My father, Max Brown, designed and built the Sleepee Teepee motel in Blairmore in the early 1950s. The motel consisted of six teepees, the chuckwagon office and a fort building that included two more motel units and our residence. The buffalo was located in front of the fort and there was also a family of deer located on the lawn on the east side of the property. They were all works of local artist Franz Koci. My parents sold the motel in the early 1970s.
They are right about the lakes units. I did an article on them for the July 23, 2014 Pass Herald. I have pics of the Crowsnest ones if you want them for your files. Great story. Good that the Bellevue info -center teepee issue is clarified. I have argued with a lot of people that it is not one of the original teepees. You can read that artilce on passherald.ca in my archives. Let me know if you think anything is amiss from your research! Cheers.. Nice site!
I’d love to see any pics you have. That motel rocks! Go to the contacts page to find our email. The teepee at Bellevue is most definitely not from the motel, but that’s doesn’t stop people from insisting that it is time and time again. We get lots of emails about this. It’s too small for one. BTW, I’ve seen others like it, also used as tourist info centres, in other places. There is one, for example, at Dead Man’s Flats near Canmore. Your article is awesome! One thing of note, my research shows the Sleepee Teepee having been built in the mid-1950s, via old ads and tourist guides, not the 1960s.
Great post! You missed the teepee on the highway that now serves as an info centre, located at the east end of Bellevue as you enter Crowsnest Pass. I’m sharing your post on Twitter. 🙂
The one by the little church? I’ve driven past it a million times. From its appearance it’s not from the Sleepee Teepee Motel however. It’s too narrow. Even so, I bet it too has an interesting history though. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for commenting. A few locals knew roughly where it was, so we only had spend a bit of time finding it. Searching a subject out is always part of the fun.
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.
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Thank you for this 🙂 I was apparently conceived here in 1960, on my parents honeymoon!! Very fun to see!! Linda
Oh that is fantastic Linda! Now that’s a unique story.
My father, Max Brown, designed and built the Sleepee Teepee motel in Blairmore in the early 1950s. The motel consisted of six teepees, the chuckwagon office and a fort building that included two more motel units and our residence. The buffalo was located in front of the fort and there was also a family of deer located on the lawn on the east side of the property. They were all works of local artist Franz Koci. My parents sold the motel in the early 1970s.
Wow, amazing stuff! I bet it was a great place to grow up. It’s so nice to hear from you.
The teepees came to Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp in 1985. We had 5 of them, and have 2 left on site.
I have to visit some time.
Nice trip down memory lane…
Come back often!
I remember them…..on our drives from Hillcrest to Coleman. I wished I could have seen inside.
I bet they were amazing inside. Thanks for posting!
They are right about the lakes units. I did an article on them for the July 23, 2014 Pass Herald. I have pics of the Crowsnest ones if you want them for your files. Great story. Good that the Bellevue info -center teepee issue is clarified. I have argued with a lot of people that it is not one of the original teepees. You can read that artilce on passherald.ca in my archives. Let me know if you think anything is amiss from your research!
Cheers.. Nice site!
I’d love to see any pics you have. That motel rocks! Go to the contacts page to find our email. The teepee at Bellevue is most definitely not from the motel, but that’s doesn’t stop people from insisting that it is time and time again. We get lots of emails about this. It’s too small for one. BTW, I’ve seen others like it, also used as tourist info centres, in other places. There is one, for example, at Dead Man’s Flats near Canmore. Your article is awesome! One thing of note, my research shows the Sleepee Teepee having been built in the mid-1950s, via old ads and tourist guides, not the 1960s.
Most of the Teepees ended up at the Crownest Lake Bible Camp, some are still there.
I heard that. Will have to check it out. Thanks for sharing!
Great post! You missed the teepee on the highway that now serves as an info centre, located at the east end of Bellevue as you enter Crowsnest Pass. I’m sharing your post on Twitter. 🙂
The one by the little church? I’ve driven past it a million times. From its appearance it’s not from the Sleepee Teepee Motel however. It’s too narrow. Even so, I bet it too has an interesting history though. Thanks for posting!
It’s not. My family owned this motel for several years.
That confirms it then.
If you head down route 66 in the US you can stay at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook Arizona. It’s much like the Sleepee Teepee.
I would love to travel 66!
The teepee would make an epic turret top for someone’s house.
What an idea!
I think some of these ended up at Crowsnest Lake bible camp.
I’ll have to look into that…
Your Blog is quite different from the usual. I like it. How much time did you spend tracking down that teepee?
Thanks for commenting. A few locals knew roughly where it was, so we only had spend a bit of time finding it. Searching a subject out is always part of the fun.
Was through that way in the summer, spending a couple of days there, don’t remember seeing this…
The motel was torn down in the mid 1980s and now the site is a building supply store.
So cool. I wish I could have stayed there.
Me too!!!
I remember when they were selling them. I should have bought one.
Wouldn’t that have been great!
Wow!