Tuesday - June 19

Tuesday, June 19 – Minot or Why Not My Knot to Moose Jaw

Monday was a day filled with wind and rain. We managed to go a short distance – Devil’s Lake, ND to Minot, ND. Today we awoke to blue skies, warm sun, and calm breezes. We were able to accomplish a lot in Minot: prescription run; laundry; sewer dump; fresh water refill; and lots of sleep.

We left in the late a.m. Margaret drove first and found a smooth, beautiful highway (US 52 North to the Canadian border). And boy, did she fly! We now know that, given a smooth surface, ye olde motor-home can do a sustained 65+ mph!

We arrived at the border around noon and spent the first 30 minutes shopping in the duty free shop. After several purchases, we proceeded to the customs / border crossing. I sometimes think I should lie about everything; when I tell the truth, I get searched / detained while everyone else flows easily through the border crossing! Another 30 minutes – sitting in beautiful sunlight, green grass, and gentle breezes – the Canadian guard decided we weren’t smuggling contraband (or worse) and sent us on our way. I say this because we were directed to pull over to the side, run out the slides in the motor-home, and wait outside while he searched diligently. I really wanted to ask what he was looking for, but Margaret made me promise I wouldn’t antagonize the guards! (He spent all of his time inside – never did look underneath)

The two 5th wheel trailers behind us flowed smoothly through. Where did I go wrong? Do I look like a drug / arms smuggler – or worse? I definitely don’t meet ethnic profiling!

Anyway, after another day of bone-jarring, rough roads (the USA doesn’t have a monopoly) and fearsome crosswinds, we arrived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. And, yes, there is a big, brown, concrete moose called Mike at the exit to attract visitors. We have decided to stay for several days while we explore the area. Finding the RV park and getting a spot that would fit our rig took several hours. But we’re in, set up, and not moving (for which we are thankful).

At Canadian visitor’s center, we were given the name of a great restaurant in town, but after getting Miss Pris programmed, we arrived to find it was closed on Tuesday. (For those of you that aren’t familiar with our GPS – we nicknamed it Miss Pris for “her” attitude! Watch the movie “RV” if you don’t understand what I’m talking about. I do talk to it when it tells me to make a U-turn in the middle of nowhere when I know I’m right - at least I think I’m right!). As we hear her say all too often, “Recalculating, dear.” -- in that icy, superior tone of voice.

M. The sky today was something to behold, a brilliant blue dome with an armada of flat-bottomed, puffy white clouds -- none large, but so many stretching from horizon to horizon -- and each a different shape being pushed along by the wind. It did look like a navy in full sail in search of a beach to storm, and what an odd assortment of vessels and sailors. Later in the day the clouds merged into more threatening, gray shapes outlined with silver and we could see sheets of rain on the horizon.

For a long time we drove along the confused meanderings of the Mouse River. The fields were lushly green, most newly planted. But the wheat in many areas was dense and several feet tall and rippled with the wind. They are growing wheat, barley, lentils, hops, field peas, canola and others. We went through an area of strip coal mining.

Daytime lasts a long time. At 9:00 pm (actually 8:00, as we were to learn), it looked like 4, maybe 5:00.
The sun was setting after ten. Long days.

The photo of today is downtown Moose Jaw. Look at the photo and then imagine it at 60 degrees below zero (centigrade) and it stayed that way for a week according our local source. Although the roads in town were closed, the restaurants did a booming business – folks walked (in 60 below) to the restaurant just to get out of the house.

Besides the weather, Moose Jaws other claim to fame is this was the hideout / getaway for Al Capone during his heydays – a place not within reach of the US Feds and Eliot Ness! We will try to visit his (Capone’s) hidey hole while in town.