We are visiting in Prince Albert (more on how we got here later) with former Nova Scotian friends and the menfolk wearing camouflage garments went scouting waterfowl territory for the hunt tomorrow. The womenfolk holding down the fort are searched for yard/garage sales to visit in the morning so all is well. A good time catching up on the news from back home and a few beverages this evening.....doesn't get much better than that.
Friday was a beautiful warm sunny day and in honor of our oldest daughter's birthday we headed out of Red Deer via
Stettler to Elk Island National Park. As you can see here on the right we saw lots of wildlife - bison and gophers for starters - in the park. And during the drive over to Edmonton we watched the farmers hustling to get their harvest in. It's been a wet, cool summer out west and there were crops still in the fields which you'd expect to see harvested a month earlier. The machinery worked as soon as the dew was dried until well after dark so we had interesting scenery and beautiful fall photos along the way as you can see here on the left. We headed over to a hunting equipment store where th
e great white hunter aka shore captain selected a pair of camo jeans (yes they do make them, and yes they are exactly the fashion statement they sound like) and camo boots for his hunting adventures. To discover at the checkout that they were 25% off was icing on the cake. A further stop at The Polish Food Center for treats such as kielbassa, pierogies and a Polish flag for our Saskatchewan friend who has a license plate which reads "Polish and Proud" before making our way back for a quick supper. We enjoyed steak (ahhhhh as only western steak can be) at The Ranch House and met the daughter's main squeeze - who looked extremely nervous, although very pleasant and polite though almost relieved when we rushed off to the concert. We made our way down to The Westerner for The Beach Boys concert and it was sure worth our time. There are still three of the original group playing and the sound and all the golden oldies kept things hopping. Great way to spend an evening.Saturday we started out early and headed out to Jasper via the scenic route through Drayton Valley. Wonderful photo ops and we saw Dahl sheep along the highway in two different places. Spent a warm sunny afternoon enjoying all that Jasper has to offer such as the Tramway - spectacular photos and a view which topped Banff two years ago. The town of Jasper although very tourist orientated is lovely and we prowled the shops and grabbed some snacks before getting back on the road. The return trip included seeing over 40 white tailed deer (possibly mule deer as it's hard to tell) and three wild horses along the highway. Arriving well after dark we were keeping the hours the harvesters were as we headed back into the city. A quick bite at Original Joes (good food but loud music on Saturday night) and a very restless sleep after the road trip.
Sunday morning the shore captain was up at 4:15 a.m. to meet a displaced Nova Scotian working in the oil patch who picked him to go hunting. Wearing his complete camo outfit he opened the door to the pickup to find his host wearing jeans and a sweatshirt "oh, I guess I'm a little overdressed" he says as his startled host sizes him up. "Just planning on driving around, this is my tree stand" his chauffeur says. They did see some deer but no elk which the host had a tag for as well. It was by all accounts a fine way to spend an early fall morning. Meanwhile the ladies slept in, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and headed over to the steam baths for some relaxation. Peppermint scent and all was well. Continuing on Cindy's Tea Shoppe:
http://www.cindysteapotgallery.com
which is where I get my fix of Lady Hannah Tea - bought a large vacuum packed bag of it this visit as well as some of Cindy's Spice Tea and the ultimate 'me gift' of a teapot as below:
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html
This means you can throw loose tea leaves in the top, close the cover and let it brew as you can see through the sides, set it on your cup and the tea is strained into the cup. It's plastic and also dishwasher safe making it worthwhile to schlep across the prairies, into the NWT and back east. I am using and loving it daily now. We made our way over to visit a friend of the daughter (previously only known to me through the wonders of FaceBook) and then connected with the returned hunter and over to Its All Greek to Me which turned out to be a wonderful Greek restaurant where we stuffed ourselves with calamari, pita bread and dips and shrimp. We made our way to the daughter's former landlady for a visit, declining the delicious looking pie as we were too full and then on to another displaced neighbour living locally. Finished our day up with a quick snack at Moxies and getting ready to head out to Saskatchewan in the morning.
On the road early as we made our way from Red Deer to Saskatoon via the country roads and wanted to arrive in the late afternoon. Viewing of two separate moose in wheat fields, a herd of prong horn deer and huge flocks of snow and Canada geese as well as ducks as there were large bodies of water everywhere. Few showers enroute but no worries to spend a travel day that way. We had a great visit and the shore captain reconnected with his former scout leader and troop mate (leader's son) of 40 years previously over supper. A wonderful sleep at the Arnolds and a great breakfast - who needs B&Bs eh? On the road again and heading towards Regina by 9 a.m.
We made our way cross country again in sort of a zigzag pattern over to Regina and spent the afternoon at the R.C.M.P. Depot browsing through the museum there. Lots of memories for the shore captain as he relived his six months of training there. A LOT of changes in the past 35 years and he was almost unable to recognize most of depot. Good times, good times. We headed out of Regina (trying out some of those dirt roads he used to do driver training on) and onwards toward Prince Albert (PA to the locals) finally giving in to the eye strain in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Only a few hours more to PA but as far as we could make it. Found lodging at the Bella Vista or BV for short Inn and crashed for the night finally awakening at 9 am. to stumble down to breakfast and on to the road again.
Wednesday saw us heading into PA after a scenic run cross country past reservations, farmers harvesting and lots of waterfowl. Since we were making good time and would arrive before our hosts made it home from gainful employment we elected to take a run up to the national park. Had a wonderful hike on one of the trails and checked out the lakeside resort in the balmy weather making for a great afternoon. A short stop at Tim Hortons and then.....made our way to our friends place.
Today was a day of relaxing somewhat while checking out a couple of garage sales - found a great pair of sky blue new hand knit mitts for $1 which are just the ticket for a trip north. A dog walk to the bank to make the business deposit - 29 degrees c this afternoon - better than this summer - this afternoon. Made the required stops for the shore captain/great white hunter to pick up the prerequisite stamps, licenses etc. for the big hunt. A quick stop at the scrapbooking store for the ladies and a tour of all the new home construction in the area. PA has exploded since we visited two years ago - it is a happening place!! The hunters arrived home in time for us all to enjoy a great roast beef supper this evening. This is as good as it gets when you don't have time to read your great book. Off to catch some z-z-z-zs as it is yard sale marathon in the morning.
