Trekking on

Vulcan, Alberta has unique tourist information signs. 

Travelling from the Edmonton area to Southern Alberta I often make a stop in the prairie town of Vulcan, just an hour from my usual destination of Lethbridge. In Vulcan I visit the Tourism and Trek Station near the highway. 

Vulcan's Tourism and Trek Station.

Visitors from all across North America and numerous more distant countries have signed the guest book at the Station, developed on the Star Trek theme. Even years ago we would stop at the town’s model of the Starship Enterprise. 

Vulcan's Starship Enterprise model. 

I have enjoyed Star Trek since my children were young. In fact my younger son heard plenty of Star Trek episodes while in utero.

A drive through Vulcan shows a prosperous community, apparently a turn-around accomplished largely through a marketing campaign based on its name coinciding with that of a fictional planet from the Star Trek televison and movie series.

Roddenberry memorial at Tourism and Trek Station.

Vulcan was the Roman name of the god of fire, first described in Greek mythology. The Alberta town was named by a Canadian Pacific Railway surveyor. The most famous citizen of the planet Vulcan is, of course, Spock, played by actor Leonard Nimoy.

Poster from 2010 visit of actor Leonard Nimoy.

Last month on my latest stop I also saw, for the first time, the town’s bust of actor Leonard Nimoy in his role as Spock. Other visitors had left candles and small stones acknowledging the actor’s death on February 27, 2015.

Bust of late actor Leonard Nimoy as the Vulcan Spock. 

I will leave you with Nimoy’s widely reported, last tweet, from shortly before his passing: “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. Live Long and Prosper.” 

Live long and prosper.