Picture taken while on the backroads - May 2018
So many roads so little time.
It’s a dream of mine to roam the roads of Canada with camera and journal in hand and find all the nooks and crannies of forgotten places. Perhaps one day it will become a reality but in the meantime we take little trips around our province. I journal about our days and organize my photos, all of which will one day become a book that may provide more financial backing for further trips abroad. I write down what I can find out about these forgotten places either from first-hand accounts or from research on the internet, slowly putting together a record of their passing.
There are some collections of stories and histories already but not many from current years, most are 30 – 40yrs old already and even their authors may have passed into the annals of time. Alberta is so rich with what I call “current” history, it’s not hard to find or learn, as most of it took place in the last 100yrs or so, which in comparison to other provinces isn’t long. The “wild west”, prairie settlers, gunslingers, moonshiners, gold rushes, coal towns, railroads… so much of what we see in westerns took place here. Strong men and women of both endurance and character. Families weathering the years of hardships and blessings. Slow expansion of society and civilization. Loss of traditions, loss of land, loss of peoples the almost extinction of species. Our history is not pleasant, but then what nation’s ever are?
Learning about our past, the forgotten places, the events leading up to their abandonment, these are the things that may help us to unlock the doors to a better future, a more fixed and resolute future, a future that we can be proud of.
Until next time my friends,
Tim