As I sat down to do this write up, I was apprehensive about sharing one of my favorite sites in my exploring catalogue. It has been such a source of inspiration and joy over the years to bring friends and family to this enigmatic playground of decay.

The long road down to the research base is desolate and stunning.

In my early years (as we all learn in turn), Facebook posts and old blogs became the staple of my research on sites that might fly under the radar. Someone had posted grainy photos of what seemed to be a sizeable, abandoned ranch “somewhere in southern Alberta.” Needless to say – this became my obsession to find for the next 24 hours. A couple of photo searches later and I had my target. One four research base. As we do, I scoured the internet for articles and news clippings about its status. Funny enough, before it switched hands from government entities (which we will get into in a moment), it was publicly accessible on foot traffic only – as long as you stayed out of the condemned buildings.

The provincial government at the time had a small webpage dedicated to its site’s accessibility; you could e-mail your intentions ahead of time and confirm dates. I later found out this was used by hunters in its final years to access the buildings for shelter on an honor-based system. I hastily sent out a e-mail but never heard anything from the government in return - little did I know this was an outdated service that was never pulled from the internet.

The remote location and time of season during my first adventure posed some interesting hurdles. The location wasn’t at the ends of the earth, but it was remote enough that cell service was nonexistent; this combined with early winter heavy snowfall – it was a gamble If access was even safe to attempt. I would have loved to tackle this one on my own – but having a partner was the safer bet.

“Hey Mom, you want to go explore an abandoned mansion in Calgary and then drive another 4 hours to a remote research base and have a look?” without a skipping a beat: “mike that sounds amazing – when do we leave?” long pause, it was such short notice on my part as I had called her on Wednesday; “Does Friday afternoon work?”

“Let’s do it!”

The substation base had a deep history of agricultural research that helped change farming/cattle grazing practices province wide. It all started in 1927 when a small-scale farmer named L.B. Thomson setup a small camp examine top soil, research local vegetation, and prepare for upcoming grazing projects. The camp was a success and to expand research efforts, it grew and soon an office, small field lab and cook house was erected; in-between 1929 – 1935 2 residence were built on site to house more remote workers. In 1931 the first phone line was brought in and used right up to its closure. Even in the age of technology the station only ever had the accessibility of dial up internet. Years passed and the ranch’s capabilities grew again; from 1939 to 1958 More housing for staff was erected along with the general store, school and the stunning assembly hall.

With the ranch expanding exponentially growing; its research could evolve and grow with it. It began to focus heavily on the management procedures for handling, treating, and marketing cattle. With the need for updated facilities, they pulled trigger on some magnificent upgrades. In 1998, the site saw a new calving facility, a large office/laboratory, and 2 hospital pens.

The ranch spanned over 42,000 acres with over 500-1000 cattle used for studies, and for the next 15 years it was oasis for ranchers hidden away in southeast Alberta. In 2013 AG Canada and federally run funding was cut – the lease was changed over to the province with shared management by the U of A. Staff and resources were eventually moved and the base was shuttered permanently. I can’t pinpoint the exact date but in August of 2013 the province reached out to the federal government to assess the remaining buildings that weren’t already condemned. (The base was built in a flood plain, and water damaged for many years.) They stated it would take three years to assess everything, but from what we saw – nothing was done or ever put in place to save the structures. In my opinion the base is a money pit and is too remote to remediate the larger issues it has endured.

So in November 2019 my mom and I were south bound heading into the unknown.

Beautiful craftsmanship hidden around every corner.

The part about One Four that always blew me away, is how quiet the ranch is. When we arrived after an enduring seven-hour drive it was near dusk and we were wiped. It was amazing to be in the middle of nowhere never see a single soul, all with exception of a random prong horn or hawk – we were truly alone; and the lack of noise pollution was deafening. These are the moments that are truly addictive about this hobby; to be somewhere few have been – and experience an ambiance few will understand.

What unfolded on that first night made my heart jump out of my chest, I couldn’t believe the volume of structures left behind. Every corner we turned was another building to explore. The wind started to howl and he light diminishing – we couldn’t leave without having another crack in the daylight. “Mom we need to come back tomorrow, there’s too much here for us to walk away.” She smiled and let out a tired sigh, “Your right, let’s do it Mike, could be fun what we find.” Magic to my ears.

Our first time on site was rushed do to dwindling sunlight - but there’s always tomorrow!

Well rested and our excitement pouring out of us, we buzzed about what else we could find in the day light. The base seemed even more tantalizing this time bathed in the golden glow of the morning sun – we were there ready to meet it in all its glory.

We started off dissecting the site starting with the lab. Everything, and mean everything was left behind – bed, curtains, books, typewriters – desks and the holy grail: all the lab equipment. It’s as if time stood still – you could palpably hear in your head the busy chatter of scientists and ranchers alike coming together to share their finds.

Most of the residences were atypical, empty shells with little left behind beyond a couch or two. But there was one small bungalow that was stuffed with toys from the late 80’s to early 90’s that seemed as if a family was out on a road trip only suddenly to return – but alas all was quiet.

The community hall was a beauty – upon entering the main doors, we were greeted by a large pool table still in fairly good shape. The interior had seen better days and heavy water damage was evident. Upon returning on other visits, my friend and I set up the remaining chairs and snapped some stoic photos; hoping future explorers would appreciate the efforts that went into the setup.

The mess-hall was such a fun place to shoot, took us a hot minute to setup the chairs, hopefully future explorers enjoyed the ambiance as we did.

Once you were on site time seemed to slip away, you could spend an entire twelve-hour day exploring and never run into a single other soul along the journey. It was for the main part safe, and overall, an absolute urbex playground for photography.

For this being her first large scale site, my mom was ecstatic to part of something this special. When you try and describe what you do for a hobby, few people get that light bulb moment; for her stepping into that lab was exactly that. She lamented later how much it thrilled her to be walking amongst so much history left behind, so many questions left unanswered. We spent over 2 days exploring the site and I knew I needed to come back again.

So the following spring I went back again, then again and again. Every visit rendered something new creatively and the final cherry on the so proverbial cake was on my last expedition in blazing summer heat of 2023.

I have a sensationally creative friend – Craig. He is a multitalented human who pours every ounce of his being into the ether that is art. On our second team-up to capture the essence of his upcoming album I suggested we head back into the decay; it could offer an opportunity to capture the imagery he was after. Here we go again, another trip to One Four with another friend – but this time with a enormous bill of creativity. I couldn’t wait to hop in and get down to business – but things changed over the years, and we were about to encounter it head on.

When we initially arrived, everything seemed to be in place. Fence lines, buildings, all dotted the grasslands as they normally have. But the main gate was chained, and new signage ensued. Odd, I had e-mailed the government with little response yet again and decided to take a chance at what we would find; we didn’t drive six hours to turn around empty-handed. It started out normal, dissecting each building one by one – trying to find a place to setup shots for craig. Then we heard sniffing scratching outside the Lab then the sound every explorer dread’s: loud barking. We scrambled and walked out the back into the mess hall entrance, but whatever dog was present – knew exactly where we were and decided to give chase. And then we saw it – the fearsome but tiny blue heeler mix tearing up a storm through the grass tail wagging – and soon after the screaming sound of a sided by side with a burley looking rancher behind the wheel -crossbow packed up high with a .22 in his lap.

“Gentlemen what are you doing here? You can’t be here.” Cold and straight to the point.

“Hey I’m sorry, we didn’t mean any offense or disruption of any work you may have going on here, I understood this base was owned by the province, and we could walk through it on foot?”

“Well, I graze my cattle through here and thieves are always smashing down the gate trying to knab things, the feds have an interest in this place again due to the weather station up the hill, but the rest is leased by the province. Midge here, I’ve trained her to find gents like you.”

I laughed out loud “She sure did a great job, what a beautiful dog you have. Look, Alvin we came all this way to do something very innocent: take pictures for my friend’s album, I’ve been here multiple times respectfully – any chance we can wander around for a couple of hours and then head out?”

The thoughts going through his head must have been wild. But he smiled and let out a sigh: “Alright, you have a deal – just stay to this area and don’t go in those buildings that leaned over and your good. Ill come back after lunch for ya.”

And like that we were golden.

We spent the next few hours setting up some of the most striking photos I have ever taken at the ranch. It was an absolute scorcher of a day, and Craig was happy to get through it all unscathed.

One of the greatest assets one can have in this hobby is the gift of communication and active listening. It has gotten me out of more than one intense encounter.

With our time up, true to his word – Alvin came by and took us to the gate in his side by side. Thanking him profusely, I asked him for one last request: could I take photo of him and midge? He seemed confused at the request but happily obliged; it’s an endearing photo that I think encapsulates the partnership of human and dogs. He smiled and mentioned if were ever in the area to come over for dinner – something I still need to take him up on.

Its been three years and the mystery continues with this gargantuan site. Alvin’s info puts things into a different perspective; the federal government released all control to the province and the U of A, so coming back so many years later seems odd. I found a newsletter dated from the university in June of this year about a tour to take place that following month. Alvin had also mentioned they were thinking of knocking the entire site down – which in my opinion arguably won’t happen for a while; the cost of demolition is astronomically high and with its remote nature seems out of the ordinary to happen.

If there is one thing I have taken away from the many adventures that were had; sharing the experience with my closest loved ones was always enriched the exploration – as I firmly believe we all have that desire to see what lays beyond and to put ourselves in places few would dare.

The Lab / Office: