50.16797, -116.91599

The coordinates above are for the post office in Argenta, British Columbia. I was always curious about visiting this place. Argenta is a little off the beaten path and I like to see small post offices in out of the way places. I was here on May 22 and since it was a Sunday it was obviously closed.

Argenta is on the side of a mountain. It sprung into existence via mining about one hundred years ago. There are a few people here and no businesses. The post office photo was taken in not the greatest light and turned out to be a bit dark. When I tried to make it a little brighter the gravel road looks too bright.

If you look at the notices on the post office bulletin board and signs in town you get an idea of what sort of people live here. If I was here five days earlier I would seen the anti-logging protest that occurred on the road between Argenta and Johnson's Landing. I imagine the subject matter in the last two photos refer to the protest.

Trout Lake Cemetery

Located about here: 50.6523, -117.5436

The town of Trout Lake City, British Columbia sprang into existence in 1893 owing its existence to a mining boom in the area. In 1900 there were 1,000 people here. These days hardly anyone lives here.

The oldest burial here is in 1900. The cemetery is overgrown and gravesites and markers have deteriorated over time.

The metal signs says it is Trout Lake Cemetery.

A wooden marker in good condition. Possibly replaced sometime in the past.

"In loving memory of Walter Taylor

Died Jan 10th 1912

Aged 36 Years"

Badly deteriorated over time. Could not find a name on this one.

You have to look carefully to find markers and plots. There is a lot of growth.

Bears are out

Spotted this one along the highway east of Revelstoke, British Columbia last weekend. Unfortunately the bear would not cooperate and look in my direction for a better shot.

Small SUV used for scale

This had been on my radar for some time. This is an abandoned quarry near Marblehead, British Columbia, otherwise known as the Marblehead Quarry. It operated from 1909 until sometime into the late 1930's. If you did not know where this is you might not find it. There is a little trail that does a bit of an "S" turn right off the highway. You cannot really see this due to the wall of trees on the side of the gravel highway which blocks the view. Really glad my travelling companion was able to definitively find this spot. Stone from this quarry was used for the Mormon temple in Cardston, Alberta and in buildings in Nelson, British Columbia as well as in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The no-so-trusty-nor-reliable Hyundai Sante Fe was parked in the entrance for scale. I wanted to take a shot with my vehicle in the opening because every other photo on the internet I saw with this place had done the same thing. Why should I be different?

The only disappointment was all the graffiti on the walls. Every wall has been tagged. Straight back from the Hyundai is a solid wall. It branches off a little ways to the side in each direction.

Straight back from the Hyundai.

To the right.

To the left.

Another narrow entrance to the right of the main entrance.

Bale Stack

A big stack of rectangular bales near Stone, Saskatchewan.

It was sunny and warm . . . a beautiful day for a drive in the country.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Arrow Park Ferry

I had to get in at least one trip on a ferry this year, especially on a ferry that I have never taken before. This is the Arrow Park Ferry about twenty minutes south of Nakusp, British Columbia. It is a cable ferry and not a really busy one.

There are a few properties on the other side. I crossed there and then crossed back. Very nice spot.

I have three remaining inland ferries that I have not taken in British Columbia.

Random late night photo

Clouds looked really interesting on Upper Arrow Lake near the Galena Bay ferry landing. Tried to capture it. 

Back from the wilds of the West Kootenay area of British Columbia

Great weather. Thoroughly enjoyable trip. Unfortunately back to work tomorrow.

Wooden bridge on a forestry road crossing the Incomappleux River east of the north end of the Upper Arrow Lake.

Spotted at Trout Lake City, BC May 21, 2022

Road trip weekend. Sometimes you see some great stuff.

Ugly enough to be interesting

 

A Barn near Sinnett

A majestic old barn near Sinnett, Saskatchewan...

...with a beautifully rounded roof.  

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

My four day weekend is turning into a three day weekend

Here in Canada it is Victoria Day weekend this weekend, the coming Monday is a statutory holiday here.

I took this Friday off. I dislike clients coming in to get stuff done before the long weekend and waiting until the last minute, usually Friday afternoon, to do it. I took Friday off so someone else can deal with those situations should they occur.

I am trying to get away for a weekend trip. My Friday will be reserved for dealing with errands for my mother. There are certain tasks that can only be done during a weekday. My Friday will just be doing work of a different sort. Then the weekend is mine. All mine.

There likely will not be a lot of future weekend trips. These days I spend Saturdays with mom. I have less time to do things. Everyone knows gas is damn expensive. Everything else is expensive as well. I am not sure how anyone manages to afford anything these days.

There is rain forecast for Saturday/Sunday/Monday. I do not really care. I need to get away and do some things to get my mind off other things.

Why does it always seem like one has to do a lot of running around to get a lot of things done just so you can spend a few days not doing anything? One of those little life mysteries.

Patchwork

And just down the road from the witch house (posted May 13) is this barn with the patchwork roof.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Osborne School

A long abandoned schoolhouse near Tide Lake, Alberta.

Enjoy!

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Bison

An impressive bison sculpture outside the Buffalo Community Hall in Alberta.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Blog notes

I noticed that all of the comments were being marked as SPAM. That is hopefully fixed. I recently commented on a few sites and I was marked as "Anonymous" rather than BWBandy. I will have to watch out for that next time I comment somewhere. Blogger still likes to throw off my formatting after I post.

May my Friday the 13th not get any worse than this.

The Witch House

A visit to the witch house on May 9, 2022.

This one never gets old.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Motorcycle riding is better later in the day

I used to be able to sleep in. When I got older it was like some switch had been flipped and now I am incapable of sleeping in and usually wake up quite early. This morning I woke up at about 5:30am. The sun was shining, the sky was clear. Since I was wide awake I might as well take advantage. Time to take the motorcycle on an early morning ride.

The great thing about being out that early is there is not much traffic. Conversely it is not that warm. It might have looked great but the temperature was 1C. Later today it is supposed to be 19C.

I took a short run up the highway. I was dressed for the occasion, I am not used to it yet, this is the second ride of the season and it was slightly chilly. I need to get the feel for the bike back. On the way back I had to pull over on the shoulder to make way for an ambulance with flashing lights and siren. I  hope whoever it was is okay. I would have stopped somewhere for a coffee, not much is open between six and seven in the morning. I have lots of coffee at home. Sunday is rumoured to be good weather. The bike will come out again on the weekend.

Muffler Man

A farm sign south of Eastend, Saskatchewan.

Muffler Man is made of old automobile exhaust pipes and mufflers with orange reflectors for eyes.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

I have seen two of these

A farmer I know made one and this one I spotted a little north of Wetaskiwin, Alberta. For those that may not know it is made from a steel grain bin.

The countryside is transitioning from drab to green

It is like everything started to turn green overnight. I really noticed it traveling to see mom this weekend.

I spent most of the weekend with mom. I am concerned about mom. She is having some minor issues with living on her own. I would like her to consider moving into a place where she can be looked after rather than looking after herself. She does not get around as well as she used to and I think it is becoming incrementally worse. She seems a little smaller. I think she is coming around to the idea of moving but it might be a tough sell.

I stopped to see a friend on the weekend. He lives across the road from where my good friend that died last September lived. My friend's widow and kids moved off the quarter a few months ago. He had a motorcycle that he wanted to pass down to his son, his intention was to buy another one, and when his son was old enough they could go on rides together. I found out the bike was sold. If I knew it was going to be sold I would have bought it and held it for his son. Some of what is going on bothers me, the sale of the bike certainly did. Everything else is being parted out and the land will soon be up for sale.

Enjoy your time while you are here. Make your intentions known and put them in writing. Otherwise there is a good chance no one will respect your wishes when you are gone. 

Elevator Friday

From a recent drive through Rockhaven, Saskatchewan. Not much in Rockhaven.