Another barn

Random barn

I keep meaning to post this and keep forgetting. 

Abandoned Alberta

Spotted this in the County of Smoky Lake, Alberta last Sunday. At one time it was home to someone.

Random mailbox

I like the look of this. Only reason I posted it.

Cowboy up!

Spotted this last Sunday while out for a drive.

Strong on Farming

Outside St. Claude, Manitoba.

The mask on the mannequin is a nice touch.

- Steve Boyko

Steve Boyko's Website

Perigord, Saskatchewan

From Dale and Lynn Redekopp:

"On our annual trip through the back roads of Saskatchewan we never bypass any settlement, no matter how small. That was the case with Perigord, a ghost town located about 21km north of Kelvington on Highway 38. There is a dearth of information about Perigord including its population which I suspect is zero.

Perigord was settled in the early 1900's by mainly French, French-Canadian, and Belgians as well as well as Metis from Manitoba. In those days the French in Saskatchewan were known as “Fransaskois”.

There is not much left of Perigord. One old building on what was Main Street, and the model of a school. The school itself was still standing as late as 2011, but is now gone. The main attraction is the Roman Catholic church St. Athanasius. This church has a very nice interior and the parish celebrated its 100^th anniversary in Oct 2018. The church itself was built in 1926/27. The nicely maintained cemetery is across the street from the church. The facilities behind the church have seen better days."

A sure sign of spring

The bales are returning to the fields from their winter migration.

Battle Bend School 1908 - 1947

Not too far from Alliance, Alberta. Another former one room school in rural Alberta. This one has been well kept and is likely a community centre for the area. I like the look of this one.

Found this one by chance on April 19, 2020.

Foley Timber School

Long abandoned one room school or schools not far from Carrot Creek, Alberta.

There is a school marker in front of this building. It looks like a typical old school.

This is on the same property and is about fifty feet south on the same property and this one has no school marker. This definitely is a former one room school. I tried to get some close views of different sides of both of these. I also wanted to take a quick look inside. Walking on snow and sinking up to your knees gets old quick so this was as much as I managed this time. This will be a return trip in the summer. I did not find any information on either in my usual sources.

Found a barn!

Spotted in Southern Alberta on April 19, 2020.

The Roxy

The Roxy Theatre in Neepawa is a rarity, an independently operated theatre in Manitoba. The Roxy is community owned and operated, staffed by dedicated volunteers striving to keep movies alive in small town Manitoba.

The Roxy was built in 1906 to replace an opera house. Initially it was used for live performances and was renovated into the Art Deco style in the 1930s.

Currently the Roxy is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The staff are having a little fun with the NOW PLAYING sign. They've been putting a different sign up each week. When I visited it said "Showing in 2 ply only no 3D. The Silence of the Stands"

Visit the Roxy on Facebook or Instagram.

- Steve Boyko

Steve Boyko's Website

Bus

An old bus I spotted about a month ago near Clemenceau, Saskatchewan.

Gardening season has finally begun and it's nice to be out watching the plants come to life...so, my posts will be sporadic (at best) for the next while. Get outside and enjoy springtime!

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Signs of life

Beautiful warm sunny weather here today. I think it got to 18C or so I heard.

With recent events it has got a bit depressing. In my corner of Alberta traffic where I work had decreased to a trickle. In the last few days the highways here are seeing quite a bit of traffic. People are taking advantage of the great weather and low gas prices and are getting out in the sun. I have seen motorhomes on the road and holiday trailers. There are quite a few motorcycles on the streets. I attached a charger to my motorcycle battery on Sunday and rode my motorcycle to work yesterday.

I even saw a hint of green grass starting to appear. Life is returning.

I love seeing people out and about these last few days. It means it is not all doom and gloom and I can see the coming end of people isolating. You cannot keep people at home in spring in great weather, no one wants to be cooped up, especially now. With the low COVID numbers here in Alberta the government should soon start lifting restrictions or with people increasingly leaving their homes to enjoy the sun the restrictions will collapse on their own.

In the meantime I am feeling better about things and I am going to enjoy the sun.

Sharples Ranch 1892

Ranch sign southwest of Claresholm, Alberta.

Rural art of a sort

Spotted this west of Alliance, Alberta yesterday. Not sure if it was an actual functioning motorcycle or just some creation made out of spare parts.

Knox Presbyterian Church

I had an errand to run in Neepawa, Manitoba this weekend. I bought some items on eBay back in February, and arranged with the seller to pick them up in his home town of Neepawa. It's a 2 hour drive from Winnipeg and I was looking forward to the drive as an excuse to see trains and grain elevators along the way.

Well, the weather played havoc with our first attempt to make the drive. We set out in beautiful weather, which very quickly turned into a blizzard once we got onto the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg. We turned back and promised to make another attempt.

Then COVID-19 came along and picking up some railway timetables didn't seem very important.

Things have finally stabilized to a point where my wife and I felt a road trip was in order to get out of the house. We figured this was a pretty safe trip as A) we're not leaving the province, and B) we wouldn't be interacting with many people at all and could keep a safe social distance.

We hit the road and made the transaction. Nice fellow! It was hard to not shake his hand when we first met, but that's the new normal.

We decided to drive around Neepawa a bit. We've been there before but only on the highway, passing through en route to Riding Mountain or other destinations. It's a beautiful town with a lot of interesting buildings.

One building that caught my eye was the Knox Presbyterian Church, a large stone church designed and built in 1892. This beautiful building is an early example of a Romanesque Revival church, and is  designated as a provincial heritage site.

- Steve Boyko

Steve Boyko's Website

Meanwhile in Alberta

Out for a drive today. This was posted inside a gas station in Strome, Alberta. I will be quite happy when this virus episode is over.

Post from Barney Ward

"I went out and found again an old ranch home location north of Del Rio, Texas. I had been there before but the last two times I looked for it, it had gotten lost in the spring growth. It is better searched for in winter down here. It is east of Spur 454 road on public property so folks can freely go into it and look around. The approximate coordinates are 29.476189, 100.973273. It is about 100 meters from the road and parking on the shoulder is allowed.

There is the two front gate entry decorative structures. Behind them buried in the vegetation is four more concrete slabs from whatever was there in the past. The history Ranger a couple of years ago identified the site as 'the old Bright Ranch house'."

Catastrophic tire failure

Off visiting mom today. On the way back I heard one of those noises that you really do not want to hear. I found a spot to pull off the highway and discovered more than the usual flat. If you are going to get a flat you might as well get one you can brag about. The tire was not that old.

Every Moment I'm Gone

The barn collective

Courtesy of Dale and Lynn Redekopp.