A Few Days Ago at Zion Lutheran Church

Photographed near Horsham, Saskatchewan on February 13, 2025.

A Few Months Ago at Zion Lutheran Church

Photographed near Horsham, Saskatchewan on October 27, 2024.

A Beautiful Place Out in the Country

Greatly enjoyed my trip to the long abandoned Hurricane Lake Church.  I'd wanted to see it first hand for several years and wasn't even sure if it was still standing when I ventured out.  But, as you can see...   

Photographed north of York, North Dakota on September 16, 2023.

Snow at the Witch House

No trip to southwest Saskatchewan would be complete without a visit to the Witch House.  

It had been exactly a month since my last visit, and the views couldn't have been more unalike.  A month ago it looked like this: Sunrise at the Witch House

Photographed near Dollard, Saskatchewan on December 2, 2024.

Late Fall

Near Boian, Alberta.

Photographed on November 9, 2024.

Sunrise at the Witch House

On this occasion my visit to the Witch House was an illuminating experience. 

Photographed near Dollard, Saskatchewan on November 2, 2024.

Swaying in All Directions

Photographed north of Foremost, Alberta on October 17, 2024.

Elkhorn Township School #4

The largest of the four schools in Elkhorn Township and it's a real beauty.  The design is one of the grandest I've seen in all of northern North Dakota.

This handsome old school is only about four miles southeast of the third schoolhouse.  And, to see all four schools is only a seven mile trip through the countryside...and a beautiful countryside it is.  Time well spent.  

Little school out on the prairie...

...and bales.

The State Historical Society of North Dakota has done an excellent job of documenting the past, making their website invaluable when it comes to research.  I've spent countless hours "finding" new spots to visit on my road trips.  "Thank you" for all your dedicated work in keeping history alive.   

Photographed in Elkhorn Township, North Dakota on June 18, 2023.

Elkhorn Township School #3

As with the previous two Elkhorn schools, this one stands just to the side of the road in a lush green pasture.

The original building was quite small though obviously there was an addition at some point in time.  Doesn't really look like a purpose-built schoolhouse, does it?  In fact, on my trip through the area in 2017, I drove right past thinking it was probably an old homestead.  Further research a couple of years later revealed it to truly be an historical school.  

Elkhorn Township School #3 is only about a mile southwest of the second one.  

Some prairie roses blooming on the east side of the building.  Yes, I did stop to smell the roses. 

Photographed in Elkhorn Township, North Dakota on June 18, 2023.

Elkhorn Township School #2

The second Elkhorn School stands barely three miles west of the first one.

I love the design of both schools...small but elegant  And here the bell tower is still upright, just as it was when I visited in the fall of 2017. 

East facing windows meant lots of morning light for the kids early classes.  

The many ponds and sloughs all through North Dakota were full from spring runoff and rain so this red-winged blackbird must have felt right at home.

Photographed in Elkhorn Township, North Dakota on June 18, 2023.

Elkhorn Township School #1

Some photos from a spring road trip through parts of North Dakota last year.   

Elkhorn Township is in the extreme northwest corner of the state, and while researching the area, discovered there had been four schools built over the years for the ever growing population in the early days on the frontier.  

I couldn't find any specific dates as to when they were built or how long they were in service but was happy to find that all four were still standing...some in better condition than others.  This is Elkhorn Township School #1...ravaged by time but still holding on.  

This part of the world was settled mostly by people of Scandinavian descent, and going to school here was where all their youngsters learned to speak English...who in turn taught their parents.  Most everyone still living here are direct descendants of those Northern Europeans who originally settled the area.  In many ways, not much here has changed for well over a hundred years.  

Photographed in Elkhorn Township, North Dakota on June 18, 2023.

Sunny Afternoon

On my way back home later in the day I stopped to see the little fallen down church again...this time in the sunshine. 

Congregational Church was photographed near Gros Ventre-Tothill on March 14, 2024.

Foggy Morning

Was out to Saint Margaret's to help take down the Christmas decorations a few days ago.  There were patches of fog along the way there making for a new photo opportunity when I stopped the little fallen down church...I'd never seen it in a foggy landscape before.  Enjoy!

Congregational Church was photographed near Gros Ventre-Tothill on March 14, 2024.

Winter at the Witch House

A visit to the witch house is always intriguing.  

Photographed near Dollard, Saskatchewan on January 24, 2022. 

Abandoned Church in Larson

Have stopped in Larson several times over the years.  

This handsome, if neglected, old Lutheran Church is still holding its own.

A young hawk perched on top the spire...learning to fly. 

Photographed in Larson, North Dakota on September 14, 2023.

Farm House near Leeds

Large farm house, probably lots of kids and endless work on the farm.  

I wonder how often they had a chance to simply enjoy the view from the veranda?  Hope they made the time every once in a while.

Photographed near Leeds, North Dakota on September 16, 2023.

Madoc School

The former school in Madoc, Montana.

Had a nice visit with a father and son who were repairing a truck in their garage a little ways down the street.  

There's not much left in Madoc; some abandoned buildings, vehicles and machinery, a pair of old grain elevators, the train hasn't passed through town in decades...and that's just the way they like it.

I took my leave just as they were being called in for lunch by the head of the house.

Photographed on September 16, 2023.

Saint Paul's near Gros Ventre-Tothill

A long forgotten cemetery about ten miles northwest of the Cypress Hills in Alberta. 

 

It was active from 1914 to 1947 and, at one time, there was also a small church on the grounds.   

"Heaven is my home" reads the epitaph on this child's headstone.     

Saint Paul's Lutheran Cemetery near Gros Ventre-Tothill, Alberta was photographed on September 9, 2023.

Big Prairie Sky

We're currently in a deep freeze here in southern Alberta...definitely not good road trip weather.  So, in the meantime, here are a few pictures taken when it was good winter road trip weather.  

Gotta love the prairies...wide open spaces and an even bigger sky.

A five-minute drive will get me out of town and into the countryside.  Everyone should have that luxury.

Photographed near Winnifred, Alberta on January 28, 2017.

New Bruises and Broken Boards

As soon as I pulled up I knew something was distinctly different from my visit of just a few months earlier and quickly realized just what it was...the landowner had let cattle into the area to graze.  

Cattle are not particularly kind to old wooden buildings so the old church endured some new bruises and broken boards.  Sad to see.  

Glad the small cemetery nearby has a sturdy new barbed-wire fence that will keep it out of harm's way for many more years to come.

The Congregational Church near Gros Ventre-Tothill, Alberta was photographed on November 8, 2023.