Lost But Loving Saskatchewan

In the end the move from Bermuda was as chaotic and frustrating as the move to Bermuda.  There are no pictures or good stories to really tell about that process, except I made it out in one piece, with 3 cats, no tears, and one Siobhan (who agreed to divert her travel plans to see Saskatchewan en route to Ireland and carry one panther with her).  The panthers were not particularly pleased with this whole process, but their are settling into our temporary Saskatchewan home and getting to know their new Canadian relatives.  To be fair, they are mostly rampaging about in the night, enjoying the novelties of carpet and the joy of expression on the piano rather than forming social bonds, but they are happy all the same.  Lexi has been reunited with all the cat furniture she left behind 5 years ago in the Bermuda move and is happy as a little clam.  But I digress.

The departure from Bermuda started a very long day.  Last minute packing, turning the apartment over to the landlords, a ride to the airport from Helen, a long flight with 3 cats (one of which was a very vocal and unhappy Harry Panther), one barely caught connection for flight 2 with 3 cats (and one still very unhappy and vocal Harry Panther), followed by one 3 hour drive in the dark with 3 now much happier cats and one wild Saskatchewan storm.  Siobhan was treated to an amazing display of the various types of lightning for her first sight of Saskatchewan as we drove into a storm that was so strong we had to pull over as the driving rain made visibility zero at one point.  But we finally made it.

Day one in Saskatchewan, Friday, started out full swing.  Siobhan traded in her spot on the scooter for a seat in the semi as rode along for a couple of loads of grain delivery to a not so nearby elevator.

Later in the evening we went for a tour of the crops, with mom and dad showing Siobhan the ropes.

Fields of Gold

The Saskatchewan skies never disappoint and we got a nice sunset too.

Day 2, Saturday, was a nice low key day for a sleep in and a bit of unpacking.  We toured around my old hometown a little bit, drove up to Gravelbourg to have lunch with my nephew, and found a lot of nice things to take pictures of.  The prairies are quite beautiful, especially when you have been away from them for so long.

A slough just off the highway

Barbed wire fence at the edge of town

The thin barrier between country and town....this fence

An old red barn on old family land

A patch of brown eyed Susans near a crop....weeds....but pretty

Track through the road to another old abandoned yard on our land

I love love how old wooden buildings bend, lean, and change with time

Day 3 was Sunday, and we were on the road again.  We set out for "Rocking Beach" by Rockglen to meet up with my sister and my friend Tanya, who was celebrating her 17th anniversary and her parents 50th anniversary there.

Cat Tails along the road south of Assiniboia

The road to Rockglen....starts to get hilly

Demon Duck....hard to see but if you zoom in it has red eyes (or maybe it's a griebe -- info supplied by Jody Bevan!)

the destination

 Once we arrived, the park was actually rocking -- because the anniversary group was both large and lively.  We had a great time, and a lot of laughs, mostly at the expense of either Tanya or myself as usual.  But was glad to meet up with friends and go camping for a night before heading out again on the road trip.  And what does one do when camping?  Mostly sit around a campfire with a bevvy and make fun of each other...or maybe that's just it.  Siobhan will never forgive us for teasing about her accent or the Americans for making us keep asking about the Irish "looky cherms."  Tanya and Leanne will never outlive the "high five" comment.  And thanks to Toby, who wasn't paying attention when his wife Tanya repeated my suggestion that everyone hook up their campers and do a roadtrip to Alaska, what he did hear was just something about hooker camp, so apparently I have quite the reunion to plan for the next get together.  Much fun and many laughs were had....that's how we camp at Rocking Beach.