Stop and Enjoy the View

Sometimes the best stops are the unplanned ones.

We dipped our feet in the cold water flowing from the Rockies while the hot summer sun shone down on us. For a few brief moments, the noise of the world was gone and the notes of the water and the wind in the trees were the only sounds we heard.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller.

Taken on the Clearwater River. August 27, 2017.

Nothing Cheesy about Chedderville

Chedderville is another area that is part of the pioneer history of Alberta. It had a school, post office and a church. The school operated from 1918-1959. The original school was torn down and the 2 brought in to replace it, from nearby districts, are no longer there.

The post office operated from 1926-1967. The origin of the name is unknown, however there was a source that says many of the early settlers were from England, and specifically, 2 brothers were from Cheddar. Another source says this is a cheese producing area. If either of these are true why would the spelling be altered? And why is Chedderville Cheddar not in my house right now. Who knows. Also I am holding back the cheese puns out of respect.

The Chedderville Anglican church wasn't built until 1948. Previous to that, services were held in homes and then in an old house supplied by a local resident. It was built entirely by donations, free labour and material. It was named All Hallows after All Hallows on the Hill in London, England. A cemetery was added later, and the first burial took place in 1954.

There is worn and faded sign by the front entry that reads:

All Hallows 

Anglican Church of Canada

Chedderville

First Sunday of Every Month 2PM

The sign in front is obviously old and this lovely little church needs some repairs and TLC. Looking inside the windows the pews are lined up and it looks ready for a service. I can't confirm if they still hold services or events here. I would like to find out though. 

If anyone has any history or stories of Chedderville, I would love to hear them!

References: Days Before Yesterday: History of Rocky Mountain House District; Place Names of Alberta Vol.III Central Alberta

Eclipse Watch 2017 and Meadowbrook United Church

Yesterday, or Solar Eclipse Day 2017, was a great day! We decided to spend the day at the Kraay Family Farm AKA the Lacombe Corn Maze. They were handing out free solar glasses and besides that, it's an awesome place to spend the day. It's so much more than just the corn mazes, there are dozens of activities. We were there for hours and didn't get bored...we didn't even go into the corn mazes!

Before the eclipse..cloudy

Prior to the Eclipse starting, it was cloudy. I was disappointed at the possibility of not seeing much but as it started, the clouds disappeared and we had clear skies for the entire event. We didn't watch it continuously, but as we were doing various things around the farm, we would put on our glasses....ooh and ahh a bit and go back to the fun at hand. I believe we got about 75% coverage. It got less bright (not dark by any means) and there was a definite temperature drop. Then it was over! There are a ton of excellent images online so I am just posting one that I took by holding my solar glasses over my phone camera.


After jumping, climbing, riding the grain train, watching the pig races, with pigs with names like Lindsay Loham and Kevin Bacon (obviously). I was hoping to see Kevin's brother Chris P. but he was not there. There was also an obstacle course, games, rubber duck racing...and more that I am forgetting. Always a good time!

On the way home, we took the scenic route. I picked a range road and got off the pavement. I found a few things to take photos of including a picturesque little white church. The sign on the church reads:

Meadowbrook 

1931

United Church 

of 

Canada

It is beside a newer active church called Meadowbrook Church. This newer church was not as picturesque as the old church, not even close. I peeked in the windows of the old church and it had some chairs piled up along the walls. It looks to be in great shape and I wouldn't be surprised if it was still used occasionally.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Monday as much as I did!

Hit & Miss near Hoadley, AB

A random find. Hit!

I was out near Hoadley, AB recently looking for something specific, which I found. However....it is an occupied property and not much was visible from the road. It is heavily treed and is not the kind of place you just roll up on and expect them to welcome you. In fact, I have heard they are not big on photographers. (Miss!) I moved on, hoping to come back in the fall and perhaps the tree cover wouldn't be as dense. Or maybe I will call them up and charm them with my wit and they'll invite me in with open arms. Don't laugh, it could happen.

The drive wasn't a total bust, I got a few photos and revisited an old school that I had seen earlier this year when it was covered in snow.

Pineville School. Opened in 1914. The original school was dismantled in 1951 and this school was moved in from the nearby Harmonien District (built in 1922) and used until 1959. I read it was then sold to the Anglican church and then was later remodelled as a home. I did not look inside.

February 2017

August 2017

Better view of the old school

Just east of the school was this old place, just needs some TLC, it'll be as good as new. These were taken on a previous trip through the area, not on the same day as the school. 

Some days are better than others when out exploring. I am usually happy if I get a photo or 2 of something interesting. Sometimes it's just nice to be out driving.

Enjoy your day, hope you have more hits than misses.

References: Pioneering With a Piece of Chalk

Leavin' on a Steam Train & the Big Valley Roundhouse

Locomotive #41

I have been through these parts of Alberta several times. They are some of my favourite areas to explore. This time we took the train! The Alberta Prairie Railway Steam Train from Stettler to Big Valley to be exact. What a great trip! The gentle swaying motion of the cars, the sounds of the train as it clickety-clacks down the line at 18mph...I am pretty sure I traveled this way in another life. I loved it. If you ever have the opportunity to ride in an old passenger train...DO IT. It was a great way to spend the day with my family. The views from the train are ones you won't see by car, the entertainment is great and you might even get robbed by bandits.

Our 10 car train was lead by Locomotive #41. She was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia in 1920 and served on the Mississippian Railroad from 1947-67. Central Western Railway brought her to Canada in 1989 and Alberta Prairie bought her in 1990. She was repainted to match the style used by the Canadian National Railway from 1920-60. In 1986 she was converted from coal to oil and currently consumes reclaimed oil. She uses 100 gallons of water for every mile traveled, or 10 gallons every 4 minutes. Wow!! It's quite literally a moving piece of history.

Old coal mine camp (as seen from the train)

Fenn: Population 3. Former General Store (as seen from the train)

Gadzooks! Train Robbers!

The trip from Stettler to Big Valley was about 1.5 hours. We then had 2 hours in Big Valley, after eating and looking in some shops, we spent the majority of the time at the roundhouse ruins. Climbing, looking, and exploring the concrete remains of this once great train hub.

The History:
Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) chose Big Valley to be one of it's divisional points, this shaped the future for Big Valley. In 1912 a second-class station was built as well as a 5 stall roundhouse, coal dock, turntable, storage sheds, water tank and more. 5 more stalls were added by 1918. The railway coming to Big Valley brought full time employment and made it a busy railway town. Sadly, the railway boom was not to last for Big Valley.

Canadian National acquired the former Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1923 and some facilities became redundant. Personnel from Big Valley were transferred to Mirror, AB (a former divisional point for the GTP). The Big Valley line became a branch line and traffic dropped dramatically, this was devastating for the town and the population declined quickly. The roundhouse was closed by 1948 and the station closed in 1967. The line was pulled up, except for the section that we traveled on of course.

Today the town has a population of 364, and has several great attractions. I will show you a few here but mostly I took photos of the Roundhouse site.

St. Edmund's Church (taken on a previous visit). Built in 1916.
It sits on a hill overlooking the town. You can't miss it. 

Restored grain elevator historic site, open for viewing.
(Photo taken on a previous visit)

Classic small town bank building.

McAlister Museum. Local artifacts, vehicles and machinery.
Sunfire not part of the collection. 

Now on to the roundhouse, get ready, there are a lot of pictures. I really like the roundhouse site. Also, it would be a neat place to take a drone.

Can you spot the guy that wouldn't get out of my shot? 

Grain elevator over the roundhouse wall.

The turntable. You spin me right round, baby right round like a record baby, right round round round. 

Boiler Room and Machine Shop

Labyrinthy

My kiddo doing stuff

The Pits. The others had been filled in.

I will be back in Big Valley soon to spend more time exploring the roundhouse. There are things I missed since we had a limited amount of time there.

References: History of the area from the Alberta Prairie Railway promotional material

Dickson Store and the Danish Canadian Museum

August is the Sunday of Summer. A friend quoted this recently and I think it really sums up the feeling of August. I  have been away from my blog for longer than I intended. I had a few days off and was spending time with my family. It was a good few days and now it's time to catch up on my blog reading list and get back to work. Probably in that order.

We visited this place waaaay back on June 23. It's another great place close to where we live! The town of Dickson, AB is about 40 min SW of home. The Dickson area has great recreational and camping amenities but our reason for this visit was to see 2 different museums. One is in town and the other is a minute down the road. No point only checking out one..might as well make it a two-fer!

We first went to the Danish Canadian Museum. This area is home to the oldest Danish settlement on the prairies and as such was chosen as the site for the museum. The main building is a former girls dormitory built in 1933, it now houses a cafe, gift shop and rooms containing many pioneer artifacts and archives.

If you though that was it....you were wrong! The museum sits on 7.5 acres and you'll want to explore it all! Follow the paths through the forest and through the manicured lawns and flower gardens. So much to see! We are even planning to go back for Viking Days this weekend coming up.

See the Tree People as you stroll through the Children's Garden of Imagination and be reminded of the many classic stories by Hans Christian Andersen.

Next we checked out Dagmar Church, a scaled down version built in the style and design of churches throughout Denmark. It seats 24 people and it is available to rent. Would be a neat place for a small wedding.

There are a couple other buildings that aren't specifically Danish in origin but are interesting local pioneer buildings, as most of you know...I love pioneer buildings!

Thomsen Pioneer Cabin, built in the 1930's.
Originally located near Dickson and made from local spruce trees.

Nielsen CPR House. This house was part of a 'Ready Made Farm',  designed to entice
settlers to the prairies. It came with a house, barn, shed, well and pump house.

There are more exhibits that I didn't take photos of, including a replica Viking Ship and a replica Dolmen (ancient burial chamber).  Check out more on their website, here!

After chatting with the friendly staff and buying a viking sword (made of non lethal foam) from the gift shop, we were on our way to the Dickson Store Museum. This is just what you might guess, an old general store with living quarters above the store. It's filled with vintage items and artifacts that you'd expect to find in a general store and a look into what it would have been like for the family who lived above and operated the store. You can also grab some candy or an ice cream. We got both.

Just west of the store is the former Dickson one room schoolhouse. (Another of my favourite things). The school was originally named Kings School in 1906, but that was an error made by the Ministry of Education,  as it was intended to be Kingo after the Danish poet. It was changed to Dickson in 1922. A new school was built in 1938 and both were used for a time. Permanently closed in 1959. I believe this is the 1st school, the 2nd school was made into a residence.

That concludes our day in Dickson, AB.

References: Pioneering With a Piece of Chalk and http://thedanishcanadianmuseum.com/