Day 84 - Saturday, August 23 - Homeward Bound!

This morning we woke up to sunshine, first time in a while.  This is promising to be a good day.  We are on our way to Kelowna to hopefully meet Ken and Dianne Riley for lunch and a visit.  We are anxious to get home now that we are so close!  

Our travels today will be short but beautiful.  We are driving through Greenwood and Midway and the scenery is exquisite - of course it helps that the sun is shining. 

Just firmed up plans for lunch and we are meeting at Costco.  We had a very nice visit and lunch and gave Ken the Fiddling CD we got for him at the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou in Cape Breton.  He was very pleased as he loves good fiddle music. 

Well we will soon be home and I must say we have had a fantastic journey.  Everyone should take the opportunity to travel our beautiful country.  

What are some of things that I will miss about our journey?  

The Sussex Golden Ginger Ale - I have become addicted to it!

Scotsburn butter, ice cream and milk

The music and the Ceidihls

PEI the gentle island and it's peacefulness

The fresh seafood and magnificent oysters

The politeness and laid back attitude of the friendly Maritimers

Our favourite places?

Baddeck

Digby

Old Montreal

What are some of the things that we won't miss?

The narrow, rough, shoulder less roads on the scenic routes

The directional signs hidden behind trees and shrubs

The lack of signs

And the high sales tax

But we loved it all and hope to visit Newfoundland one day.  

Home Sweet Home!

THE PILOT

THE CO-PILOT

AND THE PRINCESS!

THE END!

Day 83 - Friday, August 22 - The Kootenay Pass

The campsite we had last night was very nice - privately treed sites, much like the forestry sites used to be.  Still damp and rainy though.  Just as we leave the camp Dan says get your camera ready we are going to see some wildlife today I am sure.  He no sooner says that and a little plump black bear cub runs across the road in front of us.  Of course I wasn't ready and missed the shot.  But being back in BC is wonderful - there is no province like it.  In fact BC has the attributes of all the other provinces put together - here just for us to enjoy.  We have the Island with all the same weather that the east coast enjoys.  We have the north that has the same landscape as northern Ontario and Quebec.  We have the Ft. St. John area that is much like the prairies and then we have Merritt - the beautiful Nicola Valley.  From the oceans, to the lakes and the streams, the majestic snow capped mountains and the lush green valleys, our province is beautiful for sure and will always be home sweet home! 

Just out of Fernie - just drink in the view afforded by those beautiful mountains!  

And the views just keep getting better. 

At a little place called Erickson, just before Creston, they have many fruit stands selling fresh local fruits.  There are quite a few orchards that can be seen from the highway - it reminds me of Keremeos.  It must be very warm here for all the trees to produce.  

We stopped in Creston for coffee and I made a little lunch.  Creston is a very nice fertile looking valley. 

We are going through the Kootenay Pass and did not realize just how high it was - Dan said it was 5200 ft high.  We climbed and climbed and the Moho struggled to get up the last bit.  Coming down it is an 8% grade for 8 km - a long way.  Our brakes started to smell just before we hit bottom - good thing today is a cool day!  We stopped just after the summit for a look at the view in front of us.

And what we left behind us.

That was an experience.  This is the first time either of us has been through that way.  Pretty amazing scenery.  

We travelled through Castlegar to Christina Lake and then to Grand Forks.  It was a nice drive and finally the rain quit.  We got to Grand Forks about 4:30 pm and spent a nice evening visiting with Ken and Holly Lawson.  Dan was quite impressed with the little town of Grand Forks.  It is quite a nice, clean little town.  

Day 82 - Thursday, August 21 - Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump

There was a rainstorm last night and to was still raining this morning when we bid farewell to Maple Creek and the Province of Saskatchewan.   It was raining so hard the windshield wipers on the Moho had a hard time keeping the windows clear.  It was also a chilly 15 degrees when we woke up.  Not too far down the road we enter Alberta and the rain lets up a bit.  Omg the gas here is $1.089 - well we are filling up!  What a steal that is.  We went through Medicine Hat and got on the # 3 to Lethbridge.  Lots of farms around here and feels kind of homey.  It must be quite dry around here as they use both wheel lines and pivots for irrigation.  Fields and fields of fresh cut hay down waiting to be bailed, with the rain they will have to wait a few days.  The area we are driving through is called Cypress Hills, The Badlands.  

Looking for a timmies for coffee.  No such luck here! 

We are just going through Burdett and there is a sign touting that this is the home of the very first irrigation pivot in all of Canada! 

Just outside Taber I noticed a large field with a herd of Buffalo, but no sign to let us know any details.  Taber is bigger than we thought.  They have a timmies, yeah so we stopped and filled up on a ration of caffeine.  We also picked up some fresh Taber corn for tonight's supper. Mmm, good.  Fields of corn on one side of the road and turf on the other.  Quite the town Taber is.  Just outside of Taber is a McCain's chip factory where Don Stewart used to work years ago. 

It's still raining cars and dogs and as we go through the towns we note that the campgrounds and all around are very wet and muddy.  They must have had rain for a few days.  At Ft. McLeod we turn off to go to the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.  We hope we can get out and explore without too much rain.  It is still very cold and windy!   Oh my goodness we see mountains!  Feels like home.  

The Interpretative Centre had very good displays and short films on the history of the tribes and the jump.  

These are a few of the symbols used by the tribe to tell their story of the hunts.

The centre is built right around the jump site and you have to go up 6 floors and outside the building along a trail to the site where the buffalo fell over the cliff.  

This is what it looks like today, after many years of erosion.  They feel it was twice the height 3000 to 5000 years ago when the jump was very active.  Archealogical findings have told the story of how the tribes survived and for how many years that particular jump site was used.  It is amazing that there were millions of buffalo roaming the prairies that sustained a civilization for hundreds and thousands of years -  and then the Europeans came along and a way of life changed forever!  

This is the lower part of the prairie where the tribe had their camp - at the base of the mountain.  This made for easy access to the kill for cleaning and processing.  They would have enough meat and supplies from one good jump for the entire winter.  There was nothing wasted from the buffalo - every part was used for something to sustain the tribe.  

This was an awesome tribute to the Buffalo and the Blackfoot Tribe's survival.  Well done. 

So we have decided that it is too cold, windy and rainy to stay here - so we are headIng for BC via the Crowsnest Pass!  BC here we come.  The last of the Alberta trek on Hwy 3. 

Crossing the Old Man River just outside Pincher Creek.  

The Frank Slide in Alberta happened in 1903 and stands as a reminder of what disasters can happen when man upsets the balance of nature! 

 

A tremendous amount of rock buried the town.

Mountains - we see mountains ahead - what a beautiful site!  And here we are back in our beautiful BC! 

Sparwood BC is our stop for the night.  Hopefully we will have clear skies tomorrow so we can do some fishing.  

Day 81 - Wednesday, August 20 - Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

You know you're in the Prairies when - your nose is filled with the scent of fertilizer, all you can see on the horizon is green and blue farm equipment and the trees are located in clumps as wind breaks around the buildings!  

We are heading to Maple Creek today and maybe into Alberta depending on the amount of time Dan wants to drive.  We heard on the radio yesterday that Maple Creek has been voted the most authentic western country town across Canada.  

I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by - in just a few short weeks I will have to return to work and life will carry on as usual. Hmm, I have so enjoyed this trip, but we did not realize How much more time we needed for each province.  There are so many provinces and places we want to go back to - well at least we discovered that Canada is a truly amazing country filled with wonderfully proud people. 

This is interesting - we are on Hwy 1, between Mortlach and Parkbeg, and it is a divided highway.  We are driving along and notice that beside us are grain and hay fields.  Then across the other side of the fields is the east bound Hwy 1.  Interesting - maybe when the highway was constructed the farmers did not want to give up their fields - it's the largest median I have ever seen!  

Near Chaplin we just about ran over a group if ducklings on the freeway.  Along the road are salt sloughs and a salt mine.  A lot of ducks swimming around there - Dan says if you shoot one of those you don't need any seasoning - they come pre-salted!  Ha! 

The closer we get to Maple Creek the more the landscape is changing.  The flat prairie has given way to rolling hills of green and gas or oil wells pumping away.  Many purple hazed alfalfa fields ready to cut for the second time as the round bales are still scattered around.  The day has turned out to be warm and sunny with scattered white clouds.  The wind has died down and the driving is easy.  

We called up friends from Merritt that are now living in Maple Creek and they are going to be around - so we shall get together for a visit this evening.  Looking forward to that!  But first we need to find a laundromat and get the laundry done - uggh!  This is possibly the one chore, when travelling, that is the hardest to keep a handle on.  

Downtown Maple a Creek is real pretty with trees lining the streets and a picnic site that is right in the heart of the town. We went there to have our lunch.

We are at the Willowbend Campground and thought it very pretty as well.

We are going to have dinner with Don and Mary tonight - they live out towards Cypress Hills.  Looking forward to a good visit.  

Maple Creek is a bigger place than we thought and it is about 3000' above sea level.  Wow, it sure doesn't feel like it.  Don and Mary are getting settled in their new home and are doing major renovations - it will be very nice when complete. We had an awesome visit - Jenny even popped over for a bit!  Great end to a good day, thanks to the Stewarts for their hospitality.  

Day 80 - Tuesday, August 19 - Moose Jaw

Welcome to Moose Jaw!  Let me introduce you to Mac The Moose - he is 32 ft tall and is 30 years old! Mac lives at the info centre along with one of Canada's Snow Birds.

These two adorn the property at the unique Moose Jaw info centre.  

This is quite a colourful town.  The info centre also operates the Trolley Tour Bus - which used to run under electric power years ago - when you could get 4 rides for 25 cents.  Today the tour cost $12.00 per person!  We took this tour of the town and it was very interesting.

The City Hall used to be the Canada Post Office - beautiful structure. 

One of the affluent houses downtown.

The Tunnels of Moose Jaw. The underground tunnels spin a lot of stories of the days of gangsters and immigrant Chinese workers.  

Al Capone hid out here when the heat got too much for him in Chicago.  He had quite an affluent business during prohibition and Moose Jaw was referred to as Little Chicago because of the dealings that Al Capone and his gang had going on.

The tunnels were also home to the Chinese Immigrants that were working in the Laundries and the Sack Factories.  They were paid very little and had to live in deplorable conditions in the tunnels that connected the many businesses in Moose Jaw.  The tours were very enlightening - the tunnels have been made safe for tourists and even at that were a bit spooky.  I wouldn't want the life of a Chinese Immigrant in that era! 

The Capital Theatre has been restored and now hosts various theatrical events.

It was a very interesting day and the weather was very warm - 30 degrees.  But as soon as we were done and heading back to the Moho the skies started to rumble and then lightning shot across the sky - we just got back before the rains started.  A severe thunder storm is forecasted for tonight.  We leave in the morning and hope the weather settles before then. 

The one negative in Moose Jaw is that the streets are rough and full of potholes and lumps as well.  There is a group of potholes as you enter the campsite and one of them could eat up a Volkswagen bug!  Today they were crack sealing the Main Street and the road already looks like a zebra with many stripes!  

Day 79 - Monday, August 18 - Adios Manitoba

Monday morning and the skies are grey with the promise of more rain in the air - they certainly don't need anymore of that here!  As soon as we were within a very few kms of Saskatchewan my phone got service and I had many emails and a phone message.  Yeah, Karianne had a baby girl while we slept last night.  Abigail weighed in at 8.5 lbs and arrived at 4:47am on Sunday, August 17th - that is if I understood the message correctly.  Congrats to them all and glad everyone is doing fine. 

Back on Hwy. 1 heading for Saskatchewan and this is the landscape as we enter the province.

The sun is shining in Saskatchewan today.   We stopped at the info centre to find out a few things about some of the sights in Saskatchewan.  The attendant told us to take a little side tour into the Qu'Appella Valley.  So we decided to take her advice and see something other than beautiful prairie.  

This is along Hwy 9, just coming into the valley.  Who knew Saskatchewan had such hidden beauty? 

The Qu'Appella Valley was created millions of years ago by glaciers during the ice age.  

Round Lake was a Mission Site but now is populated and has many homes around it.

The road is a bit rough, but we have been over worse on this trek.  Crooked Lake Provincial Park is the next place along the route.  It is heavily populated with tourist resorts, lakefront homes and a few small farms.  The Qu'Appelle River runs through the two lakes winding it's way along the roadway.  Beautiful drive - it took us about 100 Kms out of our way, but was so worth it.  

Well it seems Dan needs a break and it is about 1:15 pm so lunch stop as well.  When we stopped we realized that somewhere along the road we gained one hour - another time zone change, so now we are on Mountain Time - same as Alberta.  We decided to get fuel in Regina as the Gas Buddy was reporting some pretty cheap prices. And yes - $1.19 per litre for fuel - hip hip hooray!  So not far now until we get to Moose Jaw for the next two days.  The Tunnels and Casino are our next destinations.  

Day 78 - Sunday, August 17 - Wild West Rodeo Daze

We got up early so we could go to the A&W for breakie before the day started.   Thinking of the Smiths and the A&W!  We got there at 7:20 am and it was already busy.  Off to the arena for an 8 am start for the Draft Horse Futurity.  Well we were the only ones there, other than the maintenance man and he said late starts on a Sunday are normal around there.  So we took a walk out to where the horses and rigs were, but no sign of any heavy horses.  Hmmm, well we went back and there were some people there and it looked like something was going to happen soon.  The first class finally came in - 2 year old halter horses.  Nice looking animals, very well groomed and big.  

There were 7 horses in the class all together.  The yellow horse in the picture was the one that won the class - Dan picked him as the winner as well. 

The rodeo slack started at 11 am so we wanted to be there for that as well.  They had a large number of entries that's for sure.  

Jr. Boys Steer Riding

Lots of entries for the Calf Roping and some good times too.

Steer Wrestling 

Entries from all over Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.  The slack didn't finish until about 2:30 pm so now quickly get back to camp, get organized and get back by 4:30 for the 5:30 perf.   Too early for supper so we'll eat after.  

Just prior to the perf the thunder rolled and the rains came in a blast, but then it was over before the rodeo started.  Good thing!

The perf was good.  They had the Draft Horse Rail Class and the High Point Winner crowned tonight as well.  It was very good and kind of amazing to see the 2 year olds so well schooled under harness. The yellow horse that Dan picked earlier ended up being The overall Futurity Winner.  He won second in the obstacles, first in the halter class and second in the rail class - good looking horse with size and ability. 

The performance was good with the top cowboys and cowgirls competing!   They had 24 little sheep riders during intermission - it was cute but a few too many kids for the number if sheep they had.  The sheep herder had an awesome border collie named Star, and he was a star, working the sheep and bringing them back to the pen and then loading them when done.  Those dogs are a pleasure to watch while they are working. 

The Bull Riding was tough - the bulls were top notch and bucked every cowboy off!  All in all it was a great two days of rodeo - there is something we enjoy about the smell of a rodeo arena - a mixture of sweet hay, straw bedding, dirt and cow / horse poop!  Mmm, good!  Just can't get that anywhere else.