Prince Albert to Riding Mountain

Prince Albert National Park to Riding Mountain National Park

August 24, 2006

The hills and plains are covered with fields of wheat, oats, barley, hay and canola. It took a while to realize that we were looking at canola. It has a bushy head and they cut it and lay it out in long curving rows, five feet between rows. The stubble is light green and the cut plant blonds in the sun. There are probably five acres of canola for every acre of wheat, oats, hay and barley. We haven’t seen many cows and wonder what they do with all the hay; ship it to Texas, I guess.

We left the park and went back through Prince Albert on Highway 2 all the way to 16 and then took 16 (Trans Canada) to Yorkton where we had lunch down town at Gramp’s Fish and Chips. The girl with more braces than she could keep in her mouth told us that Gramp’s used to be in a trailer on the highway, “but the fish is just as good.” Gramp’s serves only health food, mental health food. The batter on the fish was so good that you really didn’t need the fish, and the fries piled into mountains on the plate were cut just before dropping into the grease from locally grown “spuds.” Our order took twice as long as the large woman and her large husband sitting at the table next to us. Gramp’s was not discriminating against foreigners. Annie ordered a green salad and they had to run down to the grocery to get the lettuce.

From Yorkton we took Provincial Highway 10 to Manitoba where the number changed to 5. If you have a map of Canada, you can follow our route. It drizzled on us most of the way. Just before Roblin (you need a good map to find Roblin) a storm crashed into the Highlander (I need a name for this car) like waves smashing rocks on the Oregon coast. The car rocked from side to side as the waves hit and visibility was about fifty feet in front of the car. At the height of the storm we were sent on a detour on dirt roads off to the north of the highway. When we finally got to Roblin, we parked in the lee of the local liquor store and waited out the storm.

At Dauphin we turned south on highway 10 to Riding Mountain National Park. The radio said the storm we had driven through was headed toward the park, so we decide to experience nature at the Aspen Ridge Resort. Don’t be too impressed. We are in a one room cabin with cracked linoleum floors. But, as Annie says, it is clean. The storm never came. The sun is out and we are headed for the campground.