May 31, 2019
Carol and John prepared a great breakfast this morning, which we enjoyed after having slept in a “normal” bed and enjoyed a “toonie” free shower.
John and Carol wanted to show us some of the sights of Medicine Hat and because of my interest in pottery we also were visiting the Medalta Pottery Museum.
We first stopped at the John’s Butterfly House at the Windmill Garden Centre. This garden center has a large tropical conservatory that houses a huge garden of tropical plants, a coy fishpond and is the habitat for a variety of butterflies. We toured the grounds and looked at the many colorful butterflies as well as enjoying the blooming tropical flowers and trees.
Our visit to the Medalta Pottery Museum was informative and educational. The Medalta Pottery factory was established in 1912 and was the primary supplier of stoneware, dishes, and storage pots in Canada. It was a leader in its field in technology and mass production machinery. The museum has, through archeological digs, restored much of the machinery, equipment and kilns. It is also the most productive on-site student arts program in Canada. I really enjoyed speaking to the art students and watching some of the methods and processes that they were using in making various types of pottery and stoneware.
John, before he retired, was the water and utilities manager for the City of Medicine Hat. He toured us around the city as we were heading home to show us the changes that he was involved in as a result of the two major floods that Medicine Hat experienced in the past nine years. It was interesting to see the needs for dykes after a flood that was never experienced in 100 years.
John and Carol again set out a wonderful supper and we ended the evening with a photo show of their recent trip to New Zealand and Australia.
Quilting in a Kayak 