Stephen Avenue in Calgary, Alberta

Stephen Avenue is a popular pedestrian mall located in downtown Calgary, Alberta. Featuring a variety of restaurants, pubs, retail and commercial spaces, Stephen Avenue is most notable for its high concentration of historic buildings dating back to the early 20th century. In fact, the avenue was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2002 for this very reason. 

Stephen Avenue is populated by landmarks such as the Hudson's Bay Department Store, the Core Shopping Centre, Bankers Hall, Scotia Centre, the Telus Convention Centre, Glenbow Museum, Flames Central, and Olympic Plaza. Even the iconic Calgary Tower is just a block over. 

There's no denying the vibrant and eclectic ambiance found in this part of Calgary. Stephen Avenue's close proximity to the train tracks is one of the main reasons for its early success, and why it's had such an interesting evolution. The name of the avenue actually comes from George Stephen, who was the first president of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

In addition to being a fun place to eat, shop, and wander in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Stephen Avenue is also a fascinating place to explore some of the early history of the city (and of Western Canada for that matter). I shot several ghosting images updating archival photographs from around downtown Calgary that I also encourage you to have a look at here. 

"Conversation" sculpture on Stephen Avenue in Calgary.

"Trees" sculpture designed to reduce wind gusts on Stephen Avenue.

Cozy Dog in Springfield, Illinois | Route 66

If you're looking for an interesting stop along the Illinois stretch of Route 66 try the Cozy Dog Drive-In in Springfield. Having just driven Route 66 through California last year, I was looking for a few unique stops as I detoured through parts of the Midwest on my latest road trip. 

Cozy Dog is a restaurant chock-full of Route 66 memorabilia and they're famous for their "hot dog on a stick" AKA corn dogs. I liked that there was a Route 66 marker out front as it made the stop seem a bit more novel. It was also a great opportunity to see just where I was. Springfield, Illinois is about 200 miles south of Chicago, where Route 66 officially begins.

Walking Dead: Jackson Street Bridge, Atlanta

To be fair, the view from the Jackson Street Bridge in Atlanta, Georgia was already popular prior to appearing in the very first episode of AMC's The Walking Dead. There's no denying however, that the iconic scene of Rick Grimes riding horseback into a post-apocalyptic Atlanta did cement the location into pop culture. It is a beautiful skyline! Naturally, as I was exploring downtown Atlanta I had to visit the Jackson Street Bridge to see the view for myself. 

A screencap from the first episode of The Walking Dead.