The Atlas Coal Mine in East Coulee Alberta was the last such operation in the entire Red Deer River valley and is now a protected historic site. What’s remarkable is that much of what’s seen on the property is in original condition. Few improvements or changes were made to the...
Bolers are in such demand that when put up for sale like this one, they usually sell quickly and sometimes for much above what the trailer was when new. In spite of its somewhat rough shape, (note the Bondo patches on the lower corners) and its remote location, I doubt...
For every Boler you see on this site, there are countless others that missed getting in the picture. Most of the time they’re on the road and moving and we’re on the road and moving, often in opposite directions, which makes capturing them near impossible. But even so, we still...
This trail in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park has much to offer, with cool and moist forests, towering peaks, an expansive rock garden and rewarding views into deep blue (or green) bays. And all these are yours for the taking simply by following a long but non-challenging trail around Upper Kananaskis...
To keep our sanity on long road trips we often make it a plan to do a little history exploring along the way…plus we play the “Boler Spotting Game” where we keep a look out for those little cute namesake camping trailers…but that’s another story. These stops do many things:...
The government of British Columbia oversees the operation of a number of ferries across the province. When large bodies of water block progress, these become essential links in the highway system and all the inland fresh water routes are free. The one seen in this report in on the Upper...
The Pioneer Acres Museum in Irricana has been on my radar for decades and when a trip to Drumheller took me past the place, I decided this would be a good opportunity to drop in. Being a fan of old equipment and trucks this place does not disappoint. There are...
It’s wonderful that the Nelson train station is being saved. Finally! After sitting boarded up, empty, and vandalized for what seems like many years, actual work is being done in 2012 to stabilize and renovate the structure. Thank goodness! A large divisional point station, it was built around the turn...
Ymir (pronounced Why-mur not Ya-mere), both a Norse God and a shadow-of-itself former mining camp in BC. This 1890s boom town, which had hotels by the score, most of them running hard all night long, is now a backwater off the highway between Nelson and Salmo. Sneeze and you’ll pass...
This one has us a bit confused. Bold lettering on the front proclaims it to be a Bigfoot but it’s actually one of the larger 17′ Boler models. I can only guess why they painted over the manufacture’s lettering (barely visible if you look close). Interestingly Bigfoot, an actual camping...
Seen here, barely, is a lookalike often mistaken for a Boler. This one is a Trillium which seems to be the most popular of the Boler-like trailers. It shares similar features, including the egg-like shape. We’ll be including these look-a-likes in our posts, for informational purposes. This one was seen...
The hiking trail heading up to the Barrier Lake Lookout is often the first route in Kananaskis with some elevation to come into season in the spring. While snow often blankets other peaks, this small mountain is usually snow free by May, or at least mostly snow free. As a...
Perhaps one of the easiest summits in the area Pigeon Mountain is still not an overly busy place – nearby Mt Yamnuska and Heart Mountains see much more traffic. That’s good for us though since we never really care for crowds anyway. The trail up, except for the first bit,...
As you drive down the Crowsnest Highway, Highway 3, very near the BC border and if you are looking in the right direction you may notice a large brick structure sitting by a lake. This is what’s left of the East Kootenay power plant which operated here from the 1920s...
Chester Lake is amazing and an easy hike takes you to this wonderful destination. Surrounded on three sides by mighty peaks the lake is small but gorgeous with crystal clear waters tinged a deep green. A must do destination in Kananaskis, you should make sure this trip is on your...
Here’s another Nelson BC then and now series. In this set, we are at a spot just off of downtown near the location of the CPR’s rail yard and former Nelson shops – just behind me and only recently demolished. The position of this short train has been matched and...
Here are three sets of then and now pictures taken along the CPR tracks in Fernie BC. Each original is from the early 70s, with my corresponding same-spot, or almost same-spot equivalents taken in August 2012. Unfortunately, it was hard to duplicate the first two “then” images since trees were...
This Boler trailer, found in Calgary Alberta in September 2011, is one of the longer 17′ models. Of the countless ones we’ve seen since starting the Boler spotting game, less than a third (give or take) have been this size. This leads us to believe that far less of them...
The Murray Coal mine was located in the Red Deer River valley near Drumheller Alberta, on the opposite of the river from the small town of East Coulee. Its origins go back almost a hundred years now, but the operation explored in this report spans the period of 1936-1959 (earlier,...
The summit of Moose Mountain is a popular spot. It’s close to Calgary and there is an easy trail to the top. And instead of starting from the bottom you get to drive half way up (cheating perhaps?)! From this elevated parking spot gaining the summit is super easy, not...
The hike into North York Cirque is somewhat of a melancholy excursion. Sure, the setting is beautiful and stunning, but the plane wreckage at the end is a bit sobering. Deep in the valley of North York Creek, and just below Andy Good Peak, are the scattered remains of an...
Another nice Boler found in Revelstoke BC, this time in August 2011. Like most of the ones we find, this example appears to be in very good condition, remarkable, given it could be thirty five or more years old. That’s a real testament to the quality of the design. Go...
The former sawmill town of Lumberton BC is busier now than it has been in years. For ages it was just a clearing with abandoned ruins and debris and ghosts. Now the former community is home to a logging operation (oh, the irony), a trucking firm, a few residences and...
Into the 1980s the town of Crownest was a very busy railway divisional point – a place where CPR crews rested between runs. There were coal trains heading east to market, and general freights coming and going to and from BC and connecting points. Now it’s mostly an empty field...
Forgetmenot Ridge (or Forget Me Not Ridge, or Forget-me-not Ridge) is that large flat topped mass that sits southeast of the Elbow River Recreation area, just above where the the Big and Little Elbow Rivers meet. These combined courses, known as the plain old Elbow River, eventually finds its way...
The Crowsnest Pass is full of old and interesting things and vintage vehicles are no exception. There are lots to be found! Most seen in this report are from a huge yard near the railway tracks in Blairmore and the rest were discovered just by strolling around that same town....
This very loudly painted Boler was seen in Revelstoke BC, in August 2011. One thing for certain, the bright yellow stands out in the crowd – there would be no missing it, even in the fog or snow storm or in the dark of night! It glows. I have to...
Connie has always wanted do the Lake Minnewanka trail in Banff National Park. I know it’s a stunningly beautiful place, but I have been reluctant to go on account of the throngs of tourists that are always at the starting point. I just don’t fit in well with them. However,...
Here’s a fun little time lapse we did. We took this on a special rig, a hacked Canon “A’ series camera with a special interval program running. Duration between shots for this time lapse was about once every thirty seconds. The interval script allows you to shoot as often as...
These two pictures were taken about forty years apart in the small town of Yahk BC. Not much remains from the first, with the only exception being the hotel shown on the left in the second picture. In the “then” picture you can just see it just peeking out behind...
Chris rushed in excitedly and showed me this comparison, but after a short pause, his look changed. It's that confused expression one gets just before the face-palm, when they realize something they did just doesn't add up.
One year shy of a century separates the two images but as it turns out, they're not even of the same building. The top is Westmount School and the bottom McDougall School, both in Edmonton and not far from each other.
It took this long to realize we'd been shooting at the wrong place all this time! The two schools were built in the same year and very close in design, so it's still an interesting comparison. We had a good laugh and we'll give Chris a mulligan on this one.
Looks like we're going have to head back for a do-over.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photos: 1924 and 2023. Submitted by Connie.
It's amazing how many of these Canada Centennial Maples Leafs still exist out in the wild across the prairies. We could fill an album with the ones we've photographed. It seems rural folks embraced patriotism with more fervor than their urban counterparts, but that's just an observation.
This example was found in a small Saskatchewan town. When they placed this up above the community hall there was a certain optimism that's not seen now. Today, only a handful of people call the community home, and it's that close to being a true ghost town. Almost sixty years in place and this memorial to a 100 year celebration is still here.
If our readers have found any of these while out exploring, please share in the comments. We'd love to see them.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2014. Submitted by Connie.
Billy Clark’s Cabin in Meadow Creek BC and it dates back over a century. Now at the local museum it formerly stood in a valley a little to east and on the shores of Duncan Lake (now Ducan Lake Reservoir).
Billy was a trapper, hunter, and woodsman. All he had was this tiny log house, a small plot of land, the surrounding wilderness, and his wits for survival. Nothing more. That spirit of self reliance seems to be a lost art today.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Submitted by Connie.
Both Chris and I both grew up in the malaise era for cars and get giddy when we spot one from that time out in the wild. It's like meeting an old friend. This '80s beauty was found out in a hiking area of Kananaskis and by all appearances, looks to be driven regularly.
The malaise era is marked by cars with uninspired design, quirky traits, hobbled performance and often questionable quality. Depressing stuff. This Cutlass is probably one of the better GM cars of the time, and both Chris and our son Will have owned examples in the past.
Have a malaise era story or photo to share? Post it in the comments!
Out in nature with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2023. Submitted by Connie.
We come over many rises on a the prairies and on doing so surprised by many interesting things. This one caused a double take.
This lonely locomotives sits at the then very end of track outside Leader SK and was out of service at the time. Guess they socked it away out of sight to forget about it. We found photos showing it in service the year before our visit but here it was cold and dead.
Since this photo was taken, the Great Sandhills Railway has extended the track across the road and set up some kind of transloading operation. In years passed, the track (under CP ownership) continued west all the way into Alberta, but that's a distant memory.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2014. Submitted by Connie.
The messages have been coming fast and often. No, the book we produced a couple years back is not being published after all, in spite of appearing on many websites recently. Oddly some are showing it with the cover from another volume altogether. Please don't order and it must be a glitch.
The other two books shown in our capture are available however (and are awesome) and were produced by some friends. Interestingly, Chris contributed to each and those you can order.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Submitted by Connie.
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