Roadside Attractions

Roadside attractions aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I like oddities, and who doesn't giggle a bit at the thought of a giant sausage. Just me and 7 year old kids? OK...moving on. Whether they are the 'Worlds Largest' or just something quirky, they are usually interesting....plus they are good places to stop and stretch on a road trip.

Here are a few I have seen on my travels. 7 year old sometimes used for scale:

Worlds Largest Bunnock. Macklin, SK

Big Sausage. Mundare, AB

Classic. Not to scale. 

Worlds Largest Pysanka. Vegreville, AB

The egg rotates...

Lighthouse. Sylvan Lake, AB

Beaver. Beaverlodge, AB

Worlds Largest Oil Lamp, Donalda, AB

Cream Can, Markerville, AB

Giant Corn in Taber, AB 

Taken many years ago in Vulcan, AB.
We are dressed in black on the way to a funeral.

Do you live near a cool roadside attraction? Or Worlds Largest something or other? 

Troll Falls

Troll Falls, September 9, 2017.

Something I didn't do enough of this summer was visit the mountains. On clear days I can see them waaaay off to the west from my house. I am lucky that I have always lived close enough to head there for a day trip.

A friend of mine wanted to do a road trip last weekend, so we joined her and her daughter. Destination: Troll Falls, Kananaskis Country, AB.

It was a beautiful day, not too hot and a bit of very light rain on and off. The walk to the first falls was under 2km and was mostly flat. Up to a certain point, you could easily bring strollers or bikes. People of all ages were on the well groomed path. After the first falls though, you have to climb to the 2nd and 3rd falls. There is still a defined path but it's a tougher to navigate than the first portion. The 2 kids did awesome! No fear in my 7 year old, he was climbing like it was his job and I had to keep telling him to wait! and don't run! I'm such a MOM. He told me he is extreme now and I am not letting him be extreme.

Let's Go!

Teepee!

This is the Trolls Nose

The 2nd falls were nice, tucked into a little canyon and emptying into what looked like a nice refreshing pool for a dip if you like freezing mountain water, it would be an extreme bathing experience.

The 3rd and best falls, in my opinion, was stunning! We hung out here for a bit, dipped our toes in the water and just enjoyed the moment. We were told there are more falls if you keep going but that will have to be an adventure for another day. We also want to come back here in the winter when the falls are frozen.

When you could see through the trees there were incredible views of the Rocky Mountains. I've seen these views many times and it still takes my breath away. 

View from the middle

A bit smoky but still phenomenal!

The return trip always seems to go much quicker and in no time were back at the trail head. After a quick stop into Kananaskis Village to grab coffee and snacks we were on the road. We planned a quick stop at Barrier Lake, it is along the highway and is another beautiful spot. No shortage of those here.

Barrier Lake is actually a man-made lake created by a hydro electric dam. There are picnic areas, a boat launch and hiking trails here. A return trip to stand-up paddle board here was mentioned for next summer.

Very low water levels

Selfie! Thankful for good friends and a good day!

My PIC

My son seems to have the hiking bug so will be back in the mountains soon. Can't stay away from them for too long anyway. Do you have a favourite place to hike or visit?

Serenity Now!

Sylvan Lake, AB 7:40pm September 11, 2017

Holy Trinity Anglican Church

Second time's a charm! The first time I attempted to take photos of this unique church, it happened to be under renovations. New paint, new roof shakes, etc. I was told they'd be done in a week. There was no way to get a good photo with construction debris all over, so I left. Fast forward a few weeks...the day was warm, the sky was gorgeous, the smoky haze that was here the day before was gone..no time like the present, so we were off!

Holy Trinity Anglican Church is near Pine Lake, AB. It was built during 1902-1903 and was listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places in 2009. It was designed by Calgary architect James Llewellyn Wilson, who was one of the first trained architects to work in Alberta. The current bell was installed in 1912.

One might wonder how a church in this area was built relatively early on. Wonder no more! Around the turn of the century, many of the settlers scattered around the area were English. This included 3 brothers who had come to homestead at Pine Lake. The young brothers were fond of having a good time. However, they still faithfully wrote home to update their family on life in Canada. Two of their Aunts wrote that they were sending a gift of money. Hurray! While planning how to best spend this windfall the boys neglected to finish the letter, which stated that the money was to form a fund to build a church in the community. The family back in England thought that they boys needed divine worship in their lives. Money was added by other interested settlers and the church took shape.

114 years later and this lovely old church got a much needed restoration, complete with historically accurate reproductions of details that couldn't be salvaged, such as broken or rotted crosses and roof details.

There is still a service held at 11:15 on the 2nd Sunday of every month. I could not get a look into the church but I bet it is as beautiful inside as it is outside.

I also found a Heritage tree in the cemetery, it is a white spruce known as the Walton Tree. I recently wrote about the Heritage Tree Project, so it was a bonus to find one of the trees here in this beautiful spot. You can see the tree in a couple of the photos, it is the tallest one there.

Love the red roof!

Interesting roof. Walton tree on right.

Walton tree on the left.

Walton Heritage Tree

References: Buried Treasure. The History of Elnora, Pine Lake and Huxley

Fertile Forest School

Just a quick post, I wanted to show one of my favourite schools. I know, I know, I use the word favourite A LOT.

This beauty is called Fertile Forest. It was listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places in 1993. It's one of the typical styles of one room schoolhouses but the special thing about it, is that it exists in it's original location. In 1980, with the help of a government grant and many volunteers, it received extensive renovations.

Tales from the early days of the school speak of it being very cold in the winter with the kids huddling around the pot bellied stove and eating frozen lunches. It wasn't until 1939 when a basement and a new heating system were added to the school.  Fertile Forest operated from 1915-1954, it was then purchased for $350 to be used as community centre.

It suffered substantial damage in 2015 from a hail storm. The paint was stripped off the exterior and the windows were smashed, allowing hail to get inside damaging the interior. Once again she was fixed up and looks darn good for a 100 year old building.

Fertile Forest in 1991 (photo from www.culturetourism.alberta.ca)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Coronation is the new Haneyville

Old Barn, near Haneyville 

I took an impromptu trip to Coronation, AB with a friend and her daughter this last weekend. She knows the things I like to take pictures of and her family and relatives were pioneers and are homesteaders of that area so she showed me old barns, houses, cemeteries, an abandoned town and a couple old grain elevators. It was an awesome day and seeing my friend reliving old memories was priceless.

Google map view of the cemetery

We stopped at Haneyville Cemetery on our travels. Haneyville is NW of Coronation about 12km.  As you can see by the photo, most of the cemetery is unused. They likely set aside a large area for the cemetery while envisioning the population boom when the railroad came. This sadly, was not meant to be.

Just east of the cemetery is Arkona School. It opened in 1908. It was named after the hometown of some of the first homesteaders from Arkona, ON. Mrs. Evelyn Towns, from Arkona, became one of the first school teachers. I am not sure when the school closed but it still sits on a quiet corner, as it always has.

By 1910, Haneyville had a couple of stores, a stopping house, barn, post office, and a school. It was Mr. E.R. Haney who owned and operated the stopping house, feed barn and mill as well as one of the stores.

In September of 1911 the long awaited CPR railroad was built into what would soon become Coronation (it was incorporated in December of 1911). The railroad bypassed the growing community of Haneyville by 2 1/2 miles. This was essentially a death sentence for the town. Lots in the Coronation town site were bought and the Haneyville buildings were moved. Only the stopping house and school buildings remained. The stopping house became a residence. The Haney Store was moved and became the Star Theater in Coronation. The Haney's ran the theater then later they also owned and operated the Alberta Hotel. Mr. Haney passed away in 1936 and was buried at Haneyville Cemetery.

Arkona School today 

The Big Store at Haneyville, AB (courtesy of the Glenbow Archives)

Haneyville town may be gone but the memories, stories and the families of these pioneers will live on. I have barely touched on the history of the area and highly recommend reading the stories in the local history books. They determination and spirit of the pioneers of Alberta never ceases to amaze me. If you have stories or photos of the area, I am always interested in seeing them and learning more!

Here are a few interesting buildings from Coronation:

I was focused in the Avalon sign, but there is a
big mural on the side featuring the Royal Family

Former Catholic Church

More to come from this day trip including a stop at Bulwark, AB. See you soon!

References: Shadows of the Neutrals; Find a Grave; Pioneering with a Piece of Chalk

Heritage Trees - Living Links to our History

I was out driving a week ago and I came to a stretch of gravel road lined by big beautiful trees. A sign near the start of the trees stated it was a Heritage Tree - Avenue -1947. It also had a website address on it. This piqued my curiosity but I was on my way to a wedding so I had little time to dilly dally on this lovely sun dappled lane. I drove slowly down the avenue, soaking in the tranquility of the short journey and made a mental note to self to look this place up later.

The photo does not do this place justice.

The following day....

The website on the sign brought me to the Alberta Heritage Tree Foundation.  The goal of the foundation is to preserve and celebrate heritage trees. Heritage trees can be individual trees, avenues, shelter belts, groves, tree gardens, or arboretum and sites of botanical or ecological interest. The age, size, shape, special interest, location and/or history can all be virtues of a heritage tree.

Since the inception of the project in May 2006, over 900 nominations were received, 600 trees were verified, and 450 trees qualified for Heritage Tree recognition. A plaque has been placed either on or near each tree.

I wanted to know more about heritage trees, and the avenue I found. The Foundation published Heritage Trees of Alberta in 2008, it sold out but a copy was donated to every library in Alberta. (Awesome! Support your local library!). It contains 300 tree locations, pictures, maps, and many stories of these heritage trees. The avenue I stumbled across had no story in the book and is listed as containing 'various species'. Still it felt like a special place.

 You never know where a road will take you or what you might find. I never knew about the heritage tree project until a week ago. I will be keeping my eyes open for plaques and I will likely search out some of the interesting trees I read about in the book.

Thanks for stopping by, I enjoyed branching out into new material for this post and now I must leaf you. 🍁