Leaving Alberta

Our night in small town Delia went well and we went back to the little
cafe for breakfast. Francis got about half a pound of bacon on his
plate, it was crazy.

The local who suggested we stay in the little alley showed us around
his place. He had planted a whole bunch of trees and bushes and I
tasted saskatoon berries for the first time in my life. They are a bit
like a mix of blueberry and plums as far as taste goes and look like
blueberries. I also saw an almond bush for the first time. They are
super fuzzy! He explained the farm life in his area and showed us the
solar panel that powers the water pump for the town. He says it cost
about 200 000 to build and they have enough power to actually feed
some back to the grid. He also explained how the little oil pumps that
we see everywhere work.

This is going to sound dumb but Delia was everything I thought a small
Alberta town was. The man who showed us around works in the oil
industry and was a big burly man with duspenders and a confidence and
warmth about him that was a bit like that of a trucker. The owner of
the cafe was an old Chinese man who had been around for 50 years and
knew everyone that walked in the door. It's crazy to think at one
point in his lifetime, he was discriminated against and slowly earned
the respect of his neighbours. After church, groups of people walked
in with their cowboy hats or coveralls and chatted around warm coffee.
They talked about the weather and how it affects the crops. The men
played with their long mustaches while they smiled our way knowing
quite well we were out of town.

When a man walked in with full cowboy gear and a handlebar mustache,
Francis and I both felt like the theme from The Good The Bad and The
Ugly should be playing. We spotted quite a few Canadian toxedoes there
too. (Jeans and a Jean jacket)

Anyhow we passed other similar small towns with funny names such as
Cereal and Chinook and just crossed the AB/SK border.

The strap is holding the poptop down OK. Phew!