Delia Alberta is a small community located just northeast of Drumheller. It sits along an abandoned Canadian National Railways line (tracks still in place on our visit) and was once home to a good number of grain elevators, all nothing but a memory today save for one, the subject of...
Outside of gatherings or conventions, finding two Boler Trailers together is pretty rare. This miss-matched pair was found in Sundre Alberta and being side by side it allows us to compare differences between the two sizes made. The left one is the smaller but more common egg-like 13′ model. Its...
Anyone who reads this blog knows we seem to have great luck finding rare, old or interesting trucks, cars and vehicles. This trip, on the Heritage Day long weekend, was no exception. We found ourselves in the Hanna area in eastern Alberta doing some field research, and this work had...
This could be a banner year for Boler spotting and while out walking in our own neighbourhood we find another of these little trailers. We’re approaching three dozen seen in 2013, this one in August. It’s hitched up to a car looking like it’s ready to go on a long...
Sure, these two “first class” establishments, the Seymour and New National in Hanna Alberta, are called hotels but for the last few decades mostly catered to the drinking crowd. It’s booze where the money is, although the rooms above may have been rented out at times as extended stay (often...
This old farm is a particularity photogenic one, discovered in an arid and remote corner of Alberta, along a forgotten highway. What makes this find even more interesting is that using our detective skills, we were able to dig up information on who lived there – amazing! Unlike most farms,...
Here’s another Boler trailer found completely by chance. Driving up Crowchild Trail, this one was spotted from that road, sitting in an alley that it borders on. It was seen in August 2013 in the Calgary neighbourhood of Sunalta. The tally for this year, including this trailer is thirty three...
A number of scenes from the 1987 Pink Floyd music video Learning to Fly were filmed on a ridge in Kananaskis, just east of Canmore. In the story a young native fellow climbs up the hill, only to jump off it before turning into a graceful soaring eagle. A metaphor...
This post has been retired, but a few select images kept for your enjoyment and an updated version can be found here: Glenbow Ranch Big West Loop. More fun and adventure… Calgary Pathways: Montgomery – Bowness. Chestermere Town Loop. Urban Trek: Bridgeland-Crescent Heights-Renfrew. Roaming Nanton. If you wish more information...
In this “soup” post we look at a couple of old cars, an abandoned and burnt out caboose, a CPR train station and a cave in the Crowsnest Pass gushing water. Each soup posting will showcase random pictures taken from our adventures. 1) The yellow car shown in the first...
In the final moments of the 2005 movie Brokeback Mountain, Ennis del Mar, played by Heath Ledger, looks at a photo and whispers the words “Jack, I swear”. Filled with sadness he recalls his deceased friend and lover and the adventures and intimate moments they shared. The picture in that...
Having attempted Wind Ridge and failing to summit the week before, we wanted to return to take another stab at it. On the first pass we got turned around due to flood damage in the area and instead of reaching our objective, we wandered around the ridge’s base wondering where...
This cute red and white Boler was spotted at the Hoodoo RV Resort in the Red Deer River valley near Cambria Alberta, not terribly far from Drumheller, in August 2013. Located alongside the river, the campground is one giant open field with nary a tree to shelter one from the...
Here are some pictures from our attempt on Wind Ridge. It’s a hike in Kananaskis I’ve been looking forward to for some time, but we missed our mark when an errant turn sent us astray. No big deal and we’ve gotten off track before and will likely do so again...
Chances are at one time or another you’ll get a flat while out biking. They always happen when you least expect it and they can be a real inconvenience. In this post we’ll show you how to repair the puncture and be on your way in a matter of minutes....
I am afraid time has blurred some of details of this event. It’s 1989 and I am living in the lower mainland and I recall finding out an Air France Concorde jet was due to land at Vancouver International Airport. We had to see that! By then it was a...
For all the hikes and summits we do, we also like to bike on occasion (not nearly enough in fact). With many parts of of Kananaskis closed completely due to flood damage and the few open trails in various states disrepair for the same reason, we decided to forgo that...
Another chance find, this Boler was spotted in July 2013, at the edge of a canola field as we biked the canal pathway that runs between Calgary and Chestermere. Located on the far side of a large property, obscured by a residence and no where near a public road, this...
With temperatures expected to be in the high 20s – the low 30s if you take into account the humidex – Connie and I felt it best not to tackle anything terribly strenuous. Neither of us handle heat well and so we picked an easy hike, something with not too...
Back in 1997 I was doing some delivery work for coal mines in the Sparwood BC area, bringing various mine truck spares in from suppliers in Calgary. On one trip I took time out to explore the Crowsnest Lake Cave. You may have seen this interesting geographical feature from the...
Some time ago I lived in Vancouver for a period of a couple years. I was working – a lot – and rarely took time off. On one of those days though, I found myself exploring the northern reaches of Burnaby. It’s a interesting place full of contrasts. The area...
A little oasis of green on the rolling prairies, Big Hill Springs Provincial Park is a fun place to explore. There is a natural spring, old creamery remains, wildlife and a short but pleasant hiking trail that takes you past it all, and up to the valley ridge above. Located...
For a time, in 1989 and 1990, I lived in Vancouver. Actually I did not live but rather I worked and did little else, sometimes seven days a week for months on end. It was a horrendous pace, a classic case of working harder NOT smarter. Occasionally, as I neared...
This adventure finds us in an area of Kananaskis we’ve never really explored before. Our destination is Mesa Butte, a broad grassy hill located in a sea of gently rolling ridges just west of Millarville. Our route not only takes in that summit, but also two separate ridges leading to...
With many parts of Kananaskis off limits or inaccessible due to the aftermath of record flooding, it was clear our hiking options were rather limited. The only open area was near the Sheep River west of Turner Valley, but there are certainly enough trails in an around there to keep...
This post has been updated and can be found here: CPR Bow River Bridge (Abandoned). They’re saying… ”…Chris & Connie do an amazing job on studying their subject matter.” Rik Barry (Time Air Historical Society). Keeping the theme (BC edition)… Big Eddy Bridge Revelstoke BC. Bridge Hunting: Brilliant BC. Three...
Languishing in a farmer’s field with a number of other trailers and boats, this little grey egg was found while we were out exploring random back roads and highways on the plains just east of Calgary. A large crack appears above the door and it looks like some repairs, rather...
Recent flooding in the region had us scrambling for a place a hike. Most of Kananaskis was off limits or inaccessible due to heavy damage from that event, leaving very few options open. With that in mind, Brown Lowery Provincial Park seemed like a good objective, a place we’ve been...
Unless you’ve been living on the moon you have no doubt heard about the floods that ravaged many parts of Alberta in late June 2013. Record rainfall and melting snow pack in the mountains unleashed a torrent of water with nearly every river and stream overflowing its banks. Many low...
Connie was scheduled to have a battery of routine tests done at the new South Heath Campus in southeast Calgary (it’s a massive building). Some of the procedures required her to take some medication which could impair her ability to drive, so of course I volunteered to be her taxi....
Posted
Sharon Wingenbach: You Are Here: Corral 4 Drive-in Calgary
Rob Pohl & Arturo Pianzola: Alexandra Bridge Fraser Canyon BC
Bob Fortin: CPR Illecillewaet Bridge Revelstoke BC
Rory Brown: Downtown Calgary & CPR Tracks 1977-2014
Dale: The Forgotten Cemetery of Morrissey BC
Sharon Wingenbach: MacDonald Bridge Calgary ~70 Years Apart
Gary Small: Polish Hall Coleman Alberta (1927)
Twold7: Calgary Inglewood Haskins/Victory Block
Gary Small: CPR Bow River Bridge (Abandoned)
Ken Newel: Grain Elevators of Turin Alberta
Gary Small: Silver Creek Coal Mine Skunk Hollow
Bonita Hudson: Coleman Miners’ Hospital 100 Years Apart
Gary Small: Dunshalt Alberta 1974 and 2013
Rob Pohl & Arturo Pianzola: The Giants of Cathedral Grove (BC)
Gary Small: Highway History (BC): the Garbage Gobbler
Posting soon!
Byron Robb - Zeke - Rob Pohl & Arturo Pianzola - Don Wilson - Johanna (Connie) Biggart - Dale
It costs a King's ransom to run BIGDoer.com and your help is appreciated!
Want to join in?
You cannot copy content of this page
Javascript is required for this site to function. Please enable it in your browser settings and refresh this page.
Please log-in to continue...
This allows unrestricted access to every post @BIGDoer.com, popups are eliminated,
commenting is on and the "contact us" page is enabled.
Esc to close this box.
Or...
Your social site may send you a routine notice of login.
Or signup, here: Subscriber Register
___
BIGDoer.com: Serving up POP HISTORY & other McFun!…(Mmmm, yummy bite-sized pieces.)
One million plus words & tens of thousands of photos!
Comments are currently turned off