Category: Exploring History

On the west arm of Kootenay Lake (British Columbia) and close to Nelson, there’s remains of an ancient tugboat. This craft, the wood-hulled SS Hosmer, was launched well over a century ago and for decades employed by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It hauled barges for that firm, loaded with rail...

For today’s subject we touch on a little known, but fascinating chapter in Alberta’s history. We’re speaking of a person, one Anastasia Holoboff (or Holuboff, sometimes Holobova, less common Golubova) or as most knew her, Anastasia Lords. She was the one time spiritual leader of an Alberta based Doukhobor group...

Today we’re looking at a structure built as a wind-powered grist mill, but never used in that capacity or even completed. It’s unique in form, with an almost European flavour and last functioned as a blacksmith shop on the farm. Come join us as we explore it and the the...

The location is far eastern Alberta and in the little community of Sibbald. There off Highway #9. A faded sign taped to the door declares: “Warning, nude entertainers appearing within premises. Some patrons may find this offensive. No minors. Picture ID only. $10.00 cover charge. Sibbald Bar & Hotel.” Did...

St Peter and Paul Church is found along a dusty Alberta backroad and in a spot well off the beaten track. It’s in a picture-perfect setting and the idyllic scene presented here is straight out of a painting. There’s delicate, wispy white clouds and powder blue skies, fields of golden...

Small towns on the Canadian prairies, like Torrington Alberta and many others we’ve visited, are no strangers to adversity. Something big happened, starting in the 1990s, that changed them all forever. It’d did happen all at once, but in the span of a few short years, the landscape changed. Things...

What’s this? The ghost sign of an old Radio Shack store? Really? That firm closed down in Canada decades ago and any memories have long been relegated to the deep, dark recesses of the mind. Such connections to the past are usually hidden away in the subconscious and remain dormant...

Join us as we explore abandoned areas of Riverview Hospital (formerly Essondale Hospital), in Coquitlam, British Columbia. It’s a former mental health and addiction facility dating back well over a hundred years. The site has a somewhat unsettling feel about it and the buildings are frequently featured in horror films...

(2013) We spot a berm cutting across a farmer’s field south of Fort Macleod (Alberta) and this piques our curiosity. It looks railway related, and as it happens that’s indeed true. At the time we didn’t know of any lines in the area (we’re often blissfully unaware), but with a...

We’re in Union Bay British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, and looking at the remains of a giant wharf used for transloading coal. So, from trains onto waiting ships and barges. It remained in use from the 1880s into about 1960 (or 1961) and most everything removed a few years after....

We’re going to do a little walkabout in the former company town of Ioco British Columbia and snap a few photos. Chris, along with two dear friends, were exploring out on the West Coast just over a year ago and this post came as a result. These other fellows are...

Kart World or Kart Gardens? The folks that ran this Calgary family-fun business sure made things confusing and a sign in front lists BOTH names. No matter which you choose, the place is now closed and the site (on this visit in 2014) was quickly falling into disrepair. You’ll hear...

Flashback to May 2014: the Team is on a grain elevator tour of southwest Saskatchewan and having a blast. We saw and documented more, but it’s Prairie Sentinels that we came for. Many were visited and the one seen this day is found in the small town of Cadillac (south...

The spectators gather, drinks in hand and the engines roar to life. Brave warriors with their metal steeds take position and the flag drops. Let the CARnage begin! There’s the acrid smell of grease and stinking exhaust, the sequel of tires, the sickening sound of tearing metal followed by shrieks...

All but a couple burials in this forgotten coal town cemetery date predate 1917 and many of the grave markers have been lost to time. Nature’s reclaiming the site and much of everything remaining is well hidden by the underbrush. Still, there’s old metal fences and more resilient grave markers...

Railway archaeology: “The study and enjoyment of relics from past eras of rail transportation” (Wikipedia). It’s a bit of an oddball pastime and rarely is there a wow factor, but still it’s something we love. In this post we’ll explore remains of an abandoned section of the Crowsnest Subdivision in...

This post will explore one of Saskatchewan’s iconic “bowstring” concrete arch bridges. With their graceful lines, they’re a thing of beauty and are delightful subjects to photograph. They can be found all over the province and this example is located in the southwest quadrant. It’s close to ninety years old...

Ahead, it’s a piece called Grain Elevators of Consort Alberta and it contains two interesting photos from long ago. It’s Chris here and in the 1990s I worked oilfield “hotshot” trucking. On these travels, I’d pass many interesting places, but always under a time crunch. Stopping or even slowing down...

These old and decrepit coal cars were found scattered about the forgotten Commander Mine site (earlier and briefly, the Sterling Mine) in the Red Deer River Valley of Alberta. They were abandoned back in the 1950s, with the closing of the mine, and have been here ever since. Tossed aside...

We’re in Royston on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and looking at something incredible. There’s historic ships here, some fourteen in number (with a 15th suspected), and they’re not that far out in the bay. These date from 1876-1943 and were scuttled to be part of a breakwater. Welcome to the...

Team BIGDoer first visited Coderre Saskatchewan in 2014 and a decade later made a triumphant return. On the follow-up visit there were parades, speeches by dignitaries and a holiday declared. Well, the town dog showed up to see the goings on but soon left to chase a leaf blowing in...

This post is originally from 2014 and presented in that context: It appears time is running out for the 100 year old Eastern (Deutsch-Canadier) Block on busy MacLeod Trail near downtown Calgary. Neglected and showing its age, the building has been vacated and boarded up recently. The future is uncertain...

It’s abandoned, weather-beaten to hell, and found at a lonely prairie crossroads. Our subject, Notre Dame de Savoie Catholic Church (sometimes Notre Dame de Savoie of Tinchebray) is well over a century old now but last used for services some sixty years ago. So empty longer than used. It’s showing...

Here’s something a bit different, a disused golf course and it’s right in the city. Located in an older Calgary neighbourhood, the facility, Highland Golf Course (alt: Highland Park Golf Course) closed down a dozen years ago now. Most of the photos seen here date back to February 2016 and...

Middle of Nowhere: a place far away from other people, houses, or cities (Merriam-Webster). Many spots in Saskatchewan are in contention here! Today’s subject might just claim that proverbial title, and it’s pretty far removed from everywhere. There are people in the area – just not that many – and...

Flashback to early 2013 and some bad snapshots! Farmer Jones Carz was a Calgary institution for decades, a used car dealer selling el-cheap-o transportation and doing it in an unashamedly quirky style. They sold vehicles that no other self respecting lot would touch and seemed truly proud of the fact....

It’s just a former rail siding, and nothing more, with the name of Oberlin Alberta. No town here. Its claim to fame, at least at the time of our visit in spring 1997, were the two grain elevators that stood along an abandoned railway line. Like so many other prairie...

Hello Rosebery BC! It’s the summer of 1989 and yours truly (for those who don’t know, this means Chris, half of Team BIGDoer, who’s writing this particular post) was single and living out in Vancouver BC. Awesome place in many ways, but too expensive and chaotic. Anyway…after working non-stop for...

Flashback to 2014! The old train station in Manyberries Alberta has been around for well over a century now. Somehow it’s survived when so many others like it have been relegated to history and when visited by us being cared for by a couple that called it home. It sits...

The old grain elevator stands alone in a field, battered and beaten after having been abandoned for many decades. We’ve seen a lot of structures like this in our travels and few are as sorry looking as the one seen here. Still, it has a rather odd dignity and elegance,...