We’re off on the road, bound for Lethbridge, Alberta. Of course we’re not going to take the most straightforward route. We’ll start off with a visit to Mossleigh, Alberta and home of three grain elevators. Then we’ll hit up the village of Arrowwood and do some Geocache maintenance — and check in on another grain elevator. Oh, and Emily rides a frog too!
From there it is more backroads and gravel roads as we work our way through to Milo, Alberta and — you guessed it — another grain elevator. Finally, we make a quick drive to Lomond, Alberta before leaving you with some scenes of driving through the southern Alberta prairie.
Rowley, Alberta is a classic prairie ghost town and the heart of the town is Sam’s Saloon. Every month (except December), Sam’s comes alive as visitors from all over the province descend on Rowley for “pizza night”, a fundraising effort used to preserve the town. Sam’s wasn’t always a saloon. It was originally a combination of cafe, butcher shop and store.
Sam Leung was a Chinese immigrant and operated the business from 1941 – 1968. After the business closed, Sam retired to nearby Rumsey where he died in 1971. We’ve been to Sam’s Saloon many times and documented Rowley on the channel multiple times. But we never took the time to find the final resting place of Sam Leung.
A month ago eight of us scoured the Rumsey Cemetery looking for his grave marker. We didn’t find it. Now, armed with more information, Emily and I return to find the final resting place of Sam Leung and pay our respects to the man who is synonymous with the legend of Rowley.
With the opening of Haskyane Legacy Park, having a pathway linking Cochrane and Calgary, Alberta became one step closer to fruition.
This section of trail is part of the Trans Canada Trail and links Haskayne Legacy Park to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. We decided to set out with our old mountain bikes and take a ride from Glenbow Ranch to Haskayne.
Along the way we got to see the old post office from the ghost town of Glenbow, lots of prairie scenery, and even a couple of trains.
There is plenty of parking at both end of the trail should you choose to stage vehicles like we did. The trail is paved the entire way between the two parks and bathroom facilities are available at both ends. If you travel from Glenbow Ranch to Haskayne the trip is mostly downhill. Our one way distance was about 11.5km.
It’s a bit of a different adventure for us as neither of us have done much bike riding in the last few years.
Once a month, the quiet ghost town of Rowley, Alberta, buzzes with life and the delicious aroma of baking pizzas. On the last Saturday of every month (except December), locals and visitors alike gather for a tradition that’s as heartwarming as it is mouthwatering: Pizza Night.
Livery stable and grain elevator in the town of Rowley, Alberta. Photo by Dan Overes on June 30, 2028.
Sam’s Saloon, a relic of the past turned into a beacon of community spirit, opens its doors wide, as does the community center across the street. Here, volunteers work tirelessly, serving up hundreds of pizzas to eager guests. It’s a night where the air is filled with laughter, conversation, and the shared joy of a simple slice of pizza.
But Pizza Night is more than just a culinary event; it’s a lifeline for the community of Rowley. Every dollar raised goes back into preserving and maintaining this unique town. Rowley stands out among ghost towns — it’s not abandoned but inhabited by a resilient few. Its buildings are a mix of authentic pioneer structures and movie set facades, creating a backdrop that’s part history, part Hollywood.
Our latest video takes you beyond the pizza and into the heart of Rowley. We explore Springwater School, one of the last stone schoolhouses on the Canadian prairies, and delve into the legend of Sam Leung, the namesake of Sam’s Saloon. His spirit is rumored to linger in the very building that once housed his cafe and butcher shop from the 1940s until 1968.
So, join us on this journey to discover Rowley — a place that’s part community, part theme park, part ghost town, and entirely enchanting. It’s a story of how a small Alberta town keeps its history alive, one pizza at a time.
Have you experienced pizza night in Rowley? Have you ever been to Rowley outside of pizza night? Please share your experiences in the comments.
Disclaimer: This blog post was crafted with the assistance of an AI, which utilized the original words and descriptions provided by me. The narrative and content were generated through an AI’s interpretation and composition abilities to enhance the storytelling experience.
Southern British Columbia is a not a place I have spent a lot of time in. Yes, there were some long weekend trips to Creston as a kid, and the camping trip I took with my dad in 1985 when I cut my foot open in the creek in Cranbrook, but it is not a place where I have had the chance to do a deep dive.
This week, many grain elevator and historic places groups broke the news that one of the two grain elevators in Creston would be coming down shortly. Indeed, the word was that “deconstruction” had already begun.
The grain elevators in Creston, BC are seen in this photo taken August 17, 2013. Image by Dan Overes.
One of the grain elevators, the red one seen in the photo above, has been a story of successful preservation. The white elevator, seen in the background, has severe structural issues which necessitate its removal. While efforts will be made to preserve the historical artifacts and some of the lumber, the fact remains that any grain elevator loss is impactful.
There aren’t many examples of two grain elevators remaining together. We’ve recently lost the pair at Dankin, Saskatchewan and Elva, Manitoba. The pairs at Neidpath, Neelby, and Lepine (all in Saskatchewan) are in bade shape.
British Columbia never had many grain elevators, and you can count the remaining ones on one hand. I believe outside of the two in Creston, the only other one is in Dawson Creek, but I could certainly be wrong on this.
I don’t know exactly when the white grain elevator in Creston was built. One source says 1936 and another says 1937. We do know that it will come to an end in 2024. We’ll do our best to get out there and get some more photos and drone footage.
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