Moosomin to Regina

Odometer: 42920 km

The travel is all familiar, old ground, from here to home in Calgary. The temptation will be to ride through it with out taking notice of anything, thinking that I know everything there is to know about the country here. I’ll have to overcome that numbness and try to keep my senses as alert as they have been for the rest of the trip.

My plan is to travel on the TransCanada to Indian Head; slip over to the Qu’Appelle Valley and past Katepwa, the location of our cottage back in the forties; through Labret; breakfast in Fort Qu’Appelle and hopefully a chance to meet Donna Caruso, a videographer I admire; and, finally, slip into Regina by early afternoon.

This morning my sleep came to an abrupt end with a loud banging that seemed to be right outside my window. I looked out and there was nobody about, so I thought whoever was making the noise had gone back to their room. Within seconds it started again. This time I put on my shirt and opened the door ready to explain to whomever it was that they were being a jerk. Again, there was no one about, but the banging continued. I followed the sound to the feed mill across the highway where the farmers were bringing their grain in for sale and banging the truck in order to empty it. On the prairies, the farmers are up at the crack of dawn in order to get their jobs for the day done. I guess they didn’t see any reason why the rest of us couldn’t be up as well and I wasn’t going to have any success changing their behaviour with my whining. The consequence of all this was that I was on the road heading west by 6:30am.

The rising sun was behind my back, providing beautiful views of the prairies as I rode along. It was a visual treat. To add to the enjoyment, there was no traffic, no wind, no rain, and no police. Again - perfect.

About 12km east of Broadview, on the north side of the highway, there is a lone spruce tree over sixty feet high. What the heck is that all about? I stopped and looked around in every direction and there wasn’t another evergreen to be seen. The only thing I could think of was that, at one time, there was a farm at that location and this is one of the planted shelter trees. There probably were other trees, but they must have died. It was an impressive sight - sort of a lone sentinel. I bet there is a story there somewhere, if I could find the right people.

The ride along Katepwa was peaceful. The early risers were out jogging along the road or taking their dogs for a walk. I passed our old cottage, that can no longer be seen from the road because of the trees, and stopped at Katepwa Beach on what we use to call The Point. I took a moment out to recall some memories and then rode into Fort Qu’Appelle for breakfast. The Fort, as it is called locally, is a nice place to be in the summer. I think owning a small house there that could be used as a sort of retreat would be a good thing. I tried to get hold of Donna, but she wasn’t at home, so I went into Roco Jack’s and had breakfast. This is the only quality coffee place in the valley and is located in the old Hudson Bay Building which is an historic stone structure.

Donna Caruso’s videos are titled ‘Life Without Borders’ and they are shown on SCN for those of you that have satellite. She is doing a great job of capturing culture of the prairies of not only today, but also something of the past four decades, through interviews with old timers, many of whom have retired and living in The Fort. Back in the fifties a photographer by the name of Everett Baker did the same for that era with colour slide images that are now in the Saskatchewan Archives in Regina. Someday I hope I’ll get a chance to meet Donna, but, I was ready to get back on the road to Regina, so I left.

If my father had done the same thing as Jim’s dad at Brignall Banks, or Ron’s father at Trout Lake, I guess my family would have had their summers at our old family cottage at Katepwa. I will never know what differences that may have made in our lives in the past, but at this stage, I think it would be fun to have such a retreat.

In Regina, I met up with my cousins Pat and Heather. Heather took us out for a fantastic Chinese meal and we had a good visit over supper. I asked Heather if she could drive us around Wascana Park before going back to the motel. This park is where the Provincial Parliament Buildings are located, but it also has Wascana Lake, lots of paths for walking, and some special flower gardens that would be recognized for their beauty by any horticulturist in the world.

I should have some incredible images to show you of that evening at Wascana Park. They were there to be had, but I didn’t have my camera with me. I think there were some actual photo contest winners, but they are only in my mind now. That was just another reminder that, as a photographer, you should ALWAYS have some sort of camera with you. Damn.

Odometer at the end of the day: 43215 km

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