Summer plans, part 7: SK, MB

Part 1 - The prep

Part 2 - The trip west

Part 3 - Okanagan

Part 4 - Smithers

Part 5 - Eastbound

Part 6 - The badlands

Part 7 - Saskatchewan & Manitoba

Eastward bound, we hit the province of Saskatchewan.  Our next stop was Moose Jaw, where we stayed at the same inn that Lily and I had used on our way west a month earlier.

Back in the pool!

Complimentary breakfast

We spent some time downtown, checking out the murals that grace a lot of the buildings.

Next up was a visit to the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, a theatrical tour about Prohibition-era goings-on with links to Al Capone. No photos were allowed; it was quite worth seeing.

Then, downtown's Crescent Park treated us to some impressive sculptures carved out of the trees.

When Moose Jaw exhausted itself of cool stuff to offer, we hit the road again. This time we were headed to humbler accommodations: camping! As we drove towards Spruce Woods Provincial Park in Manitoba, the weather turned and we enjoyed driving through copious amounts of rain; we hadn't seen much (any?) rain in weeks. Despite the wet welcome, we enjoyed camping out for a night.

Sandy environs

Nearby was the Spirit Sands trail, a hike through the province's sand dunes. Walking in sand isn't particularly easy, but maybe it helped that it was wet. The downside of wet was, well, that we got wet! Rain was in the forecast, and it definitely found us.

Carrie was so gung-ho to hike, she even offered to carry Nora.

Had the weather been nice we would have spent more time exploring, but it was not to be. Once we were drenched, we called it quits and went back to the car to dry off and move on. We were already packed up from camping, so we started the two-hour drive to Winnipeg.

Soaked.

Ooh, it's Holland!

Winnipeg! The wonderful land of, um, I don't actually know. I do recall some restaurants and some zoo stuff.

We'd booked at the Victoria Inn, a hotel with a pool and waterslides. It was a busy place, unlike all the other hotels we'd been to. And the pool area... what a zoo! Insanely loud and busy. We let the kids have their hour in the water before we hauled them away.

I think they're happy?

One evening for dinner we went to P.F. Chang's, a Chinese chain I'd heard of but had never been to before. It was okay. Carrie had seen a busy Indian restaurant but the wait time was too long. Instead, we did a late lunch the next day at the Indian place. It was very good and enjoyed by all!

Summer plans, part 6: The badlands

Part 1 - The prep

Part 2 - The trip west

Part 3 - Okanagan

Part 4 - Smithers

Part 5 - Eastbound

Part 6 - The badlands

After Edmonton, we drove south to Alberta's badlands where the dinosaurs roam and where time is measured in zillions of years.

Our first stop was the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. Dinosaur stuff galore!

Upon leaving the museum, we went to check out Hoodoos Trail nearby. The terrain was fun to explore.

You may now play "Spot the kiddo"

We went to the town of Brooks for an overnight hotel stay, then the next morning it was off to Dinosaur Provincial Park to explore the terrain some more.

Then a bunch more prairie driving. Yay!

Even flatter than Ontario [gasp!]

Summer plans, part 5: Eastbound

Part 1 - The prep

Part 2 - The trip west

Part 3 - Okanagan

Part 4 - Smithers

Part 5 - Eastbound

Homeward bound!

Not too quickly though. We made our way to Prince George four hours away, to visit Carrie's uncle and stay there for a night. The girls were a little leery of the dogs and cats at first, but they warmed up in time. Our hosts were lovely, and good times were had (apart from the light beer). They let us crash in their motorhome overnight.

In the morning we were off once again. We had our sights set on Ancient Forest Provincial Park, which was supposed to offer a very nice walk in the woods. It is in the only inland temperate rainforest in the world. And indeed, it was very reminiscent of the wet and mossy forests we'd seen in coastal areas like Washington state.

The trees were impressive. A nice path/walkway had been built through the forest, and despite the wet conditions we (and our feet) remained fairly dry.

After walking the loop, we had a quick lunch and hit the road again.

At one point, the car indicated a low tire. Out came the little Ryobi inflator, and the problem was solved in minutes. It is good to be self-sufficient!

This may have been the only sizeable wildlife we saw during our entire summer drive.

And then we drove to Edmonton. Rich (brother) & Fen are beyond gracious, and nearly unflappable. Karin (sister) & Hank were also there with most of their brood, so it was a hectic commune. If I'd had to host that insanity, I would quite certainly have gone mad. But Rich & Fen aren't old and crotchety like me, so all seemed to go well. We hadn't seen much of either of the couples in Smithers, so it was nice to hang out and catch up, while the cousins all got reacquainted. The more useful people got involved in helping with building the addition on the house. I was not one of those.

I did more fulfilling stuff like split firewood.

Between zip lining, trampoline, pool, hot tub and pet cats, the gaggle of kids kept themselves busy around the yard. On top of that, we took them out for mini golf and other things.

Some play place in town where the ladies took the kids

Carrie and I had our anniversary while in Edmonton, and for the occasion we headed to the University of Alberta Botanic Garden. It wasn't spectacular (the water features even seemed to be running low on water), but at least we got out to do something.

We three siblings went and visited my uncle in Edmonton, who was suffering with an extremely aggressive cancer. For me, it was another farewell visit; again, very happy I got to see him yet.

Our stay in Edmonton was only four days. Never long enough. Better next time!