Wednesday, 30 September 2015

Lonely highway

Me on September 12, 2015 at the Del Bonita, Alberta, Canada/USA border crossing. 

All that remains of Loyalist, Alberta

There is a farm behind this marker. There might be an old building from the town, you could not tell from the road. Otherwise, this is it. There is nothing left.


You see a lot of regal themed names in parts of Alberta on places that still exist and those that faded into obscurity. A few that come to mind are Duchess, Empress, Throne, Consort, Coronation to name a few.


The remains of the rail line.



Tuesday, 29 September 2015

A few images of Gadsby, Alberta

Taken September 5, 2015.


You can tell that there used to be more here. The brick building would have been part of a "downtown" area. The brick building is what remains. There must have been a standard set of brick building plans as I have seen this exact same style in three other small prairie towns.  




Nothing on the church saying when it was built or even if it is still used. There are some houses and people do live here. Not many though. The school is boarded up.


Monday, 28 September 2015

Addendum to Crescent Falls

This is where it is located.


A little closer look. The gravel road runs six kilometres off the highway to a parking area. From the parking area you can easily walk straight to the top of the falls. You are sort of on the same level with the top of the falls where you park.


Crescent Falls, Alberta September 6, 2015

West of Nordegg, Alberta. A road leads off Highway 11 north for about six kilometres. This is from the first stop before the falls.


Sunday, 27 September 2015

Rainy days and Alberta roads

Years, many years, ago when I was a kid and we would visit relatives at their farm in the Tomahawk, Alberta area, a sustained rainfall would turn the roads into a soupy mess. Today in rural Alberta that is still the case. I stopped to quickly investigate the rail station in Cereal, Alberta and was in danger of getting stuck. 

My tire tracks are in the foreground. The trusty Impala may have hesitated, I did not get stuck.


I think rail stations had a few standard designs. There was not a lot of variation from town to town. I would have walked around and got a closer look. This time I was not equipped to deal with Alberta mud.


Saturday, 26 September 2015

Hiking in the Kootenay Plains, Labour Day Weekend 2015

Just west of Lake Abraham in Alberta.






Elnora Museum, Elnora, Alberta

For some reason it was closed on the weekend. I would have paid just for fun. This place is very tiny so I really wonder how much would be inside. The outside has a mining cart. Does the mining cart belong or did it come from somewhere else? It almost seems like every town in Alberta had some kind of coal mining. The whole town seemed to be dead September 5, 2015.

Friday, 25 September 2015

Freshly cut hay

September 5, 2015. I like the look and smell of freshly cut hay. I have taken a few dozen pictures and this is as close as I can get to capturing the look. It looks much better in person.

Botha, Alberta in the pouring rain September 5, 2015

Abandoned building. This is a fair size building in a small town. I like the mural. 



Thursday, 24 September 2015

Nordegg, Alberta

Known for underground and surface coal mining from about 1912 to 1955. There are ruins from the coal mining days. Now it is mainly tourism and recreation. Nordegg is in the mountains. A few hundred people live here. I found the church and graveyard intriguing. No date on the church or what it once was. I would guess Catholic, it is a community church now. 


If I was going to be buried in any particular place it would be hard to beat this location. The fences are an attempt to keep the animals out.


A lot of people in this graveyard died very young.



This is a separate cemetery, likely the original. The other one is very close to this one. There are practically no markers in this one however you can see the outlines of the graves showing it is full. I wondered if it was the result of a mining disaster. At times they could not identify people and would just bury them. I did not find anything saying this was the case. Regardless, it is a beautiful site.



The result of a quick stop on September 6, 2015.



Wednesday, 23 September 2015

Southernwestern Alberta

Quick Alberta motorcycle trip on September 12, 2015, part of which was south on Highway 810 to Glenwood, then to Hill Spring, then to Mountain View, then to Cardston. I took Highway 501 out of the Cardston area east.

This is the Mormon part of Alberta. Prohibition existed in Alberta from 1916 to 1923. It was never repealed in Cardston which is estimated to be about eighty percent Mormon. You will not find a liquor store in any of the aforementioned towns. Nor is alcohol served in any restaurant in these areas.


On Highway 810 before you get to Glenwood is what one was the Ardenville School. Just outside the Mormon area.



Farming at Hill Spring. There are some very big farms here. The Rocky Mountains provide the backdrop. The Mormon towns in this area are very tidy and well kept. You almost get the suspicion that there is some kind of appearance enforcement, everything looks almost too perfect. However I certainly would not have a problem having Mormons as neighbours.


Mormon Church in Mountain View. You see the same thing in Glenwood and Hill Spring. The Mormons have a way with churches.


This is the view right across the highway from the church in Mountain View. The Rocky Mountains are off in the distance. This is a stellar view.


Mormon Temple in Cardston. This is impressive and hard to capture in a photo due to its size. Cardston has a population of less than four thousand people and this is far larger than anything in town. I am not Mormon but I have to admit this catches your attention.


Tuesday, 22 September 2015

Spotted on Highway 21

Near Hay Lakes, Alberta September 21, 2015. Farm of Dar and Marv Schultz.




My first school marker

This is the first school marker that I noticed. This is east of Trochu, Alberta. When I first saw it last year I never stopped nor did it cross my mind as to what it represented. School markers have since become a bit of an obsession. If I see one I immediately stop and make a note of it. I encountered this one again on September 5, 2015 and made sure I added it to the collection this time around.


Monday, 21 September 2015

A little bit of family history and a school marker

On a recent trip to Drayton Valley, AB (August 29, 2015 to be exact) I found out that markers for one room schoolhouses are relatively recent here. My father came from a family of six children, three boys, three girls. He was the youngest. His brothers were followed by three girls. His brothers attended this school. At one time his brother's son owned the land that this school once occupied.



Sunday, 20 September 2015

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church

This was part of my road trip through the Hand Hills area of Alberta on August 22, 2015. This is the second church marker of this kind that I have seen. The church started in 1913 and is still active today.


Saturday, 19 September 2015

Ozark School September 5, 2015

This is kind of close to Byemoor, Alberta. There is no information online that I could find other than what it already says on the marker. Nothing says how long it operated.


Friday, 18 September 2015

Vintage Soda Company, Airdrie, Alberta

These people do not know it but I have an issue with their business. I wanted to open up something like this and they beat me to it. My inspiration was from the USA. I have travelled to Phoenix, Arizona through the years and there was a business there called "Pop the Soda Shoppe" which is no longer operating. The Phoenix business carried over one thousand four hundred varieties. The owner would import Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper from Mexico since they used sugar in making it there. Yes, it does taste better. I often thought this would be a fun business to have. 

I know the people in Airdrie arrived at their business totally independent of me however I still wish I got there first. 



I have a certain weakness for root beer. My first choice is Coke, none of that diet stuff, I want my sugar and caffiene. A stong second is root beer. These people also stock other stuff like blueberry, huckleberry, colas, cream soda, and others.


My choices from September 18, 2015 are below. The Judge Wapner Root Beer (far right) is a little dark for my tastes. Before I was in my teens I remember there used to be Dog n Suds drive-ins in Canada. There are a few left in the USA. They had the same style as the old A&W drive-ins with the trays hanging on your driver's window (at one time you could get A&W root beer in glass gallon jugs). Yes I am dating myself and yes there is better root beer than A&W (as an aside, another favourite is Henry Weinhard Root Beer, I like their beer as well). At least I can still get my hands on the Dog n Suds root beer. I have had Sea Dog and Frostie root beer before. Great stuff. Go buy some root beer.

vintagesodacompany.com 


Thursday, 17 September 2015

Grain Elevator at Dorothy, Alberta

September 7, 2015. Dorothy is practically a ghost town. A windstorm earlier this year ripped the roof off the building. This will only accelerate the buildings demise. You can still make out "Alberta Pacific Grain Co Ltd." on the side.



That is Dorothy in the background. A few occupied houses, some old buildings.


I would have explored inside but it is on private land. I do my best not to trespass.