May 30 to 06 02 - Travel from Arizona to Medicine Hat, AB

Yeah, it was time to leave Arizona.  As much as we love Arizona, we spent way too much time in the one area.  It was great to hit the road once again.  Heading to Medicine Hat, we stopped near Meadow, UT for our first night and stayed in our first rest area in Lima, MT for our second night on the road. Travel was really easy and we made better time than we thought as we had planned on spending 3 nights on the road and made it to the Hat in 2 nights.  

Arriving in Canada from the US, we were trying a new to us border crossing and as it turns out a very small one at that in Aden, AB. So small in fact that there was only a small building at the side of the road with a Stop sign that asked you to wait for an agent to come out.  And when she did, the border agent asked us if we were lost!  I guess not many (if any) come thru this crossing.  Rightly so, as the road coming north from US side was more of a trucker road, very rough and muddy (so much for the clean truck & trailer that we got done in Kingman at the Blue Beacon.

Moochdocked at my brother Duane's place for a couple of nights before heading to the Gas City Campground on Jun 3rd.

Here we are at the only casino in town, but thankfully they offer "free" RV parking for the night.  Free parking that only cost us $80.00 cdn as we thanked them by eating dinner in their restaurant "Horizon".  So much for free, but the convenience was greatly appreciated.

13 - Moose Jaw, SK - Driving Day from Swift Current

Started our day off at the casino in Swift Current by booking some campgrounds for the next few locations.  

However, before leaving Swift Current we enjoyed a short walk along the Swift Current Creek and saw that yes, Canada Geese do actually live here in Canada! Caught some photos of the Red Winged Blackbird that is prevalent here in the prairies. Took a short drive thru their downtown and if you are into marijuana you have plenty of stores to get your groove on!

Travelling slow allows us to stop at all the highlights!  Here we took a quick break after we hit the road to stop at Reed Lake.  One of the most amazing things about it is that it covers 10,000 sq ft with a lot of shoreline that is only about 6 inches deep.  Not sure how deep in the center of the lake, but I would think not much more thant that. 

Stopped at the Visitor Information to gather the dirt on Moose Jaw and tomorrow we will find all about the underground tunnels that are here in city that were used during prohibition and during Al Capone's time (not sure if he ever visited the city).   

And keep in mind that you should always have a smile on your face as as a mug shot doesn't do a person any justice!

Booked here in Moose Jaw staying at a Boondockers Welcome (BW) host - Mcmojo's, just outside of the city for the next 3 nights. BW is just folks who offer up their home location if they have a driveway or like we have here, a big open field on their property that we are able to park on for free.

 Not sure if we will meet the host family as it looks like they live at the top of the hill from where we are parked.  

 As for tomorrow (Jun 14th, a special day as it turns out!) let's see what Moose Jaw has to offer shall we...  In the meantime, it's Happy Hour!

After the tour we took a quick break for a drink at Rosie's on River...all that prohibition talk and bootlegging made us just a little thirsty! 

Our opinion only but downtown Moose Jaw did not have many dining choices as I really wanted seafood, so it's on to Nova Scotia to find what I am looking for.  But we were able to find a gluten free chocolate cake so Ken was able to sing me Happy Birthday (I am one lucky girl!).

                      Here in the same area as McCaig Gardens, at Rotary River Park Playground, Ken got to be kid once again!

It was time for lunch and what better way than locating a local brewery to enjoy a pint and some eats.

The Malty National was a small neighborhood brewery and did not have much if any food selection (but had a wonderful backyard patio) so it was onto the next brewery and that was Bushwakker Brewpub (a huge portion of nachos, probably better suited to 4 people to share, lunch for tomorrow!)

After lunch it was off to the RCMP Heritage Center.  My dad served as a "Mountie" and t was his job that allowed us the "opportunity" to be located in different parts of Alberta...Edmonton, Edson, Oyen, Barons & Medicine Hat where he finally retired. This is a fairly new center and I most enjoyed the film that is played at the top of the hour. Not sure Dad had to endure being pepper sprayed or being gassed as part of his training but it looks like the recruits have a hard 6 months of training.  The rest of the center is informational regarding the history of the RCMP.  

We ended our day with a visit with some of the Ottenbreit family (from my Dad's side).

It has been 15 years at least since seeing one another and I just love how we don't age but we are certainly wiser! 

Thanks to Kerry who is active on Facebook and I was able to reach out to her, for organizing this and bringing Aunt Maureen over and thanks to Laura for hosting a wonderful dinner as she just got home the evening before from Ottawa. 

You can always count on family!

After leaving Grayson, we drove around a bit looking for a campground and finally settled for the night at a small community campground in Churchbridge, SK again, not very busy so we had lots of sites to choose from. Our main concern was where to set up "Dishy" so that we could Starlink into our Rotary passport club meeting later that evening.

FIrst stop on the tour was to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The museum itself was pretty impressive with the amount of information to be taken in. In many ways it is pretty depressive to see what has happened since the beginning of time, but I think there is hope for change as we all become more educated and aware of what is going on in the world.

 I was really impressed with the building itself and the use of the rampways to get you from floor 1 to floor 7 and the extensive marble & cement.  

Gimli also has quite a history of immigrants arriving from Iceland. The New Iceland Heritage Museum was well done...a must see. And although Viking Park was small, the Viking was impressive!

Enjoyed a delicious dinner of grilled Pickerel at the Seagulls Restaurant and then enjoyed a short walk along the dock just outside the restaurant. Beautiful wall of murals and no crowds!

Took a quick stopover in Winnipeg Beach on the way home from Gimli.  Both Ken & I were expecting it to be more touristy than Gimli, but that was not the case.  However, it looked to be a pretty area with lots of beach. I'm sure once the kids are out of school next week, and the summer season starts, then the place will be packed.

Arrived in Ontario! The landscape became more forested, with granite rock formations. Took a quick stop in Kenora on our way to the Rushing River Provincial Park campground which is about 30 minutes south.  We are only here for 2 nights, so it will be a quick tour.

Lots of construction on the roadways.  This was pretty impressive with the big machinery needed to cut through the rock.

Stopped in Nowhere as I was caught by the sign for chocolate.  Was not sure what to expect but they roast the cacao beans in the same roasters as what they use for the coffee beans and then make the chocolate bars. Nothing fancy but really good, the 85% bar was the best from what we tried.

Made it to Sandbar Lake Provincial Park.  Had a wonderful very private spot to stay in for the next three nights. Now this is what a provincial park should be!