At the risk of making my boyfriend sound like a child – Holden LOVES trains. And so, back in February when I stumbled across Aspen Crossing’s caboose cabins in an article I was reading for work, I knew I had to book one as a surprise for his birthday this summer.
Aspen Crossing is a unique attraction about an hour’s drive southeast of Calgary, and [to quote their web-listing] provides visitors with a special train-themed getaway with scenic rail tours, unique dining, camping, caboose cabins and more! Notably, they run the Train of Terror during the month of October, a ‘Polar Express’ ride from Mossleigh (where they’re located) to Calgary each Christmas season, train escape rooms and a stellar campground in the Albertan prairies. I’d never visited before, but it had been on my list for a few years.
I’m a big tent camper, however every once in awhile it’s nice to take it a bit easier. I’ve never been ‘glamping’ as one would picture it, however last summer we stayed in one of the ‘comfort camping’ cabins at Beaver Mines Lake Campground in Castle Provincial Park and I loved the ease of it. We cooked and ate outside, sat around a campfire, peed in an outhouse, swam in a lake – and then retired inside to (somewhat) real beds at the end of each night, complete with solar powered overhead lighting and shelter from rain that we never got. The caboose cabins at Aspen Crossing promised to be even more luxurious, with all the amenities of an RV and much less of the work (and zero stressful driving and parking situations!).
I booked this at the end of February, prior to COVID-19, and vowed to keep it a secret from Holden until we arrived at the campground. Yes, it was a cool gift, but the surprise aspect of it made it that much better. Unfortunately, these cabooses are super popular (for good reason), so by the time I booked it, we were a little limited in selection of weekends, so it wasn’t until exactly one month after Holden’s birthday on June 26 that I was able to secure one for a Saturday night. (The caboose wasn’t inexpensive, so unfortunately we only stayed one night, however once I’ve won the lottery it would be great to go back for 2 or 3 nights – or a full week! – one day.) I felt bad that I didn’t have a big gift to give him on the day of his birthday, but I hoped this would be worth the wait.
And so, as we were driving out to Mossleigh, Alberta, on a Saturday afternoon at the end of July, Holden still had no idea what we were doing. To my delight, Aspen Crossing doesn’t really have any signs for the attraction or campground until you’re basically turning on to the road where it’s located, so Holden reeeeally didn’t figure out where we were going or what the surprise was until we were about 30 seconds away from pulling into the parking lot. Then, he was sooooo excited – and to be honest, I was too. I can take or leave trains, but I love camping, cool new experiences, and anything + everything local, and as soon as we arrived, I realized I was as stoked as he was.
We located ‘our’ caboose, parked the Jeep, and walked back to the campground office to get access to the cabin. All of the staff that I dealt with there were very friendly and accommodating, and the campground host, Ian, was so lovely – going above and beyond to give us a tour of the caboose cabin, explaining all the regulations and perks (such as having food from the on-site restaurant delivered to us, and borrowing free DVDs for the TV), and giving us his cell phone number to contact him for anything we should need (we ended up needing nothing, but it was such an awesome gesture!).
We unloaded the car and settled in to the caboose. I was absolutely blown away. When we’d gone ‘glamping’ before at Beaver Mines, the cabin we’d stayed in was very bare-bones, really only providing a place to sleep, with basic mattresses and a roof over our heads. The caboose cabin at Aspen Crossing was more of an upscale RV design inside, with everything we could possibly need (and more!) provided – pots, pans and utensils, a fridge, dish soap and cloths, shampoo + conditioner in the shower (that’s right, there was fully a flush toilet and shower inside), beds with real mattresses, sheets and pillows, a TV and DVD player, and somewhat spotty Wifi – but Wifi all the same. It also had an attached raised deck with a patio table and chairs, and a fire pit and picnic table down below like a ‘real’ campsite.
We stayed in the Canadian Pacific cabin, however there were two other options and mention of Aspen Crossing putting in a fourth caboose. Our cabin slept five, with a queen sized bed, a pull-out queen sized couch bed, and a loft up in the top of the train with a twin bed.
As much as I wanted to get out and wander the property, it was so nice to have a quiet, cozy place indoors to fill a fridge, pour a drink into a ‘real’ glass, and curl up on the couch. We enjoyed the luxury of our cabin for awhile and explored all of its nooks and crannies before heading outside to read, drink, and eat dinner at the picnic table.
After dinner, we went out for a sunset walk around the campground and out to a small lake and picnic area that were being developed nearby.
On the walk back to our site, we passed several trains and farm artifacts, and both Holden and I were enthralled. What a gorgeous place. He’s all about the mountains and, while I do love time spent out in the Rockies, farmland and the prairies are truly my thing. There’s something about wide open fields, endless skies, and a feeling of slowed down living that really does it for me.
Back at our caboose, we lit a fire and sat outside looking at the stars, obsessing over just how much we loved the campground, the train, and the surrounding property. Exhausted, we headed inside, with no worries about bugs, putting all of our food and scented items back in a vehicle, outhouses, or damp tents + sleeping bags, and we collapsed under the cozy quilt. I think I fell asleep almost instantly.
The next morning, we slept in a bit (as we do), but, despite that, the making breakfast and packing up went much more smoothly than it does when camping normally, and we relished in the quick reload of the car and our delicious bacon and eggs at the patio table and then took a few final photos and videos of the accommodations and obsessed once more over how cool the train was, before checking out with yet another friendly employee and beginning the drive home through the prairies (naturally, we pulled over for a few photos along the way).
In true Holden and Elle fashion, we made a quick detour into the town of Okotoks on our way back to Calgary to grab coffee from a very cute cafe called Home Ground, located in a converted house.
We arrived home, did some speedy unpacking, and then headed to a Calgary Stampede-themed pug’s birthday party… Never a dull moment! (And this time, we didn’t even forget anything on the camping trip like we usually do.)
Caboose Cabin Tour
