We left Minot, ND on June 16 and headed for our first Canadian one-night stop in Regina, Saskatchewan. The drive was for the most part very scenic with gently rolling hills.
But then we happened upon a very large area (20,000 hectares or 50,000 acres) that had mounds of dirt on both sides of the highway that did not appear natural. Turns out it was the Estevan mine where they mine lignite coal for power generation. The mine produces 6,000,000 tons of coal a year. The earth covering the coal is removed by 5 giant dragline excavators, which you can see from the road. It has been in operation since 1905 so you can imagine the damage to the landscape.
We were driving on a nicely paved 2-lane highway when the nav system had us turn onto SK Hwy 35. As we drove the road gradually lost the center line and the shoulders and the road became very rough, bumpy, and narrow. According to the internet Sk Hwy 35 was awarded a dishonorable mention in the Canadian contest "Highways From Hell." We can see why...
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| Not a highway--a country road! |
But the scenery was nice...
Finally, we got back to a main highway and arrived at Indian Head Campground in Indian Head, just outside Regina, Saskatchewan. No wifi, cable, or satellite but it was walking distance from downtown Indian Head. We walked into town and bought some bread at the bakery and some beer from the liquor store. Then we stopped for dinner at a Chinese restaurant and had the best, spicy food we've had in a long time!
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| Downtown Indian Head |
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| Creek in town |
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| Delicious Szechuan Shrimp, Beef Curry, and Tsing Tao Beer |
On June 17 it was off to Campland in Saskatoon.
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| 110 km = 68 mph |
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| Hard to see, but birds are following the farmer as he spreads seeds--bird buffet! |
All of Campland's sites had nice, cool grass (no rocks). I really enjoyed curling my toes in the grass! And, an extra bonus--we had good Wi-Fi and satellite TV!
As we journey north the days are getting longer. The picture below was taken at 5:42 AM.
On June 18 we drove to Camp N Class RV park in Stony Plain near Edmonton. Its a very pretty RV park with long, level sites, Wi-Fi, cable, and grass. It is right by walking paths that lead to a park, restaurants, grocery store, and an ice cream stand. We happened to meet fellow Alaska tour members Eric and Julie and Richard and Bonnie. We had a nice time getting to know them and look forward to seeing them and all other Alaska trekkers on June 22 when we arrive at Dawson Creek, Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway!
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| Watch out for moose and deer! |
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| Drove by Elk Island National Park and saw several bison by the road |
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| Picture taken at 10:20 PM--Sunrise at 5:06 AM, Sunset at 10:06 PM |
For the night of June 21 we are driving to Tamarack RV Park in Grand Prairie, Alberta. Very rustic looking park but they do have good Wi-Fi and cable TV. Very pretty drive. We went from farmland to ranchland to forest and back again.
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| Interesting train trestle |
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| Moose warnings |
And look at the notice that was on the door to the campground office...
I think we're staying in tonight...!
