On the road again

March 7, 2026March 5, 2026 / Greg / Leave a comment

I think it is now official. After ten years living in Saskatoon, my favourite road trip destination is Calgary. I can assure you that is not due to the wonderful drive. It is a touch over six hours and after doing it a number of times, describing it as monotonous might be a tad generous. This might be the kind of road trip where the destination compels the journey. Even with good coffee (or road trip appropriate Timmies) and snacks, great company with my wife, and great tunes and podcasts, this drive is a bit of a grind.

On our last visit to Calgary, the drive there was eventful. A couple of very powerful and large thunderstorms made for some white knuckle driving, while a few smaller ones like this one about an hour east of Calgary made for some beautiful scenery.

Prairie highway during a storm in Alberta

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A 50th reimagined

August 21, 2024August 21, 2024 / Greg / Leave a comment

My wife and I have had a string of bad luck with our plans for recent anniversaries and our respective 50th birthdays. Ever the optimist, when a week’s trip to the Okanagan to celebrate her 50th fell through on account of the health of a close friend, we put together a quick three day visit to Calgary because even in tough times you have to find a way to celebrate.

Calgary has quickly become a favourite city for the two of us since moving to Saskatoon. It’s a reasonable 6+ hour drive, we’ve found a favourite hotel, and over a number of visits we’ve found a collection of favourite restaurants and bars to fill a weekend. On top of that list is Native Tongues, where an early meal during their happy hour lets you order the delightfully named “snackarita” that saves you money to buy even more of their amazing tacos. Hands down so far, this is our favourite restaurant in the city.

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Eating our way through Calgary

August 21, 2018August 18, 2018 / Greg / Leave a comment

Any visit to a new to me city means I get excited during the trip planning for laying out an itinerary for my eating and craft beer exploits. And then when I arrive in that city, I am usually consumed with where to eat the next meal or have my next craft beer, even with a plate of food and a cold beer within arms reach and actively being devoured.

I got a lot of strange looks when I told people that this would be my first visit to Calgary. But soon after reminding people Calgary was a lot further away from Halifax than Saskatoon, those quizzical expressions turned into many, many helpful suggestions of places my wife and I should visit during an extended long weekend stay.

One of the most common recommendations was the Calgary’s Farmer’s Market. A pouring down raining Saturday morning made this a no brainer while we waited for the skies to clear for a later day visit to the zoo. Exceptional gluten-free doughnuts from Jelly Modern Doughnuts, a perfectly balanced sweet-spiced iced chai latte from Analog Coffee (as well as a pound of coffee beans to bring back to Saskatoon) and a delicious al pastor taco from Los Chilitos Taqueria made for a nice second breakfast that morning.