Sights Across Canada

[SounderBruce 173]

Spruce is looking good!

[sEAhAwk fAn121 0]

I love Spruce Grove! So pretty!

[Follarch 327]

quite nice, once its filled out it'll look amazing.

[antsel 841]

As always, Spruce Grove looks great! I really like how low-key downtown is even though the sprawl is quite substantial.

[Deathtoall 28]

Nice to have you back Beebs! What excellent suburbs and commercial strips. Always a pleasure to get some inspiration from your work.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,939]

How lovely, nice little downtown. Quaint indeed.

Keep up the good work,

-Todd

[GreekMan 246]

splendid suburb! lovely area but why does everyone have to return to and fro Edmonton? What about Calgary?

you ppl in edmonton make me sick! =)

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull countryside my friend,excellent street /road going through,lovely mosaic

[GMT 389]

very nice downtown area, and the suburbs look fantastic!

waiting for more

[Tomasneto 20]

Very nice update!!! Beautiful city!!!

[ky72x 13]

Very nice W2W downtown, good to see a lot of variety. And... is that some traffic? Sweet. Same goes for the overview conclusion.

- Kyle

[absolute1 1]

your suburbs i think are almost second to none, they are inspiring

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Great work creating the essential small town downtown! The JBSimio and Spa buildings really go well together.

And GreekMan, there is no way people could commute from Spruce Grove to Calgary (assuming this Spruce Grove is like the real life one) unless the province went ahead with that high-speed rail project.

[Haljackey 17,398]

Great update beebs! I love how you actually curve your roads, making them look so much more realistic!

[Petrovar Ambassador 15]

that is one nice overview shot, btw, where do get those trees your using? they look fantastic!

[beebs 129]

Update time! Many apologies, I haven't any images to show off today. In place of that, I have something that may interest some of you.. the Abridged History of Capilano Valley. I'll be doing a history similar to this for all our cities in the CJ. Hope you enjoy!

First settled by Chester Capilano and his family in 1883, the area soon took up a place as a Rocky Mountain hotspot, between Jasper to the north and Banff to the south. As adventurous homesteaders moved west for a life of excitiement in this unexplored land, the town quickly grew as more and more people decided to stay in the peaceful wilderness of the Rockies. Jasper and Banff soon began to outpace the growth of the Valley however as new hotels were built by the Canadian Pacific Railways.. the luxurious Banff Springs Hotel in 1888 and the Jasper Park Lodge in 1912. Had the rail line through the Valley area been approved, the CPR would likely have put up a third luxury hotel in the Rockies.. one wonders how things would have changed if that had gone through.

Regardless, the town survived.. in 1905 it celebrated with the rest of the new province of Alberta as it and Saskatechewan broke off from the North West Territories and became Canadas newest provinces. Times were tough for the Valley, up until the mid 1930's when the Province of Alberta drew up plans for a new highway connecting Banff and Jasper, running through Capilano Valley in the middle. As a key central point in the construction, many workers stayed to live in the valley after World War II (the highway was completed soon after the war broke out, in 1940). Although a relatively unimportant town in terms of the war, the Valley was able to grab a headline in late 1944 when a Japanese fire balloon landed on the valley, causing a fire in the small downtown. The three man fire department quickly snuffed the blaze and were held as the town heroes for years after.

Enjoying its newfound connection with the rest of civilization, the Valley was soaking in the post-war boomtimes. Such was the growth, that by 1960 its population had nearly tripled, reaching 20 000 citizens and holding the position for the 4th largest city in Alberta. To accomodate this new growth, the Province of Alberta began work on a new provincial highway, to travel from Red Deer west until it reaches Capilano Valley. The David Thompson Highway (Provincial Highway 11) was completed in 1968 and brought a new wave of visitors to the Valley. Now tapped into central Alberta, the Valley was only a maximum 3 hour drive away from over 2 million people. This has continued the prosperity of the Valley area and today boasts a population of 60 000 strong. The Province of Alberta has began imposing strict restrictions on the growth so as to preserve the nature of the Valley around the city. Many naturalists are outraged that the city was allowed to grow so large and are petitioning the province to put an immediate halt on all new developments. As with most battles, this one will play out for some time (thankfully for the developments, Goliath is probably going to win this one.  

Moving to the future, the Valley is attempting to rebrand itself as a resort town, to deal with the new provincial restrictions. With more "part time residents", the city can continue its growth economically year round while staying at a relatively stable permanent residents population. Ambitious revitalization plans are in the works to bring some of the run down areas of downtown back to their old prestige, as well as creating a parkway along the length of the riverbank. With plans for the future in place, things look good to continue the Valleys success as a Rocky Mountain cornerstone well through this century and into the next.

And that's the history! Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.

deathtopumpkins: Thank you! That's rush hour traffic for ya.

mightygoose: Yeah, I forgot to plant a few trees .. thanks!

SWAT-MEDIC: Haha thanks

Muck308: Thank you!

ComputerGuy890100: Much appreciated!

sEAhAwk fAn121: Thanks, hawkers!

Archean: I'm hoping it will. Thanks!

selles: Thank you!

Deathtoall: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it

SimHoTToDDy: Thanks, todders!

GreekMan: Haha.. Calgary's a little far for a daily commute..

jacqulina: Thanks, jacky!

GMT: Thank you, hope you enjoy the history

Tomasneto: Thanks!

ky72x: I know eh? Who'da thunk my cities have traffic.

absolute1: Thank you!

edmonton_stinks: Thanks

haljackey: Hehe, thank you!

Petrovar Ambassador: Thanks! They're a part of cycledogg's stuff, I believe.

[GreekMan 246]

yes i did! thanks for the history info! really enjoyed it

[deathtopumpkins 43]

Nice history beebs! Sounds really interesting, so I look forward to the ones about the other cities.

[edmonton_stinks 5]

Cool little bit of history there. Maybe if Capilano Valley doesn't want to grow outward, they could try a bit of New Urbanism and build up instead.

[art128 4,622]

awesome region shot beebs, it looks real!

[beebs 129]

Update time! Here's our history of Red River!

For centuries before European settlers set foot on the shores of North America, the Red River area was a popular hunting ground for the Cree First Nations, hunting the wild buffalo that roamed the prairies. Some 50 km south of the current location of the city is an old buffalo jump site, where the Cree would drive herds of bison over a cliff. The area is now a provincial park and gives a clue into the historical culture of the First Nations people. After the European settlers made their way into the continent and the Hudson's Bay Company was formed, outposts were built across the interior of the continent, gaining an ever increasing reach for the trade of supplies and beaver pelts for the British Empire. On the banks of the Red River, Fort Souris was built as a minor trade outpost, 5 km east of the present day site of the city of Red River. It stood relatively unimportant for much of its early history, right through Confederation in 1867.

It wasn't until the North-Western Rebellion that Fort Souris gained a foothold in history. The CPR was furiously building its new railway lines into the western frontier when the Rebellion broke out. Needing a way to transport troops to quell Louis Riel and his followers, the young Government of Canada decided to use the new railway to get the North-West Mounted Police to the closest fort.. this being Fort Souris. Used as a staging point for the troops, the rebellion was quickly put down, Riel being tried and hung in Regina, in July of 1885. While one of the most violent points of Canada's young history, it was also a key cog in completing the coast-to-coast railway. The efficiency of getting the NWMP to the rebellion prompted the government to give the cash strapped rail company enough funds to finish the railway across the pacific, solidifying Canada's claim of the land north of the 49th Parallel.

In 1904, a year before the creation of the Province of Saskatchewan, the townspeople abandonded the old Fort Souris and moved a few kilometers away from the river, establishing the new village of Red River.. now, much closer to the CPR line and in line with a frequently travelled trader route. The town remained once again off the radar for much of the 20th Century, flitting onto the maps as the Trans-Canada bore its way through town in the late 1950's, giving it a solid connection with the rest of the nation.

Through the latter half of the century, the population slowly but steadily increased, peaking in the early '90s, where it remained stagnant for nearly two decades. Now, with the recent development of the Bakken Formation, a geological area which is predicted to contain massive reserves of oil, development has surged in the Red River area. With close proximity to the formation, railway and the Trans-Canada, Red River is poised to become the oil city of the south for Canada through the next decade and in the future to come.

_{^{Please note: Actual river location is east of the town (to the right). For temporary composition purposes, it was edited to the location you see.}}

And that's all for today, folks.. hope you enjoyed Red River's past! Check back next time for a quick peek back in time with Spruce Grove!

GreekMan: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

deathtopumpkins: Thanks, dtp!

edmonton_stinks: Indeed, there's plans for a few new midrises and such.. pending provincial approval, of course.

art128: Thank you!

[mightygoose 92]

aww man red river looks so realistic. that is a satellite photo, this cake is a lie, surely fantastic update my friend.

[antsel 841]

I love the history lessons for both towns. It was a great read. I love how realistic the region shots look too. You captured the Prairie Provinces really well.

[Godzillaman 21]

Enough teasers, give us a real update beebler...

[deathtopumpkins 43]

Now that is an excellent region view there beebs! And nice history too! You really put a lot of creativity into these.

[beebs 129]

Update time! Just a quickie, kind of a "Red River History Addendum".

As mentioned in the history, the old Fort Souris was approximately 5 km east of the townsite, placed on the bank of the Red River. While the original site has since been dismantled and is now a preserved site by the province, a small recreation of the fort has been built just upstream from the first home. Built with the original style and with similar materials, the fort seeks to show visitors what life was like for the early fur traders and what hardships had to be overcome, living relatively alone in the New World.

Still on the banks, it has been threatened by flooding more than a few times in its short history, being reconstructed in the mid 1980's. Somehow, much like the old fort, it has perservered through good times and bad.

Further north in the County of Red River, is the old buffalo jump used by the Cree nations. The Cree would drive the bison over the cliff, with another group stationed down below to finish off the battered animals. There are many locations such as this throughout North America.. one of the most well known being Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in south-central Alberta.. named after a poor soul who was at the wrong place at the wrong time at the bottom of the cliff.

Don't mean to end it off on a sour note.. but that's all, folks! I'm sure you enjoyed the break from History class.

mightygoose: Thank you! I'm glad you think it looks real

selles: Thank you, glad you enjoyed it

Godzillaman: Ask and you shall receive.

deathtopumpkins: Thanks, dtp! I should have the final history (Spruce Grove up soon)

[art128 4,622]

Nice fort there Beebs, It looks really nice with that nature around it.

Also, great mix of flowers.

Arthur.

[De Ja Vu 117]

Wow Beebs! This is amazing! The region view looks really great! Nice history btw!

[Abc987 3]

Great update, Beebs! The last picture is my favorite. I remember reading something about 'buffalo jumps', and it was cool to see it here and know at least a little about what you're talking about. I like your pond, too, but try to make the ending of the marshy-area around your pond a lot less abrupt. I use a mix of green and brown rye grass around it to make the transition smoother.

Nice update!