Winnipeg and beyond

Saturday was a nice day of rest. We spent much of the day with my cousin Myrna and her daughter Tannnis then shopped for supplies to make lunches until we reach the west coast. We even found some Rogers Golden Syrup, a childhood treat for which my Dad is to blame. Then we managed a bit of rest at the hotel. On July 20, 1959. on the steps of the Legislature Building, Myrna was presented with her girl Guide “Gold Cord” honour by none other than Queen Elizabeth. We have the photo to prove it. Click through to the web page to see it.

We went to the bar for a drink and met a lovely young man with whom we talked for a good hour. He was from Phoenix and visited Winnipeg to escape the Phoenix heat. He has worked as a pharmaceutical chemist and petroleum engineer so we had some great if somewhat technical discussions. Gail says I will talk to everyone and it’s true. In the morning I chatted with a group of motorcyclists who operated a fund raising rate for the benefit of women’s shelters.

Sunday morning, September 11, finds us on the road again at about 7 AM. We started on Highway 1, Portage Avenue, right through the centre of Winnipeg. On any other day to be avoided but Sunday morning traffic was light and traffic lights were favourable. I recognized a few buildings from the 1960s when I was a frequent visitor to Winnipeg. There is a huge amount of construction throughout the city.

Today’s trip to Moose Jaw was only 650 km and we arrived around 2 pm local time, having lost another hour to the time change. Yes, the prairie is flat. However, to paraphrase Brent Butt on Corner Gas, “It’s wonderful. No mountains to get in the way of the view.” There are a couple of photos that kinda make the point.

Farms need lots of space and from time to time there are a cluster of buildings, often on a hill, which are the “control centre” of a farm responsible for cultivating the huge expanse of surrounding land. In days past you could see grain elevators in small towns along rail lines. Modern farms store grain temporarily in steel bins until transport is arranged.

Another common thing on the prairies is the insect and over a several hundred kilometre drive the front end of the car collects a representative sample of the insect population. When the car was parked at the hotel a host of other bugs, wasps I think, descended on the remains splattered on the car. Next stop, fuel and a car wash. Good bye bugs. There will probably be another layer to deal with after tomorrows drive. Bu that’s tomorrow’s story.