Guest Ep: Exploring Alberta and Moving Province

Welcome to Alberta!
It has the rocky mountains, outdoors activities galore, and more wildlife than people in a lot of areas!

I'm being joined by a few special guests. We'll be exploring some of Alberta with some Would You Rather and True or False questions. We'll also be exploring how one of them moved provinces, and the big differences between Toronto and Calgary!

This episode is very different from the usual vibe, but we hope you have fun with us anyway!

Transcript

Sunnie 0:04

Imagine a place where the mountains don't just fill the horizon. They are the horizon. Where turquoise lakes are brighter than gems, where wild horses still run free, and where badlands hide fossils older than imagination. A place of endless prairie skies, deep forests, glacier-fed rivers, and cities built beside wilderness. Welcome to Alberta. For thousands of years, this land has been home to many indigenous peoples. Long before highways, people traveled these lands following seasons, trade routes, and generations of knowledge carried through stories and tradition. That connection to the land still shapes Alberta today. Over time, this mighty province became known for ranching, oil, and rapid growth. But there's another side too. Mountain towns, hidden diners, local legends, strange roadside attractions, and communities full of people who arrived from all over the world and made this place home. I've got some return guests and some new friends joining me to share their own Alberta stories and perspectives. From life here to unexpected favorites, to what outsiders always get wrong. We'll also be answering questions sent in from Twitch and Discord. Together, we'll explore Alberta. Alright, so we're gonna open the way, we always do. When someone says Alberta, what's the first thing that pops into your head?

SPEAKER_04 1:37

Stampede.

Sunnie 1:40

Fair, okay, Stampede.

Phil 1:43

Smash Buffalo Jump.

Sunnie 1:46

Okay, wild one, we're gonna circle back to that. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:51

Buffalo Jump is a real place. Yep, mountains.

Sunnie 1:56

Yeah, mountains, okay. Alright, that's yeah.

Adam 1:59

The oil industry.

Sunnie 2:01

That's yeah. Burda beef. Birta beef. Absolutely burda beef.

SPEAKER_04 2:06

Although I'm not gonna lie, I've found beef better than birta beef.

Sunnie 2:13

Can't believe you would say that.

SPEAKER_04 2:16

Yeah, I know.

Sunnie 2:17

I know, I know. My heart, I can't.

SPEAKER_04 2:20

They will I you know what? I can't help it. It was that good. It was that good. I don't know. Have you had steak from the Nolan Ryan ranch?

Sunnie 2:30

I have not.

SPEAKER_04 2:31

Then you have no idea.

Sunnie 2:33

This is this is valid. This is very valid. Yeah. Fuck I wish. Oh my god, could you imagine? Holy shit.

SPEAKER_04 2:48

I had it on a cruise and it was part of like a premium menu. And I was like, well, it can't be that good, right? Because like we come from Alberta. And uh, yeah, no, it was that good. It was that good. It was better than bird of beef, and I'm not ashamed to say it.

unknown 3:03

Damn.

Sunnie 3:04

All right. I gotta I gotta get some of this now. This is gonna be stuck in my head, rent-free, for at least the next 20 minutes. Um also who's all been there? Like, I know Tasty lives there right now. Um, but like who all else has been there, which areas, what was your favorite thing when you went?

SPEAKER_03 3:26

My family used to live out there. So I I've got uh my uncle, my cousins, and I used to have my grandparents living out there. They actually lived, my grandparents lived in BC in the Kooteny Mountains, which some of that is uh like right at the border of Alberta and uh BC, and my uncle and his family lives in Calgary, and we would go to Calgary and then we drive out through Banff into the Kootenai Mountains. So I I've been there a fair bit, mostly to travel out of it. Uh but I I have been there a fair bit.

Sunnie 4:05

Very valid, very valid. I've only really been to just like Calgary briefly in the airport, and then went to Banff, and then like Lake Louise and like all the super touristy kind of spots in there. Pretty close to probably the best trip I've ever taken. We went snowboarding, we did the ice skating on the Lake Louise, we did all of the touristy shit, but honestly, it was it was a blast. I would go back in a heartbeat. I would live there if I could. You can. You absolutely have to get Dave on board because if I can't get Dave on board, then we're out. I'm working on it, trust.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

I should probably warn you that if you're basing your experience of Alberta on Lake Louise, you're gonna have a bit of a downgrade when you actually find your find your house there.

Sunnie 5:02

Like in Ontario, this is the weirdest thing to say, but genuinely, when you're in Ontario, allergies are really bad, I have bad asthma, whole shebang. Went out to Alberta and I was like, why am I okay? Why am I fine? What is happening? Mind you, we went like February, March-ish, so not as much allergies and stuff there. Yeah, and I was like, holy shit, like I can like breathe here. I haven't needed my inhaler one time, even yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 5:37

You know, they they say uh my mom used to call it the land of the big sky, and you you feel that you feel just how big the sky is. It feels like you can breathe so much, and then uh the uh forest fires start western.

Sunnie 5:55

I was just gonna say, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:57

And when the forest fires reach when the the smoke reaches Ontario and we have a hard time here, think about how bad every step of the way.

Sunnie 6:10

Genuinely could not imagine. Yeah. Yeah, and even even down Calgary Way, I would assume it probably gets just as bad down there, too.

SPEAKER_03 6:19

It it gets bad, it gets really bad.

Sunnie 6:20

I feel like it's just like the whole province is just on fire.

SPEAKER_03 6:24

It's a problem that is getting worse every year, uh, and not really sure if there's uh an answer for it.

SPEAKER_04 6:32

Yeah, I mean it'd be nice if they could just stop happening.

Sunnie 6:35

I mean, that would be great.

Phil 6:38

Forested the entire area. No more forests, no more forest fires.

Adam 6:44

It's brilliant.

Sunnie 6:44

It's brilliant.

Adam 6:46

I have a feeling like First Nations might disagree slightly.

Sunnie 6:50

I feel like, yeah, I feel like you're gonna have a little bit of a confrontation there.

Phil 6:56

But yeah.

Tally 7:03

So that should be fun.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

I have done not as much research as I mean to yet, but Stampede is is such a an odd experience. Um I didn't expect so many cowboy hats at any point. I never expected to see so many cowboy hats in my life as I saw at Stampede.

SPEAKER_04 7:22

You really of an event called Stampede.

SPEAKER_03 7:29

Yeah, I mean, I figured at this point it was uh no cowboy hat in sight. I didn't expect any big boots, I really didn't expect any horses, and what do you know?

Sunnie 7:39

You know what I think?

SPEAKER_04 7:42

We are the Texas of Canada.

Sunnie 7:46

I've never been to the Stampede, by the way. Um my whole thing growing up Have you been to the CNE? Uh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:52

Then you've been to the Stampede. Okay, so same kind of thing. So just not cowboy feeding.

Sunnie 7:57

So I thought it was oh yeah, it's probably like a rodeo. Like I'm thinking like backwoods rodeo, whole shebang, everything, but like worse. Like I don't know how to word it, but worse.

Phil 8:12

So I thought that for the longest time. I always imagined the Stampede as um the running with the bulls in Spain where they just released a whole bunch of bulls to go wild. Literally, right? Okay, I have the same mental picture.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

I think if you're gonna call something stampede and then I'm not going to run the risk of getting run over, I think you've done something wrong.

SPEAKER_04 8:35

I feel, yeah. I would agree. I mean, you can always hop the fence while the radio is happening, take your chances. Or the Chuck Wagon Races, by all means.

Sunnie 8:46

First of all, bold of you to assume I can hop the fence without breaking something.

SPEAKER_04 8:50

Um I don't want to assume that you know what you can and cannot do. A command thing to do. I'm not about that life.

Adam 9:03

Having grown up in Europe, have I actually like unironically met a cowboy? I don't think so. No, I don't think I have actually met somebody who like genuinely, genuinely wears a cowboy hat, not as a fashion accessory.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

Oh, this is odd. You you didn't meet my brother when he was in his cowboy hat phase.

Adam 9:29

Sorry, do you mean Ian? Sorry, you have to send me pictures that's.

Sunnie 9:33

We need pictures immediately.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

Right. So so my family um has or my I think it was great uncle had a had a ranch uh up in the mountains. And they my brother went out one year during the summer and he helped out around the ranch and he did cattle drives and and he did all of that. Like he he really did the cowboy life for a bit. Uh and he came back home with a big old cowboy hat and the cowboy boots and everything. And he he he basically was a cowboy for one summer. Um, but that cowboy hat lasted a lot longer than that summer, a lot longer than that summer. And I gotta say, I think more people can pull off the cowboy hat than we expect. It's not a bad luck. It feels as if the difference between Ontario and Alberta, we're all Canadians, it's all the same. And then you see fashion trends and you see the things that are just normal in Alberta. And the big one for me is just trucks.

SPEAKER_04 10:41

It's it's oh my god, giant trucks. Right, they're everywhere for people who don't even fucking need them. Never need them. They're not needing, they're not using them for work. These aren't work trucks, these are status trucks, these are giant fucking micro dick mobiles all over the fucking road, and they drive like assholes all the time. I'm stuck behind them all the time. Oh sorry, you know how I invited you to my house?

Sunnie 11:08

Maybe just don't look in the driveway. All right, cool.

SPEAKER_03 11:16

So I I went out west to see my grandmother a few years back. And as I get there, and I was like, get off the airplane, go to get my rental car. The man and I just said, you know, give me whatever, right? Just whatever's the cheapest option. And the car rental goes, Guess what? Good news for you. We got you the best vehicle, and points me over to a giant Ford, uh, just a giant red truck. And he goes, You're so lucky you get uh get to come out here and drive the best vehicle. And immediately I go, I don't think I can get that out of that parking spot. And I was correct. I I got trapped in that parking spot trying to do a 27-point turn to get out, until a a random worker, a random person who works at the airport saw me, took pity on me, and helped me get out of the parking spot. It was right in the corner, it was trapped. And after that, I sort of figured out how to drive this giant truck. But I grew up driving in in Ontario and around Ottawa, where why would I ever have a giant ass truck? But that was the that was the status symbol. That was congratulations, you got our best vehicle, the giant uh Ford truck, that my mom couldn't get into because of how high up it was when I tried to pick her up. We had to boost her up into it.

Tally 12:51

Sounds like they were buttering you up. They couldn't convince anyone else to take it. So they're like, listen, bud, here you go. It's a great butter.

Sunnie 13:01

Oh my gosh. That would make me feel better at then. This is exclusive to Alberta only.

unknown 13:12

On that note.

Sunnie 13:14

Um, let's switch to a little bit of would you rather? Because I have some fun ones. This is how we find out where we want to live in Alberta.

SPEAKER_07 13:26

Actually, I'm okay.

Sunnie 13:28

So I made it a little bit different this time. I didn't, I didn't I didn't choose our dream houses this time like I did in PEI, where Phil opted to be the potato farmer who stayed away from every single beach, 15 minutes from every single beach.

Tally 13:44

Has to be center of the island.

Sunnie 13:48

He's like, fuck the beach. And if you guys did not get that, um listen to the last episode uh because it was pretty funny. First, would you rather question snowboarding or skiing? Or hang in the chalet. Nice, easy one, just to start off.

Tally 14:09

Ooh, I do like skiing, but I feel like it'd be 30% skiing, 70% chalet.

Sunnie 14:17

Okay, alright. But if you had to do just one, we'll say for a day. Skiing then. Skiing? Alright, okay.

Adam 14:25

Yeah, I'd prefer skiing too. A bit of an activity for like the one day. If it was a like a week, definitely you need some time to chill. But skiing is killing.

SPEAKER_03 14:35

Okay, okay. 100% skiing every day, all the time. No breaks. Go until my legs collapse.

Sunnie 14:46

All the activities.

SPEAKER_03 14:48

It is the one sport I'm good at, and I will do it as often as I can.

Adam 14:54

Oh my gosh. This game is full of revelations. Ian had a had a cowboy hat phase. Sean is good at a sport. I know.

Sunnie 15:04

We're learning a lot of things today. Absolutely insane.

SPEAKER_04 15:11

I haven't been skiing since um grade eight.

Sunnie 15:16

And uh that's the most Canadian phrase, by the way, since grade eight.

SPEAKER_04 15:22

I've never been snowboarding, uh, but I wouldn't be against spiking the fuck out of all of my hot chocolate with whiskey in the chalet and just getting a good buzz on and chilling.

Sunnie 15:34

Honestly, yeah. That sounds like a good time. Okay, Phil? Probably by a fire.

Phil 15:38

I would also say because like if I'm just sitting in the chalet, then I'd just be on my phone and it'd be like, all right, waiting for this. Has been a day of doing nothing. So like I can do that anywhere.

Sunnie 15:49

I think I'd have to do the same. Like, I I like snowboarding, I'm a big snowboarder. So I feel like for me it'd be it'd be snowboarding all day. And I did get to do that in Lake Louise, and I absolutely loved it, and it was gorgeous.

SPEAKER_04 16:02

So I'd love to snowboard. I would love to learn how to snowboard. It's on the bucket list of things to do. And I live five-minute drive, not even, from Canadian Olympic Park over here in Calgary. Oh, yeah. Where the Olympics were were held. Yeah, I'd like it's behind me. It's behind my neighborhood. That'd be amazing. Yeah, and I've never been.

Adam 16:22

Yeah, Phil and I in our town technically live very close to the slopes in our town.

Sunnie 16:28

Minus 40 or 35 for temperature. You have to deal with it for a straight week. 34 on a freaking day. But you have to work in it. Like, you have to work in it. You have to like you're not by a pool, you're not by the beach, like full week. Like normal activities.

Tally 16:50

The bird's dry though, so oh, do you think that that's any better?

SPEAKER_04 16:59

Because I I get weeks of minus 40 where I'm at, and I'll tell you, it's no fucking picnic. Um, but I also am quite adverse to the sun because I'm half ginger, so I I uh I burn very easily. Um, I would rather take the minus 40. It sucks. Man, does it suck? Especially when your truck doesn't start. Yes. Vehicle. Gotta get a block heater up. I drive an SUV, I call it, I call it a truck. Block heaters don't do shit for you. All it does is keep the oil warm. It doesn't actually help you start your engine. There is no science behind that.

Sunnie 17:34

He's right.

SPEAKER_04 17:37

I don't want to get into that. But minus 40, I'll take the minus 40 because I can always put layers on and find other ways to warm myself up. This is true. You can't really strip your skin off.

Sunnie 17:46

It's a little frowned upon.

SPEAKER_04 17:51

Some circle, yes.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

I'm fascinated to hear what Adam's choice will be being a European.

Sunnie 17:58

Right? I was thinking the same.

Adam 18:01

I got teed up, so so I have not experienced minus 40. I the worst that it gets where I live in Canada is minus 25. Uh, which is you know a cool breeze compared to minus 40, I'm sure. Uh, but even that is a I forget if I told this last time, uh Sunny. So I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself. But uh we had I had a book when I was a kid.

SPEAKER_07 18:26

The Winnie the Pooh one?

Adam 18:28

Yeah, and you could press buttons, and depending on what Winnie the Pooh was doing, whether he was ice skating, whatever, the sound the ground would make would be different. And there was one that was snow. And I was really confused because growing up in France, snow to me sounded slushy because it was never so really cold. It was always like kind of like a slushy sound as you were walking in it. And Winnie the Pooh told me that the snow sounded very crunchy, and I was I thought this book is terrible. This book doesn't count to the correct sound of snow. And then I came here and I walked in snow by minus 25. It's like, huh, this is what Winnie the Pooh was talking about. Um, so I have not experienced minus 40. I still think I would prefer minus 40 to 35. Uh because we we just had a 30-degree weekend here, and it was very, very difficult uh as the first hot weekend of the of the year. Uh so I think I would prefer minus 40 because you can always bundle up more. There is one point where it gets so hot and you just can't, yeah, strip your flesh off. So that's my choice.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

I'm really torn. I'm really torn because uh everyone who says you can bundle up more, that's true, provided you own that stuff.

unknown 19:52

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 19:53

And and I I do. I I was preparing for an Arctic expedition this year, so I I own that stuff. But until you've actually had to work out a minus 40 for more than an hour, it doesn't I don't think people realize just how devastating that is. Uh it it really gets to you super quickly. And uh and I'm good with the heat. I am, but I still think I'm gonna go with the the minus 40 because um just like on a personal level, I do own the stuff to power through that. Uh when there is a blizzard, I can fully get geared up and go out and get cars unstuck and help. I can't really do much about 35 degree weather. I don't have AC, so that's also a factor for sure.

Phil 20:45

So I have worked in minus 40 in northern Ontario for a few tim like a few times. Not like consistent for like a week or more, but in the colder temperatures. And I have been to Australia where I've had to work in like plus 45. So um minus I would actually take the 35 over minus 40 just because I find it unbearable to have to do tasks in multiple layers of gloves and like being completely wrapped up in everything. Like 35, it's really uncomfortable, but you know, you can handle it. And sure you can handle minus 40, but at least for me, I think it's a lot harder to actually get your work done, and you're going to be a lot more frustrated in it.

Sunnie 21:29

That's a good point. That's a good take. Especially since like you work outdoors like majority of the time, so you would probably know a lot better. Like mine's my work is indoors. Like, I'm safe. I'm good. I think I almost would also lean the minus 40. Because yeah, like I'm I used to be very much like this heat loving person, but uh over the years, don't tell Dave, um I have become this like. Cold loving person. And yeah, um, on our most recent holiday, I don't know, it wasn't even that hot. It was like maybe 25. And I was sweating. I was like, I hate this. This is the worst thing ever. And he's like looking at me and going, but you love heat. I'm like, yeah, I totally love this. This is great. Um Badlands or Glacier Lakes? Like Badlands. Badlands? Okay. Is there like any specific reason?

Phil 22:37

I'll I like how alien the terrain feels with like the giant rock mesas, and you can literally see like the centuries and millennia past just with these little lines in the stone as they go down, and all of the strange fossils, and just sort of it's a cool sort of wasteland. That's fair. That's fair.

Sunnie 22:58

Yeah, you sold me.

Adam 23:00

I was like, I haven't seen it.

Sunnie 23:02

He hears dinosaurs. He's like, you son of a bitch, I'm in.

Adam 23:04

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It's like, oh, that that fits in my chism category. Okay, let's uh let's get the dinosaurs going.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

I'd I'd go glaciers. I love glacier lakes. I love water in general. Um, but I I love the glaciers, I love the paths they have carved uh through the the world. They're beautiful, every part of it. And hopping along creeks and ravines, even though I'm mid-30s, is still fun for me. So there you go.

SPEAKER_04 23:39

This is fair. This is fair. Uh glaciers for me. I glaciers never experienced the uh the the Badlands. Um I don't even know really what they are. So we'll just skip over that part. Uh having been to glaciers, glacier lakes, uh, specifically in Alaska, I can attest to their beauty. Uh, and they are awesome. So I would definitely take those.

Tally 24:04

I'd probably be down for the dinosaurs. That sounds pretty cool to me. It's not the creations in the rocks, that would be pretty cool.

Phil 24:11

Plus, when you're finished exploring the Badlands, there's that one microbrewery where they found yeast frozen in amber, and they managed to get beer out of it, so you can stop in for like a 45 million-year-old um red ale, I think is what it is.

Sunnie 24:27

Oh my god, that was so bold of them. You know what? I can't drink it, but I might just die trying.

SPEAKER_04 24:34

Um it's a bad lands, even though I'm just I want the beer. I want the beer. Fuck glaciers. I want the beer.

Tally 24:46

Phil's converting us all.

Sunnie 24:48

He's like, but listen, there's more. Phil should just go down there and be a travel guide. That's for the bad lands alone. To be like, yo, you know where you should go? Drum Heller. And then just immediately goes in with like, yo, you like dinosaurs. Damn right I like dinosaurs. Like, you son of a bitch, I'm in.

SPEAKER_04 25:09

Who doesn't like dinosaurs though, right?

Sunnie 25:11

I'm so on the fence because I also have the dinosaur tism. So for me, I very much lean that way. But glacier legs are just they're so cool. But at the same time, I would break my shit if I tried to jump on anything that is ice. So exactly, telly knows. How many times have I broken my legs? A lot. Um, so I'm I think I honestly I might have to go Badlands. The dinosaur, and now the beer that I didn't can't drink, but I'm probably gonna smell it at least. I'm probably gonna go Badlands.

SPEAKER_04 25:54

What kind of weird allergy do you have?

Sunnie 25:57

All of them. I can't have barley, I can't have wheat, I can't have oat, I can't have rye. It's basically on celiac, but also on skin contact. Good luck.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

My wife is allergic to gums. To guns? Uh no, gums, gums. Oh, gums. Stanthem gum, guar gum, yeah.

Sunnie 26:24

Uh, and then we have another friend who's anything that's like a binding agent, basically.

SPEAKER_04 26:28

Yep. Then our other friend is allergic to capsaising, and her husband's allergic to dextrose. And so when we go out for dinner, I let them order first. Makes sense. And then when when they get back to me, they're expecting another whatever, and I'm like, I'll just have this. I'll just do this. Server will stare at me for a second, I'm like, oh no, I don't have food allergies. I'm good.

Sunnie 26:48

It's okay. I'm not, I'm I'm normal. I wish I could use that sentence.

SPEAKER_04 26:54

Yeah. Mentally not normal, but food-wise, yeah, I can eat it all.

Tally 26:59

You're collecting them all, all the different allergies.

Sunnie 27:01

Yeah, gotta catch them all. He's going around collecting people like Pokemon, but for allergies.

SPEAKER_04 27:09

Yeah, I still need I still need a peanut allergy, uh, a bee sting allergy. Oh my gosh. Someone who's allergic to sun. Oh, right. Yeah, that is an allergy. I that is you know, I used to work in I used to I used to work in kitchens, um, specifically for Boston Pizza, not a sponsor. And um, there was a lady who would come in at least twice a week who claimed to have, and I looked it up, it is a real thing. She had an allergy to all things green, no lettuce, no parsley, nothing. Could not have it. And I don't know if it was like a chlorophyll thing, um, but it is an actual thing. And like, and it it was hard. I was like, okay, so you can have uh fries and um fries because everything else got got spice and shit on it. Like there's there's green on almost everything.

Tally 28:03

Oh, that's interesting. Is it just because the pigment has a certain ingredient in itself, or is it strictly to a certain food group?

SPEAKER_04 28:10

You know what? I never went out to ask because I figured that'd be me being a bit of a dick. Um I just I would adhere to it. I would adhere to it. We treat it like any other weird allergy request. Uh, but yeah, all things green. That's interesting. Literally never heard that.

Phil 28:29

It's gotta yeah, it's gotta be like something a pollen food allergy where basically your body confuses proteins in um produce with um those found in like uh seasonal like grass and pollen and things like that. Oh damn. Lettuce? I don't think so. This is ragweed, danger, danger.

Sunnie 28:52

Anyways, would you rather snow like 10 feet deep, like it's a shovel like every morning, or wildfire smoke season, but like only in your area week straight, you have to stay there. No, no, snow, snow.

SPEAKER_04 29:16

I feel like you were kind of speaking to me on this one because like we'd get a whole bunch of snow, and I'm the one who has to remove it. Uh so I'm used to doing that. Um, so I'll take the snow over fucking wildfire smoke in my area any year, any day, any time.

Sunnie 29:30

That is fair.

Phil 29:32

Yes, I've been around wildfire smoke in northern Ontario in like fire season. No, not at all.

Sunnie 29:40

I figured this one was gonna be an easy one, but like I wanted to see if anybody was gonna risk the spicy air. I'll take the snow.

Adam 29:48

Same thing. I haven't had like crazy amounts of snow. This winter was a fairly big one where we live. Compared to Alberta, I'm sure this was like absolutely nothing. But yeah, that's not too bad. You shovel it, it's out of the way, and then you're fine.

Tally 30:06

I do snow.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

Yeah, I'm taking snow. When I was young, um my music teacher showed us pictures of the snow she would get in Manitoba, where it covers the roofs, like it goes so high up. It's deep, yeah. And I'm thinking that like how much snow that would be. I would still take that over the smoke, because the smoke is killer, but it's a big oh, one day, Adam, we gotta bring you out to some true, true heinous experiences. We need to get you up in the mountains, we need to get you negative 45, we need to do all of it.

Adam 30:48

Yeah, we I just need to take three months off of work, bring all the books I need for my PhD thesis. Easy done. And then I just I am forced to live out there in the wilderness, and I can't leave until I'm gonna be able to. That's the that's the way to do it.

SPEAKER_03 31:09

Yeah, yeah, I I fully I fully appreciate that. I I recall there's a movie about someone who decided to go off and live in the wilds and not really think it through. I'm sure that ended well for them.

Sunnie 31:20

Super well.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

Absolutely.

Adam 31:22

There's more than one movie, I think.

SPEAKER_04 31:26

Happily ever after, as far as I remember. Yeah. Exactly. That was its name. There you go. No sad ending whatsoever. Not even a little bit.

Tally 31:38

Question can we dig tunnels? Because then the snow can keep out on top, and I can just tunnels.

SPEAKER_04 31:45

I don't think there's any restriction on what you do with it.

Sunnie 31:48

It was just all all the all the thing was was snow shovel. So you can dig a tunnel, you can get rid of the whole thing, like it's up to you. Perfect. All right, I got my plan. She's gonna make a tunnel, just a series of tunnels. That one goes to the car, that one goes to the mailbox. No, she fucking called me to come get her. Like, fuck, where are you?

Adam 32:22

I remember this year. I remember this year there was this video out of uh Montreal where somebody had spent like 45 minutes getting like their car uncovered from the snow, and then realizing that that was actually the neighbor's car, and their car was like it was like 10 10 feet further north or whatever. Uh, because with all the snow, like they couldn't tell. They'd done all the effort, and then they tried to open it, and the neighbor had exactly the same car as them. And of course, they were from Quebec, so like and like really Quebec French. Oh my god. They just did all that work uncovering a car that wasn't actually theirs.

Sunnie 33:05

I couldn't imagine, just like being like, Are you kidding me? I would have like done the alarm first. Check, make sure it's mine.

SPEAKER_04 33:17

That much so, I don't know if you'd be able to hear it.

Adam 33:19

But that's the thing that that's helping realize is that they like they thought they had the right one, and then when they go to unlock, you see the lights appear in the next to it. And that's when they realized like all this for nothing.

Sunnie 33:33

Oh my god. Oh, that'd be rough. I would hate my life, but I'd also be like, you owe me tomorrow. Like when the snow gets up the next time, it's your job to dig both of us out next time.

SPEAKER_04 33:48

No, because then it won't snow again for the rest of the season.

Sunnie 33:51

Shh, they don't know that proper wilderness camping or fully serviced RV park.

Adam 34:00

I mean, I'll take the RV park, probably. Um probably I don't I don't mind so I have never that's the thing. It's all about scale. Like I grew up in Europe. Like the concept of proper wilderness parking is very different. Like that you're always like 15 minutes out from a town. Here like wilderness is wilderness.

Sunnie 34:24

Wilderness is like there is nothing around. You are on your own, you are figuring it out.

Adam 34:31

I think I would be I I am not used to having to anticipate on that scale. Like anytime something goes wrong, you are really in the middle of nowhere. Whereas in Europe, even if you go to like a like a deep area, even on foot, you should be able to reach something in a couple hours if you if you're oriented enough. Um so yeah, that that's why I don't think I could like go real, real deep into the wilderness here in Canada. That'd be three nervous.

Phil 35:02

See, but with the new Winnebago Heli home, you could fly out to the middle of nowhere, and then you could have the RV camping experience of your dream.

Adam 35:13

Just bring the RV to the wilderness.

Sunnie 35:15

Just bring the RV out to the wilderness. I feel like it doesn't work like that, but alright.

SPEAKER_04 35:27

It doesn't look like it works that way.

Phil 35:29

Uh yeah, you this was a real product, or at least a hypothetical product from Winnebago in the 1970s. And they apparently wanted to um fly it out and land it on a bunch of mesas for like to get the shot of people camping on top of one of like the mesa pillars, and the government was just like, no, you can't do that. So they unfortunately couldn't go from like their wow shot to um impress everyone into buying this stupid helicopter RV. Yes, the 19th century.

SPEAKER_04 36:01

This is wild helicopters were safe.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

So for those who can't, you know, for those who can't see it, it is literally just a a helicopter that is also a an RV, but I think literally has a little awning and everything. Yeah, the the more important question is Phil, why do you have this in your back pocket?

Sunnie 36:21

Why do you have this?

SPEAKER_03 36:23

What is the knowledge that you carry with what is the dark library that exists in the back of your head that you just go, oh, I've got to do it.

Sunnie 36:30

Where was this on your PC? Like, that's where I want to know. Like, do you have more? I need to know.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

This is right beside my dark facts about the airplane crash. Of like oh, are we talking airplane crashes now?

Tally 36:44

No! No, we're not just many interesting topics, and like he's had a few just ready to go sometimes.

Phil 36:58

This is only probably the second weirdest vehicle that for personal recreation I can think of. And I would have to say because I can't remember its name right now.

SPEAKER_03 37:10

I thought you were gonna say that I personally own.

Sunnie 37:12

I literally okay. I I thought he was gonna just pull out a picture of like I was gonna be like, okay, what's the top weirdest? And then he was gonna just have the picture ready. Like, I was a little concerned there for a minute.

SPEAKER_04 37:23

Don't encourage him.

Sunnie 37:24

I kind of want to poke the bear, though.

SPEAKER_04 37:26

I feel like the encouragement has happened and it's hard.

Sunnie 37:30

Yeah, I feel like I see him working, like the cogs are spinning. He's got he's got pages that are opening.

Phil 37:36

I saw the white page. This is like an entirely separate topic for a different podcast, though. But um anyway.

Sunnie 37:43

I'll just edit it out, it's fine. I just I just have to know.

Phil 37:48

Just cut it in post. Yep. There was in the 1920s, a tractor company, I think it was Case, made what was essentially a jungle train for this fancy Italian photographer to um basically do a tour across Africa and take pictures of everything. And he was getting financed by all of these companies, so he invested all this money that all these different governments were giving him for tourism and for wildlife and everything like that. And he just got this utterly ridiculous, like marble tub, giant RV thingamabob. And now I need to look up what it was actually called.

Sunnie 38:31

I mean the helicopter winnebago is still freaking me out, if I'm gonna be honest. I'm just like staring at it in disbelief that this was like a real thing.

SPEAKER_04 38:39

Is it a a Winnibobter or is it like a hellebago?

Adam 38:44

Oh, that's a good I think I think hellebago. It has to be hellebago.

SPEAKER_04 38:49

Helebago.

Sunnie 38:50

Yeah, I feel uh yeah, I feel like I'm on team hellebago. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:55

Say hell yeah to the hellebago.

Phil 38:58

Home home. Oh, I found it. I found it.

Sunnie 39:01

Oh, we found it! Oh my god. I'm also gonna put this in random media uh in my Discord because what the actual fuck.

Phil 39:14

International harvester land yacht.

SPEAKER_04 39:20

Wow.

Adam 39:21

I'm really confused by how is it curved? The picture on the right. How does it connect? This is non-Nuclidean physics. How does this work?

Phil 39:33

So it's the um I think it's the underwheel that has the ability to turn. The middle one is where like it's basically just a big trailer.

Tally 39:43

Yeah, it looks like a fifth wheel kind of turned into a home.

Sunnie 39:48

But like there's no room for it to the thing is there's no it's an optical illumination.

Phil 40:01

What's more insane is apparently like this thing was actually made and it did make it to um Africa. And this was driving on bumpy, like non-existent dirt road and through wild open jungle. I can't imagine how uncomfortable that was. So did it make it out of Africa? It was basically requisitioned by uh one of the British colonial governments and turned into a hospital for World War II. So it was basically stolen from the guy who owned it.

unknown 40:35

What?

Phil 40:36

Yeah, that makes sense. We'd do that. Yeah.

Sunnie 40:38

I mean that checks out, but like what still exists today.

Phil 40:43

I can't imagine.

Sunnie 40:45

I'm literally just still looking at it. Like, how does it thank you? I wanted the interior.

Phil 40:54

Yeah, there was a fridge that had like a gas-range stove, it had a shower that was like marbled. I can't find any pictures of the stuff.

Sunnie 41:01

They have like a full office at the back, like oh my god, it's like a full service bar. Right beside the desk. I need that. Just right here. It really just is like a trailer attached to a buggy. It literally yeah, that's literally what it is. No different than a fifth wheel. It was requisitioned to be a hospital.

Phil 41:26

Yes. I can't I don't know how you would turn that into a hospital, but apparently that was a plan, and its fate probably was scrapped somewhere during the making of it.

Sunnie 41:37

I mean, I would assume so, considering the too tight of space, but never know, I guess. Absolutely wild. Anyways. Um so I feel like who else was doing fully serviced RV park? Who was doing private, proper wilderness camping? I think we just had Phil because Phil went on this excavate of the Helabago.

Phil 42:03

If I can have the heli home, I'm totally doing the full wilderness camping. That'll be awesome.

Tally 42:08

He had the option C, the rest of us didn't. Um, was it well how far into the wilderness? Because if I can come back out to top up on food and stuff, that's different. I uh I do enjoy the backpacking, so I would probably lean toward the wilderness. I've seen the individuals in the trailer park, and I I I just valid point.

SPEAKER_03 42:32

I I would also, if I only had to do it once, I would go with the wilderness. It would be a really cool experience. I probably wouldn't like it, but hey, try anything once.

Sunnie 42:43

Good way to look at it. Um I'm going uh full wilderness, but only because I'm like I have done that. I am used to that. Uh I have also done the fully serviced RV park. It's okay, it's fine. But like realistically, if you're in an outhouse that's gonna smell like that, you might as well just shit in the woods.

SPEAKER_04 43:02

Uh I'm torn because I like camping. I like I've been wilderness camping once when I was younger, and it was it was fun. But I'm also a princess now. Um and I and I enjoy glamping. Um how redneck is this RV park?

Tally 43:27

See? See it's fully serviced.

SPEAKER_04 43:32

Yeah, but that that doesn't mean anything. Fully serviced campgrounds.

Sunnie 43:37

Who do you think would go to a fully serviced RV park? Ask yourself deep in your heart.

SPEAKER_04 43:43

I would hope people of a certain decorum, but even rednecks have money. Absolutely. Oh, I'm not I'm not denying that at all. But like if it's you know well kept and You know, most people are are are fine upstanding citizens of the realm. Then yeah, I'll take the RV park. But if I'm gonna be lumped in with Billy Joe and Cletus, uh then I would rather be I I'll take my fate in the forest.

SPEAKER_03 44:20

Maybe the problem is Billy Joe and Cletus don't want you there.

Sunnie 44:23

Yeah, I feel I feel like Billy Joe and Cletus heard this and now they're like, you know what? We don't like him. He's not allowed in here anymore.

SPEAKER_04 44:32

That's very much a possibility. I could be here this week on the tree.

Tally 44:40

Phil's gonna play in and out for the drama.

Sunnie 44:43

Phil's gonna narrate the whole thing. Like full of commentary.

Tally 44:49

Phil's literary with his helicopter.

Sunnie 44:54

You know how they go like, would you rather like encounter a man in the woods or a bear? Yeah, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go the bear. Proper wilderness. Take my chances. I might die.

SPEAKER_04 45:07

I'm fully confident I have an equal footing fighting a man in the woods. I do not fighting a bear in the woods.

Sunnie 45:16

Hey, you have to learn the bear rhyme and then you're fine. So it's all good. It's all good.

SPEAKER_04 45:21

The bear rhyme?

Sunnie 45:22

Bear rhyme.

SPEAKER_04 45:24

Bear rhyme.

Sunnie 45:25

Does no one know what the bear rhyme is? Am I the only redneck in this fucking chat right now? I think so. I was a little scared of that. Anyways. Are you going to recite said rhyme? I will. I will recite said rhyme. So, if it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lay down. If it's white, say goodnight.

SPEAKER_04 45:54

No. To all of that.

Sunnie 45:56

Yeah. If it's black, make yourself big, fight back, it'll run off. If it's brown, lay down and pray. Um, if it's white, you're dead. It doesn't matter what you do, you're dead.

SPEAKER_04 46:07

Like grizzly bears are also brown, just letting you know. Yeah. Um, and they don't fuck around. I don't know if you know that. And playing dead isn't exactly something they really does not work. Yep, they don't it doesn't really work usually.

Sunnie 46:20

That's why I say you you lay down, you pray.

SPEAKER_04 46:22

And polar bears are basically the grizzlies of the Arctic.

Sunnie 46:25

So that's why I say white, say goodnight.

SPEAKER_04 46:28

You're done. Or see a bear run like fuck. How about that?

Tally 46:36

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 46:38

And if and if you if you have a friend, it's even better because all you have to do is come with him.

Phil 46:47

If I'm encountering uh, I'd much rather encounter a bear in the wild because that the places I'd be camping with my heli home, it would be weird to find a person who's climbing all the way up there just to come see me. That that person's too committed.

Sunnie 47:01

That's that's fair. That's a good point. Yeah, watch the hospital doesn't come for it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:09

Jesus.

Sunnie 47:13

Next question is local diner or tourist cafe. Local diner.

Phil 47:22

Local diner for sure. Tourist local cafe is such a um well, it's a tourist trap. Like it's such a fake experience.

SPEAKER_04 47:29

Almost guarantee local diner is gonna have the best burgers, the best shakes, the best pie, the shittiest service, but the best prices. But the best food and the best prices, probably.

Tally 47:41

Hell yeah, hell yeah.

Sunnie 47:43

Hands down. Local for I think we're all on the I think we're all in the local train of like, nah, I'm not, I'm not going anything touristy. Yeah, exactly. And that's the biggest thing as well. It's like support local. It's gonna be it, like you said, it's gonna be the shittiest service you ever have, but it is gonna be the best food you ever have. Right. Like knowing my luck.

SPEAKER_04 48:09

Somebody is in the back as well own it, I won't be able to eat there.

Sunnie 48:13

Somebody in the back is gonna be smoking a cigarette while they're making your food. Like, that's that's what I'm expecting, and honestly, I'm for it. Like, it's gonna be the best food.

SPEAKER_04 48:23

Ash adds flavor, I'm just saying.

Phil 48:25

But hard rock cafe, we gotta go there, everybody.

Sunnie 48:31

No, margaritaville? Yes, please. Doesn't have a swimming bar though. Because like mama can be persuaded with a bar.

SPEAKER_04 48:42

It's all no thanks. I've got been to a hard rock cafe. It's nothing special. I've never been to a margaritaville though.

Sunnie 48:51

I have.

SPEAKER_04 48:52

It's overrated, honestly.

Sunnie 48:54

I can only imagine. That's the point. Like everything, like in two. The summer bar is nice. That's about it.

Phil 48:59

Touristy place is going to be so overrated.

Sunnie 49:02

And overpriced is a big part of it too. Yeah.

unknown 49:07

Hell yeah.

Sunnie 49:09

Um, bam during summer or winter.

Tally 49:15

I keep into the heat. I do the summer. I know it's touristy, but. Oh no, wait, because skiing. No, I still need the heat.

Phil 49:24

I'd choose spring because then you could go like MAP!

unknown 49:28

Map!

Phil 49:29

It's summer or winter!

Sunnie 49:30

Summer and winter! You got a big one! You're either in the worst of it or you're in the worst of it. There's no winning!

Phil 49:41

I choose I like skiing. What am I going to do there in the summer? I mean, probably lots of stuff, but I've never been, so this is all hype hypothetical speculation.

SPEAKER_04 49:50

Well, I've been both during the summer and the winter. And winter is fun because of hot springs and other things you can do. Uh and summer is fun because it gets fucking gorgeous out there. Uh and despite the heat, there's always still a cool breeze blowing through the mountains, so it's not always so unbearably hot. Um, and there's lots of stuff going on around in Banff during the summer. So but I I think I would probably pick uh summer over winter though.

SPEAKER_03 50:20

I'd have to agree. I'm gonna go summer, partly because uh Banff is expensive to ski in, and I ain't got that sort of money. Uh but in the summer it's it's not cheap, but you know. Cheaper than skiing.

Adam 50:36

I think my spouse would prefer it in the summer, but I I think skiing in Banff at least once would be pretty cool, so I think I'd pick the winter.

Sunnie 50:44

I'm gonna go winter. I'm probably gonna be the odd duck out. But honestly, going in the winter was just it was so nice. And the thing was we could like drive to other hills and stuff like that. If we wanted to go like snowboarding and stuff, like there's lots of stuff around, but I would still go in the winter because like the hot springs, and then there's also um usually like a light show thing in the winter on the top of Sulphur Mountain, which is like right there in Banff. And honestly, it was I would go again. Highly, highly, highly recommend.

SPEAKER_04 51:16

Have you been to the Ferramont?

Sunnie 51:18

Uh, we were in front of it, we never went inside because we skated on Lake Louise. So we were like, we had the full view of it, but we were like, do you want to go in? It's pretty like busy, so we were like, let's just let's just skate and we'll just go.

SPEAKER_04 51:33

Yeah, if you ever get the chance to go into the Ferramont in Banff uh on a Sunday, pay the money, go get brunch. It's fantastic, it's expensive, but oh man, so good. This is fair, this is very fair. Oh, and if you like Fondue, go to the Grizzly House. Not a sponsor.

Sunnie 51:56

We actually walked by it and we saw Fondue and we went in to ask and see if they had options, like, say for me. Sadly they didn't, but I but it smelled amazing. So I highly recommend it to anybody else.

Phil 52:10

I guess you could say for you it was a case of fawn, don't. Oh man.

Sunnie 52:19

Alright. Explore underground caves or abandon ghost towns.

Tally 52:28

Fuck them caves. I've seen the videos. I don't need to be stuck anywhere.

SPEAKER_04 52:34

100% agree.

Tally 52:37

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_04 52:38

Would I rather die in a creepy cave than die in a haunted ghost town?

Tally 52:45

I think the ending would be more interesting at the ghost town. This is what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 52:52

In in the cave, there could be fossils. So it has to be the cave. I don't even know what that is.

Phil 53:04

But with ghost towns, you can see like a really weird and small museum where they explain to you how the locals in the area made like wheat or something like that, and get to do a tour of a flower mill. And it might be haunted.

SPEAKER_03 53:23

True, true ghost towns are rare, but they are I mean, they're not that rare depending on where you're at, but they are fascinating to see. Where there's not a little museum, there's not anything around. There was just the nature slowly taking over what used to be human life, and it's a fascinating place. They are wonderful for inspiration and want to remember the old adage all things are temporary, everything comes to an end. Go to a ghost town. You will feel that more powerfully than anywhere else.

Sunnie 54:00

I'm taking the ghost town, um, because I feel like all of you know me well enough that I'm absolutely taking the ghost town. Underground caves are great, they're fantastic. I would live my best smeagal life down in the caves, aka golem. Um, but honestly, yeah, no, the ghost town is uh is it's it's got it. I'll take ghost town.

SPEAKER_04 54:19

Ghost town? I'll say it. I'll take ghost town. I'd rather not uh die in a cave from either getting lost and dehydrated or uh crushed in a cave or um eaten by some weird creature. This makes sense. Of the three likely, likely would be a cryptid. I would be eaten by a cryptid.

Sunnie 54:38

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 54:38

Absolutely.

unknown 54:40

Yeah.

Tally 54:41

My tablet leg for a second. I thought you were saying eaten by a Christian, and I'm like, damn.

Sunnie 54:47

Damn those cave Christian. Apparently, Dave got hungry. Damn. Oh my gosh. Facts. Absolute facts. Alright. Our last would you rather question. Would you rather every single area you went to go explore, you had a wildlife sighting, like safe, like you weren't attacked, nothing like that, just like very natural, very beautiful, very serene. Or zero bugs. Zero bugs.

Tally 55:33

Zero bugs. Is that for life or just a day?

Sunnie 55:37

That's for like like a week, like for a week.

SPEAKER_03 55:40

For your trip. For your trip. Yeah, for your trip.

SPEAKER_04 55:45

It's not permanent. I switched my answer.

Sunnie 55:47

This is yeah, no, it's not permanent. It's literally just as long as you're like visiting wherever you're going in Alberta. Not when you live there.

SPEAKER_03 55:59

You know what? Based off of the rules that you've established, one, I'm definitely going the animals. Um, because you know, wildlife savings are fun, and I've always wanted to suit like the beer. Um what? But but I think I would actually take it another step forward. I wouldn't go out into the wilderness. I'd go into like CEO boardrooms, I would go into random banks, I would have bears show up everywhere. I would be the carbinger of destruction.

Sunnie 56:32

Just turn the tables on everyone.

SPEAKER_03 56:35

Yeah. I don't know. I like that. Can I get in on that? Yeah, I mean, if we all join forces and we all get different animal sightings in different places, we'd be able to be druid for a week. Oh my god. I just uh every every part of me wants to be a druid for a week. You know, and if we if if there's no limits on how many animals we get to see, they have Stampede and Calgary. I will make a second Stampede It will be much more accurate than we do. I'm in. Count me in. Yeah. If we all go together, this is this is a big deal.

SPEAKER_04 57:13

I just we need to stop at my head office first. And then we're gonna do whatever. Done.

Sunnie 57:20

What does this podcast come to?

Phil 57:25

Wolverine for the entire time.

SPEAKER_03 57:28

Wolverine. I actually I when I was last in Alberta on my drive back to Calgary from um from the Kootenis, I saw four bears on one stretch of road. Shit. It was a very, very long stretch of road, but I was truly overjoyed. Uh I got to see bears in all of their different states, terrifying, uh derpy looking, uh bored and hungry, and one stuck on the fence that blocks off the road from the highway from the lands from the animals. And I just thought this is the four natural states of bear.

Phil 58:14

I once got stuck up in the air when we I was working on wind turbines doing uh blade repair because there was a bear at the bottom of the tower. That was a fun like 30 minutes.

Sunnie 58:30

But like maybe poo my pants a little bit. It'd be fine.

SPEAKER_04 58:34

Yes, yes.

Sunnie 58:35

I would like to be able to do that.

Phil 58:36

It was just a black bear.

SPEAKER_03 58:37

Just wandering around.

Sunnie 58:39

Okay, black bear, yeah, no. We're fine.

SPEAKER_03 58:41

No, you just fight that one.

Sunnie 58:42

Yeah, that one's fine.

SPEAKER_03 58:43

You make yourself big, you start yelling, it's gonna run away anyway. It's fine. No, no, you said it just became home. You didn't say make yourself big for the bear. You said fight the bear. And I assume we both drop the gloves. Our seconds come out, we get in the ring.

SPEAKER_04 59:02

Are there ring girls andor boys? Might be ring bears. Ring folk. Are there ring folk?

SPEAKER_03 59:10

I I'm pretty sure it it's like ring moose. Or if you get those coming around with the signs. I mean, that's actually one of the animals I would not fight is a moose. Absolutely not. No. Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_04 59:26

I'm told that Canadian geese are not to be trifled with, and you know what? I don't see the threat.

Adam 59:32

Yeah. You haven't met them.

SPEAKER_04 59:37

I mean I haven't met them.

Sunnie 59:39

They're everywhere.

SPEAKER_03 59:40

They are everywhere.

Sunnie 59:41

Remember what the question was. Wildlife sightings or zero bugs. Oh, right, right. For a week. Yeah, for your whole trip.

SPEAKER_03 59:54

I believe most of us were animals, but I haven't.

Sunnie 59:57

So far, everyone's been wildlife sightings.

Adam 1:00:00

Yeah, I don't know. Like the nature is also really beautiful, so just being able to enjoy that without being pested by bugs all the time. I'll I'll vote that just uh to be in that camp. Shake it up. Again, my spouse really, really attracts bugs and mosquitoes. Um, so it would be a really not fun time for her if we were surrounded. So if if I had the option for her sake to say we'll be free of bugs for this entire trip, I think she would enjoy that very much. So it says, Well, I'll pick that one.

Sunnie 1:00:29

I like it. I am sadly also a bug magnet, so I'm gonna have to go zero bugs.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:38

Just wear like a full body bug net suit.

Sunnie 1:00:41

Oh sure, yeah. Totally fixed my problem, 100%.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:45

Yes, it medicates everything.

Sunnie 1:00:49

A few true or false questions. So, true or false. First gut answer. Don't take it back, just gut answer. There are more animals than people in parts of Alberta. True, true, true. Okay. Everyone's locked in on true?

Adam 1:01:12

False. In parts of Alberta? Yes, true. Without a doubt.

Sunnie 1:01:18

Okay. Great.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:20

I just want to point out the devil's advocate.

Sunnie 1:01:22

Nah, uh like everybody said true. I'm I'm good with that. That's I'm just I'm just making sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:27

Okay.

Sunnie 1:01:29

Alright. Tasty is incorrect.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:33

That sounds about right.

unknown 1:01:34

It is true.

Sunnie 1:01:35

So, and obviously, many of like the rural and northern areas, wildlife density is a lot higher than human population density.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:44

I just wanted to be the outlier. That's okay. I like it. The possibility of being right, you know, like that was the one and only, yep, yep.

Sunnie 1:01:55

This is fair. I see the vision. Okay. Alberta has desert-like landscapes in some regions.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:04

True. True. True.

Sunnie 1:02:06

Is this a trick question?

Adam 1:02:09

It's a Badlands. We talked about it.

Sunnie 1:02:14

Correct. Adam was listening. It does have desert-like landscapes in places like the Badlands around Drum Albert.

Adam 1:02:22

I pay attention. See, teacher, I pay attention to what's happening in class.

Sunnie 1:02:28

Alright. Alberta has wildlife overpasses. So basically, like bridges built for animals to safely cross highways.

unknown 1:02:38

True.

Sunnie 1:02:38

I think.

Tally 1:02:39

Oh, go ahead.

Sunnie 1:02:40

No truth.

Tally 1:02:41

I was gonna say true. I'm pretty sure Ontario has some too. I can't see why Alberta would say truth.

Adam 1:02:50

Trust you alberta and say truth.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:54

That's exactly true. I'm a Trontonian, but uh we don't know that.

Tally 1:02:59

Decently converted.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:01

Yes. I moved out here in 2020.

unknown 1:03:05

Yep.

Sunnie 1:03:06

Recent enough. So it is in fact true. Most notably in Banff Natural Park, you're gonna see it everywhere. Um, that's one thing that I was like really amazed by when we got there. I was like, oh my god, what's that? And then Dave had to explain to me because he's been to Alberta many times before. And he's like, Oh, that's for like that's the wildlife overpass. And I was like, I don't, I don't know if this is real or you're like messing with me. And he's like, no, I'm genuinely I'm being factual, like that is genuinely for wildlife, so that nothing gets hit. Like oh, interesting. Alberta touches the ocean on at least one side. Oh false.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:51

False landlocked. We are landlocked.

Tally 1:03:54

Alright, I'll say true, everyone convinced me.

Sunnie 1:03:58

Correct. It is in fact false. Uh nowhere does Alberta touch any ocean because, like you guys said, it is landlocked.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:09

Somehow we still get good sushi here in California.

Phil 1:04:14

Oh, that's you're you're just getting um prairie sushi.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:19

I'll tell you.

Phil 1:04:20

I don't care what it is, I like it.

Sunnie 1:04:24

Oh my gosh. Uh you can go skiing and golfing in Alberta on the same day.

unknown 1:04:33

True.

Adam 1:04:34

True. True. I can picture places where that's true. Mini putt, definitely.

Sunnie 1:04:44

It is true. So conditions permitting, obviously, people absolutely do this in multiple different regions in Alberta.

Adam 1:04:52

I've actually never gone golfing.

Sunnie 1:04:53

Do you like the idea of golfing?

Adam 1:04:57

Uh I mean, I'm not opposed to it on principle or anything. I just never really had the opportunity. Same thing. I think is it is a way more North American sport, I think, than where I grew up. Uh I think so. I think so. People are looking at me naturally.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:14

Franch-wise, yes, I agree with you, but um pretty sure it originated in Scotland.

unknown 1:05:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:20

Yeah, uh which would then make it European.

Adam 1:05:24

Very yes, but like I'm I'm technically French, uh, and I'm not sure it is a very, very popular sport. At least not. So England?

SPEAKER_04 1:05:34

No, probably not. How many French golfers do you know? I don't know any. I don't know any golfers, to be fair.

Adam 1:05:41

I like I do know where like preferred because we're grouping. I just don't think it is as popular.

Sunnie 1:05:48

Okay, well, if anybody's interested in in trying golf, um Dave and I go all the time.

Tally 1:05:53

So we should we should have a contest room discussion.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:02

No, thank you.

Sunnie 1:06:05

Alright, our last true or false question. Alberta has a town called Medicine Hat because someone thought the land looked like a hat.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:16

You know, that is just strange enough Canadian in general that I would say true.

Adam 1:06:24

I'm gonna say false and it's gonna be something else.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:29

I'll say true. I I'm gonna have to say false because I hope it is.

Sunnie 1:06:39

Okay, so we got wait, how many true how many trues do we got? How many falses do we have?

SPEAKER_04 1:06:43

True here.

Adam 1:06:44

Ah shit. I'm on Google Maps and I just saw it. So I know the answer now.

Phil 1:06:50

I say true. That sounds like something that would happen.

Sunnie 1:06:55

Well, the people that answered false have it.

Tally 1:06:59

Oh, okay, okay.

Sunnie 1:07:01

The name actually comes from an indigenous phrase connected to a medicine man's headdress.

Phil 1:07:06

Well, that's nice. Like, that's better that it's not named after because someone went, haha, that looks like a hat. Made of medicine.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:18

Absolutely. Look, there we're gonna circle right back real quick, too. Head smashed in buffalo jump. That was named quite literally for how it sounds. Um like so Medicine hat, you know, that that could have been a possibility as long as I'm not sure.

Sunnie 1:07:36

Oh, 100%. Things have been named like that for in different areas, absolutely. Like it looks like this, okay, we're gonna name it that. Alright. These next ones are technically for tasty only. And we could all listen and love all these answers, just like we did for Adam when he was telling us all the other things. What is something about Calgary that surprised you when you first moved?

SPEAKER_04 1:08:06

Um, having grown up in Toronto in various neighborhoods, um, there's a certain way about the people there, there's a certain air. Um not snobbish, but also not entirely welcoming or polite. The most shocking thing for me when I first moved out here was exactly how nice people are in all the neighborhoods I've lived in, and I lived in quite a few. Everybody is always, oh, good morning, how are you? The wave, like the it's it was such an departure from where I was in Toronto. And I think that was probably the most culture shock I've had going from one side of the country to the other, was just in general how nice people are. You can stop somebody out here and ask for directions, they're not gonna look at you like you're ruining their day.

Sunnie 1:09:01

I wonder if this maybe ties into that, but what took the longest to feel normal then?

SPEAKER_04 1:09:07

Uh the erratic weather.

Sunnie 1:09:12

This is fair. It's what, like four seasons in one day, basically, out there?

SPEAKER_04 1:09:17

You know, that is the running joke. Um, and it's I'd say it's half true. When I moved out here in 2010, I moved in the middle of May, and I moved with my stepfather. Well, he had been out here um previously for a couple of months, and I was on my way out here to stay with him until I got on my feet. And it was the middle of May, and as we were talking, it's the day leading up to my departure, he was talking about sunshine, plus 20 temperatures. It was wonderful, and I was like, oh hell yeah. And it was kind of like that in Toronto when I was like still sunny and uh you know 18, 19 degrees. And then as the flight is descending through what seemed like miles and miles of dark clouds, I'm like, this doesn't seem right. Um, and the windows were frosting up, and we poof out of the clouds, and everything is covered in snow, and it was minus five. And I was not prepared for any of that. I was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, all of my warm clothing were in my duffel bag. Um, so like I no preparation whatsoever. And I remember just being like, what the hell happened? You told me it was supposed to be nice out here, and it's minus five in the middle of May. May! I'm used to consistent weather in Ontario. Like it, or at least it was back then. You know, you get spring, it's springtime, and you know, everything's warm, and then all the plants and stuff are budding, and it's nice and sunny, and sometimes it rains. But out here, uh, we get snow right up until June. We just had snow two days ago. Cold snow. What?

Sunnie 1:11:02

Yep. Legit. That's wild. We just get tornadoes here. That's about all we get.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:10

I mean, we get them outside of Calgary. There's tornadoes that happen, but like there's nothing serious.

Sunnie 1:11:16

Do you think moving changed your personality at all?

SPEAKER_04 1:11:19

Absolutely. Um as I was talking about from the first question of uh the the difference in dichotomy of people, I found that um coming out here may have made me a nicer person, was more open to being social with people. Despite um living with Audi HD and everything else, I think I think being in Toronto and that kind of environment, uh being closed off was was easier because most people were kind of like that. But out here um really helped me get out of that shell and helped me become more social and more engaging. Wasn't always perfect, but like uh it's nothing ever is right. There's definitely a shift, like me, uh 2010 me versus 2026 me are two very, very different people.

Sunnie 1:12:09

This is valid, especially yeah, with what you like going from Toronto, obviously, to Calgary, especially if you had like that drastic of a shift. Yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:19

And like it's Tesla Mountains almost every day when you know there's not too much cloud cover and uh springtime and summertime out here. There's always that scent of either flowers or sweet grass on the wind, no matter where you are in the city, which is crazy. Um it didn't get that in Toronto, and I think I became a little more at peace with myself out here.

Sunnie 1:12:44

What do you always recommend people see or do that are visiting Alberta for the first time?

SPEAKER_04 1:12:50

Uh against my better judgment, I would say everybody needs to experience Stampede at least once. It's not my thing. Uh and as we discussed earlier, it basically is the C and E cowboy themed C and E. But there are there's more to it. Like there is actual rodeos, and there's Chuck Wagon races, and um over the years, uh there's always uh uh fireworks displays every other night, and they just started doing um oh, what are those like drone light shows and stuff? Um, but there's always like big headliners that come in and play free concerts, and there's always something going on, it's just crowded and expensive, and there's always crazy food, uh like Beetle Sundays and Scorpion Pizza and like all kinds of weird shit. Um, I would say if you come down during that time, it is cool to experience once. Uh, and if crowds are your thing, if that whole environment is your thing, definitely do it. Apart from that, definitely go to Banff. You need to. Um, it is a stable in Alberta to go at least once. Just going into the mountains in general. You don't even have to go stay at Banff, you can go to Canmore if you want, which is just before Banff. And it's beautiful there too. Um, yeah, there's not much more I can really give on that. I think I think if completely fair if you're coming out here, those those would be like the two main things that you should definitely do.

Sunnie 1:14:17

There you go, Tally. You're on the right track. Yes, no, no, no, I've got all the notes. Thank you. She's got a little stampede the very first time.

Tally 1:14:28

But see, that's why I went to the Pinocchio. Well, that and a couple other reasons, but I heard Calgary's stampede was just so big in Two Ristitos.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:35

So massive. Yeah. Millions of people.

Sunnie 1:14:39

Um, I guess next question would be like, what advice would you give some to somebody who's nervous about making a big move across provinces like you did?

SPEAKER_04 1:14:51

You know, when I was pre-reading these questions, I kind of thought that'd be perfect. I was like, what advice would I give somebody? Um, and it and it's hard because as somebody who used to be riddled with anxiety before medication, um, I I wouldn't have known exactly what to say, but I feel like if you feel like moving is is the right choice for you and you're nervous about doing it, and you want to come out with us, you want to come to Alberta, the best advice I can give you is lean into it because you won't be disappointed when you get here. Yeah, living out here can be a little expensive and it is a little different, especially you know, when learning how to deal with the climate out here. Um but it's a gorgeous place, and it's not without its without its issues in any big city. Um but like Calgary specifically is is a wonderful place. Um and there's there's so much to do, so much to see out here in Alberta. Um, I'm not a big fan of Edmonton, it's a dirty city.

Sunnie 1:15:57

I hear that a lot, honestly.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:59

I'm just kidding.

Sunnie 1:16:00

Hilariously, I actually hear that a lot.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:03

No, it's true though. Like it it is there, it is a dirty city. Calgary's clean, and I mean clean. Maybe not in Japan clean, but like real clean. We take uh big pride in making sure our streets are top-notch, unless it's construction season, in which case all bets are off.

Sunnie 1:16:21

I feel like that's kind of like here a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:25

But if you're if you're nervous about the move, it's perfectly natural to feel that way, but uh try to push that down because once you get out here and you see everything and you experience the beauty that is Alberta, you won't look back. I promise you, you won't look back. I moved out here in 2010, I'm the black sheep in my family, and I left everything behind. And I have not looked back since.

Sunnie 1:16:50

It's valid. And our last question, which is kind of a fun question, I feel like kind of everyone can get in on this. Which city would survive a zombie apocalypse longer? Calgary or Toronto?

SPEAKER_04 1:17:06

Calgary. There's more guns here.

Sunnie 1:17:10

That's kind of what I assume.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:13

I mean, there's probably a lot more illegal guns in Toronto, but there are a lot of legal guns out here. Uh, and like Okotoks, which is like 25 minutes south. Uh, lots of guns there, too. So we we'd be okay.

Sunnie 1:17:33

You got the food. You got you gotta think, like, there's a lot of Costco's.

unknown 1:17:39

Right?

Sunnie 1:17:39

But like I feel like there's gonna be a lot of Costco's there, obviously, as well.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:44

There are Costco's. We are definitely uh Costco members.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:50

I'm gonna have to I'm gonna have to disagree. I think it's Verona. I think you're wrong, but that's okay. It's okay now. No, because because when when the zombie apocalypse happens in Calgary and the federal government hears Calgary has been overrun, they go, oh, fucking finally. And they just wanna hope and and I I think that Toronto gets preferential treatment. People actually show up for help. I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying, given everything that's going on, uh, I also think you know, there's more people around Calgary who would hear there's a zombie apocalypse, and they'd get go, now that's not real. No, absolutely not. You know, I'll let the zombie bite me. I'll prove it's not true.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:40

You make valid points because there are definitely people out here like that. Um but I'll tell you why I think Toronto would suffer greatly in the zombie apocalypse, and that is because of population density.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:56

You wouldn't have to be so quickly. We would at least we would at least at least last five times longer before succumbing to the uh the plague than than than you would. That that is fairly true.

Sunnie 1:19:11

Definitely have to give you that one. There's very strong arguments on both ends here. I'm I'm not really sure which side to pick.

Phil 1:19:19

I think in both cities it would be relatively fine either way, because we don't have like we we have a very large urban sprawl compared to places in the US where people are like bunched up in very tight confinement. Like, even Toronto is relatively sparsely populated. Calgary is better off because like roads and everything are so wide, and there's stuff in all their trucks. Yeah, and stuff is spread so much farther apart. Like, there's not nearly as much of like the horror of like zombies being in a tight alley and like oh we have nowhere to run and escape. Like, no, this is like a four-lane street. You would need like an a horde of like half the city to fill this up.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:05

Yeah, good point, good point. In a lot of parts, absolutely. Yeah.

Phil 1:20:11

So I would say Calgary just because like the the more rural the place and the more wider the roads, it becomes a lot easier. Like the zombies become a whole lot less scary when they are no longer confined.

unknown 1:20:25

I don't I don't know.

Tally 1:20:26

Does the um does the water help Toronto at all? Because you can like get away.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:32

What you mean the lake all the way south?

Tally 1:20:34

Like like Lake Ontario?

Sunnie 1:20:37

Is that what you're talking about?

SPEAKER_04 1:20:38

I'm pretty sure that's what's spawning the zombies.

Tally 1:20:41

I don't know that you're zombie lake.

Phil 1:20:49

No, that's more like that's more like Erie. Yeah. Probably something like horrific boiling in that lake.

unknown 1:20:57

I mean, have you been in Lake Cario?

Phil 1:21:00

Well, Lake Erie was like actually declared a dead lake in like the 1970s or 80s, and it took like billions of dollars to restore it.

Sunnie 1:21:09

Pretty much any of the Great Lakes. There's yeah, nah. We also wanted to hear what you were curious about. So we asked for Alberta-related questions in our Discord and on Twitch. You guys actually sent in some great ones, so let's dive right into those. Zebico is our first question, and he asks, what US State's residents do Albertans most resemble? So honestly, I'd say if Colorado and Texas had a love child that occasionally visited Montana, that's probably the closest comparison I've got for you. Um, you get the outdoor adventure culture, the ranching roots, and just, you know, a little a healthy amount of provincial pride all rolled into one. Our second question comes from Sammy's Universe, and he asks, How many visitors go to Alberta per year? So this one was actually really interesting to do like a little mini deep dive on, but it's a little over 38 million. So as you can imagine, the revenue is pretty high. Last year the province made around 15.2 billion from all its visitors. It's actually one of, if not, the highest earning province in Canada. It's kind of insane, and honestly, I get it because it's beautiful there. Our third question comes from Flow Knight25, and he asks, What's the major activities in Alberta? Do people go to bars, movies, camping? What's the vibe? Camping is definitely one of the big ones. Albertans really love getting outdoors, whether it's hiking, fishing, skiing, or even just spending a weekend in the mountains. But in the cities, you'll find all the usual entertainment too. Bars, restaurants, concerts, sporting events, movie theaters. Um, so it really just has something for everybody, honestly. Our last question is also from Sammy's Universe, and he asks, what parts of Alberta are most recommended for tourists? So I think from asking everybody and kind of getting their opinions on this, the big four that we'd recommend are Banff, Jasper, Calgary, and Drumheller. Banff and Jasper are famous for the Rocky Mountains. It's incredible wildlife, hot springs, hiking, skiing, all those really outdoorsy kind of things. Calgary obviously offers more of that city experience, but it's still really nice there. Drumheller, of course, will leave for last because it's known for dinosaur fossils, museums, stunning badland scenery, and like, who doesn't like dinosaurs? I just want to thank our guests one more time for joining the conversation, and also our listeners for sending in those questions. We do hope this episode gave you a new appreciation for Alberta and all the adventure that's hidden across it. Next Wednesday, we head back into the wilderness, where small figures are said to appear where water meets stone and vanish before you can be sure. This is what lurks north. Stay safe out there.