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...
The owner of the old family farm seen here, and it’s a beauty, has suspicions it might be a catalogue home. It certainly looks the part and being curious types, we volunteered to investigate. The Team scoured plan books and anything that could find on the subject, plus called on...
This urban walking adventure makes a tour of High River Alberta, a community that’s grown a lot over the last few years, but still displays much small town charm. The older neighbourhoods are home to many historic buildings – a plus for people into that kind of weird stuff –...
The CPR mainline passes right through the Calgary community of Ogden and if you’re into a little trainspotting there’s plenty of public places there where one can view the action. When in need of a fix we’ll head out that way, even if a busy schedule often dictates we can’t...
Roughly twenty years have passed since our last visit to this site, but it seems more like forever. It’s more overgrown now and some things have deteriorated badly in that time, yet it’s as we remember. This post we’ll examine the remains of a small train marshalling yard and support...
Presenting another random photo from the BIGDoer.com collection and so far they’ve been good ones, so we’re again breathing a sigh of relief here. One day, there’s going to be something embarrassing posted. Still the image seen is in every way unremarkable, even if the subject is interesting enough. We’re...
What time is it? Time for another Then & Now, that’s what! In this one we’re looking at a location in Three Hills Alberta taken some seventy years apart and our only connecting element is the town’s water tower. Then, it functioned as the backdrop for some kind of community...
A Boler is where you find it and more often than not this can be some random back lane. Case in point here, it’s a completely chance discovery spotted while out for a little stroll. We don’t generally walk alleys – that would be silly – but we do scan...
Our subject is a quaint little residence, built in the early 1910s and restored to appear much as it did back in the day. We’re in small town Alberta, it’s a gorgeous evening and we’re taking a tour of a nice place owned by a friend. Come join Fraser and...
Today we’re looking at a small town motel, or rather what’s left of the business, after it closed long ago. From certain angles it still looks the part, if not a bit run down and showing its age. Picture a road weary traveller one dark stormy night, desperate for shut-eye...
Rolling down a remote country road, the dust heavy in the air, first round a corner, then up a rise and to the left something interesting comes into view. We’re unknowing participants, riding along with a friend and our destination only hinted at but otherwise a mystery (we love surprises)....
Getting there is half the fun and no matter where we’re headed, nor the urgency, we take the backway when possible. Still, there’s often a time crunch, so if we see something of interest along the way, often a drive-by is the only option. Case in point here, a quick...
Roaming industrial parks is our thing, as strange and bizarre as it seems. There’s always treasures to be found – old train tracks – character buildings – big trucks and while an edgy backdrop, it’s somehow compelling. In that theme, here’s a random discovery of curious tracked-vehicles on display in...
You can keep good and busy exploring the extensive Bragg Creek Trails network and even if visited often, there’s always new routes to discover. Well thought out and maintained by a dedicated group (bless their hearts), trails are generally multi-use, so open to some combination of hikers, cyclists, equestrian riders,...
On the road to adventure a pit-stop is made in Chancellor Alberta to view the town’s last grain elevator. There’s not many of these left out here on the prairies and while there’s a deadline to keep, we can’t resist. There in the setting sun and the building all aglow,...
Fiber Stream? Never heard of them…until now that is. While back alley cruising (doing weird things again) we fully expect to come across a Boler or maybe a Trillium, but every now and then it’s a rare gem as happened here. We’re looking at a trailer that until this discovery...
This silly little time lapse (from 2016) was done for fun and we never really had intentions to share it on this website*. Yet here were are. So it occurred to us recently on viewing it for the first time in years, that maybe others might appreciate and enjoy it...
Cruising down some lonely country road in Saskatchewan comes the sight of a building off in the distance. Even from this early vantage point it’s got a familiar form and there’s little doubt what lies ahead. It’s a one-roomer and on closer inspection does not appear to be in a...
Imagine yourself sixty or seventy years ago and living somewhere on the expansive Canadian Plains. Think of a place remote and lonely. It’s winter and while there’s still a need to travel, the roads are blocked with drifts and anything with wheels useless till spring. A horse might do the...
It’s of beastly proportions and sitting in a building barely larger than itself means it’s difficult to photograph. It’s just too big and the space too cramped. Anyway, it’s not at its best all naked and vulnerable while being restored, so those type of photos can wait. You know, roll...
Today it’s a visit to little Ben’s Hill, just east of Prairie Mountain. It’s a straightforward hike and the only complication is a minor cliff band two-thirds of the way up. Should the conditions be slippery as they were this day, there is a steep bypass route, but even it...
It’s estimated close to forty years separates the two photos seen in this comparison post. It’s a strange subject we’ve picked, an obscure little corner of our city, but we like out of the way places. Anyway, it looked like it had the potential for some silly fun, so for...
Today, it’s a look at the Bluebird Motel Claresholm Alberta, charming old school accommodations in the motor court style and with tons of character. It’s a mom and pop kind of place, decidedly retro and delightful in every way. Up on the sign: “Old Fashioned Hospitality Since 1947” and a...
Unexpected finds like this are the best. We’ve spoken of them before on this channel and it plays out like this. We might be driving around in search of who knows what with Boler spotting the last thing on our minds, we round a corner and there in front of...
We love exploring little towns (who knew!), especially in the evening when their unique character and personality seems to really shine. There’s no one about, no cars in the way, the light’s nice and it’s just us wandering aimlessly. Whatever comes our way is fine and it’s always an enjoyable...
Today we’ll be looking at Pella Mennonite Church found along a dusty Saskatchewan backroad. It’s just over a century old and for more than half that time has stood abandoned. During an oddly warm and snow-free March of 2021, we pay this modest little building a visit and get to...
On arriving point yourself in a direction of the compass – any will do. No matter, what will lay before is the never ending Saskatchewan Plains, field after field and that’s about it. There’s a farm here and many clicks distance, another there, some dusty old roads and somewhere in...
This easy jaunt in the woods takes place at little Brown-Lowery Provincial Park not far from Calgary and using a series of interconnecting trails makes a fun and pleasant loop. It pretty much covers all four corners of the park (it’s not a big piece of land). If you do...
You can still find many former one room schools out on the vast Canadian Plains. Surviving for any number of reasons, some were simply abandoned but left standing where as others were reused (and sometimes moved) to serve as farm out buildings or granaries. A few have been fixed up...
Kenopsia: "the eerie atmosphere of a place that's usually bustling with people but now vacant or abandoned."
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Ghost Railways: Fort Macleod Alberta
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Berte George’s William’s Grocery Lethbridge
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Union Bay (Vancouver Island) Coal Wharf
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1 Day: Denman & Hornby Islands (BC)
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Crossley Slides: A Corner in Erlton
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Ioco Port Moody BC (Ghost Town)
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Historic Fort Macleod After Hours
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Ghosts of the Crowsnest Subdivision
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Moose Jaw SK Train Station (~90 Yrs Apart)
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Kart World or Kart Gardens? (2014)
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Prairie Sentinels: Cadillac Sask
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Dominion Bridge Calgary (Ramsay) ca1960-2014
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World of F.E.A.R Figure-8 (Abandoned)
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Forgotten Coal Town Cemetery
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Royston Wrecks (Vancouver Island BC)
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Shandro Historic Village (Closed)
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