In a few short years the Manyberries Alberta railway station will be a century old. Somehow this fine old building has managed to survive when most others across the province have not and today it’s being cared for by a couple who call it their home. It sits exactly where...
This trail takes us to the end of a ridge overlooking the town of Sparwood BC. The route is a mix of old logging and coal mine exploration roads and oftentimes steep and rough ATV tracks, and doesn’t appear in any hiking books or guides. We’re the first, as far...
The GMC motorhome, like the example seen in this report which was found right here in Calgary, is a real interesting beast. It’s a futuristic home on wheels built in the 1970s that amazingly looks quite up to date even today. Popular with retro-RV enthusiasts there are a surprising number...
One often finds Bolers, and trailers of other makes, motorhomes and old cars, parked in warehouse and factory back lots. Employees will often take advantage of available parking spaces at their workplace for this just this purpose. Case in point is the Mozzarella-white Boler seen here, parked in behind the...
This post has been updated and can be found here: Emerald Lake & Crowsnest Mountain. To see hikes we’ve done in the “Pass”, follow these links… Saskatoon Mountain. Crowsnest Ridge. Hillcrest-Mohawk #5. If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us! Date of adventure:...
This post has been updated and can be found here: Fort Museum Fort MacLeod Alberta. Some of our favourite then and now posts… Sleepee Teepee Blairmore Alberta. Main Street Slocan BC. Wrentham Alberta 25 Years Apart. If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact...
This 13 foot Boler, the most common type seen, is painted a very pleasant mellow yellow colour. Very nice! Found completely by chance, as is almost always the the case, it was seen while we drove around Calgary on some errands. The date of this find was July 2014. Forgive...
The hiking trail described here takes you up to the Kananaskis Fire Lookout and is a fairly easy affair. A wide track, it gains elevation ever so slowly. Deep in the trees most of the way, there is nary a view until the goal is reached. Admittedly it’s not the...
If you like old cars, trucks, farm machinery and equipment, Saskatchewan is the place for you. No matter where one travels within its borders, there is always an endless parade of vintage vehicles to be seen, each begging to be photographed and documented. It’s a literal playground for those who...
You don’t often think of RVs as being sexy but if there ever was one that fit that description, it’s the Vixen Motorhome. Provocative in both name and appearance, this rare model dates from the mid to late 1980s. We’ve been documenting strange and usual campers, motorhomes and travel trailers...
Here’s a rather rare sight these days, a wooden grain elevator, still in use, sitting along a prairie branch line that still sees trains. Twenty years ago this would be nothing unusual, but today, in times of grain company consolidations, mergers and closings and the wholesale abandonment of lightly used...
The Canadian Pacific Railway’s massive Lethbridge Viaduct, or High Level Bridge as it’s more often called, is over a century old and is a holder of many North American and World records. Most noteworthy, it’s the highest and longest steel railway trestle on the planet. A sight to behold, it’s...
With both Connie and myself feeling a bit under the weather, we decided that a short n’ easy hike was in order this day. Fitting the bill was Jumpingpound Loop in the Sibbald area of Kananaskis. It’s a not a terribly exciting outing, there are few places where the trail...
Trillium trailers today are made at Team Trillium Manufacturing in Calgary. At least they were up until very recently – the company has been forced to move and has not yet found a new location. In addition to making “Outback Trilliums” as they are called, they repair all manner of...
This post has been updated and can be found here: Along the Crowsnest Sub (w Greg McDonnell). More railway fun… The Sidewalks of 10th Ave S Cranbrook. Alberta Prairie Railway Excursions #41. Wandering The Alberta Central Railway Museum. The Bawlf Incident. If you wish more information on what you’ve seen...
Our goal this glorious blue sky day was to find and photograph the cemetery scene location from the film Legends of the Fall. It was not an easy task. The site is obscure and undocumented, although we had a rough idea where it was located, and we knew that given...
Not a lot of years separate these two photos but in that time the change has been dramatic. The trains are no more and the row of elevators has been reduced to one.
Down by the tracks in Arrowwood Alberta, 1997 and 2015. Interestingly the then photo is from us and this a rare case of Team BIGDoer shooting both. It was captured by Chris back when he was doing oilfield hotshot.
The last elevator standing is a former Alberta Wheat Pool facility and dates from the 1970s. That's it's fairly modern is perhaps the reason it survived into today and it's now used by a local farmer for grain storage.
Check the comments to know more 👇
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Posted by Connie.
Spotted while documenting The Great Beater Challenge, 2021 edition! Here, it's a little diversion into the near ghost town of Orkney Saskatchewan to look at a disused Patterson Grain Elevator. The structure dates from the 1970s and was built with features foreshadowing those used in high throughput grain terminals of today. Fast load systems and the like.
Check out that vintage yield sign and we doubt it's really needed any more. There's no traffic on these streets.
BTW, we got to chase the Beater Challenge 2023 and we'll post about it soon.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2021. Posted by Connie.
After we drop off a couple rolls for processing, we'll call home! A little corner pharmacy, in a nondescript Calgary strip mall, and it's sort of lost in time. Shot in 2016 and we find anachronisms like this fascinating!
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Posted by Connie.
St Francis in the Woods out in BC's East Kootenay region dates back over a century. It's sort of hidden away down a little backroad and is far removed from the modern world. While no longer used in a spiritual capacity, it still hosts community functions from time to time. Otherwise, silence rules.
Know more about this subject in a link posted to the comments.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2023. Posted by Connie.
The same stone house about a century apart and from almost the same angle. It came close to being a proper Then & Now, but interestingly, we didn't know of the old photo when we captured ours.
The house was only lived in for a few decades, starting about 1910 and abandoned on account of arid conditions.
A family of twelve (yes, two parents plus TEN kids) lived in this modest-sized dwelling. Those early pioneers were hardcore. A house in the middle of nowhere, farming conditions that at best were marginal, brutal winters, few neighbours, little of anything and a bus load of children to raise in a house the size of a garage. Give them credit!
Know more via a link in the comments.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2015. Posted by Connie.
The Fort Motel in Fort MacLeod Alberta, seen in an old postcard circa 1960 and again on a quiet evening late in 2023. It's one of many old style motor-court motels in this historic town and as you can see it's little changed over time. Too bad about that sign, though. The Fort Motel first makes mention in phone directories in the early fifties.
To know about our subject scroll down to a link in the comments. Hey Lethbridge Historical Society, thought you'd like this!
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Posted by Connie.
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