Monthly Archive: September 2014

Old railway insulators

Manyberries Alberta railway station

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...

Elk River Valley

Sparwood BC overlook

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...

GMC camper

GMC motorhome

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...

Thirteen foot Boler

Cheesy Boler

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...

Emerald Lake and Crowsnest Mountain

Crowsnest Pass then and now

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:...

Fort Museum Fort MacLeod

Fort MacLeod then and now – Fort Museum

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...

Mellow yellow Boler

Mellow yellow Boler

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...

Lower Kananaskis Lake

Kananaskis Fire Lookout

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...

Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton dragline

Saskatchewan: old vehicles and equipment part 1

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...

Vixen RV

Vixen Motorhome

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...

Golden Prairie SK elevator

Prairie Sentinels – Golden Prairie Saskatchewan

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...

:Lethbridge High Level Bridge

Canadian Pacific Railway then and now – Lethbridge Alberta Viaduct

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...

Jumpingpound Loop Sibbald

Jumpingpound Loop

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...

Boler under repair

Bolers at the Trillium factory

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...

Mighty BIGDoer-mobile

Canadian Pacific Railway then and now – Lethbridge Alberta

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...

Legends of the Fall filming location

Legends of the Fall – then and now

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...

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