Greenwood BC has an rip-roaring past and is home to a huge number of historically significant buildings. Known as Canada’s “smallest city” it’s a great place for a history buffs to explore and in this trip we take a brief look at the remains of the giant BC Copper Company...
We’re often asked how many bear encounters we’ve had. One would think a lot yet in spite of spending the last ten plus years in the woods the answer to this question is actually surprisingly few. We’ve seen lots of signs and do so nearly every trip, we’ve spotted bears...
The Red Deer River valley is like a magnet to me. It’s an oddly beautiful place and I love the interesting landscapes, but it’s also home to a good number of historical sites that can be explored. On this trip I take a look at the East Coulee area which...
Located not far from Writing on Stone Provincial Park, Masinasin Alberta is nothing today and even at its peak (if there ever was a peak) was never much of a town to begin with. On the lonely and expansive prairie there is precious little to say there was ever anything...
These photos, dating from waaaay back in 1990, show a very interesting place, the Moyie River Falls. It’s a fascinating spot, not just because it’s scenic, but also because of the history. The immediate area is a well know gold producer and is pockmarked with old mine workings and both...
Bits and bites are a wonderful little snack, a nice mix of flavours and textures. Here we duplicate that theme and this bits and bites post included subjects like a locomotive painted in CPRs traditional tuscan red and grey livery, and old Ford F600 that still works for a living,...
Produced in the 1970s yet looking thoroughly modern even today, the GMC motorhome is a much sought after vehicle by collectors. It’s smooth and pleasing lines, its functionality and innovate features make it stand out amongst its contemporaries. It’s a real head turner and futuristic in every aspect! Introduced in...
Rounding out this series we’ll take one last look at the vast machinery collections seen at the Pioneer Acres Museum in Irricana Alberta. In the past we looked at trucks, restored and not, along with construction and road machinery. This time around we’ll examine farm tractors and they have a...
Old and abandoned farm vehicles are a magnet to photographers, professional and amateur alike. Often found at the edge of a field or by an ancient barn, they tell a story, sometimes a sad one, that begs to be explored and captured. By using these twelve useful tips anyone can...
The ghost town of Lumberton BC was once home to a large sawmill operation. It was an orderly place, unlike like most mill towns in the province, and bits and pieces of it still remain. There are the mill buildings, which still stand, along with bits and pieces from the...
The Greenhill Mine site is a slice of history, a long abandoned but nearly complete coal mine and surface plant from the past. An operating museum by the time it closed in the late 1950s, it’s as though time just stopped here. A designated historical site, the elements and vandals...
Doukhobors are often associated with Northern Saskatchewan or maybe the Grand Forks, Castlegar and Nelson regions of BC, but other colonies existed in Alberta, including one named Anastasia, located near the towns of Arrowwood and Shouldice. Founded in the mid 1920s the colony lasted into the 1940s before finally disbanding....
A mishmash is a jumble of things blended together into a nice mixture. The mishmash of articles includes subjects like an old steam locomotive, an evergreen that looses its needles, rock ovens used by railway construction crews and a nice little waterfall. 1) West Canadian Collieries #1 is located near...
Bolers are small, they’re minuscule, they’re tiny in fact and this example is not all that much larger than the shopping cart and motorcycle that sit in front of it. This bone white Boler was seen in Calgary Alberta, in September 2011. Boler: A small cute-as-a-bug fibreglass travel trailer made...
Seen here is an example of a Fairbanks Morse model H16-66 locomotive. Referred to as a “Baby Trainmaster” by railway geeks, but never officially by the company that made them, this brawny engine is painted as CP Rail 7009 and is one of only two examples of this model extant....
This day has us in the very south of Kananaskis, up by the headwaters of the Oldman River, having a gas on Mt Gass. Our goal was the Galena Miracle Mine which sits along a ledge on the mountain’s north flank. Alas though the incredible winds this area is famous...
Visiting the Alberta Railway Museum near Edmonton is like dying and going to heaven for a train geek like me. Their collection is so extensive covering many different eras and railways and one day is hardly enough time to explore all the equipment on display. This museum is located just...
We used to do something called the "pointless challenge" 🤪 and miss those days. It was so much silly fun and often frustrating as heck. In these we'd invite people to send in random photos of obscure locations, but not give any information, and then we'd track where it was and shoot something similar.
Most of these came from old family collections, as was the case here. Anyone up to resurrecting the series?
In hindsight, why didn't we pose someone in our shot?
Pointless: “Devoid of meaning (or) senseless” Merriam-Webster.
If you like what we do and want to support this ongoing project (12 years now), go here: https://www.BIGDoer.com/help-the-society/ Thanks to Connie for making this post possible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: ca1970 and 2014. Posted by Connie.
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.
Javascript is required for this site to function. Please enable it in your browser settings and refresh this page.
Please log-in to continue... This allows unrestricted access to every post @BIGDoer.com, popups are eliminated, commenting is on and the "contact us" page is enabled.
Your social site may send you a routine notice of login.
Or signup, here: Subscriber Register ___ BIGDoer.com: Serving up POP HISTORY & other McFun!…(Mmmm, yummy bite-sized pieces.) One million plus words & tens of thousands of photos!
Comments are currently turned off