Jeans and Cowboy Hats as far as the eye could see....

The kids were lazy this morning and didn't get up until almost 8:00am.  Francois and I enjoyed breakfast without having to wait on anyone.  We didn't leave the food out for any sneaky critters.  We began to pack up the sleeping supplies in the tent and slowly woke up each child.  Andrea is usually the first one to get up, then Natalie and after some poking and prodding David slowly gets up and dressed for the day.

This was the first time David insisted on using his black comb to style his hair.  Francois said he spent an extra few minutes in the mens bathroom as David primped in the mirror making sure his hair looked great.

Heading to the Infield of the Rodeo

We left the campground shortly before 10:00am.  We stopped in Red Deer for lunch.  The tourist information centre was a little difficult to find, but was well worth the search as it had an excellent playground for the kids to play.  It has been interesting to watch how David developed his skills on the monkey bars since we left on our trip.  At the beginning of this trip I needed to spot David, just in case he would fall and now he scoots across the bars like a pro.

Watching the Action

Our destination for the afternoon was Ponoka Stampede.  We were late arriving for the start of the Pro Games, which started at 1:00 pm.  We came in the back way of the town and arrived close to the Stampede area.  We could see the grandstand was full of people!  We didn't know where to go or what to do, so Francois asked a person on the side of the road who gave him some details.  We located the ticket stand and we were told that the infield stands was the place to sit as you would be close to the action and surrounded by cowboys.  We walked through a large culvert to get to the infield and were among the throngs of people.  We found some seats and started watching.

A rider trying to stay on

The kids had lots of questions and we did the best we could to try and explain the events.  It was pretty impressive to see the speed and power of the animals as the participants try to complete the activities whether it was riding a bull, horse, barrel racing or steer tackling.  There were also a number of show riders doing a bunch of stunts which we all enjoyed.

The last event of the day was the wild horse event which was the one of the most outrageous events we've ever witnessed.  Eight wild horses were released at the same time and a group of three people have the horse by rope.  The horses take off and want to get loose while the the team tries to tame the horse, put a saddle on it and then ride it to the fence.  To steal a word from WWF wrestling.... it was complete pandemonium.  Towards the end of the event, two horses collided (one with a rider and one without) and the announcer on the loud speaker suggested that the person broke his leg.

One of the Stunt Riders Performing

After the stampede was completed, we loaded up the van and headed to Sherwood Park to visit with Rodney, Joyce and his family.  Allison and her fiancee Michael were home when we arrived and invited us in.  The kids loved to tell Allison all their adventures thus far.  We were able to get a few groceries and make a sit down meal for supper.  After supper Rodney arrived and then later on the evening Joyce got off work and then Marissa got home from work.  It was great to spend the evening sitting in the kitchen catching up on what has been taking place.

Just like all the other places we've visited thus far we have been welcomed with open arms.  Allison and Michael had gone out for a bit in the evening and came back with some gifts for the kids.  Rodney and Joyce kept telling us to make ourselves at home and the girls were nice enough to give up their rooms for  us to stay.  We are looking forward to spending a few days with family and visiting the greater Edmonton area.

Good night.
Tanya and Francois

Hello Dino Land

June 29

The World's Largest Dinosaur

We managed to sleep in this morning, which was a much needed sleep for all of us.  Staying up late and getting up early is getting to all of us.  Nicole and Scott made us a wonderful breakfast of homemade waffles, yummy strawberries, blueberries and watermelon.  It was great to be back in civilization with adult conversation, a clean bathroom with no mosquito or strange bugs, four walls surrounding our bedroom, an endless supply of water and a sink where we could  wash our dishes.

We left Calgary around 10:00am and headed towards Drumheller, the home of dinosaurs.  The tourist information centre was a beehive of activity.  It houses the largest dinosaur in the world, there is a hugh splash park where the kids could play and an aquatic complex.  It was scorching hot and the temperature gauge on our van said 29 degrees.  

Andrea with the Dinosaur Fossils

We visited the Royal Tyrrell Museum, which has an extensive display of dinosaur fossils.  I wouldn’t say this was a must do on my list of activities as we travelled across Canada, but it was very interesting.   The kids really enjoyed it, especially Natalie who recently worked on a dinosaur project at school.  It was amazing to walk through the museum and seeing all the fossils and dinosaur displays.   So much detail was done on each of the displays to ensure accuracy in the presentation of the dinosaurs.  Those people who have an interest in dinosaurs would really enjoy seeing this museum.  

Natalie with some thin friends

It was a lot busier at the museum than at other places we visited.  We learned school in Alberta just finished, so tourist season has begun.  When we were parking our car, a staff member from the museum approached us.  She inquired if we were from PEI - she noticed the 5 numbers/letters on our license plate and just had to ask us.  We said yes.  She said she worked at the Confederation Centre last year and absolutely loves the Island.  Francois also met a person at the Royal Bank whose girlfriend is from Summerside and her parents‘ (Leonard MacDonald and his wife) recently moved back.  It is always interesting to here stories about PEI and the connection people have to it.  

Hiking in the Badlands - really cool

We spent a good portion of the afternoon at the museum and then found a campground for the night.  The first tent site assigned to us was too small for our extra large tent, so we needed to get another site.  The kids were much happier with the second site because it was close to the park.

Francois next to a leg fossil

We had supper back at the Tourist Information Centre so the kids could play at the splash pad then we headed to the aquaplex as there was a public swim between 6 and 7:30.  What an amazing facility!  We were charged a family rate of $13.75 and we had the use of two pools - an indoor and outdoor pool, a hot tub, an indoor slide, diving board and a rope vine.  The kids had a wonderful time.  They were doing belly dives and running jumps off the diving board.  It was interesting to see David swim like mad to get from the middle of the pool to the side.   The girls loved the diving board, but they enjoyed the slide too - they could go down two at a time and seemed to have lots of fun together.

David with the Baby Dinosaur

After the public swim was over we headed to the Largest Dinosaur site and paid $10 to climb to the top of the dinosaur.  We were probably overcharged, but the kids had lots of funs and took lots of pictures.

We headed back to the campground for a quiet night.  At the playground, Natalie made a new friend, Keegan.  He has Down Syndrome and his mother told us he is always attached to older girls.  She said he can sense who will look out for him and not be mean to him.  I thought that was a great compliment for Natalie.

We always get into bed for the night around 9:30 in hopes to have an early night sleep for everyone.  Andrea said the birds were a little too loud tonight, but she still managed to go to sleep very quickly.

We say good bye to Drumheller tomorrow morning and head off to Edmonton to visit with the Allain crew.  Last year we celebrated Canada Day in Newfoundland with my brother, Chanel and this year we will celebrate it in Edmonton with my brother Rodney and his family.

Good night

Tanya

Learning All About Cowboys & Hanging Out with Friends

Bar U Ranch - Longview, AB

Today we went to the Bar U Ranch National Historic Site which is a Park dedicated to the history of ranching in Canada.  We wanted to get an early start so that we could get into Calgary later in the day to visit with friends.  We figured we wouldn't need to set an alarm because we are up early most mornings.  This morning was no different as Tanya, Natalie and I were awake by 6:15 am.  At about 6:20 am there was this loud noise as a small tree branch fell from a tree and landed on the tent.  It wasn't big enough to cause any damage but it did make a loud enough noise to startle us.  Andrea and David didn't hear it.

The mosquitos were once again very thick that we decided not to eat at the campground.  We packed up the tent, loaded the van and were off and rolling by 7:30 am.  We had a beautiful ride through rural Alberta to the Ranch.  We stopped and had breakfast at the Visitor Information Centre in Longview and we got to the ranch at 9:00 am.

Cowboy David ready to go ranching

Because we were the only ones on site, they encouraged us to go to the horse barn where they were getting the Percheron horses ready for their days work.  Upon arrival we met a cowboy who talked us through everything he was doing to hook the team of horses up to the wagon.  He then took us on a private wagon ride where he told us the history of ranching, explained the different buildings within the ranch and then dropped us off at the food camp where another cowgirl was prepping food for the day.  She had a hot fire with steel pots hanging off them with coffee, tea and boiling water for drinks.  It was pretty neat.  She also explained how the food wagon worked when the ranchers went out herding or branding the cattle.

Learning about the food camp

Natalie cooking lunch

Andrea showing her lassoing technique

A school group arrived a little later and they had a cattle herding demonstration where the moved a number of Texas Longhorns and Shorthorns to different areas of the enclosure.  They also explained how they ride quarter horses and showed us a roping demonstration on how they catch the calfs to have them branded.  After this we went to some other buildings where they had some dress up clothes so you could look like a cowboy, you could try your hand at lassoing a cow and see how the ranch hands lived. It was a very interesting day.

After touring the ranch we had a picnic at the information center which had the snowcapped rocky mountains as a backdrop.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful but we couldn't enjoy it too much because it started to rain a bit.  The forecast was for nothing but sun but they said around the mountains the weather can be unpredictable.

Francois and Scott

We then proceeded to Tanya's friend Scott Maxfield, his wife Nicole and their two children Avery and Zachary's house for a barbecue.  Zachary is a newborn (1 week old) and Tanya enjoyed holding him while the children had fun playing with Avery.  Scott cooked us a wonderful barbecue which we enjoyed out on the back deck.  The thermostat was reading 27 C and that was at 6:30 pm.  Nicole made a lovely cheesecake dessert that we ate later in the evening - it was delicious.  It was a lovely evening.

Tanya, Nicole and Zachary

Scott and Nicole suggested that we stay the night with them rather than drive to Drumheller so we took them up on their offer.  It provided a great chance to visit a little bit longer and catch up on old times.  This is one of the best things about this trip is visiting with family and friends we don't get to see very often.  Our hats go off to Scott and Nicole for making us feel so welcomed in their home and for being so great to the kids.  We also enjoyed our time with their younger children because you quickly forget how much fun it is to sit on the couch and read a book with little farm animals and make the noises with them.

Tomorrow we will be heading to the dinosaur region of Alberta around Drumheller where we hope to learn about dinosaurs, fossils and see some of the Alberta Badlands.


Francois

Hello Alberta

This morning was relaxing, we slept in, took showers, enjoyed our breakfast and didn't rush to take the tent down. The kids really liked the campground because there was a park where they could play nearby to our campsite and that is what they did after breakfast was done.  The bathrooms at the campground also got the seal of approval by the girls, although there were a few too many spiders in the shower.

With the kids at the playground it gave Francois and I some time to reorganize the van.  I must admit it is frustrating at times when we are looking for something and it is the bottom on the pile of totes in the back of the van.  Francois does a great job in organizing and reorganizing the totes.  We can certainly make a mess in a short amount of time.

We left Medicine Hat shortly after 9:30 am and stopped in Lethbridge at the Visitor Information Centre.  It was a great place because there was a playground for the kids and picnic tables so we could prepare our lunch.  Andrea also made a few more purchases at the gift shop for some people on her list.

We made our way to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, which has been recommended by several people as a must visit while in Alberta.  It was very interesting to see and the kids enjoyed watching the movie that recreated the herding of the buffalo to their deaths over the sandstone.  I  must admit I was a little nervous when we walked outside the building and there was a notice to keep small children under close supervision as there were sightings of a bear and a cougar.  Now I had another new animal to add to my list of worries and we haven't even hit the Rockies yet!  Thankfully we did not see any of those animals, but we did see herds of Bison in the distance.  We also saw a lot of windmills on the horizon.  Sometimes we are led to believe that only PEI has so many windmills, but that is not the case - Alberta seems to be using lots of this type of green energy too.

Now we are making our way to Calgary where we plan to meet with my good friend, Scott Maxfield and his wife Nicole, Avery - their daughter and their new addition, Zachary - who was born a week ago.  We are staying in High River for the night - where the CBC show Heartland is taped.  The town is very quaint, but the mosquitos at the campground are out in full force.  They also have Cotton wood trees which are dying and it looks like it is snowing outside there is so much pollen in the air.  Natalie commented, while we were putting up the tent, that she wouldn't want to have severe allergies with so much pollen in the air.  I said, "I know I was thinking of Janice and Ryan and how this particular campground would not be good for them."

Because of the mosquitos we decided to eat out and the kids chose McDonalds.   Our first stop at this restaurant since we left PEI.   Now the girls and I are at the local library, while Francois and David are gone to Sobey's to pick up food for tomorrow.  

We hope to go to another National Historic Site tomorrow, Bar U Ranch and then make our way to Calgary.  

Have a good night

Tanya

If I knew the road was like this.... I would have said no!

I'll get to the reason for the title of this post a little later on as I'll start from the beginning.  Last night we camped at Besant Campground in Caron, SK.  It was a nice quaint little spot and we had a good site.  Around 9:00 pm, we heard a train go by and the entire tent shook.  The tracks were probably 50 Metres away from our site.  The train proceeded to go by at 2 hour intervals all night.  The kids can sleep through anything but Tanya and I were awoken each time.  The rumble of the train isn't as serene as the Loon that was singing at 3:00 am while we were in Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba.


It was quite windy when we woke up and the Coleman stove was having some challenges in toasting our bread so we went with half toasted toast and fruit for breakfast.  We were on the road around 9:00am to attend the Sasktel Kite Festival in Swift Current.  I had read about this before we left PEI and it seemed like a great family event.  Prior to attending we stopped at the Safeway to replenish our food supplies.


While in Manitoba I was chatting with the cashier (something I try to do wherever we are to find out what the locals like to do) and he suggested I sign up for the Safeway Membership when he heard where we are going.  Now when I buy groceries I get the club member prices which is discounted so I am always interested in seeing how much I save.


Up until now, I have been doing the grocery shopping myself (or with David) while the girls go check out some other supplies we may need.  Anyhow, yesterday at the church service we attended, Andrea and David went to the children liturgy and received a treat bag which included a Safeway cookie club card.  The kids wanted to come in today so we all shopped together and then they got a cookie.  They were amazed that when they got their cookie, the bakery lady gave them back their cards and said it is valid at all Safeways for a free cookie.  I know that from now on there will be no entering the Safeway by myself anymore.  Natalie didn't have a card but got the cookie anyhow.

Two flying frogs

The kids with their faces painted

We finally got to the Kite Festival and it was awesome.   There were kites of all shapes and sizes floating through the air and a number of tents set up with activities for families.  There was no charge to enter but you could purchase some tokens to participate in activities if you wanted.  We bought some tokens and the kids got their face painted and received tattoos.  We also got some snacks.  It was incredibly windy and cool on top of the hill where the festival was (which was good for flying kites) but we were well dressed.


After that we attempted to find a location that has free wifi so we could post yesterdays blog posting.  Usually we can find a spot, either the Safeway, Days Inns or libraries have the service but we had no such luck today.  Eventually the tourism office in Swift Current opened and we were able to sign on there.  While there I asked the guy about Fort Walsh which is located in the Southwest corner of Saskatchewan and was the first outpost for the Northwest Mounted Police in Western Canada.  This was something that interested me and I wondered what it was like.  He told me it was very interesting and it was open until 5:30 pm and if we left right away that would give us about 2 hours to explore the fort which would be enough time.

The frontier lands

We jumped in the van and off we went.  Once we got close to Miller Creek, we needed to get off the highway and take a secondary road to the Fort.  This was an absolute stunning ride through what I would describe as the frontier plains that you would see in the movie Dances with Wolves.  Rolling green hills with cattle free roaming and wild life in every direction you looked.  Falcons and Hawks were patrolling the skies, prairie dogs along the road, we spotted a deer in the field and a number of new to us birds.


My co-pilot probably wasn't thinking the same thoughts as we ventured further and further into the remote land and often questioned if I was sure I knew where I was going.  Things got a tad bit tense when we were about 10 km's from the Fort and a sign was posted "Trailer drop off zone due to steep inclines and many curves.  We proceeded to climb a mountain by switching back and forth up the side of it until we got to the top.  Interestingly, Cypress Hills Provincial Park boasts the highest point between the Rockies and Newfoundland but many people don't think Saskatchewan has any mountains because of the reputation of being so flat.  At the top, I was asked how many more KM's and I said "six" which lead to a sigh and eyes glancing out the other window.  This is when the title quote came out.


A little further down the road was a sign that said watch out for free roaming cattle and sure enough around the next turn was herd of cattle with four or five of them standing on the road.  I beeped my horn to move them along but they weren't in any rush to get out of the way.  Eventually we got by and started the decent to the Fort because of course it would be in a valley.  We arrived at the Fort safely although one of the passengers wasn't as excited as the others to be there.

Our newly sworn-in troops

Once at the Fort, the kids were asked if they wanted to be part of a special children's program to which they said yes.  They got done up in the NWMP (now RCMP) reds, with hats and wooden shot gun and learned about the Fort.  Eventually they needed to arrest three people for breaking the law and Tanya, another visitor and I were brought to court where we were tried for our unruly behavior.  Tanya got 2 years in prison, I got 2 weeks and the other guy was set free.

The welcome sign in Miller Creek - very neat

We ventured back to Miller Creek, no problems with the drive again, had supper in a community park and drove the short 45 minute ride to Medicine Hat, AB.  We checked into a nice campground,  Gas City Campground.  The kids played on the playground equipment, had a small campfire and then off to bed.  The kids are usually done in when they hit the pillow and tonight was no difference.  I'm sure it was less than a minute before all three were sound asleep.


Tomorrow we start to explore Alberta and will get to Edmonton later in the week to visit with Tanya's brother Rodney, his wife Joyce and their children.  Thanks for all notes.  We understand some people are having trouble "commenting" to the blog.  If this is you and you want to send us a note, just sent it to our regular email or Tanya's hotmail account if you have it.   We check those daily.


Later,
Francois

Kids Highlights

June 25, 2011

Yesterday we went to Lower Fort Garry.  It showed us how it was to live long ago.  We saw different buildings and there were lots of different schools having their end of school field trip.  We ate lunch there.  We had sandwiches, pasta, crackers, cucumbers and carrots.  

Last night we played in the pool at the hotel we stayed out, the Days Inn.  This morning for breakfast I had a gigantic waffle, yogourt, and apple juice.  Now we are on the road to Saskatchewan.  Once we got there we went to the Information Centre then we were off to Regina.  We went to the RCMP Heritage Centre.   Mommy’s friend, Mary, gave us a tour of the Academy.  After that we were in a place called Caron - that is where we stayed to camp for the night

Andrea Carolyn Caron 7 grade 1 2011

June 25, 2011

Hi, today we saw three prairie dogs and we went to the RCMP building.  We watched a movie about RCMP and Mommy’s friend, Mary, gave us a tour.  She showed us how the RCMP learn how to handcuff someone.  

Bye

David

Another Day, Another Province

We had a wonderful night’s sleep at the Days Inn in Brandon, Manitoba- waking up a little later than usual, just a little after 7:00am.  I know that sounds shocking early to some of you, but most days we have been up shortly before 6:00am.

The Days Inn offers a free continental breakfast and we always make sure we have lots to eat.  There is a homemade waffle maker and Francois made Andrea and David each a waffle to eat.  Natalie enjoys having bread and some Fruit Loops.  We checked out of the hotel shortly after 8:30 am and began to make our way to Saskatchewan.

We arrived at the Tourist Information Centre in Saskatchewan shortly after 10:30, but the sign on the door advised us we gained one hour as the time was 9:30.  The lady at the Tourist Information Centre was very helpful and when we asked for a suggestion for a campground - she told us of a provincial park near Caron.  The kids were quick to tell her that was our last name.  While at the Information Centre we saw a new animal - a prairie dog.  The lady told us there was a special today and we could have as many as we could catch.  I guess they move really quickly!

While traveling on the highway heading to Regina a transfer truck passed us and he honked his horn.  It startled Francois as he was unsure if he had done something wrong or not.  When the truck passed us we noticed the license plate was New Brunswick.  He was transporting an excavator, which seemed liked a long way for a delivery.  When we passed the truck again later - he honked his horn, much to the kids delight.  We passed another truck, that was traveling with him, and his license plate was from Nova Scotia.  He honked his horn at us too.  We had to explain to the kids that when Maritimers see one another so far from home we offer a friendly greeting or a wave.

The ball game is on.

We stopped for lunch in a little town called Wolsely.  We were lucky to find a school with beautiful playground equipment immediately off the exit.  The kids had  a great time playing and we got lunch ready.  Afterwards we had a 15 minute game of baseball.  The kids were hitting the balls really well - I think it has something to do with watching the Toronto Blue Jays on TV.  David was imitating their actions pretty good.

We arrived in Regina shortly after 1:00pm.  It is interesting to note that some of the streets in the city are named after the capitals of other provinces.  I was a disappointed because there was no Charlottetown street - I had my camera ready just in case.  

We met up with my friend, Mary, who is training to be a RCMP.  She has three weeks remaining in her training, but took some time out to give us a tour of the complex.  We missed seeing the RCMP parade, but we did get to dress up in the RCMP red uniform.  Mary showed us how to properly wear the outfit and even showed us how to tilt the Stetson hat the proper way.  David was in his glory - he loved all the RCMP things.

The newest recruits

Mary and Tanya

Mary took us through the Academy where Francois and the kids tried out the P.A.R.E. test, which is a prerequisite test to get into the RCMP.  We also got to see two trainees working on handcuff training, we saw another trainee cleaning his gun and yet another trainee putting his gun back together.  We had a chance to hold the gun and it was pretty scary.  It is heavy and you can seem to feel the power the gun can hold.  We had a wonderful visit with Mary and thank her for taking the time out of her busy schedule to spend some time with us.  Best of luck with the remaining three weeks of her training.

We also found a church in Regina where mass was at 5:00pm.  It was a modern church, but had lots of young people participating in the mass.  There was two boys playing the fiddle, one young boy playing the piano and four girls singing in the choir.  They were having a celebration party for the children of the liturgy and invited all the children forward.  Our kids remained in their seats, but the priest insisted they join in the festivities.  Natalie stayed with us, but Andrea and David joined in the fun.  The church was very welcoming to new visitors.   As we picked up Andrea and David after church we met another lady who was from Belfast, PEI.  She said she moved to Regina thirty seven years ago.

After church we made our way to our camping destination for the night.  It is a provincial campground on the outskirts of Caron.  There is a boil order issued because of the floods in the area, so this is a new experience for the kids.  It is hard to explain why we cannot use the water to brush our teeth.  The bathrooms are teeny, tiny, but I am thankful there is plumbing.  When we first drove into the campground and I saw the bathroom area I was fearful that they would be port-a-potties.  I must admit I am looking forward to arriving in Edmonton, just to have four walls surround me and to have different company.  As much as I love my family I think sometimes there can be too much of a good thing.

Tomorrow we hope to make it to Swift Current for the Kite Festival.

Good night

Tanya

Travelling Back in Time

We woke up to another glorious day in Manitoba - the forecast was sunny with a high of 24 degrees.  Everyone took a shower this morning and let's just say bathrooms are a very important aspect of camping for Natalie and Andrea.  The campground with the best bathrooms were in Massey, Ontario - their bathroom floors were done in ceramic tile and we felt like we were in a hotel.  The bathroom at this campground in Manitoba was a little better than fair - there were lots of bugs flying around and the girls did not like the idea of sharing their shower with so many insects.   It certainly is a test of my patience as I have to deal with their screams and panic yelps as I try to get them to shower.   Natalie always asked Francois and David what the mens bathroom are like in the different facilities we visit and they always have the same answer, "They are clean and nice."  Natalie asked why the mens bathrooms were always nicer than our bathrooms and I explained that the bathrooms are probably not nicer, just that men have a lower expectation for how a bathroom should look than women.

Francois dreaming of homemade bread

After a delicious breakfast of French Toast and scrambled eggs prepared by Chef Francois Caron we made our way to Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site of Canada.  We travelled back in time to an era when the Hudson's Bay Company operated a string of fur trade forts.  There were many costumed guides representing the people who lived in the early 1850s.  As we walked through the different homes, Francois and I both commented how we felt we were sometimes visiting our grandmothers as the kitchens was similar to theirs.  

Tanya prepping the oven for the bread

Natalie Ringing the Lunch Bell

Francois also paid close attention to the carpentry work both on the inside and outside of the house.  It is so hard to believe the people from long ago did such intricate work with the most basic of tools.  For example, the picket fence that surrounded the main building was done in mortis and tendon (all with hand tools) and there must have been over a couple of thousand one inch pickets in this fence and each one appeared to be a perfect fit.

We also got to see a sample of all the fur pelts stored at the fort.  It was interesting to see how the pelts were made and we were even shown how a beaver pelt could be turned into a beautiful black top hat.

Andrea not sure how close to the coyote pelts to get

The kids enjoyed the tour and didn't seem to mind all the walking, but their favorite part was ringing the lunch bell, which was an old, large, metal triangle and a metal stick.  Each of them rang the bell using all their might to hit the triangle with the metal stick.

We had lunch at the National Historic Site and we met a lady, currently working for Parks Canada,  who spent one summer in Summerside working at the Brother's Two Feast.  We left Winnipeg shortly after 1:00pm and headed towards Brandon, our next planned stop. 

David sitting on the Bison pelts with one of the "actors."

As we are travelling on the highway we have noticed many people trying to read our license plate.  It must be difficult to read because when the vehicles are passing us we notice the passenger looking back to try to see our front license plate, which is not helpful because it is not our province plate.  Natalie, Andrea and David all enjoy looking for different licence plates and get really excited when we spot a new one.  Our latest discovery was a Utah and a Colorado license plate.

It was also interesting to see how high the water levels have remained as we travelled on the main Highway.  We arrived in Brandon to see a lot of the area near the Assiniboine River still  submerged under water.   One of the campgrounds in Brandon decided to remain closed for the summer months because of the amount of flooding in their area.  Francois commented how we are  lucky that we do not have to experience such devastation.  There were gazebos in park areas completely submerged in water.  There was a place on the highway where people could drop off their used sandbags  - we saw at least 100s of sandbags discarded.

It took us a considerable length of time to find a park in Brandon where we could let the kids use up some energy and we could make supper.  Most of their park systems are along the rivers and they are temporarily closed for safety reasons.  We finally found one at an elementary school.  The kids played their games on the playground equipment while supper was cooking on the BBQ.

 All in all the kids are travelling really well, but when we are travelling in the city in high traffic areas they seem to kick it into gear with their rowdiness and silliness, when Francois and I have the least patience.  I am getting a little better at reading a map, but I still don't think I would make a good partner for Francois on the Amazing Race.  Francois is great at reading maps, but he is also good at driving in the cities.  Since I am not comfortable in driving in busy places I guess I have to become better at reading the map.   

We are settling in for the night at the Day's Comfort Inn - our third one since leaving home - since the weather is calling for a chance of thundershowers.   David is getting really good at recognizing its logo - he points it out on the highway every time he see its.   The kids and Francois are playing in the pool and then we hope an early night to bed for everyone.  We are heading to Regina tomorrow and maybe meet up with a friend, Mary, who is training to be an RCMP officer.

Good night

Tanya

 

Les Enfants a Des Messages Pour Leurs Amis de l'École

Aujourd’hui on était en Manitoba et il faisait  28 dégres Celsius. J’ai  souhaiter d’être à l’île. On a été à un marcher  et il  y avait une petite inondation. Moi, Andrea et David fait la pièce de « la petite sirène». Je creuse ma tête pour m’en souvenir. Certains fois on es 2 personnes en une scène! Je suis Ariel,Ursula,le messager,les matelots,Triton et Carlotta.Andrea es Sebastien,Barboteur,Écoutille   Guese et Max.Elle parle pour Éric, Amédée et Chef Louis. Mais David est vraiment Éric, Amédée et Chef Louis.Il bouge ses lèvres pour faire semblant qu’il parle et il fais les actions aussi. Il va être Poueuse tout seul! J’oublie la chanson  d’Ariel.Je sais un peu mais c’est tout.

Hier  j’ai vu un tortue.

                                                Natalie 9 ans(finalement!)

Juin 23

(Aujourd’hui je vais écrire en français car vendredi c’est la dernière journée d’école et mon école est en français.)

Aujourd’hui je m’ai réveiller en Manitoba ma famille à partie et notre 1ère arrêt était pour mettre le gasoline dans l’auto.  On a été à Dollarama et aussi Safeway.  Après on est aller au monnaie canadien et on vu comment il fait les pieces de monnaie.  On a été à le marcher <Forks> et on a acheter de la crème glacée parce que c’était tres chaud.  Moi et David ont eu chocolate et vanille, Maman a eu Rolo et Natalie a eu Boo Boo Bubble.  Papa n’en voulez pas.  Ce soir on rest a un site de camping qui s’appelle RV Trailer Land.  C’est juste a côté de Winnipeg.   On a jouer a mini-golf puis maintenant on assit avant un feu puis mange des guimauvres.  Moi, Natalie et David on a fait le pièce de théâtre d’Ariel.  

Bonne Nuit 

Andrea Caron 7 Premiere Annèe 

juin 22

J’ai vu une tortue pas de l’océan ou de la mer il est de la terre il marchait lentement à travers la route\le chemin.

le 23 Juin

Bonjour mes amis,

Qu’elle équippe de hockey est ce que tu était pour Vancouver ou Boston?  Qui aime tu pour le baseball.  Je va pour les Blue Jays et peut-être je vais voir un jeu quand je va à Toronto pour visiter mon cousin Justin.

Aujourd’hui on été a la monnaie canadien ou il fait les piece de monnaie.  Ils font les sous, 5 cent, 10 cent, 25 cent, loonie et twoonie.  C’était amusant pour voir tou l’argent dans cette édifice.  Après la tour j’ai achèter un doudou qui est un orignal de les gendarmies canadienne.  

Après on est aller un site nationale des <<Forks>> est la rivière Assiniboine est parti de cette installation est il y avait encore un inondation.  Parti du trottoir était encore sous l’eau.  On a vu deux bateau au quai, mais un de les quai était pas passable parce que l’eau a couvrit partie.

Hier quand on voyager a Manitoba on a vu un tortue qui traversait la route d’un côté a l’autre.  Il y avait deux étangs a chaque côté de la rue.  Ce matin j’ai vu deux chevreuil qui était au bord de la rue.

Merci pour vos message et j’espère que tout le monde va s’amuser cette été.

Ton ami,

David

Glorious First Day in Manitoba

Manitoba rolled out the welcome mat for us with some awesome weather today.  I don’t like to talk about it when things have been just fair weather wise back East.  It must have reached 30 degrees today and it is 9:15 pm and the kids are still in tank tops playing in the field.  It must still be above 20 degrees.

This morning we booked a tour at the Canadian Mint and were educated on the process of how our Canadian coins are made.  It was very interesting and the kids had lots of questions.  On of the couples who were touring with us were from California and were on their way to PEI and then back.  It was neat talking with them for a bit.

After the tour the kids spent some of their money at the gift shop.  It is neat to hear them talk about who they are buying stuff.  They have yet asked for something for themselves, it has always been this is going to be for so and so.

After the mint, we headed downtown Winnipeg to visit the Forks National Historic Site.  It is a huge park along the Assiniboine River and had lots of things to be entertained.  The kids particularly enjoyed watching the skateboarders do tricks at the skatepark.  I must say I was impressed with what they could do off some of the jumps.  Speaking of jumping, there was a young boy doing some jumps off walls and stuff (I know there is a name for that put it escapes me now) and he came flying off an 9 foot wall and landed right in front of Andrea.

He sheepishly ran back to his friends and said that he felt bad that he just scared a little girl, to which I replied “you didn’t scare her at all, in fact she was likely trying to figure out how high she could jump off.”  As we turned away, he was doing a hand stand on the walls edge and I figured we would have to tell Andrea not to do that later on - though she didn’t test us.

We checked into a really nice campground on the edge of town.  It was our first choice as we hoped to stay at a KOA which was recommended for the kids but when I called the guy on the other end said the park was closed because it was still under water.  We haven’t seen any of the flooding in person yet, except for a tiny piece of the Forks today, but tomorrow we may start heading across the Province.  We did see a photo in the paper and it was jaw dropping.

Time to get the kids ready for bed.  Goodnight.

Francois

Good bye Ontario, Hello Manitoba

We made it to Manitoba!  How exciting to finally enter a new province!  

David under his street

For the remainder of yesterday afternoon we toured  Dryden, which was a lovely little town.  We discovered a street named David Ave and David more than willing to pose for a picture.  Natalie was very impressed with the library - there were lots of comfy chairs for people to curl up and read some books.  She found some of her favorite series and read for about an hour.   Andrea loved the playground we found nearby and showed us her new trick on the monkey bars.  Francois and I enjoyed the quiet time.  It was a very stressful drive for me from Thunder Bay until we made it to Dryden.  Francois, of course, was very positive.  He was very matter of fact about our situation and we aimed for small goals - like making it to the next community because after Thunder Bay there is large stretches of area with no communities and sometimes no cellular phone connections.  

All in all we had a great day and left Dryden shortly after 5:00pm.  We were told the nest in our van consisted of a lot of maple seeds, so just a warning to our neighbors, the squirrel may have made the nest before we left PEI.

As we left Dryden we saw a silver fox crossing the road and the most interesting thing we have seen to date to cross the road was a turtle - it was very large and was almost across the road by the time we came upon it.  

We stopped in Kenora to give the kids a quick bite to eat.  The time difference changed just before Dryden, so now we were on Central Time, but the kids stomachs were telling them it was time to eat.  Sandwiches have been the food of choice lately, but the kids haven’t complained.  David seems to be the one who needs the most food, he must be going through a growth spurt.

We arrived in Manitoba around 7:45pm - the tourist information centre was closed and there was no one working the desk at the provincial campground at Falcon Lake Shore Campground in Whiteshell Provincial park.    There were no black flies at the campground, so everyone helped put up the tent, which makes it much faster.  

There were lots of different bird sounds in the campground and the ravens were very loud at 5:00 am this morning.  The kids managed to sleep through the noise, but after one hour of listening to the birds squawk Francois headed to the showers.  On the way back he saw a deer within 15 feet of him.  They played the staring game and then the deer moved on.

We had breakfast and then took the tent down.  Again no black flies and minimal mosquitos too.  We were on the highway around 8:30 am making our way into Winnipeg.  We saw two deer near the highway - we are still excited to see these animals - they look so elegant.

I asked the kids if they are missing home and they said, “No, why would I miss it?”  So week two has begun and we are doing well.  We are listening a lot to Judy Blume’s audio book - The Pain and the Great one.  David loves it, I am sure we will know it word for word by the end of the trip!

Although we are not missing home we are missing our family and friends.  Yesterday Andrea said, “When Grammy sees us in August I bet she will say how big we have grown.”  I think she will say that too!

We hope everyone is doing well - thanks for reading our blog and for your comments and e-mails, we read it all and truly appreciate it.