Heritage Park Part 1

On our day in Calgary we found a great place to go explore and spend our day.  It was called Heritage Park and they had tons of different historical displays that were fascinating!  I think this was one of the most memorable places of the trip just because it was so different and there were so many different things to interest all of us there.  Alden loved that they had a train and steamboat that we got to ride on.  There were also a lot of horses around that he got to see and there were tons of exhibits that he could look at and explore.

We thought this was going to be a few hour long outing but we ended up being there from when they opened until an hour before they closed and we didn't get to see and do everything.  We had a great time and took tons of photos because everything was so interesting and fun.

Right outside the park.  You can see that Alden is wearing his "prize" in this photo from the National Historic Site.

When we first got there we tried to study the map and figure out what we were doing.  We soon decided we would just walk and explore and figure it out as we went.

They had lots of cool cars in an area that they called Gasoline Alley.

Alden thought these were really cool and had fun exploring with Grandpa.

Apparently Alden has picked out the car that he wants.

Alden thought it was so fun to get to ride on this on the track that they had set up for kids.

Drew had fun getting to check out this car.

I agree, I would be terrified if Alden was driving.

Alden wanted to stop and look at everything as we walked past.  Everything here was so interesting to him.

A cool windmill that we saw but we never had time to go closer.

They had multiple houses from different time periods throughout the park that you could walk through and see.  Alden liked the little boy's room in this house.

Alden was so excited to get to ride on the train.

He loved watching it pull into the station and then was jumping up and down for his turn to get on it.

Alden was so happy to be on the train!

So fun to get to spend time with my little boy.

This was looking out at a "Main Street" area that we would visit later from the train.

After riding the train we got off to go walking and exploring more.  We found this other train that we could see up close and we watched the train go by that we had just ridden on.

This was the old trading fort that they had set up for us to explore.

Alden was really funny during this guy's talk.  He was talking about trapping animals and setting a trap for a grizzly bear.  He said you had to be really brave to set the grizzly bear trap or you might get yourself.  He asked who was really brave and wanted to help and Alden immediately raised his hand.  It was pretty cute to see how many times Alden volunteered.  They, of course, did not actually set that trap but Alden did get to see the trap and touch some other things that they had on display in there.

I am really grateful that I don't have to cook over a fire every night...

Alden wouldn't touch the cannon or pretend to make it go off but of course Drew would.

They had this version of a ring toss game out at the fort that you could play.  Alden had fun throwing the rope ring to grandpa.

Drew and my dad both had to try the game too.

Alden thought that going inside this teepee and seeing what they had in there was loads of fun!  He loved asking tons of questions and looking at all the different things with Grandma and Grandpa.

Looking at everything they had inside the teepee.

Exploring an old farmhouse.

Drew and I had a great day together.

Drew even had his own saloon where we got root beer there!

Drew with our root beer and water in his saloon!

Alden exploring yet another old homestead house.

Seeing houses like this make me very grateful for modern kitchens with ovens and stoves that don't require a fire!  I am not sure I would love baking as much as I do if I had to stoke a fire to do it.

Alden looking at the chickens at the farm.

The whole day was very picturesque and you felt submersed in the experience.  I loved how everyone who worked there was dressed in costumes and you never saw any of them with things that felt out of place in the time period they were representing!

This was in the farm house. I thought that was an awesome lazy susan on the table.

I love the quits on the beds and the old wallpaper.

A big red barn that I thought was really cool and a train/tractor?  I really have no idea what that thing is but it looked cool.

At this point we were all getting hungry so we stopped at a Cafe for lunch to recharge all our batteries before continuing to explore the park.  To be continued...