The Alberta Pacific grain elevator in Dorothy, Alberta, Canada

The old abandoned Alberta Pacific Grain company’s grain elevator sits just outside of the hamlet of Dorothy in Alberta. The “wood cribbed” design of these kinds of grain elevators can be seen in many places across western Canada. Most of these structures were built in the early part of the 20th century and have long been replaced by metal and concrete elevators. Since the land in most parts of the prairies is very flat you can usually see them from miles away however I just came upon this grain elevator as I rounded a corner in the Badlands which is not so flat. The badlands are full of alien planet like rock formations and make for some very interesting driving, hiking, and exploring. You can see just a tiny example of the layered rock formations in this photo but I’ll share some more interesting Badlands photos in future blog posts.

What makes the grain elevator really stand out in this photo is the warm sunset light that is hitting it. It makes the red paint really pop out against the blue sky and green grass. Sometimes just by luck I come upon a place just at the right time when the light is about as good as it could be. This was such a case. I was on my way to photograph the Atlas Coal Mine historic site not too far away and wanted to get there in time for the sunset so I had just a few minutes to get this shot, jump back in my car and make sure I got to my planned destination on time. Often times I find that it’s not necessarily the planned destinations that give me the best photos of the day but rather the unexpected treasure that I stumble upon getting to where I am heading. Much the same can be said about life in general I suppose.

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” ~ Don Williams, Jr.

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