Heavy rain and unusually high snow pack in the mountains forced us to stay in town. Little did we know that there would be flooding everywhere and our choice of strolling along the Bow River might not have been such a good idea. Everywhere trails, picnic areas and parks where inundated by the swollen debris filled waters.
Well, at least that made it interesting.
Normally the water here is crystal clear and its shores are often dotted with fly fishermen working their magic. And boaters can usually be seen floating down it. In spite of passing through a major metropolitan area the waterway is well known for its cleanliness and great fishing. Today however, the boiling river is brown with mud and clogged with logs and tree branches. Not a great fishing environment and it makes me wonder how the fish could even survive it. The water was that thick and dirty.
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The area seen here is in Fish Creek Provincial Park at the south side of town. Normally one can follow trails up and down the river for dozens of kilometres, but today travel was limited to high sections of the pathway, well away from any rushing waters. Not a great place to plan a hike as it turns out.
In other places along this river and its tributaries, like thee Elbow, floods had forced people from their homes and damaged roads and businesses. The mess left when the water reseeded was substantial and a gooey brown ooze and tree branches and other debris covered everything. It was a bad time to live or work near a river.
Enjoy the ugly brown views!
Horrible floods hit Calgary in 2013 and to see some of the damage done by the rushing waters, click this link… Collapsed Bonnybrook train bridge.
If you wish more information on this place, by all means contact us!
Date of adventure: May 2011. Location: Calgary, Fish Creek park.
Captured on a cold, cold day many years ago. We've been passing this old house for decades and it's little changed in that time. At some point we expect to drive by and it'll be gone.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
When retired old railway cars usually get cut up for scrap. Sometimes, however, they find their way into the hands of the general public or whomever. Flat cars make good bridges, and boxcars can be transformed into storage buildings and the like. Case in point here. We see them used like this often enough and in this case, it's part of a corral.
Incidentally, this boxcar dates from 1950 and this was found by tracing the old road number, which is still visible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
This central Alberta racetrack was never a commercial operation but instead just a fun place for car enthusiasts in the area to get together. Early '70s or thereabouts and it only lasted a few years. Even thought it's been abandoned for that long, there is no doubt what was here.
You know we like the the obscure stuff and this one fits the bill perfectly. Found by accident while backroad cruising and the history comes thanks to local car guy Mike.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
On top of little Myrtle Mountain in the Kimberley (BC) Nature Park.
There's some good wilderness fun to be had here and nice views as you can see, but the real reason we came is mining history. The whole area near the ski hill was extensively worked over a century ago and we were looking for evidence of this. We didn't find much in the area searched, but it's a big chunk of property and we hope to return to cover more ground again soon. Of all the subjects we cover, mining related is a favourite.
Still, it was a good hike and that can't be bad. Look to the comments for more info 👇.
Exploring nature and history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
It's a strange curiosity in south Kananaskis, there on a hillside and we have no idea who created it. We asked around and no one's completely sure about its history. In the past it showed the Canada 100 logo from 1967 but in 2017 someone changed it to reflect the country's 150th.
That's our friend Emily from DanOCan.com having a look.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
April 13th 2024, the Beer Parlour Project visited the Viking Hotel, Viking Alberta and it too was an awesome time. There's Rob Pohl with his curious view camera and in the other photo Chris is seen interviewing local character Doug.
The Viking dates back to the 1930s and replaced a hotel on this same lot, which had earlier burned down.
Incidentally April 13th is also Chris and my 28th anniversary. Chris said he forgot this when scheduling this but that's fine and it doesn't matter where we celebrate but that we celebrate.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2024. Posted by Connie.
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Nothing like this year!
No kidding! The floods in this report are a trickle compared to those of 2013.