Our Landing Spot
There we were.
Newly retired, after 25+ years running publishing businesses on the Canadian prairies, we went in search of a comfortable landing spot to feed our artistic juices. Easier said, than done!
We had a plan.
Tired of the prairies – dry grass, prairie dogs, cacti – we were in search of trees, rolling topography, water and ‘shades of green’. We had a list: mountains and trees, a home with good-bones, nothing bigger than two acres of land, a garage and a must have studio space. When we set out on the journey, the plan and the list seemed readily doable. Right?
On the road again.
We coined our travels “Our Itchy Feet Tours”. We’d pack a lunch, grab a Tims double-double coffee and hit the asphalt for another day of touring a new geographical area in Alberta. No rhyme nor reason as to the day of the week we’d pick to set out; just route and stops laid out, real estate appointments confirmed; grab the cameras and off we’d go.
Day Trippers.
In those three years we journeyed thousands of kilometres, met hundreds of amenable citizens by venturing into 87 towns, hamlets, villages and adjoining counties. Residents and business owners were encouraged we were looking into a possible move to their community; they provided ‘great bits’ of relevant information in the area: schools, services, crime rates, development, economic benefits and history. Proud Albertans.
Down to business.
What a grand sightseeing tour we were on! It felt a lot like a see-saw ride. A community would be wonderful providing everything on our list; its housing market was scarce. Or a community was in a poor location for retail and services, but local houses would meet our budget. Beautiful properties that would have met the bill, but the downtrodden homes on them were a renovation nightmare. The variables we were facing seemed endless.
Narrowing down the need.
We backed off for a few months, continued to track the real estate market on-line and through the many agents we dealt with, deciding we wanted to be nearer the foothills (we’re outdoorsy peps). We narrowed the search to south of Calgary and west of the QEII highway. The target was getting closer, we could feel it in our bones.
Buying the Rocks.
Then Hugo proposed we should purchase ‘rocks’ during one of our tour days, so we headed west. Reaching ‘his’ planned objective, he stopped the vehicle and pointed: in front of us was the Livingstone Range of the ‘Rock’-y Mountains. We had reached our final destination. It felt like home: green, foothills, trees, mountains and lakes.
The power of nature.
While searching out a place to live near the ‘Rocks’, we stumbled upon Mill Creek near Pincher Creek – a cold, clear brook running along in a meandering valley with deep pools of water, glacial stones, alpine flowers and wildlife. We had landed… we were ‘home’.
To paraphrase an old Crosby, Nash, Stills & Young song...
#Our house is a very, very, very fine house# with an old dog in the yard and a studio space big enough for both of us to get down and be creative in.
We welcome you to Mill Creek Studio!
Hugo & Joan Brees