Bar U Ranch near Longview

Bar U Ranch, National Historic Site.

While enjoying unusually warm days in October I decided one day to drive further away from Calgary, to prairie. Unfortunately, clouds cover over prairie turn my attention to to the blue sky over Foothills and nearby plains to the west.

There, I begin my driving adventure on the bare plains. Found two lonely grain elevators (in Cayley and area) standing against strong winds. Then I realized - to the west is a world famous Bar U Ranch. ... (more)

Grain Elevator - Lonely Survivor !
Grain Elevator, Lonely Survivor, the majority of grain elevators in...

Country Road
Country Road accross the prairies west of Cayley. You can imagine life...

Between Prairie and Foothills
On the way to Bar U Ranch. It was here were huge herds of bison used...

Lands of Bar U Ranch
In 1877 the Canadian government negotiated Treaty No. 7 between the...

Bar U Ranch, National Historic Site
Built in 1881, it was a large ranch encompassed almost seven townships...

To Honor the Ranches of Those Early Days
Dedicated to respect the initiative, resourcefulness and persistence of the...

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Stud Horse Barn
Note in the first plan of this picture, ROUGH FESCUE which is a native...

Cook House at Bar U Ranch
This is the place were plates full of hearty ranch food were served as...

Storage Sheds
Used primarly for food to be served at the Cook House. The majority...

Shed

Blacksmith Shop
Shoeing was an extremely busy task . Bar U Ranch was the breading place for...

Farm Machines
In the early days all farm machines were powered by horses. Later with the...

Equipment Shed
These sheds were used in the winter as a place for storage and some...

Farm Truck
Trucks like this were used to transport feed to cattle in winter, and...

Barrel at Cook House
You can imagine how much work was done by the cook to cater for te working...

Cook House and Storage Sheds
In 1891 the Census of Canada records a total of 18 people at the Ranch. Year...

Dairy building and Pekisko Creek
Behind Dairy you can see parts of the Corrals and Squeeze grounds. In 1882,...

Rancher
This sculpture, larger than life, is a very picturesque subject...

Branding
Hot Iron touch cattle a hide) to brand them. The Owners know their own cattle...

article published 10/24/2003

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A Way of Life
My maternal grandfather homesteaded within walking distance of Bar U Ranch from 1902 - 1911. I am gathering information for a Family Tree Scrapbook, and your pictures express the feeling of the area better than anything I have ever seen. Congratulations!
— Margaret Brien, February 13, 2004

Proficiat zeer mooi. Romain - Belgium
— Romain Cornelis, January 5, 2004

I loved this set Rafal.... your new fan Lorraine, Regina
— Lorraine Brecht, October 30, 2003

An excellent collection which gives a great feel for the place. I particularly like the third photo.
— Steve Axford, October 26, 2003

Nice bins (as my UK friends would say)
I've never been to Canada before, but I must say...after seeing your pictures I might be tempted to make that my next visit! Yes, I enjoyed the lonely tree picture the best. I think it really captured the isolatedness of such expansive countryside. Keep up the good work!
— Jeremy Blair, October 25, 2003

Hoi Rafal
He great photo!!I love the tree first photo..so Mooi!!Thanks
— Truus Stotteler, October 25, 2003

I am amazed at how you are able to capture some old farm implements or even a barrel and convert them into objects of delightful visual contemplation.... You certainly have a great eye for photography!
— gung gung, October 24, 2003

Excellent. Thanks for sharing.
This is such a beautiful country in the fall. For anyone that wants more about Percherons, check out http://www.worldisround.com/articles/17632/index.html
— Dwayne Jenkins, October 24, 2003

Fred Gordon
Hi Rafal - as usual a grand set of photos and commentery, regards
— Fred Gordon, October 24, 2003

"A ranch almost the size of a state!"
252 miles, that's a pretty big ranch! Perhaps it's even bigger than Rhode Is.:) So, 10,400 cows & almost 900 horses for only 18 people back in the late 18th, that's a lot of livestock to handle! Looking at your fine pics, it seems like there's still only 18 people managing the ranch today:) It's so eerily empty & quiet. BTW, the sights looks very much like the agricultural states down here, such beautiful prairie land with occassional grain elevators & storage sheds. Cheers!!!
— Rico, October 24, 2003

Another great Job!
You do such a superb job with your presentations that I look forward to each and every one. Keep them coming.
— John OConnell, October 24, 2003

Hi there!
What a wonderful pictures Rafal. Thank you for sharing, I ejoyed very very much!
— Marja Konimaki, October 24, 2003