Beer Parlour Project - BP40.0 - Rockyview Hotel

On the morning of February 27th I loaded up a bunch of gear and hit the road for Calgary.  This was a solo trip as Margarit decided not to join me.  She has a new found freedom now that her shoulder has healed and she is cleared to drive.  That clearance came just a couple of days ago so she decided to stay home and catch up on some stuff. 

The weather was less than ideal and the temperature hovered between -15 and -20C all day.  As I got south to around Red Deer, it was snowing and blowing and visibility was poor in places.  The wind polished the highway and there were icy sections as well.  As I got closer to Calgary conditions improved a little, but the snow got a little heavier and continued all evening.

I rented the basement suite of my colleagues Chris and Connie's kids, located in Cochrane.  This was really convenient as this was also our destination for the day.  I stopped in at the suite and dropped off some gear and then continued into the downtown.  The old Rockyview Hotel in the old downtown of Cochrane dates back to the turn of the last century, and is among the oldest hotels we have visited so far.  The tavern is called the Texas Gate Bar.

I met up with Chris and guest photographer Byron Robb at the hotel around 3:00 in the afternoon.  Connie was unable to join us this time as she is in the midst of some cancer treatments.  She is doing really well, but is supposed to avoid crowds of strangers due to her reduced immunity.

This was our first outing of 2026 and in fact I haven't shot any film with my view camera since our last outings, almost three months ago, back in early December.  It was also a milestone outing as this was number 40.  Our goal is to visit 100 old hotels, so we still have 60 to go.

Despite the weather the place was really well attended and we got some great photos and interviews.  I ended up shooting 14 sheets of film, plus a bunch of stuff with my 35mm cameras.  One of the guys that stopped in for a visit and to say hello was Trevor.  We had previously met and photographed him at the Edgerton Oasis Hotel last summer.  We joked that he is our first repeat offender.... to be photographed twice with the view camera at different hotels.

We wrapped things up a little after 9:00 and I headed over to the suite and settled down for the night.  We plan to visit the Carstairs Hotel on Saturday for outing number 41.