Global News Boler: it’s one of our favourite little trailers spotted while channel surfing a couple years back and in the background of some news story playing out on the screen. It’s May 2020, height of the pandemic (first wave edition) and no doubt this topic, perhaps how it relates...
The location: Sundre Alberta. The mission: To hike! Today’s target: What we’ll call Sundre Loop, taking in a couple sections of town, the Snake Hill recreation area and with a final stretch paralleling the Red Deer River. It’s sounds about perfect for a lazy day, and in spite of where...
There we were, hiking in Southern Alberta, in search of history and on rounding a corner eye up something curious. Here’s a most beautiful setting overlooking a forested valley and on this spot two simple crosses mark this mine road memorial. We came to look at some coal mining remains...
Among collectors of classic vehicles there’s a fringe group that does things a little different. A little? Let’s label them crazy weirdos and leave it at that. There’s no ’57 Bel Airs for these folks, no T-Birds, no roided out muscle cars, but instead things called Fishbowls, Old Looks and...
We’re standing on 95th, a tattered paper in one hand and camera long past its prime in the other. This can only mean one thing – that’s it time for another BIGDoer.com Then & Now, this one touching on a theme we really like, an ordinary street scene. Printed on...
We’re visiting a charming county church built just over a century ago. Not all that far from Calgary, perhaps you’ve seen it beside highway while on your way to some weekend fun out in the badlands. It’s located a bit outside its namesake town, just before a dip down into...
Massive wood beams and what must be a million bolts make up this imposing structure, an abandoned train trestle found along a branchline closed decades ago. This is a former Canadian Pacific property in Northern Alberta, put in during the 1920s and witness to its last train in the early...
Imagine our thrill on seeing someone at this property…someone who looks like they should be there. A quick introduction, some confusion over our motives (honestly, this is what we do), and we’re in. However, the light’s failing, we’ve got the wrong camera and no tripod, so we’ll have to make...
What a sad ending for the Alberta 2005 Centennial Railway Museum, out in Beiseker Alberta. The group behind it all has long since disbanded, the old station, a planned showpiece, burned down years ago and their railcar collection dispersed to wind. It started off with grand plans, and no doubt...
Deep in the Rockies, we’re visiting a very special place and sharing with you a little of that adventure. It’s rather hidden away, but not far from a busy traffic corridor (sometimes faintly heard on the wind), and seemingly lost in time. Over there it’s a fast-paced world, and here,...
We came for the brutalish architecture and as it happens (fairly often too) our explorations lead to another random Boler discovery. We love when that happens! So there we were, coming back from photographing a really funky school (it looks like a military bunker – link further down), and on...
Step after step and much distance travelled only to end up back where you started? Yes and such is hiking. This walk in the woods plays out in West Bragg Creek and takes in several trails in that extensive network. They are: Snowy Owl, Old Shell Road, and Braggin’ Rights...
Come join in and imagine yourself a curious time traveller. Today, it’s two for the price of one and in this Then & Now we’ll show you some scenes of Tofield Alberta captured about forty years apart. It thrills us knowing we’re standing close to the spot where the original...
With a tight schedule and and only minutes to spare, all there’s time for in Derwent Alberta is a quick pit stop to snap a couple photos of Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Church. In the Eastern Orthodox style (meaning domes are a prominent feature) the building dates from the late...
We’re out exploring with a friend and looking for abandoned places. This is Backroads Saskatchewan and we’re in the southwest corner of the province kicking up a little dust. We’ve been down this way before, so not exactly strangers, but it’s always nice to come back and take in something...
Mulled wine (most important): check. Spiky things for the shoes (not needed, as it turned out): check. Two shirts, a sweater and two jackets (layers are best): check. I guess we’re set! Today it’s an urban hike in an un-city like setting…oh, and the temperature outside is colder than your...
No matter the location, weather, or any other factor, we’ll fit in a walk each and every day. It’s our Tesla recharge and as an added bonus, we’ll often pass something along the way that’s fascinating to us. You know, a Boler trailer, some old truck, maybe see a passing...
Channel your inner HG Wells and join us in Foremost Alberta for a little time travelling adventure. Armed with an old photo of the town showing Main Street we’re here to shoot another of similar composition from the same position. It’s a silly little obsession and we find it thrilling...
Walking about random Calgary neighbourhoods, as we’re apt to do, it’s almost guaranteed we’ll make a new Boler discovery. It happens almost every single time and case in point, the little trailer seen here, spotted by chance while out for a stroll. Based on our hit-ratio, it’s clear there’s a...
These businesses were once a commonly seen in older neighbourhoods, in towns both big and small. We’re talking about the humble corner store, even if many, like the one spoken of here, were actually located somewhere mid-street. These were the 7-11s and Macs Circle-Ks of the day, convenient and close...
So far there’s been no embarrassing pictures in this series, but by the numbers, it’s bound to happen. We’re simply closing our eyes and picking a random (unpublished) photo from our collection and posting it here. Good or bad, it’s all fair game. We often shoot stupid pics just for...
Photobomb: to appear in a photograph when you weren’t supposed to. Often it’s done with intent, maybe in a silly way, but can also be by accident. In the old photo discussed here, we don’t know which is in play, but the cheeky look of our subject suggests something planned...
The summer of 2021 found us in the West Kootenays of British Columbia and very soon we’ll show you the awesome adventure we had. Here it’s something quick and simple but there’ll be more…much more. We’re in Creston and this was a chance discovery – how we like it –...
Generations ago, this spindly structure was where you crossed over the Kootenay River in the area. With a sharp bend at each end, a sketchy south approach and narrow deck, it must have been no picnic for drivers. Heaven help you if it snowed. Bypassed about half a century ago...
In early 2021 we came back to the Neidpath Grain Elevators*. Things aren’t looking so good for the old pair and with seven years passing since we last dropped by, it was a bit of a shock to see how badly they’ve deteriorated. In a moment, we’ll share a post...
Here’s a stupid just-because post about nothing much in particular. While passing through a small town, some cool trucks are spotted and vintage grain elevators are their backdrop. To that we say yes and YES! We have a timed appointment with a very special building in the area (more in...
As often happens when we’re out for a walk, we’ll cross paths with a Boler. It’s never planned but each and every time it happens, the world for a moment, for us, becomes a better place. Never expected, but always welcome, it’s silly things that bring a smile. Thinking about...
We’re along busy MacLeod Trail and looking at what was once the city’s most happening cowboy bar. It got good ‘n’ rowdy here and each year during Stampede came ten days of utter drunken madness. They did a killer business, but the decades long party ended in early 2020 –...
There’s nothing around but this random ditch. Not a natural feature, it snakes across the Southern Alberta prairies while following the lay of the land. Bend left, deke right, and soon it’s many clicks long, even if the start and end points are a short distance apart. This is an...
In the old photo it’s labelled Main Street, but today it’s 50th. No matter the naming convention, we’re in downtown Elk Point Alberta, early one Sunday morning and with not a soul about, shooting a Then & Now. We’ll do our best to duplicate the old image in composition even...
Kenopsia: "the eerie atmosphere of a place that's usually bustling with people but now vacant or abandoned."
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Byron Robb:
The Tug SS Hosmer (1909)
Byron Robb:
Along the Kootenay Central w’ Greg McDonnell
Jack Rutherford:
Anastasia Lords of Anastasia Village
Johanna (Connie) Biggart:
Nier Alberta’s Psychedelic Grain Elevator
Byron Robb:
A Downtown West End Alley (Calgary)
Helen Besterling:
Stampede Speedway Calgary (1982-1987)
Anonymous:
The Grist Mill / Blacksmith Shop (2015)
Byron Robb:
Ogden Road Calgary 1950 & 2016
Anonymous:
Sibbald Gentleman’s Club (Closed)
Rob Pohl & Arturo Pianzola:
Riverview Hospital Coquitlam BC
Johanna (Connie) Biggart:
Empress Alberta at the 4th Meridian
Johanna (Connie) Biggart:
St Peter and Paul Church 1918
Tim Swaren:
The Last Grain Elevator in Torrington
Anonymous:
Radio Shack Westbrook Mall (Calgary)
Anonymous:
Ghost Railways: Fort Macleod Alberta
- shot in & around the Crowsnest Pass of Alberta. A TV production, it follows her adventures as she works to save a herd of feral horses. 
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