Fifty By 50: Out and About in Medicine Hat - The Sunniest Town in Canada! (Sep.2, 2023)

Part of why we picked Medicine Hat as our trip destination was because they have a ParkRun here.

We looked up where it was held last night and drove over there to make sure we knew where to go this morning.

It was only about 5k from our hotel room so Jason decided to run down there so he could get his 10k in for the day and I drove down so we met there.

The Google directions took me exactly to the right place.

There were quite a few people milling around waiting for it to start.

We just did a route that was inside the park, we did this loop twice.

It wasn't marked the best so it was a little bit confusing (Jason said he actually ended up going the wrong way and he'd been doing so well, he got back on track but it added a good chunk extra to his run).

I was struggling a bit and when I got to what I thought was the finish line, the guy had a clacker that was shaped like a hand and I high-fived it, ha ha.

I also had my bar code out and ready and he had to explain to me that it wasn't quite the finish line yet.

It was kind of awkward.

My exercise details.

It wasn't quite 5k, not sure it that was because the route wasn't quite 5k or if I'd taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

It felt good to be done - Jason got his 10k in and I pretty much got my 5k.

We walked around the park a little for a cool down.

It was shaping up to be a beautiful day out there.

There were some people there doing some fishing.

From there we drove back to the hotel and got changed and ready to head out to the Farmers Market.

There were some cute things there.

We got a cottage cheese Kuchen.

My favorite table was this lady that made a bunch of different things with clay.

She had all these notebooks that she made beautiful covers for.

She also had little characters.

And then a bunch of earrings.

I bought these little cow ones - aren't they darling?

The next stop was for some lunch.

We went to a place called The Mexican Hat.

I liked it inside - very cute.

I ordered quesadilla soup and beef tacos.

They came with a trio of salsas, mild, medium and hot.

Jason got the chicken enchilladas and they were really tasty but a touch too spicy for me.

We also ordered their chips and guacamole which was made in house.

It was really nice and fresh but could have used a bit of salt.

They had tres leches cake too so of course you know we had to try that.

It looked a bit dry but it wasn't - it was nice and moist like it should be - so good.

I discovered that there was a brick and mortar store in town that carried IOD products so that is where we headed next.

The Shabby Vintage Belle.

There were so many nice things in that store.

I really treated myself.

I got this sunflower IOD mould.

These cool vintage stamps.

Then I even treated myself to some rub on transfers.

I've had my eye on the bird ones in this set for a while now.

This one booth had these really unique characters - I'd already spent a bunch by then so I didn't want to spend anymore but now looking back, I wish I'd bought one.

They were certainly one of a kind.

I did get a piece of art by the same artist.

Jason and I both liked it - now I just need to find a frame for it.

There was another booth with a bunch of vintage poodles in it - I really liked this one with the horn rimmed glasses.

After that, we parked in the downtown area and just walked around.

There are lots of amazing murals all over town - stay tuned for those pictures.

I love all the old brick buildings too.

This spot was right beside where we parked and I wanted to get an iced coffee so we went in there.

They had some tasty looking goodies so we decided to try a couple.

We got the pumpkin spice scone.

And they had an almond croissant so I just had to try that.

They had an outdoor section in the back so we sat there and drank our coffees and ate our treats.

So yummy!

Jason.

When I was googling Medicine Hat online - this bridge always came up and it was right by the downtown area so we went and walked over across it.

Walking across bridges is kind of our thing.

It's called the Finlay Bridge.

A view from the bridge.

This beautiful church was on the other side of the bridge so we walked over and had a closer look.

St. Patrick's Parish.

A view from the side so you can see how big the church is.

I don't know why we have a thing for bridges but we just do.

Heading back across the river.

Look how calm it is out there today.

It wasn't a very long bridge.

Only took a couple minutes to get back to the other side again.

There was a park there with a couple train cars on display.

Some really amazing artwork too.

This is commemorating all of the folks that helped out when there was a big flood here.

It happened in 195 and it was very devastating to the town.

More of this carved artwork.

This one was on a fountain but the fountain wasn't turned on today.

This electrical box was in the park as well - very cool artwork.

We went back and walked around the downtown some more and just looked at all the murals.

I love this one.

I totally, 100% agree with this statement.

Always good advice.

"The Hat"

This is on the side of a bus or train station or something.

I noticed this bird first..

Then as I walked a bit further up the street I noticed the mural kind of curved around the corner.

It kept going on around the walls - very neat.

This was one of my favorites.

I love these realistic one - it takes some real talent to do this on such a large scale I would think.

This one was too large to get all in one frame.

This one was kind of neat.

This one isn't just painted, it's textured too.

I love it.

A day time picture of the Moose & Squirrel where we ate last night.

After walking around for a few hours, we decided to stop in there and get a snack.

I love sitting in an outdoor patio section at restaurants when the weather is nice - one of my favorite things to do.

I could hear the ladies at the table across from us talking, one was from Medicine Hat and the other was from the Yukon - said she'd lived there for 40 years and was ready for a change and her friend was bragging up Medicine Hat and the sunshine so just out of curiosity, I looked up how much sunshine they get here annually.

I was surprised to learn that Medicine Hat is the sunniest place in not just Alberta, but all of Canada.

330 days of sunshine a year - those lucky buggers!

We ordered a couple of mocktails, Jason got Strawberry Sorbet Mojito and mine was a Ginger Beer - it tasted amazing and was so refreshing, hit the spot for sure.

I noticed on thier menu last night that they had a Cuban Sandwich so we ordered that to share - it was fantastic.

We got their clam chowder as a side and it too was delicious.

It wasn't thick the way I expect chowders to be but it didn't matter - the flavor was there.

We came across a second hand store - it had really great prices - I got a few Halloween decorations and a couple other things.

One more cute mural we saw on the way back to the car.

By about 4 pm we were walked out - Jason found a beach nearby so we decided to check it out.

We went to the room and got our bathing suits on then stopped at Giant Tiger and got towels and pool noodles.

The place was called Echo Dale Lake.

It was not far out of town, you had to drive down into a valley and everything looked all brown as you drove down this twisty, curvy road then all of a sudden as you rounded one bend, you could see what looked liked a lush, green, tropical lake area down at the bottom.

It was getting close to 5 by this time but it was still beautiful out, around 33 C I think.

There were still lots of people there but I bet earlier today this place was hopping.

It's just a small lake, it may even be man made.

We found a spot to put our stuff then headed into the lake.

It didn't take long for me to get in the water - it felt so nice.

We just floated around on the pool noodles for about an hour - it was lovely.

The sun was starting to set and it was pretty.

It was thinning out pretty good too.

Around 6:30 they made an announcement that the changing rooms would be closing soon and so would the lake - swimming was prohibited after 7 pm.

I didn't take any pictures of it but there was another little lake connected to this one and it looked to be just for kayaking, boating and paddle boarding.

It would be a perfect place to try that out for the first time.

This would be a great spot to come and bring the kids for a few days too.

We got out and got changed then went for a little walk to check the rest of the park out.

It was right next to the river - the water was like a mirror it was so calm.

Just some stunning views.

We took so many pictures trying to capture the beauty of it all to share - The pictures never quite capture it all but we still try.

It's such different terrain than what we are used to seeing at home - it's almost like we were plunked into the middle of the dessert or something but then there was still green areas.

After our walk, we decided to hop on our bikes and go for a bike ride.

Let's go!

We biked along the river for a bit.

Then came back on another trail.

It really was a very desert like terrain.

Moi.

Look at that sunset and that sky.

My handsome guy on his bike.

Showing off his pipes.

It felt good to get out on the bikes.

There were these flowers that looked like sunflowers just randomly growing here and there in the bush.

Heading back.

Into a gorgeous sunset.

The sky was so many beautiful colors.

We ended up biking just over 5k.

The exercise details.

When we were leaving and driving back up and out of the valley, Jason tried to get a picture of the lake area and how it looked when it was first revealed to us as we drove around the curve.