Guard Duty

A reminder of November . . . a pair of snowmen guarding a bench at Police Point Park in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

St. Michael's Church

County of Ponoka, Alberta. It was scheduled to be demolished over a year ago. It has been abandoned for years.

Still around

Posts have been light, or non-existent lately. Have a few health issues and have been sent for tests.

Have a few work issues that I am dealing with.

A few minor family issues.

Life intrudes sometimes. Trying to get things back on track.

 

Into the Hoosegow with You!

Drunk and disorderly conduct? Into the hoosegow with you!

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

TONKA

 

I'm sure there's a story behind this Tonka bus, but I don't know it.

Found in North Transcona in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Steve Boyko

Traingeek Website

Tuesday post

Provinces here in Canada are looking at shutting down inter-provincial travel. British Columbia has already announced it. I have not heard anything regarding Saskatchewan. Some of my road trip plans are going to be scrapped or changed.

This is the time of year where we get beautiful sunny days, then snow, then back to nice days until spring finally overpowers winter. Weather kind of affects where I want to go as well. With luck we will have a normal summer with better weather. Last summer it rained for most of it.

The photo is here only because I saw this fence line out in the country and liked it.

Wildlife in Jasper National Park

Jasper, Alberta is about three and a half hours from where I live. I like to do a day trip there a few times through the year. Sometimes you get to see something interesting. This is only part of the herd, there was at least fifty of them spread out on both sides of the highway.

April 17, 2021 Pyramid Lake, Jasper National Park

 

Sydenham School 1928 - 1955

Found this by chance a few weeks ago in rural Alberta on my way back from Wainwright, Alberta. It is in a field with three horses. The horses were nosy and came up to the fence to investigate. Two of them were friendly enough to get scratched behind the ears. The other was suspicious enough not to get any closer. That one missed out. 

Remains of a  lightning rod on the roof.

Guess What?

Bales!

All the way from Peterson, Saskatchewan just for your viewing pleasure.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Late night post

A reader of this blog sent me the location of the remains of a round barn in Alberta. This is unique and rare. He also sent a photo showing what the barn used to look like.

This is what remains of the barn. Unless you know exactly where it is you would likely not find it.

The walls are about ten feet high and it is fifty-eight feet in diameter. It was designed for a team to drive up a ramp and turn inside and unload hay.

Notes

Have not been feeling that great for the last few days. 

No, not COVID.

Mainly headaches. Hope to get posting some content in the near future. The Alberta Government has restricted activities again for the immediate future. Things are largely open except for restaurants.

My motorcycle is back on the road. Last Wednesday I road it to the shop to get a few things done. These were things where I ordered parts at the beginning of the summer and did not get them until the bike went into storage for the winter. The bike was done last Friday and I picked it up Saturday morning. The timing was good because last Saturday night into Sunday morning we got about an inch of snow. It melted away by that afternoon. I am just waiting for some warmer weather before I take it out out again.

Sligo School 1911 - 1957

Found Sligo School entirely by accident last weekend while randomly wandering the countryside north of Wainwright, Alberta. The front wall of windows face east. There is a steel screen over the windows. Someone likely tried to protect it from vandals years ago. It is a small school. Most of glass is smashed. I did not bother trying to look inside. Not much around in all directions. 

Random abandoned Alberta

Twin Peaks

Being a prairie boy, logging trucks fall into the "novelty" category for me. While in Athabasca, Alberta some weeks ago they were an everyday occurrence . . . sometimes several times each day.

Oddly enough, every time I saw one reminded me of the "Twin Peaks" television show . . . and that's a good thing.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Random rural Alberta mailbox

Onanole Farmhouse

 

I caught a glimpse of this house when driving north on Highway 10 toward Riding Mountain National Park. My wife and I were heading north to try to see an aurora. We didn't end up seeing any auroras that night but I made a point of stopping on the way home to photograph this house. It looks like it is in pretty good shape still; there's a newer house closer to the road on the same property.

Steve Boyko

Traingeek Website

Oxville Church, Alberta

This is in a rural area northeast of Wainwright, Alberta on a range road that looks like it does not get a lot of traffic. Oxville just refers to the area, there never was a town. You round a bend in the road and the church is right beside the road. It is a small church. I had to drive through a little bit of mud to get to it. Trees close to the church made it hard to get photos of other angles of the church. There is a neat cemetery close by with recent burials.

I was here on Good Friday which seems appropriate to visit a church. The windows are all intact and you can see inside. The interior is empty except for some benches. There will be a return visit in the summer. 

Abandoned Alberta

Sunday morning random truck post

Easter post from Dale and Lynn Redekopp

A white-tailed jackrabbit which I learned is actually a hare, decided to take up part time residence in our back yard about a month ago. These hares are solitary and nocturnal and he or she sits for hours without moving and goes somewhere else at night. It also disappears for a couple of days or longer at a time. It isn’t particularly concerned about the neighbours dogs. We have photographed it to record the colour change and put out a basket at one point as we approached Easter.