Category: Other Fun

Cathedral Grove

The Giants of Cathedral Grove (BC)

The location is Vancouver Island in British Columbia and specifically MacMillan Provincial Park. It’s a little east of Port Alberni and this spot home to an amazing stand of massive trees many centuries old. These are the giants of Cathedral Grove and we’re happy to show you around. Today’s subject...

Photographer Rob Pohl

Rosies & The Griffon Spitfire

Presenting: Rosies and The Griffon Spitfire. Here’s a bunch of folks, friends, family and associates, getting together for a charity photoshoot (and admittedly a good time) with a sleek World War Two fighter as a backdrop. The girls are stepping into the past and playing the part of a storied...

Glory-Jo Grand Union

It Continues: Grand Union Coleman AB

It Continues: Grand Union Coleman AB . Coming soon! We’re working on the write up for this piece and it’ll be posted shortly, but in the meantime enjoy the photos below. It’s another installment of the Beer Parlour Project, from Team BIGDoer and art photographer Rob Pohl, and we’re visiting...

Thorsby Hotel 1929

It Continues: Thorsby Hotel Thorsby Alberta

On this warm summer’s eve the The Beer Parlour Project is a bit SW of Edmonton and paying a visit to the Thorsby Hotel, Thorsby Alberta. The project is a collaborative effort between Team BIGDoer, art (film) photographer Rob Pohl and we’re in search of a special vibe. We visit...

Alamo Concentrator

Coming Soon in 2024 (2)!

Coming soon in 2024 (part two): more amazing places the Team has visited and will be posting about in the next couple months or so. As always, it’s a varied menu of subjects, to keep things interesting, and here’s the list. There’s mining remains, lost cemeteries, roadside memories, something “super”,...

Great Beater Challenge 2023

Coming Soon in 2024 (1)!

Coming soon in 2024 (1st installment): presenting places we’ve explored the last year or so and the posts that will come from these incredible adventures. We’re talking a wild assortment and we’re sure you’ll enjoy every single one as much as we did documenting them. We simply love what we...

Tofield Hotel Tofield Alberta

It Continues: Tofield Hotel (Royal Alexandra)

Here’s the latest set of preview pics from the ongoing series Beer Parlour Project with gallery photographer Rob Pohl. Our goal is to visit as many small town old-school hotel pubs as time allows, and document this interesting slice of history. In this instalment we’re at the Tofield Hotel (former...

Big Valley (Alberta) Inn

It Continues: Big Valley Inn

It Continues: Big Valley Inn, Big Valley Alberta, and another stop in our ceaseless quest to document as many small town old-school hotel pubs as we can. It’s for the Beer Parlour Project, the working title for an undertaking by Team BIGDoer and large format film photographer Ron Pohl. Regular...

LAV 6 in Transit

The Lost LAV: Which Way to Wainwright?

Which Way to Wainwright? We’ve come to this spot (marked Philips Alberta on maps) to watch trains, but they no-showed and instead kept an eye on something else playing out not far from the tracks. How curious! It seems a transport with a military load bound for a nearby Forces...

Galena Bay Ferry

BC Inland Ferries – Columbia and Arrow Park III

A ride on any of the BC Inland Ferries is an adventure and we do it every chance we get. It’s hard to explain the appeal and silly perhaps, yet if we’re out that way and there’s a route that includes a ferry crossing, we’ll choose it over any other....

Big Valley AB Train Station

Vintage RVs Big Valley Alberta

The Team’s out in Big Valley Alberta and having stupid fun in a downpour photographing some elderly motorhomes. What’s not to like? At any rate, it was being done for a project that ultimately got shelved (long story), but at the time we didn’t know it and jumped in with...

Main Street Stavely AB

A Few Minutes in Stavely Alberta

The quaint little town of Stavely Alberta is found just over one hundred kilometres south of Calgary and to those travelling the #2, most noteworthy for its huge grain elevator there beside the highway. It can’t be missed and the tall blue/green structure looms over “downtown”, passing motorists and the...

CLC CPA16-4 Locomotive

The Sidewalks of 10th Ave S Cranbrook

There’s some interesting sidewalk tiles underfoot in this British Columbia community. If you know where to look that is. They pay homage to various classes of Canadian Pacific Railway locomotives and are located on 10th Ave S Cranbrook, in downtown. From what we know they were placed fairly recently and...

1959 Stampede Dream Home

1959 Calgary Stampede Dream Home

Here’s a look at second oldest Calgary Stampede Dream Home (from 1959 – at the time called the Stampede Give-Away Home) and in outward appearances it looks much as it did when new. This lottery has been going on so long it’s become essential to the Stampede experience and tickets...

Old Trucks Three Hills

Three Hills (Alberta) @ Dawn

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...

CTS Fishbowl Bus #1046

Calgary Transit #1046 Fantrip

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...

Medicine Hat Beater Challenge

Great Beater Challenge 2021

It’s called the Great Beater Challenge, a convoy of the damned taking place over two days and about a thousand kilometres. The concept is simple: cross your fingers and drive a junker cross-country down some of the most remote roads ever and survive the ordeal. Interestingly most cars made it...

General Store Trail Gulch

Alone in the Gulch

The city of Trail British Columbia is FULL of character. This West Kootenay community clings to the side of a hill and here we’re looking at one of the most interesting parts called the Gulch. The Historic Gulch. It’s a fine evening, in spite of the stifling heat, the sky...

Murray's Camera

Murray’s Camera

We brought Murray’s Camera out of retirement. After who knows how long in the Pioneer Acres Museum (Irricana Alberta) collection, it’s time to dust it off for a fun photoshoot taking place in town. For old time’s sake. Murray used to be involved with the museum and well liked, so...

Stoney Creek Bridge Trail

The Other Stoney Creek Bridge

If you were to do an image search using the query, you’ll be shown a graceful arch-supported structure used by trains and in a stunning mountain setting. Deep in the British Columbia Rockies it’s been the subject of hard earned photos and some are so impressive as to obtain icon...

No Vacancy

No Vacancy

Imagine our thrill on seeing someone at this property…someone who looks like they should be there. A quick introduction, some confusion over our motives (honestly, this is what we do), and we’re in. However, the light’s failing, we’ve got the wrong camera and no tripod, so we’ll have to make...

A Few Minutes in Foremost

A Few Minutes in Foremost

Here’s a stupid just-because post about nothing much in particular. While passing through a small town, some cool trucks are spotted and vintage grain elevators are their backdrop. To that we say yes and YES! We have a timed appointment with a very special building in the area (more in...

CPR Train Ogden

A Few More Minutes in Ogden

The CPR mainline passes right through the Calgary community of Ogden and if you’re into a little trainspotting there’s plenty of public places there where one can view the action. When in need of a fix we’ll head out that way, even if a busy schedule often dictates we can’t...

Closed Retro Motel

No Vacancy

Today we’re looking at a small town motel, or rather what’s left of the business, after it closed long ago. From certain angles it still looks the part, if not a bit run down and showing its age. Picture a road weary traveller one dark stormy night, desperate for shut-eye...

BIGDoer.com Timelapse

Nelson and Fort Sheppard in Under a Minute

This silly little time lapse (from 2016) was done for fun and we never really had intentions to share it on this website*. Yet here were are. So it occurred to us recently on viewing it for the first time in years, that maybe others might appreciate and enjoy it...

Bluebird Motel Claresholm Office

Bluebird Motel Claresholm

Today, it’s a look at the Bluebird Motel Claresholm Alberta, charming old school accommodations in the motor court style and with tons of character. It’s a mom and pop kind of place, decidedly retro and delightful in every way. Up on the sign: “Old Fashioned Hospitality Since 1947” and a...

Olds Alberta Olds Hotel

Random Olds Alberta

We love exploring little towns (who knew!), especially in the evening when their unique character and personality seems to really shine. There’s no one about, no cars in the way, the light’s nice and it’s just us wandering aimlessly. Whatever comes our way is fine and it’s always an enjoyable...

Bulwark Cemetery

Bulwark Cemetery: It’s Full of Doerings!

It’s not exactly the most common family name, so for us to see it out in the wild is both unexpected and a rare occurrence. Once in a while, we’ll notice the name on some random headstone, but instances of that can be counted on one hand. In the Bulwark...

Highway Gas

Highway Gas

Our subject is not terribly old and while less than photogenic it is abandoned and there in lies the appeal. There’s something haunting about a place like this, a former business in this instance, closed down and forgotten. Call it strange, yet here were are. This is Highway Gas, a...

BIGDoer-mobile

Manchester Industrial

If you’re into things like gritty industrial parks and little used railway tracks (and who isn’t?), then this post is for you! Tag along with us to wander a strange domain, that of warehouses and factories where infrequent trains, often nocturnal, roam rusty backtracks. Here’s it’s an evening in Calgary’s...

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