The Sask Traveller
The Biggar Independent
Well coming out of Banff it would be easy just to stay on the number 1 highway, get to Calgary and head home, however there was still some sights to see and some highways that I haven’t driven on for a long time and one of those highways is highway 40, which heads south from the Trans-Canada Highway and goes around the one last bit of mountains before we head onto the prairies once again.
Kananaskis is a massive 4,000 square kilometer park system, located about an hour west of Calgary, and features a more rugged look at the mountains and features beautiful lakes, mountain peaks for skiing, world championship golf and year round recreational activities that rival any other parks in the Rockies, the difference is that this part of the Rockies is not as much into the commercialization and is much quieter.
Did you know that Kananaskis Village is not a real village, it is a man-made unincorporated community that does not have any permanent residential properties and was strictly built by the Alberta Government for the main purpose of tourism and recreation.
Kananaskis Village is owned solely by the Alberta Government and run within the administration of the Alberta Parks division, with the exception of the Mountain Lodge which is owned by Pomeroy Lodging.
The Kananaskis Golf Course is one of the best rated golf courses in Canada is also owned by the Alberta Government.
This part of the Rockies has been a very popular spot when it comes to being used as a movie backdrop, some of the biggest movies shot here have been Blood Diamond and Brokeback Mountain with many other smaller projects either filmed a piece of or shot the whole movie in the mountains.
Kananaskis has also hosted the G8 and G7 summits when leaders from around the world made their way into Alberta for discussions on foreign policy.
The last interesting fact about the village is that you will not find a Tim Horton’s anywhere near the village, for that matter you won’t find any of the usual brands in the village.
Continuing on around the mountain you will find that the most farming animals run free and you have to watch for cows, and what they leave behind, on the highway, along with many deer and some moose that wonder around.
We were lucky enough to come up to a family of grizzlies alongside the highway, but we couldn’t get close enough for a good picture as the as the park rangers were watching out for them and kept us away from the predators.
After a great drive we come to the community of Longview, population at about 300 people.
This village is on the edge of the Rockies and when you look back at the mountains you get the nicest view of the mountains in a “long view” that is how the community received its name.
At one time Longview was nicknamed as Little New York, maybe because of the oil boom in the late 1930’s.
In 1991 parts of the movie Unforgiven, starring Clint Eastwood was filmed in Longview, Tom Sellick also starred in a movie filmed in Longview along with parts of the movie Interstellar with Matthew McConaughey.
Longview, other than the movies is famous for three things, the Twin Cities Hotel, in which they say is the most haunted hotel in Alberta, famous for over 40 distinct flavors of Beef Jerky and finally the famous Canadian country music icon Ian Tyson called Longview his home for many years.
Join us next week as we continue on our adventures.
