Go West, Young Men! Regina to Canmore (Alberta)

GO WEST, YOUNG MEN!

Tuesday, September 11th, 2019

Our first destination

We’re so glad to have arrived at our first destination – Canmore, Alberta – where we will be staying for the next four nights. After traveling over 3100 km since Saturday evening, it’s going to be great to feel a little more ‘settled’ for a while!

A journey of 3,127 km (1943 miles) in just 4 days! 

Leaving a rainy Regina, early this morning, we set off towards the west, crossing more of the prairies as we made our way towards Alberta. 

A rainy start

This part of the journey took us through the more familiar scenery of how we had imagined the prairies to be. 

The road ahead

Flat grassland as far as the eye could see - on both sides of the road

Similar to the above, but more of it!

For several hours, we drove through the plains, with the huge sky beckoning us ever westward. The rain gave way to a few drizzly spots, then some foggy patches, and finally, the sun broke through not long after we crossed the border into Alberta. 

Foggy patches added a little bit of mystery

Numerous freight trains can be seen traversing the prairies

Apart from the freight trains, there were so many of these monster 'double-trucks' hurtling along the highways

A short movie clip showing a 360 degree panorama at the Saskatchewan/Alberta Border

For the rest of the journey, we enjoyed mixture of  sun and cloud and felt, once more, the warmth of the sun when we got out of the car to stretch our legs.

Another freight train, this time in the sun. There can be over 100 trucks being pulled by one, or two, locomotives

Sunnier road ahead

A farmhouse, surrounded by protective trees

Didn't realize that the reflection had been captured until we downloaded this pic

 

It was interesting to see the landscape gradually change as we drew nearer to Calgary. There was also a distinct, though sometimes intangible, difference between Saskatchewan and Alberta, possibly due to the presence of oil derricks which dotted the terrain, and the increase of cattle as we left Saskatchewan behind.

Angus Beef Cattle are plentiful in Alberta

There were numerous oil derricks dotted about - most of them were working

After skirting around Calgary, the first view of the Rocky Mountain Foothills came into view, and our excitement grew as we got nearer.

First view of the Rockies, in the distance

It felt that we were suddenly thrust among the mountains as we counted the km to our destination.  The sunshine on the mountainsides was truly spectacular, and really lit up the trees and rocky slopes.

Whenever I visit the Rockies, I am reminded of the fact that it was my train trip through them, in 1988, together with a five day stay in Vancouver, that birthed within me the desire to emigrate to Canada.

It was easy to find the Air BnB in the town, and we reveled in unpacking everything from the car, knowing that our belongings would be staying put for a few days.

The Air BnB is part of a condo complex and is comprised of two storeys, and contains all that we need for self-catering, and makes an excellent base from which we can explore the area.

View from the entrance to our Air BnB

Living Room

The little balcony adjoining the living room has a splendid view of the ‘3 Sisters’, a trio of peaks that overlook the town.

The 'Three Sisters', as viewed from our balcony

After settling in, we drove a short distance into the town to get some groceries – and it was breathtaking to see the surroundings!  Talk about shopping in style!

Grocery shopping has never been so spectacular!

Now, after baking our Keto raspberry muffins, and doing essential laundry items, we are all set for a nice stay – and some great hikes for wildlife viewing!

Yummy Keto muffins, ready for the sampling

Go West, Young Men! Kenora to Regina (Saskatchewan)

GO WEST, YOUNG MEN!

Tuesday, September 10th, 2019

After a good night's sleep, another early start saw us leave Kenora at 7:30 a.m. 

Rejoining the Trans-Canada Highway, we started westward, looking for the sign to say that we had crossed the border into Manitoba. 

Reminiscent of the amazement we felt when we made this journey, in 2014, it was experienced again as we noticed the almost abrupt geographical change from forest/bush terrain into prairie territory. 

Sudden change to flat, prairie territory

Another landmark for us is the point at which east meets west in the Canadian Interior Plains ecozone. It truly is, the centre of Canada. 

This exhibit has been added since we were here last

After we had passed the highway that leads to Winnipeg, we drove along part of the Redcoat Trail - a 1,300 km route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their quest to bring law and order to the Canadian West.

Courtesy of: https://www.vividprint.ca/red-coat-trail-sign.html

Contrary to the boredom of which several people had warned us that we would experience, we were in awe of the variety of vistas through which we traveled. Although it was drizzling, on and off, for most of our journey, we could appreciate the sheer immensity of the countryside through which we were driving. 

We noticed that several homes were surrounded by a border of trees to protect them from the onslaught of wind and winter snowstorms.

Some borders lined both homes and businesses. 

We came across several modern grain elevators, situated alongside railroad tracks. 

At one point, Mark asked me to google to see if there were any traditional ones left, as many had been demolished when modernization occurred. We discovered that the nearest original grain elevators were to be found northwest of where we were, so we decided to take a detour of about 2 hours to take a look.

We traveled along part of the Yellowhead Route and followed the signs to the small village of Inglis, a little north of the main highway.

The Inglis Elevator Row is a row of five wooden grain elevators located alongside the former Canadian Pacific Railway track. They have been preserved as rare examples of a formerly common sight from 'the golden age of grain'. They have been fully restored and are now protected as a National Historic Site of Canada. 

We both agreed that, although it had added some time to our journey, the detour was totally worthwhile, and we were delighted that we had honoured a part of our Canadian history.

Not long out of Inglis, we crossed the border into the province of Saskatchewan - also a prairie province. 

Unfortunately, there was unwelcome graffiti on the sign

We were thrilled by the surrounding countryside, because the flatness of the prairies was punctuated by rolling hills and the sudden drop into a gorgeous valley along which the Qu'Appelle River runs. 

Approaching the valley in which Qu'Appelle is situated

Shortly before coming across this area, we saw a business that advertised marine services. We were perplexed because we were under the impression that we were far from any significant bodies of water. How wrong we were!  The Lake of the Prairies (or Shellmouth Reservoir) took us completely by surprise, and made us realize that we had entertained a totally false impression of Saskatchewan. We had envisaged huge areas of flat plains, and nothing else! 

We also came across several large fields that had small orange and white hexagonal based 'tents' dotted around - some of them had over 100 in them. We managed to catch this one.

Tent (shelter) for leafcutter bees

Eager to know what they were, we were contemplating stopping in at the next store to ask about them, but Mark saved us the trouble by using Google to find that they were, in fact, tents - or shelters - for leafcutter bees that, in turn, work hard pollinating female canola flowers to produce hyrbid seed. Who knew!!!

Making our way back to the Trans-Canada Highway, we gradually neared the city of Regina - the capital of the province. 

At this point, the drizzles became a full shower as we finally arrived at our hotel. 

After nearly 10 hours of driving, we were happy to unload the car, check in, and relax in our comfy room - in preparation for our nearly 9 hour journey to Canmore, Alberta, tomorrow!