazing restaurant, The Funky Monkey Kitchen + Bar featuring famous Chef Pete Sok (2016 winner of Chopped Canada).

Blog: Lacombe Mural Capital of Alberta

Last Word

Unfortunately, we found many of the small prairie towns and villages east of Calgary that we visited this year and last year are almost ghost towns – sad and a little depressing. However, some hidden gems are still to be found if you are curious, patient and persistent.

So, as we all continue to cope with COVID and can’t travel like we used to think about a road trip this fall to some villages, towns and cities in your region you haven’t visited in a long time or perhaps ever.