Heritage Park Calgary Alberta Canada.

Three girls sent back in time at a Heritage park.... what else is the perfect end to the day then to capture the mood through a picture.....

But lets start at the beginning ........

At Heritage park you will start off at what is known as Gasoline Alley... Inside the building there are old gas pumps which bring back memories for me as a girl. We actually lived  at the location of what had been the community store and then in later years they added in the gas pump. It looked much like this one!

The lever is used to "pump" the gas up into the glass cylinders and would show how many gallons you have. Then gravity helps it flow into your car. I loved that this one was Maple Leaf Gasoline...

This is a Heritage park and work is very much still going on to improve and add on.The latest is a building which will pay tribute to the five very impressive women.

A classroom will be available for the students that visit the park.
So this was a part of the History lesson for the day....

You can ride around the park on a train or take my chosen form of transportation... Behind the gentle giants.

This is a charming example of building from the past.

Lets take a look inside the Fort

Inside the Fort you will meet a trader... He has example of what would of been available to purchase or trade. Pelts of animals were the usual currency. This merchant was very into his role and was making wood cravings to help him spin his story's of days gone by.

Our next stop was to watch a man doing finger weaving. He made it all look so easy as he explained his pattern techniques... Im afraid as interested as I actually was in the whole process he did totally lose me! Im thinking I will have to google finger weaving techniques and hope for a simple design to try.

There were tepees and outdoor fire pits. Unfortunately the pictures of the teepee with the friendly ladies inside turned out too dark. They explained though that the fire pits were actually lined with the rocks and not just a ring around the outside so that the rocks would hold the heat and radiate it into the teepee.  I've seen rocks crack and explode just ringing the fire so I can imagine it happening with fire actually on top of it!

This felting was set up in a cabin inside the Fort. The lady who normally would be sitting and working on it wasn't working the day we were there.

This techiques is quite intriguing in that you hook strips of fabric in this case wool and loop it up through the canvas. By looping them tightly together they hold each other in place.The rugs with stand heavy foot traffic.

I grew up learning to cook on a wood cook stove but it was far bigger then this one. I would love to have one of these though. One feels a lot more secure when power goes off when you have a wood fireplace and a way to cook dinner.

 This table looks very much like one I have made.

Can you guess what this is for?

How about one of these? 

This lovely lady was... She was making apple pies. Daughter number one says that they share the baked goods with the other workers...Lucky her!

The next stop was to the Saloon. After all daughter number one works there but isn't allowed to go to the Saloon during her lunch... so we went there for a taste of the wares...

Yes you can drink beer and sit and even play poker. One of the non-alcoholic drinks was really good! Refreshing and hit the spot..

They had an exhibit going on in the red barn used for such events. Quilts and rug felting were on display inside and out.

I believe it was the quilting and fiber guild event.

These ladies were happy to give you a step by step demonstration of how the rugs were made. No kits used here. They draw there own designs on canvas and then collect wool which is then cut into thin strips. Far nicer then the wool yarn rug hooking kits I have made in the past.
We bought baked goods from the bakery and watched a skit being played out in the street. The day flew by all too quickly. But we had one final stop to make before we headed on home. Yes! the picture at the beginning. So you have now traveled the full circle.  Speaking of circles the gardening years circle is entering its last quarter... What chores are you doing this weekend...
Thanks for stopping in...

Kate