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The Cowboy Trail: Movies, Megastars and Western MagicCopyright © 2007-2009 Travel Alberta, All Rights ReservedWritten by: Travel Alberta Dude ranches, rodeos, western home cookin' and ghost towns: this is authentic cowboy country. Alberta's historic Cowboy Trail runs through Rocky Mountains and rolling foothills and grassland prairies as it tumbles from north to south through the province, and it's got star power. If you've seen movies including Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning Unforgiven, Kevin Costner's Open Range and Robert Duvall's unforgettable work in Lonesome Dove (as well as his work with Costner), you've seen the beauty of this awesome stretch of land. The scenery is amazing and the activities for travelers along this 700 km (435 mi) trail are plentiful. You can explore the Cowboy Trail and discover how the Old West lives on in its art, history, food, hospitality and culture. You'll find an easy-to-follow and detailed driving map of the Cowboy Trail available at the bottom of this story. The Cowboy Trail makes ranch and farm vacations, small town rodeos and lively cowboy towns available so you can experience the Wild West aspect of Alberta. Along the way are activities and attractions such as barn dances, heritage museums, heli-tours, and rafting and paddling adventures. Major attractions include the Bar U Ranch, a national historic site of Canada that has attracted artists, princes and outlaws including Harry Longabaugh (better known as the Sundance Kid). And there's the Remington Carriage Museum, chosen by Attractions Canada as 'the Best Indoor Tourist Attraction in Canada', featuring horse-drawn vehicles in North America from coaches used by royalty to the stagecoaches of the Old West. Visit Calgary, the international gateway to the Canadian Rocky Mountains, for the annual Calgary Exhibition and Stampede (the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, July 7-16), and you'll find the Cowboy Trail and its distinctly western charms accessible within just an hour's drive of the city. Says Duvall in the June issue of Cowboys and Indians magazine: "I love Alberta...it's like Texas without the accent." Broken Trail Breaks Out He has a new western project shot in Alberta as he stars in Broken Trail, a four-part miniseries which airs on AMC. This four-hour, two-part epic tells the story of two cowboys, who embark on a close-of-the-19th-century horse drive from eastern Oregon to Sheridan, Wyoming. Alberta's marvelous mountains and prairies stand out, as they did in the Oscar winning movie Brokeback Mountain. Duvall considers this latest epic the end of his Western trilogy, says the magazine, which also included Lonesome Dove and Open Range (both shot in Alberta in areas including the Cowboy Trail and featuring the province's remarkable scenery). While Broken Trail included shooting on private sets unavailable to the public, it also shot in easily accessible regions open to travelers. Peter Horn, location manager for many shot-in-Alberta productions including Broken Trail and Open Range, says that if you travel down the Cowboy Trail, you will be in the vicinity of a lot of these western movies. "When I work down the Cowboy Trail, I can get everything I need," he says. "There are incredible grasslands, and then you go up and over the rise and bam, there are the mountains. Vast is a word you have to use when talking about Alberta, because Americans tell me when they come up to shoot on location that it just goes on and on forever." Broken Trail showcases a great river crossing scene at the Highwood River in the vicinity of the cowboy town of Longview, where much of Unforgiven was shot. And if you watch the last great shootout in the epic series, you'll see the sprawling land around the Cochrane and Bragg Creek areas. These towns offer great dining and shopping, and are within a 45 minutes drive from Calgary. Driving the Cowboy Trail Officially, the Cowboy Trail stretches the entire distance of Highway 22 from Mayerthorpe (northwest of Edmonton) south to Pincher Creek, flirting with Banff National Park's scenic drives. It then jogs south on Highway 6 and east on Highway 5, ending in Cardston, a nudge above Montana, USA. While it's possible to drive and camp along the entire distance, most people carve it into little two and three day loops, using Calgary (the official gateway to The Cowboy Trail) as a starting point. Whatever portion you choose, you'll be on the skirts of the Rocky Mountains, which means you'll witness a great diversity in wildlife and scenery. From deer and elk to numerous small town rodeos, this scenic drive is full of geographic and historic gems. Officially, the 640-kilometre-long Cowboy Trail stretches the entire distance of Highway 22 from Mayerthorpe (northwest of Edmonton) south to Pincher Creek. It then jogs south on Highway 6 and east on Highway 5, ending in Cardston, a nudge above Montana, USA. While it's possible to drive the entire distance, most people carve it into little two and three day loops, using Calgary - the official Gateway to The Cowboy Trail as a starting point. Whatever portion you choose, you'll see cowboys ropin' cattle, experience small town rodeos, country fairs and rich ranchland where quarter horses still reign. The proximity to the Rockies means you'll also witness a great diversity in wildlife and scenery. From deer and elk to numerous small town rodeos - The Cowboy Trail is full of geographic and historic gems. Out of convenience, let's start in Mayerthorpe and head south along the eastern flanks of the foothills to Rocky Mountain House. Here is a superb National Historic Site where the story of Canada's fur trade and rugged voyageur life is re-enacted. For a different perspective take a Voyageur Canoe trip down the North Saskatchewan River, ending at this very site. So wild is this forested area that when you spot the teepees and smell the smoke from the site's camp, you'll be spirited back 200 years when the trading post was first built. Back on Highway 22 continue south through Sundre, which is a good jumping-off point for wilderness trips or horseback ventures into the Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve. Or, just poke around Sundre's Pioneer Museum. For more of the Wild West, visit Calgary at Stampede time (early July) and kick up your heels at the 10-day whoop-up, known as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth". From Calgary, veer west to Bragg Creek. Full of artisans, this funky little village is a great place for a picnic, a hike and horseback riding, as well as shopping for western art and unique crafts. Bragg Creek is an ideal gateway into Kananaskis Country, should you want to add another loop to your itinerary. Back on The Cowboy Trail, continue south through towns like Millarville (famous for its farmers market held on Saturdays throughout the summer), Turner Valley (it was here, in 1914, that Canada's first major crude-oil discovery was made), Black Diamond and Longview. These towns are all part of Diamond Valley - The Heart of the Cowboy Trail. For an unusual diversion take a gas plant tour in Turner Valley. The tour tells the story of the area, once one of the most active oil and gas fields in the British Empire. Just south of Longview is another excellent interpretive centre, the Bar U Ranch, full of original buildings, ongoing archaeological digs and intriguing exhibits. At this point you could take Highway 541 into Kananaskis Country for a horsepack trip or gentle trail ride. Or, stick to The Cowboy Trail, bound for Pincher Creek - most noted for Kootenai Brown's Pioneer Village. And just a jog east on Highway 3 is Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) on the fringes of Fort Macleod. If you choose not to go to Fort Macleod, head south on Highway 6 to Waterton Lakes National Park (see Trail of the Great Bear), full of charming B&Bs, lodges, hotels and natural mountain splendour. To complete The Cowboy Trail, turn east on Highway 5 to Cardston where the Remington-Alberta Carriage Centre is the No. 1 magnet. Housing one of North America's largest collections of carriages, buggies and wagons, it's a spectacular example of another era...the Wild, Wild West. Tour Distances Total Distance: 694 km/434 mi Day 1 - Mayerthorpe to Rocky Mountain House - 196 km/123 mi Day 2 - Rocky Mountain House to Calgary - 229 km/143 mi Day 3 - Calgary Day 4 - Calgary to Waterton - 269 km/168 mi Day 5 – Waterton About The Author:
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