Hold up in Thunder Bay

When I got up the Saturday morning, instead of heading out immediately, I thought I needed to find out what was behind the name, Qu Appelle.  I asked a young fellow hanging about the previous night but he said someone else might better tell it.

I found that person at a farmer's market on main street.  I think his name was Ken but it might have been Burt.  Turns out he's a history lover and proceeded to tell me lots about the surrounding area, how it was founded, the fact that the Dakota aboriginal people in town were the only first nations people without status in Canada because the gave U.S. status.

I sampled some cabbage rolls then drove a few blocks to Fort Qu Appelle where there's a beach.  

Though it was cool when the clouds closed up, these kids ventured out.

I stuck around for a few hours, getting out my folding chair for the first time since I hit the road.  I read a few chapters of  To Kill A Mockingbird then the clouds came back, the wind picked up and soon I headed out.

Oh, Qu Appelle, means Who Calls.  Apparently there was this young brave and his love.  While he was away, she took ill and as she died she called his name.  From his canoe on the river, he heard someone call out his name but could see anyone around.  He called out "Who Calls?" but got no response.  He returned to his village to find his love had died. 

I left Qu Appelle so glad I took the time to see what the town was about.  Again, the highway through revealed nothing of the town's beauty so I was rewarded for my curiosity.

Ah, tree-lined street - that deep shade on hot summer days.  Nothing like it!

I love these old stone churches.  Some of the oldest buildings in Canada I'd say!

Same church, St. John's Anglican. 

Speaking of churches, I was somewhere around Insinger, Sask. when I happened upon these two Ukranian churches and graveyard.  You can see the old country roots in the architecture.

I went round the side of this building and noted the lawn was like a wet sponge.  This was a week ago and there's been so much more rain since.

Right out in the middle of the prairies!

Tombstones written in Ukrainian language.

I arrived in Regina by mid afternoon and drove part of the way downtown, enough to find the government buildings.  I stuck around long enough to take some pictures, walked around the park a bit then left. 

Regina Legislative Building.

There was a lovely park just behind where I stood when I took the legislative building photo.  These fledgling Canada geese were only a few of the hundreds that took up this large lawn.

 

A beautiful park right in the middle of the city of Regina.  And I thought Saskatoon was exceptional!

The reflection of the water around this Mallard was exquisite.

A wedding photo shoot at the university buildings.  The little fellow is pretending to take my picture.

I tried locating accommodations in Regina but thought better of it.  I really wasn't in the mood for a big city so headed out after a few hours.  I couldn't image seeing anything more beautiful than I had already seen so sticking around had no purpose.  So I moved on.  I was going to head north, then east to Manitoba.  It was time to leave Sask. behind.  Then I remembered I had forgotten all about Neepawa which I thought was just east of Yorkton.  

I completely forgot.  Neepawa was the birth place of Margaret Laurence, that well known Canadian writer responsible for such works as Stone Angel.    She was also laid to rest there when she passed in '87.  Now I'm not a groupie (Bruce Springsteen doesn't count) but as an aspiring writer, it seemed like a pilgrimage worth making.  So I said to myself as I headed north, if there's a turnoff to Yorkton, I'm taking it. 

Well, there it was.  I thought for a moment about not going then turned west onto Hwy. 9.  I thought it was just an hour out of my way.  Turned out to be a bit longer.  I noticed that the sun sets around 8:30 here so time was running out.  

 

Texas Longhorns in Saskatchewan?  Note, two of them, the brown and the speckled one behind her are a little deformed in the horn department.  I mooed and they all looked my way. One actually answered me back, in English.  Freaked me right out!  You don't believe that do you?

When I drove down into the Qu Appelle Valley I was sure glad I took a detour.  OMG it is exceptional in its beauty.  The prairies continued to surprise me.  When I thought I couldn't see anything more beautiful, there it was. 

The west end of the valley, about an hour from Yorkton.

Looks like Sask. is a garbage dump for U.S. helicopters.

Another sunset.  Do they ever get boring?

Nooooooooo!

So I arrive back in Yorkton and drive up to a motel that I had passed on the way out of town less than 48 hours earlier.  I wish I could remember the name of the place but the fellow who runs it was a funny guy.  I drove up to my room and was confused at first.  There was no key hole in the door.  I turned the knob and opened it.  Inside there was another door.  Usually outside doors are screen/glass combos.  Not this. 

It was just this door.  It freaked me out a little especially when I saw this odd looking young man handing something to a woman in the suite next to me.  A drug deal I thought! 

I was at the rear of the building, with little light and a lot of imagination.  Turned out he was a pizza delivery guy.  Still, I went back and told the guy I didn't really like the room and why.  He looked at me like I was a little weird.  I explained I was a bit claustrophic.  Not sure if he bought it, but I did get another room, on the street side of the motel with a 'proper' door.  I was happy.  

Before I left Yorkton, I decided to find a laundry mat.  I got there and realized I needed some change.  I had laundry detergent but no fabric softner.  I noticed a woman about my age had a box so I asked if I might buy one from her.  Marion gave me a sheet but insisted she wanted nothing for it.  I told her about my adventure and we chatted for a while.  Before she left I gave her one of my blog site cards.

One thing I learned not long after I arrived in Yorkton is Neepawa is not in Saskatchewan, it's actually in Manitoba.  I hit the road shortly after lunch.

I pulled into the Wayside motel around 5:30 pm and headed immediately into Neepawa and searched for the cemetery.  I found it in short order and quickly located the 'stone angel'. 

I looked online to make sure it was the one referenced in her book.  A passage from the first chapter reads as follows: 

Summer and winter she viewed the town with sightless eyes.  She was doubly blind, not only stone but unendowed with even a pretense of sight.  Whoever carved her had left the eyeballs blank.  It seemed strange to me that she should stand above the town, harking us all to h eaven without knowing who we were at all. 

The eyes might be hollow but there's a 'life' in them.  Remarkable work.

So that was two days ago and you might think that was the end of it but as has happened a number of times on this trip, one thing leads to another.  I had gone to the home where Margaret Laurence had spent six or eight years of her life.  There I met Elizabeth, a young woman attending the University of Manitoba who knew everything there was to know about the years M.L. lived there. 

When I asked her to recommend a place to eat and that I liked 'family restaurants' she suggested Wilson's.  That turned out to be the location of my next encounter.  I enjoyed a slice of home style veggie quiche and a wicked slice of rhubarb pie.  I sat there and watched the owner greet people she didn't know with the same enthusiasm as folks she knew. 

Val was the owner of the restaurant and I asked if I might speak with her.  Her Uncle Henry and Aunt Angele had just arrived but she took the time to give me a calendar and some information about the community and what I should see.

I ended up joining Val and her relatives including her cousin Doug at their table.  You'd think we'd known each other forever.  I'm sure I was there for a good hour or more. 

I'm holding a lottery contract and a lottery ticket we purchased together.   Val is in red.  Henry and Angele are behind me and Doug is to my left.  Angele and I have something in common, we share the same birth date.  Received an email from Val tonight to remind me to return when we win the $50 million.  No problem!  Wouldn't that be grand?  I left Neepawa grateful for yet more wonderful encounters. 

Just outside of Neepawa there's a lilly farm that ships out all over the world.  It started with a man's love of gardening who was looking for something to keep him busy during retirement.  They offer 2500 named lillies, eight of whom they developed themselves. 

It was outside of Neepawa that I saw something I hadn't seen across the prairies, something growing.

A field of conola.

This was a more common sight.  Bales of hay sitting in water.  So many farms were saturated if not flooded.  Tonight the weather network was talking about the emotional toll of this wet season on the farmers. 

This amazing looking building is a prison in Stoney Mountain, Mb.  The community of Stoney Mountain is right next to it - I mean right next to it. 

 It was about 8:30 p.m. when I rolled in Stonewall, Manitoba to stay with a Leah (my former branch manager in Calgary).  It was a short visit but I was glad to have had a chance to spend some time.  When I saw Leah and Kevin last, they had one child, Kaitlyn and she was just a baby.  Now there's another addition, the energetic Matthew.  Thanks guys for the bed and thanks Kaitlyn for making it so comfy and thanks especially for the early morning hug before I left. 

I crossed over into Ontario yesterday morning and I have to say, it was a bit depressing.  There was a thick cloud cover, oppressive really, and I drove for hours through a wall of trees on either side.  After the prairies, it was claustrophic.  I noticed when I headed towards Kenora through the rock cuts there were Inukchuks erected.  I kept going and soon feared the rock cuts would end and I would miss my chance.

So I pulled over, stepped into a ditch next to a rock cut & created my own Inukchuk with a buddah on top. 

I believe they mean "I was here".  If not, that's what mine means.  Thanks Brendan D. for the buddah.  It's one of the many protective things I have in my car.  There's a dream catcher, a St. Christopher's medal, a  medal that belonged to my mom Betty, a pink chrystal, a frog angel, holy water, a stuffed bear and bumble bee.  I feel completely protected and it must be working because I've missed all the dangerous weather that's been going on around me.   It's amazing really. 

Finally, I'm caught up.  I sure hope I didn't miss anything but it's heading for 2 a.m. and I want to be on the road before noon 2moro.  Been relaxing in Thunder Bay last two days - reading and updating the blog.  I needed the rest.  The hot weather was taking the good out of me.  It's only been hot one day, that's all it takes.  I'm a hot weather whimp!  

A gal from a local business said the there may be a blockade 2moro by the area first nations people to protest the upcoming summit in Toronto (yeah the one costing $1 billion in security).  I'm sorta hoping there will be a blockade.  It'll make for an interesting story and, if I'm lucky, photo opps.

That's it,  I leave you with these last images.

Abstraction!

Northern beauty!