A couple of extra notes before we head out on the next leg of this exciting journey.
Yesterday I (Greg) met a wonderful couple from New Zealand who are on their second trip to Canada travelling on a pair of BMW 650s. They shared with me some of their adventures. It was delightful to hear that the tent they have with them has been around the world a couple of times. Unlike most adventure riders we have encountered, Cathy and Sinclair not only know where Edmonton is, but are actually on the way there. To follow their motorcycle adventures on their blog (click here).
Another important and little known fact about Canadian history originates from Winnipeg and centers around a gent by the name of William Stephenson. Stephenson did untold numbers of amazing things during World War 2. He was even bestowed the honour of being knighted as Sir William Stephenson. Stephenson became a hero of mine many decades ago when I read a book about him. Stephenson did a lot of behind-the-scenes things during the war. He was an integral part of Camp X. (You don’t know about Camp X, tsk tsk(click here)). Stephenson became one of the top operatives for the British MI-6. And he was renowned at the time for his love of gadgets. One of his co-workers at MI-6 took quite the interest in the activities of Stevenson and started writing fictitious stories that were inspired by those activities. Have you figured it out yet? The co-worker was none other than Ian Fleming and William Stephenson of Winnipeg was of course the real life James Bond. And again, I stress that William Stephenson LIKED GADGETS. The book about Sir William Stephenson is A Man Called Intrepid and is written by William Stephenson. For more about Sir William Stephenson (click here).
We left Ils des Chenes (30 minutes from Winnipeg), where we had stayed for the last three days and headed out to Saskatchewan. We weren’t entirely sure where we were heading or staying for the night but knew we were going in the direction of Moose Jaw. Greg mentioned that Qu’Appelle might be a good spot so I looked up RV places and we were lucky enough to get a spot in Indian Head.
The prairies were so different than they were almost 2 months ago when we headed east on our trip. While yellow is not my favourite colour there is something that is pleasing about field after field of canola in bloom. The yellow is deep and rich. I find also that I enjoy riding in the prairies as the roads are not hemmed in by trees so it feels more open and inviting.
We had forgotten the time change so were a bit early for check in so stopped in the town of Wolseley. It was so quiet and we only saw two vehicles and a couple of people on the street.
We parked and decided to go find the swinging bridge that we had seen advertised on a billboard along the highway. We saw a coffee shop but the sign said closed as they had gone into the city (Regina?) for supplies. We did find a store open and they had all sorts of soaps and other crafty stuff. The soaps etc were made in the basement of their store.
The gentleman who ran the store told us we needed to see the court house as it was the first court house in Saskatchewan, built in 1894 . It no longer is occupied but after it closed as court house it served as a jail and then a home for wayward boys.
The swinging bridge crossed Fairly Lake and indeed did swing. Another highlight was the original town hall that was really lovely. It now is used for the opera. We never learned about the opera but wondered who were the singers as the town’s population is about 800.
We then headed out to our home for the night. It was a tad warm (31C) but luckily there was a bit of a breeze. As we only had a 15 amp site we couldn’t use our air conditioning. Hopefully it will cool off overnight.
And just as I am ready to publish this, the power goes off in the entire town of Indian Head and a big thunderstorm is rattling the sky.
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