Alberta - Vulcan

Vulcan



Let's just say that this town has more than fully embraced its name being used in Star Trek. The font is your first clue.


Your second through whatever clues are that the visitor centre is an Information Trek Station and they tell you to "live long and prosper" in the Vulcan language. Also, it's nost just a visitor centre, it also houses Vulcan County Economic Deveopment and Tourism, Vulcan and District Chamber of Commerce, and the Vulcan Association for Science and Trek. And Trek! And it's shaped like... not quite sure what... but clearly this is a Star Trek thingamajig. They're so proud of their 100th anniversary, they're flying a special red flag for it (first photo). What does your town's flag look like? Does it use Star Trek-inspired font and logo?


You may have noticed this Enterprise-inspired starship in front of the Trek Station. It's numbered FX6 for the Vulcan airport, 1995 for the year it was installed, and A because it's the first, and that's how the Federation designates their starships. The base of the statue greets you in English and Klingon. Hey, not everything has to be Vulcan (but there's apparently a third plaque I missed with that).


Closer to the Trek Station is another starship replica, this a shuttle named after the Vulcan city of Shi'Kahr. I don't get the "Tova" reference.


Let's go inside past this lifelike U.S.S. Enterprise replica planter.


It was sometimes hard to tell what was a real prop from the shows and what was a replica. Presumably, I photographed the bridge because these are props.


One of the command stations was signed by several cast members from The Next Generation: Wil Wheaton, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Denise Crosby, LeVar Burton, and Sir Patrick Stewart the Immortal and Beloved. Yes, both Tasha Yar and Worf signed the same command station. Ignore the continuity issue.


Here's a Klingon bat'leth, a famous battle weapon, signed by the relatively obscure Suzie Plakson. She was not a cast member on any show, but she played the half-human, half-Klingon K'Ehleyr in two TNG episodes (and a couple other Star Trek roles) and, well, she signed a bat'leth, so here it is.


Depending on which of the many Star Trek iterations you like, I may or may not have saved the best for last, but I believe these two chairs, including the captain's chair, are original to the original show's set. It's authentic enough to have signatures from several cast members: George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and Leonard Nimoy on the left; William Shatner, Arlene Martel, and Walter Koenig on the right. Martel is another obscure person, having played Mr. Spock's wife T'Pring in an episode or two.

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