After leaving Kindersley on the morning of August 26th... our visit with Jack still fresh in our minds... Chris, Connie, Rueben and I made a stop at Alsask. This town on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border was once a Cold War era military base. It was part of the Pine Tree Line, an early warning system that was intended to detect an invasion from the former Soviet Union, coming over the Arctic. The base was once home to thousands of military personnel. It now sits largely unused and abandoned. Some of the barracks are privately owned and have been converted into residences. The recreation center, with it's swimming pool, has been taken over by the town of Alsask, and is used by the residents. There are a few detached houses that are still occupied... mostly used as rental accommodations for tourists and hunters.
Just down the road in the townsite there are still many occupied homes. We checked out the abandoned hotel and school, but this is not a ghost town and is still home to a number of residents. Originally there was a main railway line through town. That line is still used, but it now terminates a short distance to the west in Oyen, and does not continue beyond there as it once did.
I thought the place was pretty cool and worth some further exploration. Unfortunately on this day we did not have time to hang around as we all needed to be back home that evening. Another one to add to the "To-Do" list...
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