Day 12 - Saskatoon Bound and a Great Airbnb

I have to start with last night! 

Ghostown Blues B&B hosted a concert last night.  Sean Pinchin was the artist. 

At around 7 pm guests started to arrive and a casual audience was formed.  What a lovely venue. 

Sean set up on the back porch and soon we were all enjoying his talents.

I took some short video of the event.

After the concert we sat around the fire for a bit and crawled into bed around 11 pm.

Unfortunately neither of us slept well.  May of been the wine, may of been the concert, may of been that we are moving on the next morning.  But we both woke up not feeling very rested.

We had breakfast at the lodge and we were on the road by 9 am.

Saskatoon is our end stop but we are not in any rush so we take a more scenic route.  

Kindersley Saskatchewan.... why well probably because of a friend I went to school with who moved here in the early 80s.  Linda Maisoneuve - I am not sure what happened to her but it is cool to travel thru the town that she lived in.

Plus we got a shot of line crew painting street lines!  So something to cross off our scavenger list.

Then we saw an ambulance, actually two with with their sirens on.

We really get a kick out of the scenes we see on the road.

That is one WIDE load

Spotted this cool truck in Kindersley, and as he drove off he smiled back at us.

We pull into Saskatoon.  The weather is lovely - but the farmers really need rain.

Still a bit too early to check into the Air bnb so we go for lunch and walk around the mall a bit.  We are tired and know tonight is going to be a relaxing night.

A few days ago when I knew when we would be in Saskatoon I reserved our Airbnb.  Here is the link to our Airbnb .  And remember if you are at all thinking of booking an Airbnb in the future, click on this link and register and you will get a discount off your first visit.  

Sandra our host messaged me the details for entry - which is great because it is a keyless entry system.  

second bedroom

second bedroom

As soon as we enter it is perfect.  You can tell Sandra knows what she is doing.  The place is decorated tastefully and all our possible needs are here.  First thing to do is a load of laundry.  The place is a two bedroom so we are able to put our suitcases in one and sleep in the other.  But there is lots of room here.

Check out the wall art in the master bedroom.  It tickles our fancy because this is exactly what we are doing -- travelling across our country.

We both feel very comfortable here tonight and we agree a nice night in is what is in order.  A bit of normalcy.  We order in and watch The Good Fight and the finale of Survivor while enjoying a drink.

So here is our scavenger hunt list today:

• Moose
• Deer
• Hitchhiker
• Eagle/Hawk
• Licence plates from every Province in Canada - but you can not count the province you are in.  So if we see an Alberta plate in BC then it counts, but not if we are in Alberta. British Columbia  Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon, and North West Territory
• Skunk - saw a dead one
• Sheep
• Beaver
• Goslings
• Buffalo
• Goat
• Owl
• Bear
• Loon
• Crane
• Prairie Dog
• Fisherman fishing
• Canoe
• Hummingbird
• Antique car on the road
• Old VW Bug
• Car broken down on the side of the road
• Helicopter on the ground
• Airplane on the ground
• Speeding ticket- hopefully not our own
• Ambulance with sirens on
• Dump truck
• Line painting crew at work
• Mail delivery person walking their route
• Cruise Ship (from Janice and Jim)

If you have any items you think we should add to our scavenger hunt list, let us know.

I have to now have two maps for the entire journey as Google maps only allows 11 stops.  We will see how many maps we end up with in the end.


So Today's Stats 
Driving distance today 400 km  
Total distance 2396 km

Day 11 - Maple Creek Saskatchewan

I should begin with last night.  After a nice dinner in town we are back at GhostownBlues B&B.  We are the only guests here tonight and we have the place to ourselves. 

A cute sign in town

Bernie builds a fire and we open a bottle of wine and we watch the night sky.  The sky is so beautiful.

We sleep so soundly and don’t wake until 8:30 am.  

Shower room is just a few feet away and it is a really nice bathroom.  There are three shower rooms on the property and many more toilets. 

Breakfast is included and Coralee has it all set up for us when we are ready.

We are back in the car around 10 am and our first stop is the Grotto Gardens for a coffee and to check out the cute store and the animals.  There are goats, donkeys and pigs.

We travel down highway 21 for 35 km to Centre Block Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. 

We stop at the entrance to pay the fee but when we get there they say that there is no fee currently on weekdays, just weekends until high season.  Hey we lucked out!

We are given a map and shown where some trails are.  But this map is really hard to read and I am really good with maps.

We take the road around the lake first and try to find a trail that they recommended but we just could not find the beginning of it. 

Canoe

We travel around the lake and look -- we got to see some canoes!

This park has a ton of amenities!  Certainly, a great place to spend with your family.

We stop at the lookout at the bluff.

This lookout is 1275 m high and it is said to be the highest point between the Rockies and Labrador.

Thanks to Laurel B she told me what we saw yesterday was a pronghorn antelope and we were lucky to have seen one.  

Well guess what we saw another one today!  Here is a sign about it too.  

isn't this sky beautiful

as we were on the trail I spot this deer cooling off in the trees, amazing they let me take a picture, about 30 seconds later it went running off.

We hike a bit for around two hours.  

Back in the car heading to town.  

I really liked the park but do have to say that their map and signage is really lacking.

adorable benches

We walk the town - it is not large (around 2,500 people) but so adorable and the locals are very friendly.

A quick stop to the grocery store for some supplies for tonight.  We have decided to cook at the site tonight.

We are so lucky as the Ghostown Blues host concerts and there is one tonight.  Sean Pinchin who is a 2017 Juno Nominee for Blues album of the year. 

Well I am off to relax and enjoy the evening.  Thanks for following.

So here is our scavenger hunt list today:

• Moose
• Deer
• Hitchhiker
• Eagle/Hawk
• Licence plates from every Province in Canada - but you can not count the province you are in.  So if we see an Alberta plate in BC then it counts, but not if we are in Alberta.  British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon, and North West Territory
• Skunk - saw a dead one, does that count?
• Sheep
• Beaver
• Goslings
• Buffalo
• Goat
• Owl
• Bear
• Loon
• Crane
• Prairie Dog
• Fisherman fishing
• Canoe
• Hummingbird
• Antique car on the road
• Old VW Bug
• Car broken down on the side of the road
• Helicopter on the ground
• Airplane on the ground
• Speeding ticket- hopefully not our own
• Ambulance with sirens on
• Dump truck
• Line painting crew at work
• Mail delivery person walking their route
• Cruise Ship (from Janice and Jim)

If you have any items you think we should add to our scavenger hunt list, let us know.

So Today's Stats 
Driving distance today 110 km  
Total distance 1996 km

Day 10 - Saskatchewan and I Found Heaven

When we wake we feel rested but a little grumpy, sure I am going to say the bad as well as the good.  We both are feeling it.  We need breakfast and coffee.  And maybe not in that order!

The hotel worked out well.  I should note that when we came back from dinner last night the room was still unusually warm.  So we called to the front desk and they moved us to another room that you immediately could tell the air conditioner was working.  And it has been very warm here recently.

We left the hotel around 8;30 am and got an espresso.  No communicating till it kicks in!  

But about a half hour down the road we are listening to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Podcast - Murdered and Missing Season One.  It is like listening to a murder serial of older days.

Today we are heading to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan and to visit the National Historic Site of Fort Walsh.

It is not very far.

Saw this hotel sign in Medicine Hat, Alberta, thought it was funny.  The rancher is holding a rattle snake.

We see a ton of Prairie Dogs - they are on the side of the highway, perched on their hind legs but we are travelling too fast to get a picture.  Will get a picture tomorrow.

Crossing into Saskatchewan!  Now we have travelled two full provinces.

Saskatchewan spelled backwards!

Sure is big beautiful sky country!

We arrive at Fort Walsh around 11:30.  

Fort Walsh is the first Royal Canadian Mountain Police settlement in Saskatchewan.  They came to take control of the area.  It started with the Cree Cypress Hills Massacre and the need for some rule of order.  Then the bootlegging with the American needed some control too.  Although the fort was not in use for very long because when the rail road came in it was further North in Maple Creek and the Mounties moved up there.

Here are some pictures of the site.

After spending around an hour here we are back at the car and we take our food and have a picnic.  Some Naan bread, cheese, fruit, and a salad. Just perfect.

We leave and we right away spot a pronghorn antelope all on it's own.  We slow right down as we don't want to hit it.  He runs across the street and then watches us from the side until he trots off.  

Then we see a baby horse or weanling.  Parents are protective so we keep our distance but get some nice shots.

I found this place to stay before we left.  I ended up booking two nights here a few days ago with it all being a surprise for Bernie. 

The place is called Ghostown Blues B&B.  This is just a special place.  We arrive and we have a note saying to make ourselves comfortable they will be back soon.  Wow so nice... we go to our cabin that we booked.  We walk around, we meet the dogs and then we rest on the porch for a bit until Caralee arrives.

She shows us around explaining each building and the history of the place.  

the first video is too long so may not show up, I will need to edit and repost later.

Tonight we are heading into Maple Creek for Dinner.  We have the entire B&B to ourselves tonight.  I think we will sleep like babies.


So here is our scavenger hunt list today:

• Moose
• Deer
• Hitchhiker
• Eagle/Hawk
• Licence plates from every Province in Canada - but you can not count the province you are in.  So if we see an Alberta plate in BC then it counts, but not if we are in Alberta.  British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon, and North West Territory
• Skunk
• Sheep
• Beaver
• Goslings
• Buffalo
• Goat
• Owl
• Bear
• Loon
• Crane
• Prairie Dog
• Fisherman fishing
• Canoe
• Hummingbird
• Antique car on the road
• Old VW Bug
• Car broken down on the side of the road
• Helicopter on the ground
• Airplane on the ground
• Speeding ticket- hopefully not our own
• Ambulance with sirens on
• Dump truck
• Line painting crew at work
• Mail delivery person walking their route
• Cruise Ship (from Janice and Jim)

If you have any items you think we should add to our scavenger hunt list, let us know.

So Today's Stats 
Driving distance today 306 km  
Total distance 1886 km