Our View From The Road

Sharing where we've been and what we've seen

Tag: SK

Saskatchewan

  • Day 06: Grasslands National Park to Saint Claude, MB

    Day 06: Grasslands National Park to Saint Claude, MB

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    Wow, what a night! The stars were amazing out here and the air was so still and quiet. Barb did hear some coyotes early in the morning, but otherwise it was completely silent. A light fog hung in the valley when we awoke awaiting the sun to rise over the hills to burn it away.

    We completed our more rituals and prepared to leave, but not before exploring the drive along ‘The Parkway’ a 11km single lane paved road (with passing lanes) within the park that takes you to some very nice lookouts.

    At about 8:45am we drove out of the park with the intent to drive East along the southern border of Saskatchewan towards Manitoba. Our plans changed when we realized that finding fuel in this remote part of the country is a challenge. Most small towns have fuel stations that are useful only for those Cardlock members. We found a small gas station in Willow Bunch, SK that was open this Sunday morning so we stopped. It was the first station that I had been to in many years where you were allowed to pump without prepaying. It’s nice to know that towns still exist where everyone is expected to be an honest customer.

    Having fueled the van for 600km we reevaluated our route and choose to take the Red Coat Trail eastward towards Weyburn, SK. The route started nicely amongst the rolling grassland hills but soon the landscape changes and we found ourselves on the flat agricultural plain that most people equate with the prairies. The road was straight, and I mean straight, for miles and miles. The landscape was flat, and I mean flat, for miles and miles! Time goes by much more slowly when the landscape around you seems not to change.

    We stopped for a picnic lunch and changed drivers in Weyburn before continuing. Neither the road or the landscape changed and after some time we arrived in Manitoba where we stopped for fuel in Souris. The skies had darkened throughout the day and we were now driving through some light rain showers.

    We stopped to pickup dinner at The Happy Plate in Rathwell and drove a few more miles to Saint Claude, MB where we stopped for the night. The town has a wonderful municipal campground with grassy full-service sites. We settled in and enjoyed our dinner at a picnic table as the rain had not reached here. This changed at 10:00pm when a thunderstorm passed through.

    All for now. Our friends Mr & Mrs Milddogs (Dave & Liz) have just started their Fall van adventure to Nova Scotia. Follow their adventures here if you’re interested.

    Tomorrow, Ontario here we come!

  • Day 05: Writing on Stone Provincial Park to Grasslands National Park

    Day 05: Writing on Stone Provincial Park to Grasslands National Park

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    We both awoke early after a nice long sleep. Extremely quiet here but a little chilly overnight with the morning temperature being below 10°C. We made a quick exit from the campground and drove to one of the trailheads so that we could go for an early morning sunrise walk to look at some indigenous stone carvings for which the park is named. We also heard a pack of coyotes across the valley yipping and howling to each other, beautiful.

    Although a cross-country route to our destination was proposed by Google maps, we chose a slightly longer route that ensured a supply of fuel. This routed us North towards Medicine Hat where we would join the Trans-Canada Highway yet again. However, before getting to the TCH we made a small detour to the Red Rock Coulee Natural Area to see the odd collection of naturally formed large red rock boulders that occur in this single location. It might also be a future boondocking location as it is quite remote with no visible neighbors and a good sized gravel parking area. It would be a wonderful dark-skies camping location.

    The TCH today (Saturday) was relatively quiet with very few trucks thereby making the driving very easy and stress-free. We stopped at Gull Lake, SK for fuel and lunch at a small Bar & Grill in town. Simple food made well for a reasonable price.

    From Gull Lake we headed South and East towards the Eastern side of Grasslands National Park. We saw many Pronghorn Antelope along the way and miles and miles of straight roads across the fertile South Saskatchewan landscape. It really is a very beautiful place with the light and shadows dancing across the grassy hills.

    At about 4:15pm we pulled into Rock Creek Campground and setup for the night. We have an electrical site (30A) with a water tap nearby. There is no cellular coverage here and so we setup our Starlink Mini to provide us with ample internet bandwidth for the night.

    View from our campsite

    A quiet dinner watching the sunset across the grasslands and then a wonderful night time sky filled with stars. What could be better than this?

    Tomorrow we head into Manitoba in search of a free nights stay in Winkler.

  • Day 40: Getting the miles in

    Day 40: Getting the miles in

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    Well, no aurora viewing last night, oh well. We slept really well and got off to a great start for the day before 8:00am.

    The drive starts with what we thought was an early morning haze. Later in the day we’d discover that it is actually smoke from a wild fire in Northern BC.

    Early morning view
    Lonely road
    Hazy(?) day
    Google wildfire smoke map

    Barb started driving the day until we got to Moosejaw where we changed drivers and had a bite to eat & fueled up.

    Modern grain elevator
    CP train heading West
    ‘Mac the moose, Moosejaw, SK
    Snowbird, Moosejaw, SK

    Later in the afternoon we crossed into Manitoba and made our way to Brandon, MB where we again fueled up before driving our last leg into Winnipeg, MB.

    Tonight we are parked at a Flying-J. Tomorrow we head into Ontario.

  • Day 39: Mountains, Foothills, Prairies

    Day 39: Mountains, Foothills, Prairies

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    We awake at 6:00am and find that we were joined last night by two other campers in our secluded ‘wild camping’ spot behind the Independent grocery store in Fernie, BC. A few townies kept Barb awake for a while, but in general terms this was a wonderfully quiet place to spend the night. Also close to Starbucks, McDonald’s, etc. if you need/want breakfast take away in the morning before heading out. We had our usual coffee, banana & yogurt before heading out at 7:00am.

    Wild camping in Fernie, BC
    Early start
    Big truck in Sparwood, BC
    Train pulling uphill in Crowsnest canyon
    A view
    Majestic mountains

    We had decided to stop at the top of Crowsnest Pass for a cooked breakfast and take the time to really start our day. The road up the pass was not as steep or arduous as some of the passes we had driven yesterday, which surprised us and as such we arrived at the top fairly quickly. Time for quiche. Yummy!

    Crowsnest Pass, BC/AB

    Once fed and ready for the day we headed further into the mountains and arrived at Frank, BC the site of Canada’s most deadly rock slide. In 1904 the side of Turtle mountain collapsed and slid into the valley below. 100 lives were lost in the town of Frank and the valley was changed for ever. The debris pile is huge and from the interpretation center you can imagine the noise and dust that would have been produced that day.

    Frank slide, Frank, AB

    We traveled on to Fort Macleod in the Alberta foothills where we visited the “Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump” museum. This is a World Heritage Site and goes into amazing detail of how the Blackfoot people used the cliffs as a killing ground for herds of buffalo (bison) for thousands of years until the 1800’s. Built into the cliff, the museum building is worth the visit by itself; however, the stories of the people are the real captivating reason to visit. Highly Recommended.

    Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

    Continuing East on Hwy-3 we head to Lethbridge, AB where we stop under the railway viaduct in a park for a picnic lunch in the van. No trains passed over the viaduct while we were there unfortunately.

    Railway viaduct, Lethbridge, AB

    The day was heating up into the low 20’s as we headed further away from the mountains. Shortly before Medicine Hat we stopped in Seven Persons, AB for ice cream! Yummy, again.

    Ice cream break!

    We drove around Medicine Hat and headed toward the Saskatchewan border on Hwy-1, the Trans-Canada Highway. Shortly after crossing into Saskatchewan we stopped at the “Cypress Hills Winery” in Maple Creek, SK. This is another Harvest Host destination and we enjoyed a fruit wine tasting and had a glass of Rhubarb Wine with pizza for dinner. A couple of bottles might also have found their way back to the van as well.

    Cypress Hills Winery, Maple Creek, SK

    Tonight we are hoping to see the Aurora Borealis that so many saw last evening but we missed due to cloud cover. Fingers crossed!