FALL AFTERNOON IN OKOTOKS

Warm days, cold nights, perfect weather to enjoy some hiking during the day, and wine and firepits in the evening…

Last weekend we drove to Okotoks, a town near Calgary, 20 minutes driving.

We love spending time in this cozy town, exploring the coffee shops, ice cream shops, trails and parks, and local art and wine shops.

This time, we went to Okotoks “Big Rock” Erratic, a Provincial Historic Park due to its geological and cultural importance to the region.

Okotoks Erratic

Some fun facts about the rock:

The name 'Okotoks' comes from the Blackfoot word 'óóhkotok' or 'okatok' which means 'rock'.

It measures about 9 meters tall, 41 meters long, and 18 meters wide.
The rock came to the townsite about 30,000 years ago, from the Athabasca River valley: it was carried out of the mountains on the glacial surface.

The Okotoks Erratic is an important location for many of the First Nation groups in the area but it is often associated with the Blackfoot First Nations and a story of Napi, the supernatural trickster, explaining how the rock got to its current resting place and why the rock is split down the middle.

When we arrived at the site, there are lot of information regarding the quartzite rock, including an interesting tail from the Blackfoot people who lived in the region:

Okotoks Erratic

The Rock That Ran: The Story of Napi
“In this Blackfoot story, Napi, or “Old Man” has been traveling on a hot day and begins to feel weary. Napi sits down on a rock for a rest and offers his robe as payment for sitting on the rock. Suddenly, the weather turns and it begins to rain, prompting Napi to take his robe back. The rock, unhappy to part with the robe, begins to chase Napi, so he calls on his friends and the animals to help him stop the rock. Napi calls on the Buffalo, the Deer, and the Antelope to help him stop the rock, but none succeed. Finally, Napi calls upon the nighthawks, a common species of bat, to stop the rock, and they succeed by dive-bombing the rock and splitting it in two. The story explains why bats have flattened faces, how the Okotoks Erratic came to be in its resting place, and why the erratic is split in two. The moral of the story is to never go back on your word, and not to take back what you have given.”

Source: https://alberta.preserve.ucalgary.ca/sites/okotoks-erratic-big-rock

After so much fun trying to take ourselves back 30,000 years ago, we stopped at the 94 Take the Cake Shop to fulfill our energy.

It is a new coffee shop, with so many beautiful details and mouthwatering treats.

The cake Entrance