Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie

It’s that giant silver lollipop thing west of the QEII you see when driving through Airdrie. You can’t miss it. And up there in big proud letters on that shiny metal sphere, for all to see…spell it out with me…A.I.R.D.R.I.E! Dating back many years this water tower hasn’t seen use...

There by the trees at a bend in the creek, in a scenic valley very un-prairie like, there’s remains of a charming old farm house. It’s been a while since it was called a home but within surely a few memories remain. Picture fresh bread in the oven, washing on...

WE’RE BACK! The memorial seen here belongs to a railway labourer that perished on the job over a century ago. What he died building, interestingly, has similarly gone away, the track on which he toiled pulled up and the line now abandoned. As goes the person, so goes the things...

With this post ends a special series. Seen through eyes of wonder, we take in the last of three little churches documented by the Team, belonging to Meota Parish. This one’s beautiful (they all are) and in addition is the most senior of the group. It’s been around over a...

Visiting with Ghosts: taking in a group of abandoned buildings, homes included, that long ago comprised as town of sorts, but today stands empty and forgotten. They’re saying… ”Good luck to you both, you do amazing work.” Laura Combden. More… This is Alderson. 80 Years Empty. A Forgotten Place Called...

Here’s a look at the second of three little country churches belonging to Meota Parish, all located a short distance from each other, a bit south of Calgary. There’s St James in Priddis, Christ Church out in the country near Millarville and this visit has us taking in St George’s...

Back when built close to a hundred and forty years ago, they called it Loganston. Out on the lonely Saskatchewan Plains, it’s a stone house, craftsman built, elegant in design and of which we’re in awe. The effort and skill that went into it is incredible! Empty and abandoned now,...

It’s five words seen time and again in the comments section of our website and our social media accounts when we post about an abandoned farm or ranch house: “if these walls could talk”. And it most certainly applies here. Take in this little stone house, abandoned on the remote...

We’re in one of the more sparsely populated areas of Alberta and even for us, people used to being alone, it feels isolated and remote. There’s not a soul about. So what’s located here? Let’s see…there’s the boundless plains, a single occupied dwelling, a few trees, the only ones for...

Almost a year ago we were given the opportunity to visit three little churches south of Calgary all connected to the same group. Just a short distance away from a million plus folks, each is hidden away in a pleasant small town or rural setting that feels far removed from...

This unending search for abandoned places has us visiting the Bishop House, well hidden away and in surprisingly good condition given the last residents lived in decades ago. It’s mostly empty inside and while the paint’s peeling and plaster falling away in places, it’s easy to imagine that with a...

Had they not been made of concrete, we suspect these remains would otherwise be long gone and the place but a distant memory. Here it’s massive walls and foundations, a monument to the past, when the railway was the driving force of the economy and stream locomotives were king. In...

Saskatchewan has us enamoured. With much history to explore and friendly folks, it’s a place to catch one’s breath, feel at home and revel in its sheer (and sometimes stark) beauty. There’s broad fields of gold, a charming street in some little village or stand there and stare at an...

They immigrated from all over Europe to work in Canada’s coal mines, something demonstrated by taking in the cemetery in Nordegg Alberta. The varied names found here reflect the numerous countries from which long ago they came – Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Poland and more. When calls a new life...