The morning was cold with a temperature of 12C, so hot coffee and tea was very welcome. We stopped at Poor Michael’s Emporium which has pretty much everything except for the kitchen sink. Here you’ll find books, records, clothing, jewelry, arts and crafts, coffee, pastries, etc. The store was packed with people and merchandise.
As we drove to Portage La Praire, the hills and trees slowly gave way to vast fields and meadows with some rows of trees planted to reduce the wind. Adjacent to the highway were railway lines and we were in awe of the several kilometre long trains pulled by two or three locomotives.
Portage La Praire has a Residential School Museum that we wanted to visit, but it wasn’t open on Sunday, so we spent the day in town and will visit the museum tomorrow.
We drove to the Island Park and walked around a bit enjoying the beautiful trees and water fountains. Lots of people were out having picnics and swimming at the waterpark.
The Prairie City Cinema provided the evening’s entertainment in the form of a foul-mouthed pack of dogs in the movie “Strays”.
“What a difference a day makes…” Summer seems to have ended and fall storms are moving in. We woke up to a very windy morning and it didn’t get any better. Dark clouds, strong winds, but no rain.
Our target destination for today was the Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. Along the way we drove through Dauphin and checked out the local mall. There were lots of empty storefronts and it didn’t seem to be doing all that well. The people were friendly and a group of women had set up a table to sell home baked cookies in support of people with brain injuries. We each selected our favourites – Martin, marshmallows with peanut butter and Ruth, cookies with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Right after buying our cookies, we saw with our own eyes how rewarding our purchase was when a woman with four young people with Down Syndrome came to the table. One of the girls showed her beautiful nail polish and couldn’t resist giving us a big hug. This was the best part of the mall visit.
We continued onward to Riding Mountain National Park and stopped by Moon Lake to see whether we could go for a swim, but there were signs about algae in the water. It didn’t look all that appealing so we continued on to the main campground. This huge campground has over 400 sites including quite a number of cabin-like structures and some that looked like tiny homes.
The nearby village has a beach, restaurants and shopping in addition to what looked like expensive private homes. We went for a walk there in the evening to check it out. The beach was a bit cold for a swim.
Today we had a quiet day to relax and not a single picture was made. Not that there wasn’t any excitement that we could have photographed like the black bear eating berries at the campsite directly across from us. We were sitting outside at the time having a conversation with a couple from Saskatchewan who were tenting in the site right next to the bear. Although the bear was not threatening and just minding his own business, the park wardens came around to see and later on in the day used some bear bangers to scare him away.
The other excitement was going for a long refreshing swim. A couple of native children accompanied us swimming and floating on an air mattress and we had a wonderful time with them.
After burning all those calories in the cool water, we had to replenish them and that was, of course, done with ice cream.
We had a really good time at the Fort Qu’Appelle Campground but now it was time to head to Canora. A really nice couple we met in Manitou Beach had told us that the Canora Co-op grocery store had the very best poppy seed pastries.
Along the way we heard a bang and a cracking sound above us and when we stopped in Canora we discovered that one of the small windows above the windscreen was shattered. Fortunately the K&T Auto Body shop was just across the street for consultation. They quickly came out with Gorilla tape and we taped the window up on both sides. When we offered to pay for the service both father and son refused to take any money. We did bring a smile to their face when we gave them a “gift” of a chocolate bar.
A call to our Roadtrek dealer confirmed that they have a replacement window in stock. What a relief!
Back to the poppy seed story… We were too late! As a consolation prize we bought some mini sticky poppy seed buns and they were totally fresh and delicious. A fresh, hot rotisserie chicken provided a quick and delicious lunch.
The same couple who had told us about the poppy seed pastries had also recommended the Duck Mountain Provincial Park. This park is on the Saskatchewan and Manitoba border and both provinces share the park.
We stayed in the Pickerel Point Campground with a beautiful view of Madge Lake. We were so lucky to get a spot for two nights right on the peninsula.
Our major point of interest for today was the RCMP Heritage Centre located at Depot Division in Regina, where all new RCMP recruits get their basic training.
After a warm welcome from the mascots we learned a great deal of the history and current day work of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police).
Our journey of learning started with a short video showing the 6 month training that new recruits go through. It involves lots of physical and mental challenges, even including getting pepper sprayed and having to continue fighting.
The RCMP began as the North-West Mounted Police, created by an Act of Parliament in 1873, to establish friendly relations with the indigenous peoples, enforce Canadian authority, pave the way for settlers and maintain law and order on the frontier.The original NWMP was 300 men strong.
When the Klondike Gold Rush began, thousands of would-be prospectors rushed to the Yukon and Alaska and the NWMP was there to keep the peace.
In 1940, the 32 metre RCMP vessel St. Roch was the first ship to navigate the ice-choked seas of the North-West Passage from west to east.
In 2004, the RCMP issued an apology to the Indigenous community for their involvement in the Residential School system.
A great exhibit highlighted the technologies, techniques and knowledge used to solve crimes. The great thing was that we didn’t just see information panels and images, but actively applied the our newly acquired investigative techniques to “solve” a crime. This was really exciting!
It was fascinating to learn of the various anti-counterfeiting measures used in modern day bills.
The next engaging RCMP member was a beautiful female shepherd who had successfully completed her training. Her handler showed the discipline, obedience and focus of this well trained dog and her amazing ability to catch balls while remaining on her ottoman.
Time for some nature, preferably with a lake and we found that at Fort Qu’Appelle. When we arrived at our waterfront site, it was very windy and the waves looked almost like ocean waves. The wind settled down as evening approached and we had a lovely sunset.
Fort Qu’Appelle was a Hudson’s Bay Company outpost in 1897 and the building still stands today.
After a lazy and comfortable morning we jumped into action beginning with a shower and thinking of where to do laundry.
When we passed the combine and tractor detailing station in Watrous, our van also cried out for some love and care. That request was fulfilled in Moose Jaw in the evening at an 8 bay power washing station for cars, trucks and RVs.
Old style grain elevators are common in this area although some are no longer in use.
We stopped in the town of Liberty to photograph their old grain elevator and parts of the town. One can really see how many of the smaller towns and farms are slowly being abandoned. At Manitou Beach we had met a couple that had farmed before retiring. Their children were not interested in taking over the family farm and it ended up being sold to a corporation. This seems not to be an isolated situation.
The Liberty grain elevator did not seem to be in use anymore and was in a pretty bad state of repair.
The street signs at the intersection of Victory Street and Prairie Ave tell the story of happier and more prosperous times.
We continued on to Moose Jaw to do the new Underground Tunnels tour called Bunker 24. In 2018 we had visited and done the Chinese Laundry and Al Capone tours, both of which had been very well done. The Bunker 24 tour tells the story of Canada’s growth as a country coming out of World War II and the Cold War that followed. It was a bit hokey and we didn’t think it was as good as the other two tours.
Lunch was at Rosie’s on River Street and Ruth tried Zack’s Dorito Burgerito, which is a burger wrapped in a tortilla with Dorito chips along with the normal burger fixings.
The were, of course, dogs nearby and as usually we had to pet them. Turns out their owners had studied at McMaster University and they had lived in Hamilton as well.
Now it was time for laundry at the Eastend Laundry which combines a Chinese diner/cafe and laundry. After the clothes were clean, the van got its well deserved wash as well. We expect better fuel economy now that there is less wind resistance from all the dirt.
Manitou Beach hosted a three day Chainsaw Carving Festival with carvers from all over Canada. Each of the carvers made a large piece and a few smaller “quick carves”, mostly of animals. Quite a number of people came out to watch, cheer and buy some of the sculptures which sold for hundreds to thousands of dollars.
We only saw the tail end of the festival when most of the carving was already complete. Mike Winia, of Bothwell, Ontario, was still working on a quick carve of a bald eagle and ended up finishing it in under 1.5 hours. Click on the video to see Mike at work.
The main carvings were quite large and exquisite and the town had a number of sculptures from these yearly events at various intersections.
Prizes were awarded, the top being $3000.
Manitou’s mineral springs have a unique mineral concentration that is said to be unique in the western hemisphere. It is said that they possess natural therapeutic skin and body care properties found only at a few places in the world (Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic and The Dead Sea of Israel). The Manitou Springs Mineral Spa has a pool to enjoy this water. The water is so rich in salt that it is impossible to sink and we just lay there on our backs like otters in warm water for 1.5 hours.
Today was mostly a driving day to get us to Manitou Beach were we will be spending a few days.
The vast open landscapes let us see the changes of the weather patterns. Localized rain from tremendously large clouds moved by the winds were fascinating to see but also made the drive a bit more exciting.
At one point we drove through some pretty severe rain and wind but it was over fairly quickly.
Nevertheless we were really happy when we arrived at our campground. We walked through the town and along Little Manitou Lake and watched a spectacular sunset.
Today was about the Royal TyrrellMuseum, a fabulous museum dedicated to fossils and the history of life on planet Earth. If you are in the area, make sure to visit!
The museum has lots to take in – more than we could absorb in one visit. It showed the development of life over many millions of years. Alberta is very rich in well preserved fossils from many of the time periods.
Scientists work tirelessly cleaning, identifying and preserving fossils that are discovered, many by construction and mining companies. An Alberta law requires that a palaeontologist examine any fossil found and larger construction and mining companies are even required to have one on staff.
Tetrapod are jawed vertebrates with two pairs of limbs with digits (fingers and toes). They include amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals – even you! The body plan is successful, adaptable and has allowed tetrapods to thrive on land and in the water for the past 385 million years. This particular creature is a Tiktaalik and is one of a species of tetrapod-like fish from the later part of the Devonian Period. These transitional fossils had both internal gills and rudimentary lungs that allow them to survive equally well in oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor waters.
The Dimetrodon were spiky and loved basking in the sun. It is possible that their sails were used for display to attract mates or to discourage competitors.
Drumheller is located in the Canadian Badlands and has an impressive display of rock formations, canyons and hoodoos. These were formed by the effects of erosion caused by water, wind and frost.
