**Warning - no quilting reported in this post**
Last Saturday I spent the day with my mom and dad leisurely traveling the backroads of Southern Alberta. It was such a beautiful October Fall day.
We were going back to my dad's growing up years. It was so fun to hear the stories and see the places. In all my years growing up I had never been there.
We started out at the Crowfoot Cemetery. The Cairn is all that is left of the cemetery itself. It is in the middle of a farmer's field and in the middle of 'nowhere'.
My dad's brother (Ernest Koop) passed away when he was only one.
What a special memory to be there with my dad!!
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We then took a drive just down the road from the Cairn to the old ferry crossing which has been shut down since the floods of 2013. You can see where the water came up to and how it cut into the bank.
The sky was unbelievable that day.
From there we went to the Bassano Dam. Dad recounted school picnic outings there many years ago.
Even there you could see the evidence of the floods. Look at all that beautiful sand from the river bottom.
Then it was off to the old homestead. Can you imagine raising six children in a house this size? I don't think those years were particularly prosperous.
Dad told stories about sliding down the roof of the old barn. Looks perfect, don't you think?
Just a hop, skip and jump from the old homestead was the Gem Cemetery. Apparently, the church used to stand in the same yard.
My grandpa's cousins are buried there. I think dad said that the Dyck's sponsored Grandpa to come to Canada from Russia.
One last stop in the hamlet of Gem. All that is there is a bank of post boxes, a church, a couple of houses and a school. I see on the sign that they just celebrated their 100th birthday!
My mom and I had been talking for quite some time about stopping at the cemetery where her grandparents (my great grandparents) are buried. Again, I had never been there. Took us a while but we found them. (sorry mom, was the only picture I had of you by the grave site)
The only thing that I regret was that I didn't take some quilts to photograph with some of the old buildings and gnarly trees we saw!!
So after a busy day, travelling the country roads, I can't resist but end with another beautiful sunset picture taken the very next night.
Make happy memories this week!
Shauna
