Not Recently Updated when last checked:

The VW Bus Comes to the End of the Road

I always wanted to have an old van and travel across Canada. Most of the time I was thinking of a VW Camper/ Bus. Now there won’t be any more of them. The VW Vanagan is being retired. Of course, you can get vintage VW’s still, or toys like this Matchbox toy VW I found on eBay.
vw1 vw2 Matchbox NR 34B Volkswagen Caravette Camper LT Green 1962 | eBay.

Resources for Urban Explorers in Canada

Canadian Urban Exploration

Whether you already live in Canada and like to explore or you are travelling through Canada and want to find places to explore and people to explore with… this post should help you track down resources online.

I will continue to add to this post as I find new resources.

Groups and Resources for Canada

Flickr: Abandoned Canada: Abandoned Canada
Flickr: Canadian Rural Ruins: Canadian Rural Ruins
GhostTownsCanada.ca: A photo gallery of Ghost Towns in Canada. Includes ghost towns that still have buildings, residents and those that are completely gone.
Canadian Military History by Bruce Forsyth: A Short History of Abandoned and Downsized Canadian Military Bases.
List of defunct airports in Canada – Wikipedia: List of defunct airports in Canada
Ghost towns in Canada: Photographs and stories on ghost towns in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the Northwest Territories.

Groups and Resources for British Columbia

Facebook: Haunted British Columbia: Haunted British Columbia
Flickr: Abandoned British Columbia: This is a place to share any photographs of places in British Columbia that have been abandoned.
Flickr: Vanishing Vancouver: This group is for photos of disappearing aspects, or little fragments of the city that won’t be around much longer.
Flickr: Vancouver “Then and Now”: We’d like to get photos of Vancouver “then” and now. Archival, your parents’ snapshots, whatever, and then a photo you’ve taken of the same area from the same angle as it stands currently…if possible, and placed side by side.

Groups and Resources for the Prarie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta)

Flickr: Abandoned Saskatchewan: Abandoned Saskatchewan
Flickr: Saskatchewan Ghost Towns: This group is about preserving a photographic legacy of Ghost Towns and near Ghost Towns in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Flickr: Unseen Saskatchewan: This group is about showing the hidden beauty of Saskatchewan. Whether it be rural decay, amazing skies, ghost towns, unique architecture or places in cities, towns and tourist areas that are rarely seen.
Flickr: Historical and Abandoned Alberta: Post your photos of buildings located in Alberta that are abandoned and/or of historical significance.
Flickr: Historical and Abandoned Edmonton: Historic, old or abandoned buildings in Edmonton, Alberta.
Flickr: Historical Calgary: Gathering old photos of Calgary and area, and taking new photos of the same locations to illustrate the changes over time that our city has seen.

Groups and Resources for Ontario

HubPages: Exploring Ontario Rural Ruins: My post on HubPages about being a rural explorer in Ontario.
Flickr: Ontario Rural Ruins: Ontario Rural Ruins
Urubex Barrie: Urban exploration blog from a Barrie based explorer.
The Exploration Project: Blog from an urban explorer in Ontario.
Google Groups: Urbex Ontario: Message board for urban explorers in Ontario. Must be approved to join – usually you need to be an active explorer and know someone who can vouch for you.
Urban Exploration Resource: Part of the large UER site for the Ontario locations.
Ontario Ghost Towns and Abandoned Places: Ontario Ghost Towns and Abandoned Places
Facebook: Abandoned Houses of Ontario: Abandoned Houses of Ontario.
Flickr: Ontario Canada Farms: Farms in Ontario, welcomes abandoned farm photos too.
Flickr: Northern Ontario Abandoned: Abandoned Norhtern Ontario locations.
Flickr: Abandoned Ontario: Abandoned Ontario
Flickr: The Decay of Quinte Ontario: The decay of Quinte, Ontario.
Flickr: Abandoned Niagara: Abandoned Niagara, Ontario.
Flickr: Thunder Bay in Decay: Thunder Bay in decay.
Facebook: Ontario Ghost Towns and Historical Places: Ontario ghost towns and historical places.
Exploring Ontario Rural Ruins: I’ve been photographing Ontario rural ruins since 2006, when I bought my first digital camera. There is something I like about the old, abandoned places in city, town and farm which I can only try to show in photographs.
Vanished Ottawa: Historical and vanishing Ottawa, Ontario.

Groups and Resources for Quebec

Flickr: Abandoned Quebec: Abandoned Quebec
Flickr: Abandoned Montreal: Abandoned Montreal
Flickr: Vanished Montreal / Montréal disparu: Post pictures of places, buildings or streets that aren’t there anymore or which have been totally transformed. You can also post vintages pictures of Montreal and ghost ads.
Flickr: Montreal, Avant et Maintenant: Montréal is a changing city. Let’s see the difference with before/now photos.

Groups and Resources for Atlantic Canada (East Coast)

Halifax Urbex: Halifax Urbex
Facebook: Atlantic Canada Urban Exploration: Atlantic Canada Urban Exploration

Groups and Resources in Northern Canada

Facebook: Abandoned Mines in Northern Canada Project: Abandoned mines in Northern Canada
Flickr: Abandoned Alaska and Yukon: Abandoned Alaska and the Yukon
Abandoned Mines in Northern Canada: Searching for histories within Northern Canada’s industrial landscapes.; This was originally posted on Squidoo. But, as my readership has never gotten off the ground my posts are being “retired” gradually. I have moved this to my own site instead.

To have all Military Cross-shaped headstones removed

Just think if they make them remove all religion from headstones will they turn it retroactive and have all the crosses removed from all the graves. What will they replace them with? A “thanks for your death” medal?

Below comes from an email forwarded to me:

The first to the last picture are taken at the beach in Santa Barbara right next to the Pier.   There is a veterans group that started putting a cross and candle for every death in Iraq and Afghanistan. The amazing thing is that they only do it on the weekends.

They put up this graveyard and take it down every weekend. Guys sleep in the sand next to it and keep watch over it at night so nobody messes with it.   Every cross has the name, rank and D.O.B. and D.O.D. on it.Very moving, very powerful.   So many young volunteers.   So many 30 to 40 year olds as well.

Amazing!

The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has filed a suit to have all Military Cross-shaped headstones removed.

And that they filed another suit to end prayer from the military completely.   They’re making great progress.

The Navy Chaplains can no longer mention Jesus’s name in prayer thanks to the ACLU and our new administration.

Keep forwarding this e-mail to others.   I’m not breaking this one.   I’m asking that you don’t break it either.

If I get it a 1000 times, I’ll forward it a 1000 times!    Prayer for all allied soldiers… please don’t break it!   Please send this on after a short prayer.

Please, let us pray: GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON!

From an Irish Estate

irishhouse1

irishhouse2

irishhouse3

irishhouse4

irishhouse5

I found these on a real estate site for Irish estates. This one is called the Mount Kennedy House. I don’t know what that style of painting the walls is called.

Finding and Exploring Canadian Ghost Towns

Exploring Ballycroy, Ontario

My first ghost town exploration (Ballycroy) fell pretty flat. I had found it on the map. I got my directions so I could drive there. I brought my camera, I was ready. I had read about the old town in a newspaper article about local history. There was a photograph of an old ruined stone wall and a vintage illustration of the original town as it once would have been.

But, the ghost town wasn’t there. Or, not much of it. I found one building remaining but it had been renovated from the old general store into a modern home. I didn’t see so much as the old outhouse left standing along side the house.

There were woods around but all marked as private property with “No Trespassing” signs up on the fences. I knew there was more, likely in the private property area. But, I didn’t know who owned it to ask for permission to explore farther in.

I did see the sign for the town of Ballycroy and a heritage plaque. That was my first ghost town adventure.

Ballycroy: The 1st Ghost Town that Wasn’t There

Exploring Malcolm, Ontario

The next time I wound up in a ghost town I found even less to see. One historical plaque to mark the spot, that was it!

I did drive down the road a bit and see some black young male cattle. They were romping around, beating each other up and doing other things you can imagine young men doing. I felt a bit sad, knowing they were likely to have a short life ending up on a plate in some kitchen or dining room. But, they were having a good time that day.

Malcolm: The 2nd Ghost Town That Wasn’t There

How to be a Ghost Town Explorer

Ghost town exploring is not all you would expect it to be. New explorers will find a destination and arrive there with great expectations. Just like in the movies.

Expect less and you won’t be too disappointed.

Sure there are some ghost towns with a lot more to see. These are sometimes tourist attractions now. If you really want to find a ghost town you need to go off the beaten path. I know of one which I may never get to see myself. It’s in an area which has become immersed under water most of the year. It is only reachable by canoe. There is a bridge which you could risk driving across, with the right vehicle.

Generally, ghost towns are just a memory and a heritage plaque.

Tips for Finding Ghost Towns

Read local history and make notes about the locations.
Read local legends, like ghost stories, and see if any of those towns have fallen off the map a bit.
Watch the local news and newspapers. Search their websites for ghost stories and ghost towns.
Go to your local library, try the history section.
Pay attention to the writers when you find a book about local history. Contact them and ask for tips on places to see.
If you can find a local paranormal/ ghost hunting group, join up. Show up when they get together to explore or give tours.
Look on Flickr, search for photos from urban explorers in your area. Try other photography sites with the same plan.
Join, and participate in, activities with your local historical society. Keep your membership card handy when you are out exploring.
A great map of your area, including back roads, is a huge help in finding ghost towns – especially once you are on on the road. Look at your map, observe dead end roads that seem to leave blank spaces on the map. Look for blank areas where a town might once have fit in.
Learn something about architecture, so you will know what you’re looking at when there isn’t much to see other than some foundations and the scattered remains of a building or two.

Guides to Exploring

There are Ghost Towns Across Canada

Photo Galleries and Resources

Historical Societies

[asa]1550464671[/asa]

[asa]0931551196[/asa]

[asa]1926613708[/asa]

[asa]1552774120[/asa]

[asa]1550027964[/asa]

[asa]1894974727[/asa]

[asa]1897426046[/asa]

[asa]155002812X[/asa]

World Wide Urban Exploration

Urban Exploration Directory (World Wide)