We made the trek from Victoria, British Columbia on the southern tip of Vancouver island to Lethbridge, in the southern reaches of Alberta to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. By car, it’s a ferry ride and fifteen hours of mountain driving – or, three hours flight time. We usually put our air miles to use and fly, as we did this time. We flew to Calgary, stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport, and the next morning took the connector flight to Lethbridge, Alberta – or L.A. as it’s often referred to.
That flight is an experience. From the departure gate, we board a bus that takes us to the far end of the apron where our ride awaits. The aircraft is a Beechcraft turbo prop that holds about eighteen people, and it’s full. It’s a cosy experience.The seats look like they were borrowed from a kindergarten class, but every seat is a window seat. The flight from Calgary takes forty-five minutes.
Lethbridge is also my home town and soon familiar landmarks appear on the horizon. Our flight path takes us over the high level bridge that spans the mile and a quarter river valley carved by the Old Man River. It’s difficult to get a decent photo from the aircraft window, but here are some ground photos of the big bridge.
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Under the bridge
The modern City of Lethbridge, with a population approaching one hundred thousand, is located near the site of the original settlement, of Fort Whoop-Up. The fort was a trading post established in 1869 by two American traders. Originally named Fort Hamilton after one of the founders, the fort earned a wild and lawless reputation.
One type of alcohol sold by the Whoop-Up bandits was known as Whoop-Up Bug Juice, a highly prized alcohol spiked with ginger, molasses, and red pepper. It was then coloured with black chewing tobacco, watered down, and boiled to make “firewater”.[5]
The reputation of Fort Whoop-Up led to the establishment of the North West Mounted Police and their famous march west in 1874. Reminiscent of on present day ‘war on drugs’ efforts.
Fort Whoop-up has been re-created in Indian Battle Park in the Riverbottom near the big bridge.
This photo overlooks the river valley towards the site of the original fort near the junction of the Oldman and St. Mary’s rivers. The Rocky Mountains are just visible against the horizon.
Looking towards the original site of Fort Whoop-up
We often stay at Paradise Canyon, a timeshare and golf resort in the valley. It’s a beautiful setting, and we’ve been here so often that it feels like our home away from home – but the weather is subject to rapid change at this time of year.
This photo is from our timeshare unit two days ago.
This was the scene when we looked out today.
We enjoyed a wonderful thanksgiving feast with family, and I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.
born in Toronto and currently living on the Pacific west coast. An avid Writer, Photographer, Feng Shui Interior Designer, traveler, curler, reader, hiker, mother of 2, etc. Author of non fiction and mystery books, as well as a sports-crime-romance novel, entitled Hot-walker, Life on the Fast Track (coming soon to ebook) and a collection of fun Photobooks. 
After a 35 year career in human services, John R. Paterson is pursuing his passions of story-telling and writing. A recent trip to Las Vegas rekindled the Victoria, BC author’s curiosity about changing one’s past through time travel. The White Limousine is John’s inaugural novel.
is a Victoria-based historian and writer. She’s the author of the books 100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces, as well as 100 More Canadian Heroines. Both volumes feature stories of Canadian trailblazers, along with great historical images, quotes and trivia. You can learn more about Merna’s work on her website heroines.ca, A Guide to Women in Canadian History.
was born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, grew up in Montreal, and has lived in Australia, Jamaica, and Bermuda. His is a member of the Victoria Writers’ Society, and his stories and poetry have been published in Canadian Stories, The English Quarterly, Island Writer, Lester’s Army, and Poetry WLU. His 95,000 word novel LET’S START A WAR is currently looking for a publisher. Terry will showcase two books:
is a retired journalist, living in Victoria, and the author of two previous non-fiction books. Bad Blood: The Tragedy of the Canadian Tainted Blood Scandal was shortlisted for the Gordon Montador award and the Ottawa-Carleton Non-fiction Prize for 1996. He also wrote the critically acclaimed short biography Ken Thomson: Canada’s Enigmatic Billionaire. This year he took first prize in the Victoria Writers’ Society for short story fiction.
Sandra Steiner is a new inspirational contemporary author with two published novels. She is an avid blogger. Sandra believes in paying it forward, inspiring and encouraging others to have an amazing life. She lives in Victoria with her husband and four babies.
cat-sitter and went travelling in Peru. Their book One Room and a Penknife alternates their two voices in a chronology of four months in this Andean country where they taught school, climbed mountains and made friends. It provides a peek behind the glossy travel brochures to detail teaching days that started with kisses from staff and students, painkiller injections in the buttocks onsite from the local pharmacist, getting robbed, and watching sunrise at Machu Picchu.
Rauni Ollikainen was born in Helsinki and spent her early childhood in Finland. She immigrated to Canada with her family at age eight. She grew up on Vancouver Island, moved to California as a young adult where she attended college, then travelled back to Finland for a lengthy stay, getting in touch with her original roots. She has lived in Victoria since 1983.