The final splurge

Two friends and I had such a great time travelling around SE Alberta for four days, from early in the morning on Friday, 20 September to Monday evening, 23 September 2013, when we arrived back in Calgary. Our destination was Elkwater, situated in a provincial park in the Cypress Hills, not that far from the boundary with the province of Saskatchewan. Elkwater is a lovely little hamlet and we stayed three nights in one of their small, rustic cabins. The Lodge served absolutely delicious food and we ate there on two of the evenings. On the last evening, after our main course, we decided that we would have dessert, too. Tiramisu, which I really like, was on the menu and so it was ordered. However, a while later, the waiter returned to our table, most apologetic - it was not available after all. At his suggestion, we could have the cheesecake instead. It arrived, beautifully presented, with a music "clef" in syrup at the side. When we went to pay afterwards, we discovered that we had not been charged for the dessert - the waiter, seeing our disappointment over the Tiramisu, very generously hadn't charged us for the cheesecake.

"Elkwater is an unincorporated community at the western edge of the Cypress Hills in southeastern Alberta, Canada, 65 kilometres (40 mi) southeast of Medicine Hat. The main access route is via Alberta Highway 41 (Buffalo Trail), which leads south from the Trans Canada Highway.

During the last ice age the Cypress Hills were not covered with ice because they were high enough to rise above the surrounding flatlands. As a result it has rare soils found on the upper plateau area which is the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and Labrador. The Elkwater townsite is elevated at 1234m, the same altitude as Banff, resulting in much similar flora and fauna. Thick pine and spruce forests cover the hills. Animals found there include white-tailed deer, coyote, elk, wild turkey, cougar and moose. Moose and wild turkeys are not native to the Cypress Hills, but were introduced.

Since the Elkwater townsite is in a provincial park, it is administered by the provincial government. Residents can never own the land on which their cottages or homes are built. Leases must be negotiated with the provincial government." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkwater,_Alberta