McDougall Church

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, everyone! Have to admit that the only reason I drove as far as this location, on 26 March 2013, was that I was totally out of luck that day, as far as seeing any Great Gray Owls was concerned. Didn't want to go home with a completely empty memory card, lol! A sign at the church had the following words on it: "The historic church at the end of this pathway was constructed in 1875. At that time, native people were still hunting bison on the prairies. The young nation of Canada was only eight years old; the Canadian Pacific Railway still nine years in the future. And this church would become the heart of a thriving community, Morleyville, and for a time the largest settlement in what would be southern Alberta. The story of this church is really the story of Rev. George McDougall who moved to western Canada with his family in 1862 to minister to the fur traders and native people. In 1873, the McDougalls established the first mission in the region and built this church. In doing so, they wrote an important chapter of Alberta's settlement history". After George McDougall's tragic death in a snowstorm, his body was brought back to the church at Morleyville and laid to rest. www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=8788 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday, 2 February 2014, I went on an annual birding trip to Harvey Heights, near Canmore, which is near Banff in the Rocky Mountains. This year, we drove around the Water Valley area, NW of Calgary, en route, hoping that we might just be able to find an owl of some kind - nothing : ) Driving west from Water Valley, we passed this tiny church, which I have photographed a few times before. This time, I was able to get a quick shot through the windscreen of the church from a distance, as I was not the one who was driving. Have added a closer, previously posted photo, below. Thanks, Andrew, for another great day out in the mountains! A sign at the church had the following words on it: "The historic church at the end of this pathway was constructed in 1875. At that time, native people were still hunting bison on the prairies. The young nation of Canada was only eight years old; the Canadian Pacific Railway still nine years in the future. And this church would become the heart of a thriving community, Morleyville, and for a time the largest settlement in what would be southern Alberta. The story of this church is really the story of Rev. George McDougall who moved to western Canada with his family in 1862 to minister to the fur traders and native people. In 1873, the McDougalls established the first mission in the region and built this church. In doing so, they wrote an important chapter of Alberta's settlement history". After George McDougall's tragic death in a snowstorm, his body was brought back to the church at Morleyville and laid to rest. www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=8788

The tiny McDougall Church at Morley, on the way from Calgary to Banff in the Rocky Mountains.

This historic little church is along Highway 1a, west of Cochrane, Alberta. Taken on 18th October 2011 after a drive along Grand Valley Road. "The historic church at the end of this pathway was constructed in 1875. At that time, native people were still hunting bison on the prairies. The young nation of Canada was only eight years old; the Canadian Pacific Railway still nine years in the future. And this church would become the heart of a thriving community, Morleyville, and for a time the largest settlement in what would be southern Alberta. The story of this church is really the story of Rev. George McDougall who moved to western Canada with his family in 1862 to minister to the fur traders and native people. In 1873, the McDougalls established the first mission in the region and built this church. In doing so, they wrote an important chapter of Alberta's settlement history". After George McDougall's tragic death in a snowstorm, his body was brought back to the church at Morleyville and laid to rest. www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=8788

Another photo of the very small McDougall Church at Morley, on the way from Calgary to Banff. You can see the beginning of the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

A rare black and white image for me. I took a variety of shots of this tiny church that I love to see, but thought I would make this black and white one the first to be uploaded. Have to admit that the only reason I drove as far as this location was that I was totally out of luck that day, as far as seeing any Great Gray Owls was concerned. Didn't want to go home with a completely empty memory card, lol! I also stopped off at the Ghost River Reservoir, which was completey frozen over. A young guy was having great fun speeding around the frozen surface on his motorcross (?) bike. Not the easiest thing to try and photograph, but I might be able to find one shot to post sometime. A nearby sign had the following words on it: "The historic church at the end of this pathway was constructed in 1875. At that time, native people were still hunting bison on the prairies. The young nation of Canada was only eight years old; the Canadian Pacific Railway still nine years in the future. And this church would become the heart of a thriving community, Morleyville, and for a time the largest settlement in what would be southern Alberta. The story of this church is really the story of Rev. George McDougall who moved to western Canada with his family in 1862 to minister to the fur traders and native people. In 1873, the McDougalls established the first mission in the region and built this church. In doing so, they wrote an important chapter of Alberta's settlement history". After George McDougall's tragic death in a snowstorm, his body was brought back to the church at Morleyville and laid to rest. www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=8788

One of the beautiful (zoomed-in) views seen from the Morley Mission site on Highway 1A, west of Cochrane. Unfortunately, I had to take this pretty much looking into the sun, as I was there later than I had hoped. My day yesterday reminded me of why I have only ever done this drive once before! After finally leaving the house three or four hours later than I would have liked, I then found myself stuck on Highway 8 (Glenmore Trail) behind a house that was being transported to a different location. Crawling along at 3-5 kmh, we had to wait while people long poles and truck "lifts" to raise every single electrical wire that crossed the highway so that the house could fit under them. My destination was the Grand Valley Road area, hoping that I might just be lucky enough to find one of the Great Grey Owls that are occasionally seen there. No luck - no owls, and not a single Hawk, either. Did see a beautiful Red Fox run across Grand Valley Road, but in the distance. Also saw a Coyote. A few kilometres of road were being re-paved, which was a real pain. One young woman with a Stop/Slow sign told me to drive on the newly paved side, which I questioned with her - but reckoned she must know what she was talking about. Got to the next stop and the guy told me I shouldn't have been driving on it! Go figure! When I got back to Highway 1A, I decided I'd drive west as far as the little white Morley Mission church. Such a neat setting - will post a photo of the tiny church another day. Total kms driven - 248. Total hours out - 5 and a half. Normally, I never drive this far, but really, really wanted to go again. Definitely out of my comfort zone, though!

When I drove north west of the city the day before yesterday, in the hope of finding a Great Gray Owl somewhere along the Grand Valley Road (no luck!), I decided to continue driving westwards along Highway 1A as far as this beautiful little mission church. A large sign had the following words on it. "The historic church at the end of this pathway was constructed in 1875. At that time, native people were still hunting bison on the prairies. The young nation of Canada was only eight years old; the Canadian Pacific Railway still nine years in the future. And this church would become the heart of a thriving community, Morleyville, and for a time the largest settlement in what would be southern Alberta. The story of this church is really the story of Rev. George McDougall who moved to western Canada with his family in 1862 to minister to the fur traders and native people. In 1873, the McDougalls established the first mission in the region and built this church. In doing so, they wrote an important chapter of Alberta's settlement history". After George McDougall's tragic death in a snowstorm, his body was brought back to the church at Morleyville and laid to rest. www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=8788

I love the little McDougall Church, seen in the next photo posted today, especially the long, photogenic fence line leading up to it from the parking lot. These cheery Gaillardia flowers were growing against the side of the church. Kind of a "messy" photo, but there was just something I liked about it. www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/14709085082