An Evening in East Coulee

We use the Red Deer River Valley as a base of operations for many adventures. The area has all the things we love, historic stuff (going back eons!), much fabulous scenery, interesting people to hang with and great everything. Then there’s the free crash pad we get to use when there (thanks Rob). We’re not proud and any floor will do. This means fun in the badlands comes cheap and now there’s more money for VLTs!

Some evenings, perhaps after a busy day of exploring with friends, we like to go for a little walk somewhere quiet and peaceful. It’s a great way to unwind and as we often do, the camera’s along for the ride. Whether we use it or not varies, but it’s there. This time we’re in little East Coulee, a former coal mining town that still looks the part. It’s a section of the valley untouched by time and usually come twilight it’s all ours. This is another silly little post that means nothing really, just some random snaps captured for fun.

An Evening in East Coulee: just wandering about. With Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)

Sloan’s Garage: Here’s an old service station that operated from the 1930s to perhaps mid-1970s or thereabouts. Now it’s home to a firm that makes dinosaurs – not some Jurassic Park genetic cloning lab (although that would be epic), but instead models and museum displays. While covered in modern siding, underneath it’s very much the original building. It makes an appearance in a some God awful poor man’s Mad Max film that inspired this post: Firebird 2015AD Then & Now.

East Coulee Gas Station

Long ago, a service station.

Little Miner’s Cottages: East Coulee is full of them, modest houses, some no bigger than a two car garage. There was a number of coal mines in the immediate area and it’s here the worker’s called home. Humble all, a number are still lived in, even if the mines are long gone (along with most of the old time miners), some are used as seasonal retreats and a few are presently empty. They’re all simple in form and so cute and charming. That blue one is a real stand out!

Scroll down for more photos and to comment.

Bye-Bye Blues Bus: That film was shot in the historic community of Rowley, a bit north of the Valley. Everyone who visits that restored ghost town talks about the movie but it seems no one has actually seen it. Anyway, we have and it’s not a bad couple hours wasted. Making an appearance in the flick is this purple bus, now on display at the East Coulee School Museum. Rowley’s home to a monthly event (except in 2020…thanks Covid) that we’ve attended many times. Here: A Rowley State of Mine. Pizza Night is always a blast and we look forward to doing it again once normalcy returns. If it ever does.

East Coulee School Museum: It’s a fine old building from the town’s early days (East Coulee was founded in the late 1920s) and is full of all kinds of interesting displays taking us back in time. That it’s a fair sized place reminds us just how big East Coulee was at one time. A really epic documentary premiered at the East Coulee School Museum a few years back. This: Forgotten Prairie. Also here’s a quick ‘n’ dirty tour of the building itself: East Coulee School Museum.

There’s some old time playgound equipment here, hard core stuff that can hurt you bad, including a perennial favourite with young trouble making boys; what others called a see-saw or teeter-tooter, that for us was the “rocket launcher”. Simple rule: get the other kid airborne before they did the same to you. If they hit the crossbar on the way down or took out the jewels, all the better. Only one can walk away. And the slide, face first of course. Cuts and abrasions, bumped noggins and even broken arms were par for the course. So many scars, so many good times.

Old Businesses: There are remains of a few in town, the former hotel closed some years years back, something that looks like an ex-car or farm equipment dealership – we’re not sure. We looked up old records and came up empty as to its lineage, but we really didn’t have much time so we’ll save it for another project. Still, it’s a cool looking building. Over on Second there’s Groundwork Natural Science Education, a book publisher housed in what appears to be a former store of some kind. Hard to believe this town once had everything and was busy as you could imagine.

Don’t Stop Believing: The sign that always brings a smile and around the corner, some old truck in retirement.

Miner's Cottage East Coulee

Lots of little miner’s cottages in town.

Random Stuff: Along the Red Deer River, it’s more peace and quiet. More miner’s homes, some dark, some with signs of life. They’re all sooo tiny. Then there’s a lame selfie. The moon lighting the way, we’re hanging the ghosts of the past. Doubling back, it’s a shining light. We’re home! For the weekend that is.

Pull up a lawn chair, grab a cold one, sit around the fire and talk the night away, about this and that and nothing in particular. And as an ending to a busy day, it’s about perfect.

More East Coulee…
East Coulee Alberta Then and Now.
Est Coulee’s Historic Wood Bridge.

More like this…
An Evening in Brooks.
In & Around Hanna.
Wandering Beiseker.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date of Adventure: September, 2019.
Location: East Coulee, AB.
Article references and thanks: Rob Pohl, we owe you a beer.

Bye Bye Blues Movie

At the East Coulee School Museum.

Bye Bye Blues Bus

As seen in the film Bye Bye Blues.

East Coulee School Museum

We’ll have to pay it another visit.

East Coulee School

The launcher!

Old School Slide

Face first was best.

Groundwork East Coulee

Natural Science Education.

Miner's House East Coulee

They’re all so tiny.

Don't Stop Believing East Coulee

Don’t Stop Believing…

East Coulee Hotel

We used to stop in for a burger.

East Coulee Old Building

Some former business.

GMC Brigadier

The Brigadier.

Blue House East Coulee

The little blue house.

East Coulee Red Deer River

Along the river.

Chris BIGDoer

Self portrait time.

East Coulee Miner's House

The town was all ours.

Old Building East Coulee AB

The only sound, that of our footsteps.

46 responses

  1. Jackie Boros says:

    So charming.

  2. Stella Jeffrey says:

    I grew up in Cambria in the Drumheller valley with my grandmother and my brother. We lived in a coal miners house that my gran raised 7 kids in. It had been added onto and we actually got running water and gas in the house when I was in junior high. It was an incredible place to grow up.

  3. Linda Siray says:

    The original tiny houses. Lol

  4. Lana Keeling Hlady says:

    My dad was a miner in East Coulee, he built our house and it was nice to see this as I don’t see that much on east coulee.

  5. Christine Comiskey Todd says:

    Very cool. I love learning information like this

  6. Lois Gabruck says:

    Interesting!!

  7. Andrea Ernst says:

    Such a fascinating little town. Sure have enjoyed exploring it and for a year or so I thought I should move there. Check out the real estate prices.

  8. Jane Andriuk says:

    My immigrant grandparents lived in Drumheller in the late 30s .. Worked in coal mines. Then went farming in the 40s

  9. Brenda Silva says:

    Thank you for sharing!…

  10. Gary Babcock says:

    East Coulee, nice little town.

  11. Jim Pake says:

    What a cute little cottage! It reminds me of a tiny house on a city lot in my old neighborhood in South Vancouver. The lot was heavily overgrown with trees and bushes which partially hid the house. It was inhabited by an accordingly tiny old lady named Mrs. Ferry. She was always very kind to us kids who went past her house but mostly kept to herself. She and her abode had an inexplicable otherworldliness to them, which made me wonder if her name was actually Mrs. Faerie!

  12. Michelle Hutton says:

    Love this area. We farm not to far from there.

  13. Denise Gillespie says:

    This is my husband’s grandparents house (with the caption: “They’re all so tiny”). It has three bedrooms believe it or not! Still owned by the family.

  14. Ted Cutlan says:

    Small prairie towns nearly anywhere had some neat little houses. Despite their size they were always homey!

  15. Laura Danyluk Gauthier says:

    My uncle Mike work in the mines, and had a small home in Rosedale. I can remember as a child going to visit the ” doll house”.

  16. Jo Tennant says:

    I have family out that way.

  17. Drew Logullo Hewson says:

    Fascinated by this little town , visit often.

  18. Josée Hayden says:

    We visit East Coulee every summer! 

  19. Cathy Moorhead says:

    My sister lives in East Coulee. She’s on the Main Street facing the highway beside the old store.

  20. Jennifer Morrill says:

    My family and I have driven through this neat little town. You can visit the old school house still and go inside*

  21. Michael Havens says:

    Interesting article, keep up the good work

  22. Eric says:

    I don’t think I’d want to see the grille of that Brigadier bearing down in my rear view mirror.

  23. Rob Pohl says:

    Always a pleasure to host you guys….! Hopefully we can do it again soon… and then I’ll take you up on that offer of a beer.
    Sadly the town is in the process of undertaking some sort of flood mitigation project. Seems many of those old houses down along the river will go, and a large berm will be built, spoiling things in my humble opinion….

    • And I’ll bring the good stuff…Old Milwaukee! Oh, I thought the berm already in place was enough. It’ll be a shame to lose any of those old miner’s places, but it’s progress I guess.

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