From 2014: While conducting research we stumbled across something interesting at a local archive unrelated to the subject at hand. It was an old postcard in among miscellaneous files and seemingly placed there by mistake. It caught our eye, however, and got the gears to grinding. We saw a project...
Here’s some really cool roadside rust and this wheeled monster is an old log loader found in the remote mountain community of Beaton British Columbia. It’s a small settlement, so far off the map and hidden away that it might as well be on the moon. Not that it’s a...
There were once hundreds of these octagonal shaped buildings across the Canadian Pacific Railway network. Used to feed boilers of the firm’s vast fleet of steam locomotives, they could be found at regular intervals up and down the line. In addition to fuel (coal or oil, depending) locomotives of the...
If you see one of these little fibreglass trailers, you have a duty to shout it loud and shout it proud. It’s what we did with this example, discovered by chance on a Calgary Street and in the fall of 2020. We always end up looking stupid, but whatever, and...
Massage – Lics – Lubetown: a photo pulled completely at random from the archives, be it good or bad, and presented here in all its glory. No, our subject is not something dirty this time, even though it sounds like we’re headed that way, but the names of three businesses...
Presenting another epic BIGDoer.com Then & Now and in this instalment we’re looking at the old Highway #3/93 bridge over the Kootenay River at Wardner BC. The original photo dates back to the late ’60s and in the fifty some years that have passed, the scene is remarkably the same....
There’s a huge number of trails in the Kimberley BC area and for the outdoor adventurers it means unlimited possibilities. There’s big variety and the interconnected networks are curated by various clubs/organizations. If you’re a hiker, biker, XC skier or snowshoer (have we missed anyone?), or some combo therein, you’ll...
Coaling mining today is nothing like it used to be. Now they just dig a giant pit and get at it, but compare that to how things were not all that long ago. Back then men toiled underground and put their backs into making Swiss Cheese of the earth. These...
Waiting on the Queen: flashback to the summer of ’73 and her Royal Highness is paying Calgary a visit. On a goodwill tour of Canada, her stop in this city was one of many on what was a whirlwind trip. She was always a busy person during her decades long...
Ahead, it’s random things seen while exploring this prairie community, over two frigid mornings around sunrise. Thank you Mother Nature for this wonderful opportunity and there’s nothing more fun than freezing one’s appendages off. I can’t feel my fingers! This is Three Hills at dawn, in February, and in hindsight...
Remember Car2Go Calgary, the vehicle sharing service that was set to revolutionize urban transportation here in the city in 2012? No? Even though they haven’t been gone for long (since 2019), it appears they’ve become a footnote in the collective minds of people in and around Cowtown. Does anyone remember?...
The hike to Devil’s Hole in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia is short, sweet and leads to a spectacular viewpoint overlooking a deep precipitous gorge. From this spot, look down to that little blue/green pond far below in a rocky trench or take in surrounding mountains. It’s a...
Presenting two camping trailers from two different eras and side by side. The first is a modern example outside our field of interest and the second, something we’re hopelessly obsessed with. You guessed it, the latter’s a member of Boler fraternity and day or night, they’re on our mind. The...
For a time, long ago, the Sleepee Teepee Motel was a local landmark in the Crowsnest Pass of Alberta. Located in the community of Blairmore, it was kitschy to the extreme and made to look as though a western fort with a First Nation’s encampment out front. With battlements, a...
The word of the day is defined as “an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident” (dictionary.com). We’re talking about a special but unexpected aligning of the stars leading to good fortune. Incidentally, these extraordinary moments seem to happen to us with a frequency greater than it should. “Serendipity” at...
There’s some easy fun to be had in the rolling foothills southwest of Calgary and out in the Sandy McNabb trail network. Come take in the nice views from Long Prairie Ridge, a long low bump, running east-west and super easy to access via the route described here. Most of...
We’ve got a railway themed T&N for you today and here we’re looking down at the tracks in Cochrane Alberta at the Canadian Pacific’s transcontinental mainline. The first image dates from 1984 and shows an eastbound freight at the edge of town, and in 2014 we visited the same location...
We’re looking at a rare breed of little fibreglass trailer and get this, it was spotted maybe thirty clicks from its birthplace in Red Deer Alberta. The location is a town just south of that central Alberta city, and this a completely random find. There we were just driving by...
Good morning Equity Alberta! We’re on the ground at sunrise (and a gorgeous one it is), just south of this little dot on the map and looking at this relatively modern Cargill grain terminal. It’s not really historic in any sense, but it’s so pretty as a picture, we just...
Today we’re looking at Austin’s vintage heavy-hauling work truck, an early 1970s Kenworth W925 and approaching fifty years old it’s almost twice the age of its owner/operator. It’s seen here on standby for fire fighting duty and since the alarm could sound at any time, it’s kept prepped and ready...
There’s some silly fun in the forecast. Come jump on board Calgary Transit #1046, a vintage GM Fishbowl (still in old CTS blue) and hit the road with a group of crazy bus nuts for a special fantrip. We’ll be your guide, so grab a good seat and enjoy the...
Sometimes there’s little to say and we hate it! We love to share info dug up on whatever subject we’re covering, but for the Rothney Cabin seen here, it pains us to say we can’t. We don’t know anything about it so far and for someone that lives to babble...
It begins! Here’s a photo from the very first location shoot, in special series planned long ago and that after endless false starts is now reality. It’s something we talked about with film photographer Rob Pohl (a good friend) for what seems like eons, and now that the world has...
This hike visits popular Jumpingpound Mountain in Kananaskis, via the centre approach and extends the fun by taking in sections of the rolling east ridge. We went to the second bump, but you can go further, and even connect with Moose Mountain if you like. If you’re feeling ambitious that...
We’re in bustling downtown Bawlf Alberta armed with a photo over a century old and have an idea to put it to good use. Cool plans at that! You guessed it right and yes, it’s Then & Now time! We’re looking down the wide main street (Hanson Street) of town...
Here’s the last wood prairie sentinel in Camrose Alberta, a type of building once common out in grain country, but to find one standing today is something rare. That’s doubly so for a grain elevator still in use, as this one is. While a late model example, from the 1960s,...
When you’re looking for a hike that’s quick and uncomplicated, the trail up Foran Grade Ridge is a fine option. Located in the Sheep River area west of Turner Valley, it’s not that far from Calgary, so convenient to us city dwellers. It’s an easy trek up to a to...
Here’s a Then & Now that had us travelling the West Kootenay region of BC and on the day of this visit, it was hot as Hades. Coming away feeling like a slow-roasted brisket, the amazing scenery and the experience overall made it all worth while. We were allowed use...
We’ll award bonus points for difficulty in the Boler spotting game for this one. This nearly hidden example was only visible from a very narrow angle & only then at the right moment, if one was looking back over their shoulder. I don’t know how Connie does it, yet here...
Here’s a spring discovery and had things greened up more, we’d have never spotted this derelict 1958 Buick hidden in the trees. Out here on the backwater prairies, it’s rare to find such an upscale car from that era and most rural folks back then drove pickups, or something else...
Kenopsia: "the eerie atmosphere of a place that's usually bustling with people but now vacant or abandoned."
Posted
Margaret Nemeth:
Robsart Saskatchewan 61 Years Apart
Rob Pohl & Arturo Pianzola:
Comox Fisherman’s Wharf Comox BC
Anonymous:
Notre Dame de Savoie Church (From 2014)
Margaret Nemeth:
A Corner in North Glenmore ~50 Years Apart
Anonymous:
Highland Golf Course – Fore No More
Richard Graydon:
Bay Island One Room School (1919-1950)
Gregory Fraser:
Farmer Jones Carz – Closed 2012
Richard Graydon:
Prairie Sentinels of Oberlin Alberta
Cindy Miller Reade:
Railway Barge Slip Rosebery BC (1989)
Kaman Kryskow:
Legends of the Fall (1994) Family Cemetery
Richard Graydon:
Manyberries AB Train Station (Blt 1917)
Jason Sailer:
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Whitepool #587
Mindi Miller:
Silver Streak 1976 Train Station Okotoks AB
Dale:
Historic Ainsworth Cemetery in BC
Dale:
The Lonely Laing House (1910s)
Patrons whose sponsored piece will be posting soon...
Byron Robb - Rob Pohl & Arturo Pianzola - Don Wilson - Johanna (Connie) Biggart - Dale - Francomedia.com - Brian D - Anonymous - Cindy Miller Reade - Richard Graydon - Margaret Nemeth
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