Saunders

The town of Saunders no longer exists.  Once there was a coal mine there, and it operated from 1913 to 1954.  It is on the ridge up above the North Saskatchewan River, to the east of Nordegg.  Today it is a popular camping area and canoe launch point.  Lots of ATV riders camp in the area and ride the old rail line.  

We were out there earlier in the summer with our friends Chris and Connie and hiked in to the old steel span bridge near the townsite.  We also poked around a little and found the site of some of the old mine works... though there are no structures remaining.  At that time we also tried to find the old cemetery... without any luck.

I headed out to Nordegg on Friday and actually bailed out of work early... around lunch time... so I could get out there by mid afternoon.  I was meeting with the guy that sold me our security cameras.  Now that we have an internet connection he was coming out to set up our cameras so that in addition to recording, we can also monitor them remotely.  Between this, the weather station that I hooked up this past summer, and the smart thermostat that I installed last weekend, technology has really advanced things for me...  I feel like I've moved right on up into the 90's now..!

On Saturday I went out for a drive with my big camera and headed over to Saunders.  Unlike earlier in the summer, there was hardly anyone around.  One trailer was camped in the old townsite, and a couple of vehicles drove by, but that was about it for the three or four hours I spent there.

I wandered down some quad trails below the old townsite and eventually came to a bluff above the North Saskatchewan river.  There was a nice view from here of "The Gap" in the Brazeau range where the river exits the front ranges.  There were memorial markers here for a number former residents of the town.  I followed the trail along the bluff and eventually came upon the cemetery that we had been searching for earlier.  

The sign on the gate said it was the Saunders Baby Cemetery, but there were a few adults buried here as well.  There weren't a lot of graves here at all, considering the size of the town that once existed nearby.  I think there were about a half dozen children's graves, and two or three adults.  A rather eeire place out in the middle of the bush, particularly in the gloomy, overcast light that I experienced on this day.  Not sure if there is a second cemetery somewhere or if this is the only one that served the town.  It was some distance from the current road and not easily found unless you knew where to look.  Fortunately there was a sign at the old townsite that identified the location of a few of the things that were once in the area.  It indicates a second trestle bridge on the old rail line and one day I'll have to go looking for that.  I'm told all the old wood trestles are gone, but would like to check that out for myself.