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Everything keeps getting more crowded. Let’s compare the summit of Ha Ling Peak near Canmore, Alberta in June of 2011 compared to yesterday in 2026.

Ha Ling was a Chinese cook who, in 1896 was bet $50 that he could not climb to the summit and plant a clad in under ten hours. He completed the task in just five. While known as Chinaman’s Peak in his honour, that name did not become official until 1980. It was renamed to Ha Ling Peak in 1997 as “Chinaman” was deemed a derogatory slur.

This is my third time reaching the summit, the previous time being in 2012. The round trip hike is about 8km long and involves a total ascent of about 800m. As you can see in the photos, it is a very popular day hike.

Big shout out to my newest top fans! 💎 Joanne Brown, Russell Kroeker

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The Ritz Cafe was the classic "Chinese and Western" restaurant that every good small town has put here in the west. Today we found it is now a Vietnamese place. As cute as the new logo is, we sure hope someone saved that awesome sign from the old place.

Every good western town needed a hotel and while this one appears to now be closed and for sale, the Mountview Hotel has stood watch over Rocky Mountain House's main street for over one hundred years.

For years I have wanted to access the old road allowance to be able to hike from Cochrane to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park. Well, yesterday I found there is legal access. I had no idea! The old road bed is very easy to see, including at least one spot where there was a small bridge crossing. Must get out there and do the whole thing one day, especially if I can stage a vehicle for the return trip.

Alberta ghost towners will likely know where we were just from one single fire hydrant...

You know times are tough when even the wildlife resorts to begging for food.

The Devil's Elbow bridge was built in 1923 and this actually predates historic Route 66. Located in Pulaski County, Missouri and photographed here in 2018.

The Daniel K. Inouye Kīlauea Point Lighthouse built in 1913 stands on the north shore of Kauai in the US state of Hawaii.