Located just off of Highway 22 south of Longview, Alberta the Bar U Historical Ranch serves to display the history of ranches in the Foot Hills of the Canadian Rockies. It is quite impossible to miss this towering cowboy on the corner where you turn west.
My 2016 Alberta visit found me purchasing two books co-written by Hank Pallister. He was raised in Turner Valley on the Lineham Ranch and spent 42 years in service to the Providence of Alberta duties which I will sum up as a brand inspector. Smoke from the Branding Fire and Bulls, Brands and B.S. are full of stories painting a picture of life in the early ranch life of Western Canada.
Early life at the Bar U ranch is described in Hank Pallister’s book Smoke from the Branding Fire.
The buildings that make up the ranch site display what life used to be like for the Western Canadian Cowboy.
I visited the Bar U when attending the Historical Ranch Rodeo. We entered through a museum complete with a gift shop and concessions. The gravel road leads down into a valley. This bridge ….
takes you over this creek.
The dirt road leads to other barns and the rodeo arena.
A well constructed wooden alley guides stock into a chute.
A closer look at the chute used to doctor cattle, horses or perhaps brand? Any thoughts on this? Please share in the comments if you have insights. I was fascinated with the pulley system.
Another place to add to my bucket list cause I did not get to explore the stud barn or the foaling shed the day of the rodeo.
Guess I am going to have to start making plans to visit Alberta again!!
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