July 1st was Canada's 157th Birthday so this post about Confederation park is timely. Confederation is when a few regions of British North America got together in 1867 and declared themselves to be Canada. There was no fight or war like the people United States celebrate on July 4th, we simply asked nicely and independence was given. 100 years later, a nice park was built in Calgary.
The park follows a Coulee with a little stream running through it. The park is long and narrow, roads cross it so they connect it with tunnels and crosswalks. This one was painted to hide the vandalism.
People barbeque in the park- that leaf and grill was imprinted in 2017, the 150th anniversary of Canada. We visiting in the early Spring (in Calgary it comes late) and were here a good month before grilling season.
People were already playing baseball because one has to make the most of the short season. It was a nice day on an April weekend to take a stroll.
Alberta is one of the least Canadian provinces in Canada. It joined confederation in September of 1905, mainly because before then no one was living here. Not everyone in Alberta likes the Federal government because Alberta is has a lot of resources and shares a significant amount of tax with the poorer parts of Canada.
Asides from the beautiful nature and plentiful parks, there are many benefits to living in this province versus the rest of Canada. There is 0% provincial sales tax, land transfer tax is a single fee and is not a percentage, and so is probate or estate taxes. The province doesn't have a huge debt and when oil is expensive they have plenty of tax revenue to save in a heritage fund or to pay off debt with.
Some people want Alberta to spend all of its excess revenue but I have always been one to think it is wise to save money. One day, the oil and gas will run out or be less useful (There's a lot of tar sands and natural gas is plentiful) and we will be glad to have that emergency fund.
When walking around we often chat about things or think about our lives. Health, nature, and money are all very important things we often take for granted. One needs a good balance of all three to thrive. Moving to a less urban environment was the best decision we ever made - all three of those variables have improved.
I wonder what this grate is for, it probably stop branches when there's a flood from clogging the tunnels under the roads but there might be another purpose. This little stream can almost dry up towards the end of the Summer. We have had a lot of rain recently but the city almost ran out of water because 50% of the drinking water supply has been taken out for a month due to a 1.x meter water main pipe breaking.
It's okay, we barely noticed as we spend most nights walking around and don't really have time to maintain a garden. The city is filled with parks and Confederation park is one of the top 10. Most of the parks follow little rivers because they are in coulees or valleys that are stupid places to build houses in because of flooding risks.
I'd like to come back here in the Summer, because the park is just 2 kilometers north of downtown it would be a happening place. On one end of the park there is a golf course and on the other end there is a cemetary.
The park is just about 160 acres so to get a decent walk, one has to explore beyond the public recreation part of the valley. This is one of a couple large cemeteries in town.
The most famous person buried here is Owen Hart, the Blue Angel or Blue Blazer. If you're a WWF or wrestling fan, who used to watch back in the 90s you would know Hart as he won a few tag team championships, various wrestling belts and was once crowned king of the ring! He tragically died in a Intercontinental Championship match on Live Pay Per View television during a fall in a match versus the Godfather. RIP.
All Photos were taken with an s22 and are unfiltered