Ghost Towns

We decided to take advantage of the Labor Day long weekend, the last one of the summer, and head off on a longer trip.  My two eldest daughters and I voted to go and explore some ghost towns.  Mom reluctantly agreed but she would have much preferred the mountains.  The forecast in the mountain parks was calling for snow, and the campsites are just too busy over the summer months...  So the two older girls played hookey from school on Friday, I closed my shop, and we set off, once again to the southeast.  We stopped and checked out an old store along the way...

Evening found us in Youngstown, and we stayed in the town campsite.  We were the only campers there.  The girls enjoyed the local playground while I photographed an old Edsel.  The next morning we moved on down the road.  An abandoned warehouse with old skylights caught my eye so we rolled into town and checked it out.  Pretty soon we were the center of attention and all the locals came to see what we were up to.  There was the usual suspicion that we were surveying, but it some became evident to them that it was a camera mounted on that big old wooden tripod.  We met a half dozen locals and we were even let in on some of the town gossip.  It was obvious that at least one local had some appreciation for this old warehouse, while most of the others thought it an eyesore and wanted it torn down.  We found the mood a little odd, and despite invitations to stay for the night, we moved on.

Evening found us in a ghost town over in Saskatchewan.  We parked the trailer on the side of main street and  set up "camp".  We spent that night and the next day wandering around and checking out all the cool old stuff.  Up to this point the weather had been great... mixed skies, highs in the low 20's, and light wind.  By Saturday evening it became a little cooler, more overcast, and the wind picked up.  We had some showers overnight.

The next moring, after poking around a little more we moved on and drove a big loop through the edge of Saskatchewan, back north and then west into Alberta.  We found a couple more interesting places along the way and stopped to take a few more photos.  Sunday evening found us back in Alberta, passing through Provost and on to Captain Ayre Lake near Czar.  We stayed there for the night.  The next moring was very cool, overcast and windy and there was a fall like chill in the air.  But, it was my middle daughter's 5th birthday so we opened gifts and had a big breakfast of bacon and eggs.  As we travelled on to the west the skies cleared and the weather improved.  Mid afternoon found us in Lacombe, and we decided to check out the Corn Maze.  The girls had a great time there.  We eventually packed up and headed for home, making it back in time for supper.