On my way to Fort Assiniboia for a meeting I came across this abandoned service station along highway 33 (The Grizzly Trail). There appears to be an active community about 1/2 km to the west of the service station and there are mailboxes in the yard however it appears like this business has been closed for some time. Often I come across places like this with no explanation as to why they are abandoned. Someday I will find out the story behind this quaint little place.

My photography hobby has become one of an incredible wealth of knowledge. Traveling around this province I come across some pretty awesome sights. Here is a photo I took west of Sundre on the Trunk Road of one of the small bands of Feral Horses. The majority of these horses are descendants of horses used for logging, guiding and outfitting in the early 1900's. When these horses were no longer needed they were abandoned or released. The 2016 Feral horse count produced a number of 851 horses.

Traveling around Alberta always leads to some interesting adventures, one afternoon my friend Dale and I had been catching some great old abandoned barns and houses and we decided to stop for a snack. We ended up stopping in Caroline at the Longbranch Saloon, as we sat down I got the feeling of deja vu, I said to Dale, I have been here before. I worked in Caroline in 1970 on a seismic crew and we stayed in the old Caroline Motel. Well as it turns out the Longbranch is the old Caroline Hotel and I had sat in that bar 47 years before this, the tables and chairs and even the bar are all as they were then. This was another one of those trips that will stick in my mind forever. I had to call my brother and tell him where I was, he had also worked on the same crew but wasn't old enough to go in the bar at that time.

                                                              Lundbreck Falls
In all of my travels throughout this beautiful province of ours, one of the places I try to stop at often is Lundbreck Falls. It is a small falls that has a drop of only about 30 feet but it is breathtaking. It is backdropped by the lush forest, the modern of the railway and of course our beautiful Rocky Mountains. If you are traveling along Highway 3 between Lethbridge and the BC border, it is a quick 5-minute detour to the south of the Highway a couple km west of the town of Lundbreck. Don't miss it, this little falls is well worth the stop.

My friend Dale and I traveled to Southern Alberta one Saturday and one of our intriguing sites were the Windmills in Etzicom, Alberta, it is an amazing site and well worth the visit. The Canadian National Historic Windmill Interpretive Centre sits adjacent to the Etzikom Museum.The Windmill site encompasses the history of wind power utilization in Canada, it includes a collection of antique windmills. Over the last couple years of weekend warrior photography trips I have come across so many interesting and unique sites, it is a hobby that has turned into a wealth of knowledge.

While you are here, please have a look at and follow my two friends Blogs. They both photograph and document old abandoned schools and churches,

http://everybodyhastobesomewhere.blogspot.ca/?m=1

https://westofthefifthmeridian.blogspot.ca/2016/11/notre-dame-de-savoie-church.html?showComment=1478445499227#c5460761301384930493

                                                              Airdrie, Alberta Erratic.

Okotoks, Alberta Erratic.

As I travel throughout Alberta there are so many unique opportunities for special photos. I have been intrigued by the "Big Rock" west of Okotoks for many years and decided to do some research as to how it got there. In  my research, I discovered there are several more erratics in Alberta of various sizes, the one at Okotoks being the largest. There is one on the outskirts of Rocky Mountain House, I have not had the opportunity to photograph it yet. There is one about 1 km east of Airdrie and if you don't know it is there you will drive by it without seeing it. There is two more south of Fort McLeod which I have not had the opportunity to photograph yet either. These large erratics, according to scientists rode the eastern slope glacier and as it melted they were deposited in their now new homes. If anyone wishes to learn more about them look up the Foothills Erratic Train and there are several articles about the life of these "Big Rocks,"

The best days of photography are when you are just driving down the back roads and you come across an old gem. This little house is on a mucky side road in the Lindale, Alberta area, I was on a wrong road and trying to find my way back to the pavement when we came over a hill and there this perfect photo presents itself.

As we travel about northern Alberta, we find some of the most unique and very old homesteads. This one has been abandoned for some time yet there is a functioning hand pump in a water well in back of the house. This particular day was a rainy overcast day which made for some incredible colors popping out from the rain. The roads were a bit slick at times but all in all it was a fun day, travelling with Chrissy and Dale!!

Resurrecting my blog page.

Today is the beginning of the new Blog page from Shutterspeed Photography, as time goes on there will be new, cool and unique blogs involving my photo adventures.