A local man had the adventure of a lifetime in Arizona.
Brian Hagel, a lifetime fan of the Wild West, was able to make the trek from Fort Saskatchewan all the way down to the American West to visit the iconic Mescal Movie Set and the Sierra Bonita Ranch.
"I've always been fascinated with the wild west," said Hagel. "From mining, ranching, to even being town marshals, everything was exponentially different."
"I've always been fascinated with that way of life."
The Mescal Movie Set is among the most famous sets in all of American cinema. Having been built in the late 60s as a town set for the film Monte Walsh it has since been performed on by countless legends of the genre, from Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen in The Outlaw Josey Wales to Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer in Tombstone.
"There are a lot of legends who walked those streets," said Hagel.
Country music fans might also remember the set from Kenny Rogers' The Gambler as well.
More history about the set can be seen here.
From there, Hagel travelled to the world-famous Sierra Bonita Ranch, Arizona's biggest of its kind.
Jesse Davis currently runs the ranch, but it was originally founded by his great-great-great grandfather Henry Hooker, who was a real-life wild west icon.
Hooker crossed paths with Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp back in March of 1882 during the infamous Vendetta Ride.
"We're proud to say that we have the oldest brand in the state in the same location with the same family," said Davis. "Six generations of families have lived in that house that I live in now."
The ranch deals with cattle at the moment and runs about 60,000 acres. While Davis is proud of his heritage and the ranch, he is most passionate about sharing his knowledge of the rancher lifestyle, which many Albertans can relate to.
"In a world where we are not making any more land, we're only making people, I'm in the business of feeding those people," said Davis. "We make an honest living making a healthy and nourishing product that you not only put in your mouth, but you wear on your feet, you put in glue, you put in your tires."
"There is any number of by-products to a bovine that people aren't aware of."
Hagel was happy to get an in-depth look at the ranch but says people should respect that it is still a working ranch.
"It's a national historic site, but he still has people ignoring the signs and driving in," said Hagel. "To get a chance to meet this kind of legend, with the lineage of another legend, was very cool."
(Brian Hagel (L) met legacy rancher Jesse David (R) who operates the Sierra Bonita Ranch in Arizona)