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...
Before you venture in too deep, this is a nonsensical time wasting post and the amount of work to that went into it will make you chuckle. Our subject scene comes from the epic film Superman 1978 and it’s such brief one, you’ll be questioning our motivations. You wasted that...
They may look like a series of little lakes (maybe do some fishing, eh?) but instead are former coal mine workings that filled with water after the operation closed. These many pits, just outside the little town of Tofield Alberta date back to the 1910s-’50s period and remind us just...
We had ten minutes to kill in little Andrew Alberta, before a tight schedule had us back on the road. There’s certainly more to see in the community than the time allowed us, but you take what you can get. I’m sure we’ll be back to take a more immersive...
Here’s an easy one for those days when aspirations are wanting. It’s a simple loop, mostly in the trees and takes in the west facing slope of Ole Buck Mountain. Well graded, the route is K-Country official, so marked and well maintained. Easy stuff! You’re talking Ole Buck Loop in...
We didn’t know at the time, but when these nothing photos of little Irricana Alberta were captured in early 2020, the world was about to change. Maybe forever. We all felt the rumblings and knew trouble was on the horizon, but to what extent and the magnitude, could not predict....
It’s not exactly the most common family name, so for us to see it out in the wild is both unexpected and a rare occurrence. Once in a while, we’ll notice the name on some random headstone, but instances of that can be counted on one hand. In the Bulwark...
Our subject is not terribly old and while less than photogenic it is abandoned and there in lies the appeal. There’s something haunting about a place like this, a former business in this instance, closed down and forgotten. Call it strange, yet here were are. This is Highway Gas, a...
General Motors once made transit buses and lots of them too. In the 1940s-1980s period they were a dominate player and at times appeared to literally own the market. Their “New Look” model is perhaps most iconic of all and we’ve chatted about them before at this website, but today...
There’s something magic about wandering a small town come evening and on road trips we do it every chance we get. Late in the day, the community’s charm and character is at its best and it’s a peaceful way to wind down. We lead such busy lives – go-go-go –...
Kenopsia: "the eerie atmosphere of a place that's usually bustling with people but now vacant or abandoned."
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Franco Media:
Moose Jaw SK Train Station (~90 Yrs Apart)
Anonymous:
Kart World or Kart Gardens? (2014)
Ross Hamilton:
Prairie Sentinels: Cadillac Sask
Anonymous:
Dominion Bridge Calgary (Ramsay) ca1960-2014
John Kinnear:
World of F.E.A.R Figure-8 (Abandoned)
Dale:
Forgotten Coal Town Cemetery
Rob Pohl & Arturo Pianzola:
Royston Wrecks (Vancouver Island BC)
Dale:
Shandro Historic Village (Closed)
Margaret Nemeth:
Bridge Hunting: Highway 13 Scotsguard
Anonymous:
Grain Elevators of Consort Alberta
John Kinnear:
Commander Mine 1935-1956
Cindy Miller Reade:
Prairie Sentinels: Coderre Saskatchewan
Margaret Nemeth:
Eastern (Deutsch-Canadier) Block (2014)
Jason Sailer:
Fairbanks Morse H16-66 (CPR #7009)
Margaret Nemeth:
Robsart Saskatchewan 61 Years Apart
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