Alberta Road Trips: Millarville, Marv’s and a Really Big Rock

On a fine fall day, my friend Keoma and I headed out of Calgary for a bit of market shopping, soda sipping and rock climbing.

Millarville Farmers’ Market
Our first stop of the day was the well-known farmers’ market in Millarville. The outdoor market has a good combination of artisans and farmers/producers. My purchases included llama sausage (it was so unusual I just had to try it) and some gourmet soup from the Route 40 Soup Company.


Marv’s Classic Soda Shop
Keoma and I were both looking forward to tasting authentic sodas. I expected my soda to be similar to an ice cream float but it was pleasantly different - lighter and less sweet but still oh soooo good.

The restaurant is decorated in classic 50s diner style with lots of chrome, neon and pink vinyl. Each booth has a tabletop jukebox stocked with classic 50s music. We popped 25 cents into our jukebox and bopped as we were eating our burgers and fries. The highlight was when Marv pulled out his guitar and serenaded the customers.



The Okotoks Erratic
For the longest time I’ve wanted to visit the Okotoks Erratic, known as Big Rock. The idea that a gigantic rock is just sitting in the middle of the prairie with no other sizable rocks near it intrigued me. Although the rock wasn’t in the middle of nowhere (it’s right beside a farm), it was bigger and more impressive than I thought it would be.



The Scenery
An important part of any road trip is the scenery. And on this trip, the scenery did not disappoint. This was the perfect time of year to see the beautiful fall colours. Yellows and golds juxtaposed against the dark green of the evergreens and everything back-dropped by the mountains.



Road trips don’t get any better than this!

An Afternoon at the Calgary Farmers' Market

What a nice way to spend an afternoon. Tasting food samples, talking with enthusiastic vendors and browsing through stalls filled with interesting craft items. I like the idea of supporting local farmers, producers and artists and what better way to do that than visiting a farmers’ market.

The Calgary Farmers’ Market has the most diverse range of ethnic specialties I’ve seen at a market. Greek, Indian, Cuban, Ukrainian, Mexican, Italian, Chinese just to name a few. I walked away with a variety of dishes from around the world.

I was also surprised at the lineup in front of Simple Simon Pies. Customers were waiting 2 people deep and about 10 across just to place orders for Simple Simon’s meat and fruit pies. After tasting a sample I could see why. Another highlight was the kettle corn from the Sugar Creek Kettle Corn Co. The light, fluffy popcorn with subtle hints of sweet and salty made it the best kettle corn I’ve ever tasted.

The market is also filled with passionate and knowledgeable vendors. I was so impressed with the Old Country Sausage Shop’s commitment to keep fillers, binders and MSG out of their products that I purchased some of their Moroccan sausage. After talking with the folks at Patsy Clark Farms I decided to be adventurous and try Ostrich burgers.

In addition to food products, the market also offers a selection of craft items like painted glassware, jewelry and art.

By the time I left the market my bags were filled with goodies. The only thing I would have done differently is leaving time at the end of the afternoon to stop for a beer at the nearby Wild Rose Brewery.