Channel your inner HG Wells and join us in Foremost Alberta for a little time travelling adventure. Armed with an old photo of the town showing Main Street we’re here to shoot another of similar composition from the same position. It’s a silly little obsession and we find it thrilling...
Walking about random Calgary neighbourhoods, as we’re apt to do, it’s almost guaranteed we’ll make a new Boler discovery. It happens almost every single time and case in point, the little trailer seen here, spotted by chance while out for a stroll. Based on our hit-ratio, it’s clear there’s a...
These businesses were once a commonly seen in older neighbourhoods, in towns both big and small. We’re talking about the humble corner store, even if many, like the one spoken of here, were actually located somewhere mid-street. These were the 7-11s and Macs Circle-Ks of the day, convenient and close...
So far there’s been no embarrassing pictures in this series, but by the numbers, it’s bound to happen. We’re simply closing our eyes and picking a random (unpublished) photo from our collection and posting it here. Good or bad, it’s all fair game. We often shoot stupid pics just for...
Photobomb: to appear in a photograph when you weren’t supposed to. Often it’s done with intent, maybe in a silly way, but can also be by accident. In the old photo discussed here, we don’t know which is in play, but the cheeky look of our subject suggests something planned...
The summer of 2021 found us in the West Kootenays of British Columbia and very soon we’ll show you the awesome adventure we had. Here it’s something quick and simple but there’ll be more…much more. We’re in Creston and this was a chance discovery – how we like it –...
Generations ago, this spindly structure was where you crossed over the Kootenay River in the area. With a sharp bend at each end, a sketchy south approach and narrow deck, it must have been no picnic for drivers. Heaven help you if it snowed. Bypassed about half a century ago...
In early 2021 we came back to the Neidpath Grain Elevators*. Things aren’t looking so good for the old pair and with seven years passing since we last dropped by, it was a bit of a shock to see how badly they’ve deteriorated. In a moment, we’ll share a post...
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...
As often happens when we’re out for a walk, we’ll cross paths with a Boler. It’s never planned but each and every time it happens, the world for a moment, for us, becomes a better place. Never expected, but always welcome, it’s silly things that bring a smile. Thinking about...
We’re along busy MacLeod Trail and looking at what was once the city’s most happening cowboy bar. It got good ‘n’ rowdy here and each year during Stampede came ten days of utter drunken madness. They did a killer business, but the decades long party ended in early 2020 –...
There’s nothing around but this random ditch. Not a natural feature, it snakes across the Southern Alberta prairies while following the lay of the land. Bend left, deke right, and soon it’s many clicks long, even if the start and end points are a short distance apart. This is an...
In the old photo it’s labelled Main Street, but today it’s 50th. No matter the naming convention, we’re in downtown Elk Point Alberta, early one Sunday morning and with not a soul about, shooting a Then & Now. We’ll do our best to duplicate the old image in composition even...
This urban walking adventure makes a tour of High River Alberta, a community that’s grown a lot over the last few years, but still displays much small town charm. The older neighbourhoods are home to many historic buildings – a plus for people into that kind of weird stuff –...
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...
Roughly twenty years have passed since our last visit to this site, but it seems more like forever. It’s more overgrown now and some things have deteriorated badly in that time, yet it’s as we remember. This post we’ll examine the remains of a small train marshalling yard and support...
Presenting another random photo from the BIGDoer.com collection and so far they’ve been good ones, so we’re again breathing a sigh of relief here. One day, there’s going to be something embarrassing posted. Still the image seen is in every way unremarkable, even if the subject is interesting enough. We’re...
What time is it? Time for another Then & Now, that’s what! In this one we’re looking at a location in Three Hills Alberta taken some seventy years apart and our only connecting element is the town’s water tower. Then, it functioned as the backdrop for some kind of community...
A Boler is where you find it and more often than not this can be some random back lane. Case in point here, it’s a completely chance discovery spotted while out for a little stroll. We don’t generally walk alleys – that would be silly – but we do scan...
Our subject is a quaint little residence, built in the early 1910s and restored to appear much as it did back in the day. We’re in small town Alberta, it’s a gorgeous evening and we’re taking a tour of a nice place owned by a friend. Come join Fraser and...
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...
Rolling down a remote country road, the dust heavy in the air, first round a corner, then up a rise and to the left something interesting comes into view. We’re unknowing participants, riding along with a friend and our destination only hinted at but otherwise a mystery (we love surprises)....
Getting there is half the fun and no matter where we’re headed, nor the urgency, we take the backway when possible. Still, there’s often a time crunch, so if we see something of interest along the way, often a drive-by is the only option. Case in point here, a quick...
Roaming industrial parks is our thing, as strange and bizarre as it seems. There’s always treasures to be found – old train tracks – character buildings – big trucks and while an edgy backdrop, it’s somehow compelling. In that theme, here’s a random discovery of curious tracked-vehicles on display in...
You can keep good and busy exploring the extensive Bragg Creek Trails network and even if visited often, there’s always new routes to discover. Well thought out and maintained by a dedicated group (bless their hearts), trails are generally multi-use, so open to some combination of hikers, cyclists, equestrian riders,...
On the road to adventure a pit-stop is made in Chancellor Alberta to view the town’s last grain elevator. There’s not many of these left out here on the prairies and while there’s a deadline to keep, we can’t resist. There in the setting sun and the building all aglow,...
Fiber Stream? Never heard of them…until now that is. While back alley cruising (doing weird things again) we fully expect to come across a Boler or maybe a Trillium, but every now and then it’s a rare gem as happened here. We’re looking at a trailer that until this discovery...
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...
Cruising down some lonely country road in Saskatchewan comes the sight of a building off in the distance. Even from this early vantage point it’s got a familiar form and there’s little doubt what lies ahead. It’s a one-roomer and on closer inspection does not appear to be in a...
Imagine yourself sixty or seventy years ago and living somewhere on the expansive Canadian Plains. Think of a place remote and lonely. It’s winter and while there’s still a need to travel, the roads are blocked with drifts and anything with wheels useless till spring. A horse might do the...
Kenopsia: "the eerie atmosphere of a place that's usually bustling with people but now vacant or abandoned."
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