The Enterprise
Have you ever heard of Vulcan, Alberta? I’m sure many people haven’t, but we decided to stop in for a dose of science fiction fabulousness at the end of our road trip. Here is a quote from the City of Vulcan website:
Contrary to what popular culture might lead you to believe, the Town of Vulcan did not get its name from science fiction. In 1910 a CPR surveyor, who had a fondness for Roman Mythology, named the town after the Roman god of fire. Originally all the streets in Vulcan were named after the gods and goddesses of the classical world such as Juno, Mars and Jupiter.
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In the Star Trek television and feature film series Vulcan is the name of the homeworld of Spock and his fellow Vulcans. Capitalizing on this coincidence, the town has become a worldwide known tourist attraction with the building of Star Trek themed tourist centre and replica of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek V.
Trek Station
I wouldn’t say that I’m a Trekkie (or whatever the politically appropriate designation is these days), but I described myself as “Trekkie-lite” to the nice woman at the post office who found us and our enthusiasm for Spock a little peculiar.
Canada Post
All I know is that I walked through the town with a huge smile on my face. There may have also been a bit of jumping up and down plus a whole lot of giggling.
Unexpected murals were found around corners, paintings of characters were on windows (we had just missed Vul-Con by a few days), and even the pedestrian crossings has Star Trek logos painted on them.
Here are some pictures – some are quite poor quality due to reflections, but I think you’ll get a feel for the town. I’ll do a separate post on art related findings.
Me in a signed Captain’s chair – photo by Bo (thanks!)
