Tktravels

Holy cow???

Holy crazy heat in southwest Manitoba. The air is dry, the wind seems hot and the dry grass crunch’s beneath my feet. This is not unusual for this area either. It has made farming this area nearly impossible unless you are willing to irrigate it and not many are. Many of the early settlers had to abandon this area early on as they were unable to make a go of it due to the harsh weather conditions (both summer and winter)

This old church is a wonderful example of how talented the settlers in this area were.

Copley Church was built in 1890. The area they chose to built it was 4 miles from the Saskatchewan border and ONLY 2 miles from the US boarder. This church also overlooks a small cemetery. The first burial was in October of 1892. There are 11 graves but only 3 headstones.

Copley church had a very short life span as a active church as it was shut down in 1913 due to poor attendance with families leaving the area since they couldn’t support themselves in the harsh weather conditions.

Now for the dark shady side of this little old church. Because of its proximity to the United States and that it had fallen into disrepair with no one taking care of it this church was used by the bootleggers/rum runners during prohibition. Yuppers that’s rights the bootleggers from the US would run their booze through there and used the area as a hideout.

In 1932 the locals decided something needed to be done about the church and the land because of the unsavoury people that were being attracted to the area. They showed up and cut back the trees. Fenced off the yard and boarded up the windows.

The church continued to deteriorate as any abandoned building does and to make it worse that’s when some cows decided they wanted to attend church. They got into the building and did a ton of damage.

This truck is a bit of a mind muddled. Not sure when it came to be there. Was someone running from someone and tried to hide it behind the church or maybe they were out having fun driving in the mud and just left it were it got stuck.

It was finally decided in 1990 that for safety sake the church needed to be burnt down. You can see some evidence of this fire still with scorch marks on some of the rocks and on the wood that is still holding some of the walls together.

I honestly don’t believe it will be to many more years before the trees and the brush will hid this church from sight and only a select few will know it’s whereabouts. It may finally have peace.

Small town, heartbreaking past.

^{Driving into Riceton sk one of the first things that caught my eye was this beautiful old church. To me (a hopeless romantic) the bell tower looks like a castle. This old united church is sitting empty. The back parking area looks like it is being used to store some heavy equipment. Standing there you realize there is no noise nothing! No people talking, no cars, it feels totally empty.}

^{Driving around you see a mix of old run down houses that look like someone is living in and newer redone homes. One thing that impressed me was all the yards seem very well kept.}

^{Wasn’t hard to find what we came to this town looking for in the first place. This abandoned school. Just sitting there all by itself. Riceton school closed in 1995. It’s looks like it was just locked up and left. One of the big trees near the front of the school looks like it split and a huge part of it is laying across the front sidewalk. There looks to be a older foundation next to the school. If I had guess I’d say it was from a old school. Denver school 1912-1933.}

^{Still seemed overly quiet. No kids playing. No people walking around enjoying the beautiful weather. Because I am nosy I did some digging and that’s when I realized this small towns heartbreak. In 2017 a 6 yr old boy living with his grandparents was killed. Mauled to death by the 2 large dogs the family owned. I won’t go into detail if you want more information google it. In a town this small everyone would know everyone and I am sure a tragedy like this would have touched many lives.}

^{As we were heading out of town we saw this cool old one room school on the side of the road. It looked like it had been moved there ( very possible that it was the Denver school). The building looked haphazardly placed on a ill fitting foundation and the front steps were just propped up.}

As we drive away you can’t help but wonder how long this little town will hold on for? Will this town eventually just fade away?

Top 20 Saskatchewan Grain Elevators

(Tim’s List)

Holy we have seen so many it is really difficult to do a top 20 list. The elevators in Saskatchewan are unique in many ways. Some are the only thing standing of once vibrant communities, some have been moved onto farm land to be put to use and some still stand as quiet giants overseeing the towns that once relied on them.

The number of elevators that your community had was a bit like a status symbol. A busy growing, productive community had more elevators.

Dankin is a ghost town now. All that remains are the two elevators and some of their outbuildings. Since this picture Dankin has suffered more damage. Both elevators are now missing their tops.

**Bents Sk** see other blog for a write up on this town.

Horizon sk is a ghost town. It has a couple of streets with the odd shell of a building left standing. There is also a old church up on a slight hill looking over the once active village. As tempting as it is to go into these buildings they are very unstable. Remember always “Safety first”

Hepburn grain elevator is a museum. It was closed when we went but they have tons of old farm machinery, old vehicles and a old school (Marion school 1905-1964)

All that remains of Moreland sk is the grain elevator and an outbuilding. There is a really cool sign near the turn off to the elevator that talks about the town.

Rounding out the top 20 are:

We have lost so many elevators this year. To arson, weather and to people tearing them down. These are part of our history, our past I really hope we don’t lose them all.

Life is a Highway!!!!!

Let’s see how good your taste of music is? Do you know the song? The music video has the town of Dorothy and the elevator in it…….

Dorothy was once a busy little community located not far from Drumheller, Ab. It never had more then 100 residents living there but had 2 churches, 3 grain elevators, grocery store, butcher store, restaurant, telephone office, pool hall, a machine agency and a school.

Dorothy’s grain elevator has suffered major damage from the wind in 2015. Her entire roof is gone but yet she still stands proudly. This elevator was built in the 1920’s and shut down in the 1950’s.

The United Church was built in the 1930’s and the Catholic Church was built in the 1940’s. They both only lasted till the early 1960’s and then closed. Both churches are looking pretty good for their age and both look as they are being looked after. They don’t look near as rough as they look in the music video. Any idea yet? He is Canadian.

Old building and abandoned car in the town

If you are ever in the Drumheller area it is so worth the time to detour a bit and see Dorothy.

Ps… Tom Cochrane

Can you hear the ROAR of the Panther??

Have you ever driven somewhere and wondered do the trees just go on and on? What is it like in the forest and what is hiding in the trees?

One of the coolest waterfalls I have seen is just off a pullout on the ice-field parkway. I am sure tons if not thousands of people have stopped there to stretch their legs and a few have maybe even been brave enough to peek over the edge. But I am positive though that they were excited to see Bridal Veil (and it is worth being excited for) they never saw the huge powerful Panther that is hidden from view of the parking area.

My first experience with Panther was taking the upper trail. For someone who is scared of heights this trail can just about do you in. I’m not sure if I was more ready to curl into a little ball and not move or pee my pants. Ohhhh but it was worth it. I got to go behind Panther. It is so powerful and amazing. You can feel the overspray.

This trip we went to the bottom of the falls and WOW doesn’t do this falls justice. Panther Falls has a drop of 66 m and a width of 20 m and is about a 1.5km hike to the base and back.

As with any Falls please use extreme caution and always always safety first when you visit.

So what did you do today?

Have you ever just had a day where you decide that you are going to tackle a mountain? No just me.

Old highway 93 in Alberta, Canada has 4 waterfalls on it that I know of. And today we decided to visit 3 of them.

The parking to get on old highway 93 aka wonder trail can be a little tricky and there really is only room for 4 vehicles there. The road to the parking area isn’t very long but is not in great condition. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes impassable at some point.

This old highway has a lot of switchbacks and turns that I couldn’t imagine driving it in the old vehicles. No power steering, no rails and steep cliffs. Now there are trees growing up through the old road and it is a very beautiful and peaceful place. A must though is bear spray and whistles.

The first falls is the North Saskatchewan River Falls. Be careful it’s a long way down if you slip. The falls are located right across from the parking.

Old Wonder Falls is amazing. It’s huge and we hit it during spring run off so it was pounding. You could hear it way before you see it. Can be a little tricky getting to it but so worth it.

This is the one we were aiming for this trip and boy it didn’t disappoint. You get to the 3rd bridge and you can hear it but can’t see it. Now is the hard part. BUSH WACKING!!

There is no real trail we just knew the direction we needed to go. It was a lot of hard work but holy when you turn the corner and see Nigel. WOW There are no words to describe it. The overspray makes you feel like your getting rained on. Watch for slippery rocks and dirt crumbling away.

We figured that the whole hike was around 3.5 km. Love this time of year.

Crazy BIG Things

Have you ever ran from a woolly mammoth? How about a giant dragon fly? Or took shelter from the rain under a giant mushroom? No well we have. (Hmmm maybe you need to get out more)

If you google and do your research you find that a lot of towns across Canada have Big Things. Some are serious and honour something historic for the town, some are of what that community is famous for and others are just down right goofy.

Have you ever just needed a giant cup of coffee

There are Facebook groups that you can join to post pictures of ones you have found and to get information to find more.

If you ever get the chance to stop and take a picture with a crazy big thing. DO IT!! I dare you. Act crazy, have fun, smile and laugh. They are wonderful memories to have.

Wizard of oz!!!!

Remember in the wizard of oz where the tornado came and took Dorothy, Toto and the house to oz and it landed on the witch? Well this beautiful old church kinda had a similar incident (Kinda)

Bresaylor was once a hamlet in Saskatchewan. It used to have two grain elevators, a church and some homes. Bresaylor church was built in 1906. It hosted its last service in 1966. The church is part of a old town that has been turned into a museum.

When the church was first purchased the foundation was a mess. The older lady who runs the museum spent some money and got it all fixed. Then along came a tornado and lifted up the church and dropped her back down. Now mind you it wasn’t on a witch but it did major damage to the church that is way to expensive to fix now.

I love the character this old church has. The dark wood and the old windows just add to it.

Strong foundation!!

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem
O come and behold Him, born the King of Angels
O come, let us adore Him…

Yep it’s a Christmas song and trust me when I say I am so not ready for snow. But the name of this BREATHTAKING church and cemetery just puts this song in my heart.

BETHLEHEM CHURCH sits by itself on a gravel road in the middle of who knows where Saskatchewan. Something about this place just takes your breath away as you approach it.

It is very peaceful there. Only one vehicle went by the whole time we were there. Bethlehem was built in 1906. I can just picture pulling up for church on Sunday and hearing the voices ring out as the old hymns were being sung.

The love and care that went into building this place and still goes into it by whoever cares for it is very evident. The cemetery grass is nicely mowed and the trees haven’t overtaken the church.

One of my favourite parts of this church is the round windows at the top. The talent the builders of this church had as they made round windows when building with stone is unbelievable.

The roof is long gone and so is the floor but the foundation of this building stands firm.

As you walk towards the cemetery a beautiful angel monument catches my eye as it seems to be overlooking/guarding this amazing place.

My hope for this place is it lasts for many more years. And I hope that anyone that does find it gives it the respect that it deserves and that they take a moment to just enjoy the peace this wonderful place offers.

A Beauty

Have you ever just seen a place and you just feel that immediate connection. That ohhh I wish I could live there. It just seems to touch your soul for some reason.

Tim saw this place from the road passing through Leader sk. He slammed on the brakes and pulled a uturn. (Kidding mom it was a very gentle brake and turn around)

This beautiful 3 story house is sitting all by itself at the end of a dirt driveway. All the windows are gone and the birds have overtaken the place. As you can see the stucco used on the front of the building has come off to revel the wood underneath. I think this looks so awesome in the pictures. Adds some character.

I have tried to find out some information on the place but have had no luck. I am unsure if this was a farmers house at one time or maybe a wealthier family that just didn’t want to live in town. With all the places we have seen I have seen very few farmers houses this size built when this one was built.

I will continue to try and find information and will update this blog when I do. For now I just hope this house enjoys its retirement free from vandals, overlooking its little pond.