Travelling is not a vacation. For a start, you don't always know where you are going and what you will be doing, seeing, who you will be meeting and how you will be experiencing. The unpredictability of travel turns it into a must-have drug for some, and a terrifying prospect for others.
We are self-confessed travel-junkies. We continuously hear the siren call of the open road. A week in a place is sometimes too long. We don't know where we will be next week or next month. All we know is that we won't be here anymore. We've sold our soul to unpredictability, opened our hearts to adventure and we are ready to be surprised by the fantastic people we will meet and the places we will explore on our journey.
We don't like the world traveller, even if it is part of our name - the Traveling Cowboys. The word wanderer has more appeal.
The urban dictionary defines wanderer as someone that travels aimlessly. In contrast to wandering, some people are in a place for life, or at least for a predictable time. They are comfortable with intimately knowing their surroundings and familiar with everyone around them. Every day, month and season have predictability and a routine for them. They have goals like graduating, getting married, having children, building a house and ultimately retiring wealthy with lots of grandchildren.
The Wanderer is out place. I will contend that his or her travel is anything but aimless. Instead, it is a journey of wonder. Far from leaving or moving away from the familiar, the wonderer is drawn by the adventure of the unfamiliar. Some prefer a particular style of surprise, through the window of an RV, with a backpack, continent-hopping or Couchsurfing. Everyone has their favourite destinations. Alaska, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, bush or city. However, all travellers have one thing in universal - absolute awe for the grandeur of the world around them!
Wanderers cannot get enough. The world is too big to explore in one lifetime. The more you do it, the more addicted you get to doing it.
On one's journey, you inevitably make friends with fellow travellers. We've made friends with Claudette and her team at Motoburrito in Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada. When Spring breaks on the prairie, they return like swallows from their travels, for a short three months, to serve the most delicious Mexican food from their food trailer. It is their way of financing their next journey and a surefire way to lure us back each year to catch-up, hear about the last trip, and find out what the plans are for the next.
Observations
Claudette introduced us to her homemade hot sauce. She finally revealed the secret to why a Dirty Poutine and a Taco at Motoburrito taste so much better than from any other attempt we've sampled. The secret is in the sauce. It is absolutely delicious. Kids have to be warned. This one is for adults only. It has a kick to it that will make you wish for ice cream in the morning.
Claudette's hot sauce is like the travel drug. Once you've tasted it, you want more. Once you have more, you are hooked and scheduled for an annual pilgrimage back to Turner Valley. We usually cannot wait for our next taco and poutine at Motoburrito and is always on the lookout for an excuse to do the next one. Apparently, they also do a Dirty Sanchez Burrito. I will let Claudette tell you more about that one...
Hendrik van Wyk
Wondering Cowboy
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Here is the ideal lifestyle. A food truck summer in Alberta, Canada. Sunshine, sand and beach-bound winters in Mexico.
If you mention this to any Canadian, they will get a strange longing in their eyes. It is the same look someone gets when thinking of missed opportunities, long gone lovers or lost romance.
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Motoburrito in Turner Valley, Alberta managed to make the dream real. This is their lifestyle. With their food truck, they are on the busiest breakfast-run biker junction of the Foothills. Summer weekends and lazy days see them serving delicious Burritos, Tacos and "Mexican coffees". Winters, they recover by lounging on the sandy beaches of Cancun, Mexico.
Observations
When Motoburrito opens their trailer for business, we know that Spring finally arrived. The food is fresh and delicious. We call it our little Mexico on the Prairie. Go for the "Dirty Sanchez" (don't ask where the name comes from, you don't want to know!) or the Pollo Loco. Even the chickens love it ;-)
These dishes are trusted favourites in Mexico. It is as authentic as you can expect from people that spend half their time South and can serve you in Alberta Spanglish if you wish.
Whatever you do, don't miss out on the coffee. Tell them that you want the "Two Cowboys coffee special". We guarantee that you will be pleasantly surprised. Note though, under no circumstances do we take responsibility for what follows. Refrain from driving or riding for at least a couple of hours. You will need the rest, trust us!
The one distinct characteristic of the Motoburrito experience is that it is a local experience. These are our people. They know their customers by name. Introduce yourself, and you will quickly become friends. Walking up to the truck you will be greeted with the usual Motoburrito yelp. "Tequila!" The rest is up to you...
As they say in Mexico, "What happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico". Enjoy the coffee. Keep the secret, but tell everyone about Motoburrito!
Hendrik van Wyk
Taco Cowboy
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Alberta is well known for its black gold. The Province is loved and loathed for its production of oil. It has been more 100 years since the discovery of oil and gas. Turner Valley was the first place in the province to become well known for the abundance of this valuable resource.
There is another gold that made Alberta famous or infamous at the turn of the last century. This one came in a glass. During the 1870's there were many independent companies trading whisky to the Native peoples of the south-west part of the North-West Territories. In 1873, the Canadian government formed the North-West Mounted Police to reduce the use of alcohol as a trading currency. Prohibition ensued in 1916 to distill in 1923. However, the commercial production of whisky and beer and any form of liqueur remained under tight control of the Alberta Government, until relatively recently.
Today, the price and production of Oil is under pressure. Thousands of Albertans are forced to find alternative ways to make a living. Sooner or later history usually repeats itself. It is almost inevitable that the resourcefulness of these people brings them right back to the core products that are made possible by a strong agricultural heritage. Alberta's farming gold. Alberta produces some of the worlds best grains and honey. The grains make Alberta beef taste phenomenal. With honey, it is also the backbone and currency that drives a renaissance in the production of the best beer, spirits and mead.
Alberta exports its honey, barley, malt and wheat without adding much value. It is sent to countries like Scotland where it is made into the world's best Scotch. Germans use their barley and wheat to brew their beer. This is about to change. A few outstanding entrepreneurial Albertans are taking the lead at using Albert's other gold to produce amazing products.
Impressions
Alberta is slowly getting back into the liqueur business. The history is deep. Many say it is in their Alberta veins. David Farran and his team at Turner Valley's Eau Claire Distillery is one of the Producers that is putting Alberta on the world stage of craft distilling. Their Parlour Gin is delicious. We cannot wait to taste their whisky when it is ready in 2018.
Eau Claire's two young master distillers (one an import from Scotland) use the very best ingredients local Alberta has to offer. "It comes from my farm, fifteen minutes down the road," Farran says. They distil small batches with unique attributes of the terroir. A little bit of Turner Valley, some of Olds, and cacti from the Southern Prairies of Alberta (I will let you discover this one for yourself).
Farm-fresh ingredients and historic hand-crafted methods define Eau Claire’s artisanal spirits that redefine taste, one ‘grain-to-glass’ experience at a time. When you have a sniff and a snort of Eau Claire's elixirs, you smell and taste the essence of Alberta.
For now, it is also the only place where you can get it. Right here in Alberta.
Thank you, David, for sharing it with us. We are glad you are one of us.
Hendrik van Wyk
Producer
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The sun is out and the snow is gone. It is Spring in the Canadian Rockies of Canada. If you are a rider, horse, steal or otherwise, you have to point your nose to Turner Valley this Summer. It's a lot closer than Mexico, but with authentic Mexican burritos and cyan coffee. You heard it right. Little Mexico on the Prairie. I couldn't resist ;-).
You are guaranteed by the ladies at Motoburrito to wake up, or warm up. The choice is yours.
Sleepy Turner Valley always gives the impression of a half dead one horse town, until you realize: There are a few gems tucked away, that only requires the down to earth friendly cowboy handshake to be let into the secret.
Say "Hi" to them from the Two Cowboys, and be sure to sign-up for the Dirty Sanchez. It will have you come back for more!!
Get rewarded for supporting our local Producers. Receive special offers and invitations from the Two Cowboys.
Who we are: We are a social enterprise. We are funded through donations and sponsorship. All our earnings are applied back to covering our costs of marketing and promoting Producers and inspiring local communities. Please support us to bring you more (www.forwardthefavour.com)
