Week ending June 27, 2013

Saturday morning we decided it was time to find an internet connection or somewhere to use our cell phone, so we could find out what was happening with our kids in High River.   We talked to several people, who figured that the closest cell connection we would get was down at highway 55, about 90 km south, so we decided to drive towards Prince Albert.  On our way we stopped to get diesel.  The cashier said she thought there might be wi-fi at a resort a few kms away. So off we went. After 8 kms down a gravel road we found the resort, and sure enough they had free wi-fi.    Thankfully Trev had sent an email to let us know that they were all safe, evacuated and staying with Sue's parents.   We exchanged a few e-mails.  They were fine, and  once they get back into their home, he will let us know how much damage has been done.   We also got an email from Elizabeth in Canmore; she was dry.   Once we get to a more civilized campground I will check with the rest of our friends. Our thoughts are with all of them, particularly Al and Sharon, who live fairly close to the Bow River in Canmore.

Once we got back to the campground we planned to take out our little boat, but clouds rolled in resulting in a tremendous thundershower. Consequently the afternoon was spent playing Wii. After dinner we watched the hockey game. 

Sunday morning we walked through the resort area, where there are number of 'cottages', mostly people from Saskatoon.  Unlike us they enjoy the communication-free zone. The afternoon was spent watching the Nascar race.

Monday dawned cloudy and muggy. In the morning we walked up to a ham radio shack, next to the local airstrip.   After bushwacking our way across to the campground, instead of going around by the road, we dried out in the trailer.   (The bush was very wet from the overnight rain).  In the afternoon we wandered down to the lake for a while.   Monday night was a very disappointing hockey game. Maybe next year the Bruins will win the cup.

Sunshine and warm weather finally arrived on Tuesday morning.  We headed to the lake with our floaties.   After a couple of hours and a sunburned back we headed home for lunch. 

Wednesday was another damp day, so we dug out our pilates dvd and did some stretches. 

On Thursday, we packed up the trailer and headed toward Prince Albert.  We phoned Trever to talk about whether he could use our help once he was able to start cleaning out their house.  He said he had plenty of help, so we don't need to hurry back.   After picking up groceries, we went to the PA Exhibition RV park, between a couple of rows of trees, behind the horse barns, and set up for a week stay. 

Week ending June 20, 2013

Friday we explored downtown Flin Flon after stopping at the bank to pay bills, since we still don't have cell phone service (somebody should talk to MTS about sharing their towers).  Then we stopped at the Creighton visitor information to pick up local maps.  After arriving back at the campsite we wandered down to the beach, stuck a toe in the water - yes it is cold...and then explored the little town of Denare Beach.  Back at the trailer we found a grey fox wandering in the campground. He must be a resident as he was not at all bothered by having people around.

Saturday was a showery day, but that was ok, as we occupied ourselves doing housework. Late in the afternoon we checked our computers to discover that in fact we had wi-fi at our site. So our host's promise that his wi-fi was going to be boosted on Saturday was in fact true. It is not the strongest signal in the world, but sufficient for checking email. We don't feel quite so cut off from civilization.

Sunday dawned partly cloudy, we went to the Denare Beach museum  and then for a walk. After watching the Nascar race we browsed our info and maps and made plans for the rest of the week.

The area around Amisk Lake proved to be quite interesting. Monday we drove to the Beaver City marker, along the shore of Amisk Lake. Beaver City was settled before Flin Flon, when gold was found there. However, since WW1 made copper more important than gold for a while, Beaver City became a ghost town and Flin Flon flourished. We stopped at a picnic site at some limestone rocks overlooking Amisk Lake for lunch. On the way back to Denare Beach we wandered through a very intersting limestone crevices area, apparently rich on fossils.

Our next stop was a wild rice processing plant in Denare Beach.  They provide rice to many retail outlets. We purchased some rice as well as some wild rice pancake mix.  We removed our battery from our cell phone, left it out for a few minutes, and rebooted the phone.  We actually had cell service (since we were on the Saskatchewan side of the border??) at Denare Beach.

After breakfast of blueberry wild rice pancakes on Tuesday, we headed into Flin Flon.  We noticed that cell service ended once we got back to Creighton (still in Saskatchewan?).  We did the walk around Ross lake.

The trail is thanks to Hudbay Mining.  The rocks are spectacular, but we did chuckle at the Green Project sign at the beginning of the trail.

 




We stopped at the co-op for groceries and then headed back to the campground to play Wii.  A good use of a dull afternoon. The showery afternoon again brought out the resident grey fox.  It didn't hang around long enough for us to take its photo. 

Wednesday was a beautiful calm sunny day, a perfect day to use our inflatable boat on the lake, and try out a new set of oars we had bought in Flin Flon. As the lake is large, we needed a calm day to take out the boat. In the afternoon we donned our swim suits, blew up our floaties and headed for the beach for an quick dip in Amisk lake. We figured we couldn't spend a whole week at a lake and not go swimming.  Once we got in the water for a while, it didn't feel too cold.

Thursday was moving day. We headed down the Hansen Lake Road to Little Bear Lake Campground, on a beautiful lake, the campground is nestled among tall pine trees.  The deal we made with the operator is that we would stay a week if we could get satellite reception, otherwise only one night.  With some difficulty, we were able to line up the signal between a couple of tall trees, with short disruptions when the wind moved them.  We were able to catch the news and hear all the problems with flooding. We are concerned about the kids in High River, our friends in Canmore and along the Elbow River in Calgary. As this area is a communication free zone, no cell service, no internet, we are unable to contact anyone to see how they are coping.  

Week ending June, 14, 21013

Saturday was spent doing laundry and housework. A very good use of a rainy day.

Sunday was showery, typical weekend weather, not that it makes much difference to us what day of the week it is, but we were able to enjoy the Nascar race and French Open men's tennis finals. 

Monday we headed out to Whitefish lake to use our inflatable boat. The road turned out to be muddy and a bit greasy. It started to rain again, so we decided to turn around and go back to the trailer. No fun being on a lake in the rain.

Tuesday we moved to Clearwater Lake Provincial Park.

Luckily we got a site that allowed us to get a satellite signal to watch the first game of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday night.
 

Wednesday we did a short walk to the caves. It was a intersting area, In another 500,000 years it may rival the grand canyon.

Thursday morning we left Clearwater, planning on staying in Baker's Narrows. However due to mechanical problems we went into Flin Flon. After checking with three garages we found one that was willing to look at our landing gear problem. Joe, the owner, able to squeeze us in, taking apart the gear to see what parts would be needed to fix the problem.  We expected to camp in his yard while waiting for parts to arrive. He took everything apart and determined that our problem was a pin that had moved and was not allowing retracting the landing gear. In a couple of hours he had the problem fixed. What a relief.  Joe worked a overtime to help us with this problem. He then charged us a reduced rate because he called it a learning experience for him. So if anyone is ever in Flin Flon and need any vehicle repairs, tires or anything go to Taylor Automotives.  He really went out of his way to help us.  We then carried on to Bayside resort, to get a great campsite looking out over Amisk Lake.

Week ending June 6, 2013

Friday afternoon we walked down a "closed" road, again seeing many deer tracks, but not deer. We did however watch a very persistant black bird fly into the wind. The wind just blew him backwards, he finally gave up and went with the direction of the wind. The lake was very choppy. John maintains a person would survive swimming for a few seconds in our pretty lake.  I am not so sure. No one, not even kids have been brave enough yet to venture in. Our inflatable boat has remained untried due to the high winds. We don't know when or if this wind will ever die down.

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day. Our first stop was a historic site - relating to the Riel Rebellion.  Then we headed to Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park. On the road driving into the park, we saw a snake slithering across the road. I guess that proves summer is here. After paying our $7.00 to get in, we checked out the campground. Not particularly to our liking. We determined we would be unlikely to get a satellite signal and what else would we do there? The mosquito population was extreme.  So bad even going for a walk was impossible.

We have decided it is time to head further North, where there are fewer poplar trees and more rocks and pines. We stopped at the public library in Yorkton on our way back to our campsite to do some web surfing to find our next location. We then headed back to the trailer to watch hockey.

Tuesday we headed north to Swan River. We took a leisurely drive, stopping to have a picnic lunch in the  home of Ed Werenick, famous Ontario curler.  About 2:30 we arrived at Green Acres RV Park in Swan River. After setting up we waited for the campground owner to come home, so we could pay our fees. Close to 5:00 Connie arrived home, accepted our payment and gave us a plethora of information on the area, including the short loan of a guide book on the area. More than enough we figure to occupy us for the next week.  In the evening we went for a walk down main street, scouting out various places of interest.

Wednesday morning we went to Tim Hortons (camp day) for breakfast, stopped at visitor information for maps etc., checked in at the library to insure we could get wi-fi usage after library hours.  After a quick stop at the trailer to pick up a picnic lunch and our borrowed guide book we left for a hike to Pikes Peak. We got within 2 kms of the trailhead only to encounter a sign "Bridge Out". We decided we would walk to the creek, hopefully cross it and complete the hike. We believe the bridge has been washed out for a few years and the creek was too deep to allow us to ford; so much for our hike to Pikes Peak.   We then continued on to Gryba's Hill, a bit of a disappointment.   Our next stop was Whitefish Provincial Park.   It was a very pretty location, the lake was very serene. As we enjoyed our lunch we watched the loons on the water.   Today was one of the best day we have seen, weather-wise, hot and sunny.   To date the mosquitoes have not discovered Whitefish Lake.    Then we headed back to the trailer to watch the hockey game.

Thursday we headed for Duck Mountain (Manitoba) Provincial Park. After a short hike to Copernicus tower and enjoying the panoramic view from the platform we decided to try out our inflatable boat.  Blowing it up went amazingly well. Of course that's when the ease of use stopped. John got in, then Joan got in, only to be sitting in a puddle of water. Hmm - not the way it should work. We hauled the boat out of the water, emptied it and then took a good look at it. We discovered one of the valves intended to drain it was open. After closing it the boat held water.  Off we paddled.

While we were out on the water we saw a moose and more loons.  On our way back to the campsite from the lake we saw moose in the bog by the road.