Month: July 2017 (Page 2 of 2)

Part 3 of a special guest post by Ben

Canada Day in Canada!  We woke up fairly early so we could spend as much time in Regina as possible.  I let Jack stay in the car while I checked out of our hotel, since he didn’t want to go through the fumes again, though they weren’t nearly so bad as the night before.  We were staying at the Bear Claw Hotel, so I HAD to grab a complimentary bear claw on the way out for me and Jack.

The road to Regina was very, very straight, right along a railroad line.  It was fun to see a new little town every 40 km or so, each with its own grain elevator, and most with their own small museum for some reason.  The only town we stopped at was Sedley, SK.  It was just a fuel and snack stop, but it was a very pleasant little store.  I got some very good beef jerky and Jack got a weird lollypop/toy.

My plan on arriving in Regina was to have the hotel hold our luggage and park the car, however when I went inside to arrange that, they told us they had our room ready AND that we had been upgraded to one of the penthouse jacuzzi suites.   We parked the car and schlepped our luggage up to the top floor and opened our (larger than normal) hotel door to see a huge suite of rooms that were very finely appointed.  Jack was flabbergasted by a hotel “room” that had SEVEN rooms.   We threw down our bags and put up our feet for a few moments and called home.

After we got settled in, we headed across the street to Victoria park for the first of our Canada Day festivities.  The had a small farmers market, a face painting stand and a giant Canada 150 sculpture.  We wandered through the farmers market and got something called a “sparkle” which was a cookie with a huge amount of frosting and sprinkles.  After that, Jack decided he wanted to climb around on the sculpture, since that seemed to be allowed.

Outfitted with flags and pins

Climbing Canada

Soon we were hungry for something other than sparkles, so I convinced Jack to drive over to Coney Island Poutine, so I could get my poutine fix.  It was very empty when we arrived just after 11, and I was afraid they were closed for the holiday, but they were open!  They had a vast array of different poutines and hotdogs.  I got a honey garlic poutine with little rib bites, which was delicious.

yisss

Jack got a hotdog with bacon, and a very special surprise “drink.”  They had slush puppies!  Rachel probably remembers that I was very excited about these last time I was in Canada.  They are still delicious, and Jack is also a fan.  We both agreed they were FAR superior to Icees.

SLUSH PUPPY

As we wrapped up our meal, we noticed that there was a chalkboard wall that we were allowed to write on.  Jack drew a Canadian flag with a blue pine tree on top, and I made a sappy little display.

Fine Art

Our bellies full, it was time to head on to the rest of the Canada Day festivities at the larger Lake Wascana park.  We immediately got stuck in a traffic jam because I overestimated the likelihood of close parking.  Once through the jam, we started wending our way back from the park looking for a spot.  Finally, we got a 2 hour meter spot – good enough!

Once at the park, there was a lot of stuff going on – wagon rides pulled by clydesdales, a buffalo hide tanning demo, a one legged race and more.  We wandered through checking things out, but nothing really grabbed our interest until we got to the lake.  They were offering free kayak or canoe trips around the lake and Jack was immediately intrigued.  After weighing his worry about whether it was too dangerous against the cool factor of rowing our own boat around the beautiful lake – he decided that we should definitely do it.  After a short wait, we got a two person kayak and awkwardly boarded!

Look Ma, Safety Vests

Jack had a blast and felt high confidence in his ability to paddle a kayak.  I still handled the steering, but I think he would pick it up for real very quickly.

After our tour around the lake, I realized we were running out of time on the meter.  I asked Jack what else he wanted to do before we went back to the car, and he chose the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.  It was a small natural history type museum, but it was really cool.  They had a giant 3d map of saskatchewan that I really enjoyed, but they also had very impressive taxidermy dioramas like they have here in Denver.  The big difference was that there was no glass.  I really think that made them seem ten times better.  I could have spent a lot more time in the museum, but Jack got his fill before we had to leave to catch the meter.

Eeek, Wolves!

Flying Squirrel!

The embarrassing thing is, the place I parked was only a couple blocks short of our hotel, so I should have just parked there and I wouldn’t have had to worry about the meter. C’est la vie.

We were a little worn out from the park adventures, so we took a few minutes to enjoy our rooms and relax.  Soon enough though, Jack was feeling snacky and ready for more adventure.  We decided to head north to the cornwall center – a mall.  We explored a small comics shop on the way and I resisted buying some pokemon art.

At the mall, we got some fries from A&W and explored the canadian dollar store equivalent.  There was also a sports hat store, so I stopped in to grab a Saskatchewan Rough Riders had for my Dad, since he used to collect “odd” sports hats.  That team is so beloved in Regina… it was game day and I think 70% of the population had some sort of rider gear on.  People in Denver love their Broncos, but Regina has them beat in fandom.

Sam was enjoying some grandparent time in Grand Junction and got to go see the new despicable me movie, so, of course, Jack had to as well.  We headed south to another mall (which as now closed) and got dinner at a proper pizza place with REAL pepperoni.  After eating, we still had some time before the movie, so we went to a nearby park to play a bit.

After the movie, I had to get us back up north to our hotel, but the problem was – most of the roads were now closed.  We wormed our way up through various detours and finally got to the hotel lot, but it was full.  Luckily, they had a sign that said we could use valet service if the lot was full, so we dashed in and handed off my keys.

It was about time for the fireworks show, so Jack settled in on the bed and waited.  Soon they began, and we had a great view!

Initial Position

The show was long, and Jack was soon starting to cozy up in the blankets.  A perfect fireworks viewing spot!

Enhanced Position

We had been going strong since 6:30, so 11:00 was definitely bed time.  Jack was out almost immediately after brushing teeth.  A long and fun day in Regina!

Zonked

Part 2 of a special guest post by Ben

The beginning of day two of our trip was heralded in with a cacophony of bird sounds.  Some sort of waterfowl (maybe a loon?), dozens of chattering sparrows and even a woodpecker.  This concert woke me up at about 6:30 and I soon jostled Jack awake so that we could continue our journey.  We didn’t actually spend much time in Miles City, other than getting gasoline.

At this point, Jack started to get pretty confused about where we were, and where we were going.  He saw a casino in Miles City and (knowing that we were planning to stay in a casino that night) he said “is that the casino we’re staying at?”  I told him we had a lot more miles to put under our belt before we were going to tuck in for the night.

The first thing I had planned to visit was a dinosaur museum in Glendive, MT.  However, they didn’t open until 10:00, and it was only 8:00.  I offered to hang out and visit when they opened, but Jack wanted to hit the road.  We DID get to visit “Glendisaurus”, a very silly gigantic triceratops statue.

SO FIERCE

Dinosaur interested slaked, we headed on to our first National Park, the Fort Union Historic Site.  It was not the best leg of the drive, as google sent us on a route that included many miles of horrible rutted dirt road (under construction) that was full of large dump trucks.  I drove very carefully through there – and it was probably the most nervous I was on the trip of getting tire puncture.

Soon we got on decent roads again and arrived at the historic site.  We were amused by the fact that we passed back into Montana momentarily on our way in.

The fort was pretty cool looking with its large white bastion towers and heavy wooden gates.  There was no one to greet us at first, so we just wandered into the large main house, where we finally found the first park ranger.

Passing the gates

She was very nice and immediately started Jack on the junior ranger program.  To his dismay, it required reading and critical thinking.  He complained several times that this program was much harder than the one at the monument, but he was determined to get it done.

As part of the program, we got to visit another ranger in the “Indian Trade House” near the gate.  He was dressed up in period garb and described the process of trading with the native americans.  Jack learned something, and I also learned something!  Jack learned that when making a tanned hide, the brains are taken and smeared all over the back part of the hide, which he found disgusting yet wonderful.  I learned that the practice of referring to the native americans as “Red Skins” may have actually come from one of their cultural practices, instead of the natural bronze color of their skin.  Apparently, the trade post would often trade chinese vermillion pigment, which the native americans would use to make a red skin cream that they would wear in formal situations.

After that, we wrapped up the program by hunting for facts on the interpretive signs spread about the compound.  I was disappointed to learn that this place is a reproduction built in the 1980’s, but also impressed at how worn it had become even after only 35 years or so.  It truly must have been a punishing part of the country to live in back then.

View from the southwest bastion

I fart in your general direction!

Jack acquired a new junior ranger badge and also got a silly little buffalo robe that he could have traded for a different trinket.  Jack is wise beyond his years and knew the true value of his natural resources, so he held onto the souvenir buffalo robe.

After the fort, we headed to Williston, ND to grab lunch.  I was immediately turned off to this town as I saw many horribly austere “Employee Accommodations” on the way into town.  I also saw multiple “Info Wars” bumper stickers, and everyone I saw seemed to be scowling or depressed.  I sent Rachel a text saying that I really didn’t like this town, and I think she rolled her eyes at me – but I don’t have proof.  I’ve since learned that between 2010 and 2014, the town grew by over 60% due to the fracking boom.  That explains a lot, especially since the boom is now headed toward bust.  I really didn’t like the town, but I do hope the people of Williston are able to find a way to equilibrium.

Full of McDonald’s, we headed toward the never ending acreage of farmland leading into Saskatchewan.  We saw another troubled motorist (this time from colorado), however – they also declined any help.  Soon, we were at the Estevan/Noonan border crossing and I was getting very nervous, since I hadn’t crossed an international border in over a decade.

We pulled up, and immediately there was trouble.  Since I didn’t have a “note” from Jack’s co-parent, we had to go into the border facility and wait while they called Rachel.  They were very friendly to us, but apparently they gave Rachel more lip than she prefers.  They were very calm about the whole thing, which was nice – since I was so nervous anyway.  They even gave Jack a pin and an activity book.  We eventually got our stamps and were on our way to fuel up in Estevan.  My first order of business was to get some native currency, which impressed Jack.

Plastic Money?!

Having switched over to kilometers, we made one last lonely leg of the day to arrive at the White Bear First Nation.  We immediately stopped at Ogi’s Chip Stand for some mini golf.  Although the facility was really, really bad – Jack had a wonderful time.  It helped that we were the only ones there and he could be very goofy.  After our round, the owner seemed to be somewhat embarrassed that we had come so far to visit his humble chip stand.  He said “How was it?  I guess I should really get in there and sweep again…”.  I told him that we had a lot of fun, and that I had helped pick up the rocks from the greens, and that seemed to cheer him up.

Next stop, Moose Mountain Provincial Park.  It was later than I expected for getting to the park, so we didn’t do much there.  We went in and drove around the lake a bit looking for Moose, then we took a short hike along a very lush trail.

Very pretty, but the mosquitos were like small dogs

Jack soon tired out, so we headed to the Moose Mountain Inn for some pizza.  Unfortunately, the pizza was a huge disappointment for Jack.  Their idea of pepperoni was more like spicy bologna.  It’s really too bad, since the pizza was otherwise delicious.  If we ever return, we’ll have to try another topping!

We finally headed down the road to our hotel and checked in.  I was forced to recall what cigarette smoke smelled like while checking in to the lobby, but our room was clean, comfortable and odor free.

We were finally in Canada, and Jack realized that New York City was far, far more foreign (but at least they had proper pizza).

A few months ago, Jack said “I’ve never been out of the country you know.”  So, since I’ve been itching for a proper road trip for years, I suggested that we go to Canada.  I initially had Calgary in mind, but realized that Regina was much closer.  Since we had no reason other than “Go to Canada” and the legendary Edmonton Mall was really just too far, we decided to head straight north to visit our friends in Saskatchewan.

The first day, I woke up early because I was too excited/nervous to sleep more.  Soon the rest of the family followed me and we had some breakfast.  Meanwhile I was throwing stuff that we had packed the previous night in the car.  We had a lot of gear because we were planning to camp on 2 of 4 nights.

We were soon ready and Jack and I piled in to my car and headed north.  The first leg of the trip was fairly uneventful, and mostly territory and terrain that Jack and I were very familiar with.

Our first stop was Cheyenne, WY.  Our primary reason for stopping was that I realized I hadn’t packed any pillows for camping, so we needed to buy some before we left civilization.  Jack said “This looks just like our target!”  A Target’s a Target the whole world ’round they say.

The first fun stop of the trip was in Chugwater, WY.  Jack really enjoyed the name of the place, but the main reason we stopped there was that I had heard they had an ancient soda fountain.  It was a pretty cool place in a very sleepy town.  Jack had a root beer float, and I had a butterscotch ice cream soda.  Both were pretty good, but nothing special – she just used Kroger sodas and those ubiquitous coffee shop flavor shots.  I think I had overly high expectations for this one, but I’m still glad we stopped.  We later found out that we were SUPPOSED to get Chugwater chili there, but we didn’t.

Yum!

ChugSODA amirate?

Filled up on soda and powered by burps, we hit the road, bound for Douglas.  I was very interested in checking out the road conditions on this leg in anticipation of our trip to Wyoming in August for the eclipse.  The road was in truly excellent shape, except for a small bit of construction that I’m sure will be resolved by then.  We saw our first large herd of cattle on this leg and Jack was enamored with the many cute calfs.  We also saw a road mirage for the first time and I showed Jack the big “puddle” up ahead.  He was shocked when it disappeared!

We came in to Douglas and immediately went to McDonalds, as Jack was seriously jonesing for a new minions happy meal toy.  We played in the small outdoor play area there and Jack made friends with a very Wyoming sort of boy.

After lunch, we went across town to the Railroad Interpretive Center, primarily to take a picture of us with the big Jacaklope.

Not REAL says Jack

We also took a quick look at the trains and we were about to hit the road, when a friendly lady came out of the visitors center and asked if we wanted to go in the trains.  I thought Jack would decline, but he said yes.  We got to go in a dining car and a sleeper car.  I’d never seen a sleeper car before!  However, this one was a little ratty – clear that it’s been sitting around for MANY years.

King of the rails

After we visited the trains, the nice lady invited us into the museum to see their 60 year old model train.  It was not that amazing, but Jack was impressed that it started to spew “smoke” from the engine.  We saw the eclipse glasses and mentioned the eclipse, much to our host’s dismay.  She is terrified of the expected 40,000 person rush into Douglas and the 120,000 people in Casper.  She was also sad she had to work that day, even though it’s usually her day off.  I told her I’d bring her something nice if I make it back to the railroad museum that day.  I really do feel bad for the normal citizens of those towns, hopefully all the nerds will be nice and respectful.

After Douglas, we headed out onto the lonely highways of Coverse county.  Lots of giant oil trucks, but not much traffic overall.  Jack had an urgent need to stop in the middle of Thunder Basin Grasslands, but we managed to make it to the strange little town of Wright.  It seemed like a nice subdivision area of Denver, but spread out more.  It even had a little subdivision style sign on the entrance to town.  This is how I feel a proper oil town boom community should look (I’ll refer back to this in part 2).  The local Sinclair station had the usual dinosaur, but since this was Wyoming, the dinosaur had a saddle.

Ride ’em dinoboy!

After that we continued into Gillette (“Energy capital of the world”), where I was excited to see the legendary Campbell County Rock Pile.  I mostly was amused that it was a thing, but it turned out that their museum was actually pretty neat.  Jack really enjoyed learning about all the old rancher tools, seeing some very nice taxidermies heads and visiting his first one rooms school house.

We saw a moose(head)!

Can you name these?

We headed out into another lonely stretch of road after Gillette on our way to Montana.  We passed through a few rain storms on this leg and had some lovely smells of wet sagebrush (yeah, I know I hated it as a kid, but it smells great now).  I also thought this was one of the prettiest sections of the journey.  20 miles shy of Broadus, MT – we saw a truck towing a few ton bales blow a tire.  I was worried about him, since it was the middle of nowhere, so I slowed down and asked if he needed a ride into town or anything.  He said no, but thanked us.  We headed on to Broadus for dinner.  I had heard that a place called the “Cashaway Cafe” that had homemade bacon, so I thought Jack really needed to try that out.  It was a very ragged little place, but the bacon and other meat was nothing short of incredible.  I was very glad we made the stop.  Jack even told me “You have to try this bacon dad!”  He doesn’t do that with food – this was his first foody moment 🙂 We also talked with some truckers headed south who said we had a “clear run” into Miles City.

Bacon Ecstacy

Our final leg of the trip was an easy one, but Jack was concerned about weather.  He was brave enough to agree to go through with the camping plan and so we found a very lovely campsite at a fishing access area on the Togue river.   We ended our first day with a little bit of walking around the area and by watching the first half of Back to the Future in the tent.

I do love this tent, thanks Dad

A great end to a great first day!