Day 37 - Sunday, September 25 - Alberta << Index

Anticipated: Play golf at Connaught Golf Club in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Travel:   Itinerary: Leave motel for 9:00AM tee time at Connaught Golf Club. After golf, drive to Kimberley, BC to the home of Ruth and Dom Alfano. Ruth is Jim's cousin. casino   States/Provinces Played:

Web: Connaught Golf Club - Medicine Hat, Alberta

Actual: (Photos and text)

Click on the photos below to enlarge Welcome to Alberta and Connaught Golf Club signs Glen Racz, assistant golf professional at Connaught Golf Club Pat at first tee with starter, Richard Gutornson (top), and our playing partners Bert Schneider and Larry Lutz (bottom) Golf course scenery Mountain scenery at Crows Nest Pass (Rocky Mountains). This is the boundary between Alberta and British Columbia

We got up at 6:30 AM in order to get an early start. Alberta is the first of our 61-day odyessy that we didn’t have a firm tee-time. We had written to Connaught Golf Club at an earlier date, but hadn’t heard from them. We were thinking that they had responded, but we have been on the road so long that we may have missed their response. About 30 miles short of Medicine Hat, Alberta (location of Connaught) we decided to call them to see if we could get a tee time within the next hour. Glenn Racz, the assistant golf professional answered the telephone and he couldn’t have been nicer. He responded that he could probably get us out 10:30AM. Connaught Golf Club is adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway in Medicine Hat and we arrived there about 9:45 AM. Glenn set us up with a cart (and waived the green fees, which was greatly appreciated), and we were on the first tee at 10:15AM. We were fortunate to be paired up with Larry Lutz and Bert Schneider, two fine players who were a pleasure to play with. They are members at the club and gave us some good advice on many of our shots (not that we followed it!). The golf course was full, but we moved right along and completed the round in four hours. The course was in excellent condition. We always had a good lie in the fairway, and the greens were very nice, although some of them had some extreme breaks. Jim played quite well, except for a triple bogie on a par 3 hole where he failed to get out of a trap. Jim shot 87 (yardage = 5800) and Pat shot 105 (yardage = 5360). We enjoyed our round at Connaught and the friendly golfers and staff. After golf we left the Trans-Canada highway and headed west on Route 3 through the Crowsnest Pass in the Rocky Mountains. Our destination was Kimberley, British Columbia, 220 miles from Medicine Hat (a six-hour drive). Tonight and tomorrow night we will be staying at the home of Ruth and Dom Alfano. Ruth is a second cousin of Jim. Jim’s grandfather and Ruth’s grandfather were brothers. Our trip from Swift Current, Saskatchewan to Kimberly, BC was of extreme contrast. The first part of the journey was across the prairie of Saskatchewan and Alberta. The land was flat with mile after mile of wheat fields, some freshly cut and others waiting for the threshing machine. The patterns made by the patchwork quilt of the fields were extremely beautiful as they stretched mile after mile in front of us. The morning sun accentuated the various hues even more. After playing golf at Connaught, we continued westward with more of the same, but as we approached western Alberta we were slowly climbing into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Off in the distance the profile of the mountains came into view. Soon we were completely in the mountains. As anyone who has travelled west knows, the Rockies are very beautiful, especially the Canadian Rockies. We arrived at the home of Ruth and Dom at 8:00PM. We were quite tired after a 13 hour day.