Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Vulcan County

Wow, "Western Montana rattled by strong earthquake (5.8, after midnight last night) felt as far north as Calgary." I hope there will be no aftershocks this weekend, as I will be much closer to it! globalnews.ca/news/3578563/magnitude-5-8-earthquake-in-mo... This old farm house was part of a CPR (railway) Demonstration Farm. I will add a previously posted photo in a comment box below, showing the whole farm. "The home, the barn, everything seen in this yard once served a rather unique and special purpose. Operating as a fully functioning “demonstration farm”, near Vulcan Alberta, and tied to the Canadian Pacific Railway, it was a show piece of sorts a century ago, promoting the region’s agricultural potential. Prospective settlers would be told where to acquire land and of course similar farm buildings, what crops to grow and how to do it efficiently, what equipment to purchase, what techniques to use and so on. The CPR had a vested interest, of course, in the success of this endeavour. They’d profit both on the sale of these kit farms and then again, many-fold, on the resultant business brought to the railway through the moving of inbound materials needed by all those new settlers; and outbound agricultural products the area would produce. And the transporting of people in and out, all the stuff needed for new towns that would spring up, and any industry established there, they too all moved by railway. It was win-win for the CPR!" From bigdoer website. www.bigdoer.com/27596/exploring-history/cpr-demonstration... Canada Day, 1 July 2017, was a great day, spent with friend, Pam. I picked her up just after 8:00 am and did a long drive in Southern Alberta. We saw our target bird - a Common Nighthawk, and all sorts of other things including wildlife, plants and old barns. It took a round trip of 414 km to get the Nighthawks, but it was so worth it! Much further than I normally drive. Towards the end of our day, the rain arrived, accompanied by lightning streaks. This couldn't have been timed more perfectly, to wash off a lot of the dust that covered my car after 12 hours of driving hot, dusty roads! So welcome! We have another hot day today and the forecast is for very hot days in the low 30Cs for at least the next few days. It was such a thrill to see a Common Nighthawk / Chordeiles minor (a rather strange looking bird), as I had always wanted to see one actually lying on a fence post or wooden railing. People get such amazing photos of them like that, and that is what I was determined to find this summer. Last year, I had driven to this area in Southern Alberta, hoping to find one, but had been out of luck. Most of the Nighthawk photos I took five days ago were of Nighthawks lying on metal railings, but I was still thrilled to bits. We saw four individuals, together, and one was on a fence post - not the best angle, but it was still nice to see a fence post perch. How close we came to missing them! I said I wanted to just check the first part of a small side road first, before continuing on the road we were on - and there they were! I had seen a nighthawk on maybe five different occasions over the years, but most were in flight and one was perched very high up in a tree. For Pam, this was the first time she had ever seen one, and she was so happy to see this lifer. I was so tired after driving such a long distance and it was a hot day - the temperature got up to 30C. I so rarely do such a long drive, and I've barely driven all winter and spring. It felt so good to actually get out on a long drive like this, and we saw all sorts of interesting things that we just had to stop and photograph - of course! Every single time I go out with my camera for a drive, I never forget to be SO thankful to live in a country where I have the freedom and safety to go where I want, and to see such beauty. Thank you, Alberta and Albertans - and Happy 150th Birthday, Canada! Such a young country.

On 30 March 2015, I went SE of Calgary, driving the backroads through the farmlands. I had been meaning to drive further than I'd driven in that area, and this day I went as far as Vulcan. Just like I have done a few times before, I went on Google and Google Earth beforehand, searching for any barns that were in the new part of my drive. Nothing truly spectacular, but I did manage to find a few that made the drive worthwhile. 234 km total, 5 1/4 hour trip. I was so looking forward to reading about this old homestead and the barns and sheds that share the same old farmyard. So far, after just a quick Google search, I have found nothing about the history of the site. I posted a couple of closer views of the site the last couple of days. The weather was beautiful, with a sky full of clouds for at least the first part of my drive. What you can't see is that it was very windy, as it so often is in this whole area. You also can't see all the bees that were buzzing round my car a couple of times when I got out to take a few photos.

On 30 March 2015, I went SE of Calgary, driving the backroads through the farmlands. I had been meaning to drive further than I'd driven in that area, and this day I went as far as Vulcan. Just like I have done a few times before, I went on Google and Google Earth beforehand, searching for any barns that were in the new part of my drive. Nothing truly spectacular, but I did manage to find a few that made the drive worthwhile. 234 km total, 5 1/4 hour trip. I was so looking forward to reading about this old homestead and the barns and sheds that share the same old farmyard. So far, after just a quick Google search, I have found nothing about the history of the site. I posted a closer view of the top of the windmill a couple of days ago. The weather was beautiful, with a sky full of clouds for at least the first part of my drive. What you can't see is that it was very windy, as it so often is in this whole area. You also can't see all the bees that were buzzing round my car a couple of times when I got out to take a few photos.

This old, wooden grain elevator was seen on 14 April 2014, when my youngest daughter and I spent the day driving some of the backroads SE of Calgary. There used to be a row of five elevators here, but now only one remains. "There were 1,651 elevators in Alberta in 1951, but by 1982 a total of 979 elevators remained. The 1990s spelled the death of the wooden “country” or “primary” elevator. At the end of the 1990s, as the full impact of both of the ending of the Crow Rate in 1995 and further impending rail abandonment was felt, the pace of demolition accelerated at an unprecedented rate. At the end of the 1996-1997 crop year, there were only 327 elevators left. Alberta’s largest cooperative grain companies, the Alberta Wheat Pool (which amalgamated with Manitoba Pool Elevators in 1998 as Agricore) and United Grain Growers, ultimately formed a new corporate entity known as Agricore United in 2001, issuing issued public shares. Demolition of country elevators has continued, and in 2005 there were only 156 wooden elevators of any kind still standing, only a handful of which are used by the grain trade. The Government of Alberta has recognised the significance of the traditional wood grain elevators, and has designated 12 as Provincial Historic Resources. They are located in the following communities: Andrew, Castor, Leduc, Meeting Creek, Paradise Valley, Radway, Rowley (3 elevators), Scandia and St. Albert (2 elevators)." www.grainelevatorsalberta.ca/articles/HRM-history.pdf www.bigdoer.com/8049/exploring-history/prairie-sentinels-...