Manitoba and Riding Mountain National Park.

July 2, 2019

We both woke up early this morning and so we got right at it and started breaking camp.  Debbie wanted to do a load of laundry and this time would be perfect for me to publish some blog notes.  We had a coffee and a muffin at Tim Hortons and then found a laundry for Debbie. 

I returned to Tim Hortons and started getting photos and editing the blog.   I was about to publish one post – the wifi here was poor- when all of a sudden a pop up screen came on to tell me that I was being hacked!!  I tried to remove the pop up and was unable to.  I immediately shut down the computer.  I met Debbie at the laundry, and after she had finished the clothes and putting them away, we decided to try a different location.  We went to Starbucks and again the pop up screen was there.  The screen was giving me a 1 800 phone number and I called it.  After a few minutes it became obvious that this was a scam.  The scammer was very persistent and finally Debbie said “shut it down!!”  We were concerned as to how deep this hack had gone and so we went to a nearby Staples store to get assistance.  Austin, the techy, checked out the computer, was able to remove the pop up, and explained the type of scam to me.  Debbie was more knowledgeable about this then I was and I learned a valuable lesson. 

After getting refocused we headed down the road to Manitoba. Our destination was Riding Mountain National Park.   We headed east on Hwy #16 and after about 100 kms we took secondary #247 .  The drive was most enjoyable and we reflected about the things we had done, experienced and learned about Saskatchewan:

1. The province of Saskatchewan is F L A T !   “You can see your mother-in-law coming for three days!”  The horizons go on for miles.  On the Saskatchewan license plates is the motto, “Land of the living skies”.   No kidding. We saw incredible thunderstorms, and rain clouds.  We were so surprised how a storm can come on to you within minutes and then its over in a half hour after being quite violent.

2. The province of Saskatchewan is a major supplier of food for the world’s population.  Farming is major industry.  The technology used in farming and the machinery needed to produce the wide variety crops is simply remarkable.  The Canadian farmer is a major player in the GNP of Canada.

3.  We have met so many Saskatchewan-ites who are born and raised in Saskatchewan and still live in the same community or area for the rest of their lives. They are proud of their province, and accept the difficulties of the winters as just another minor issue to put up with.  They are also true supporters of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and they wear the colors proudly!!

4. Saskatchewan is rich in its history.  The province has done well in building museums in different communities featuring various aspects of the development of the province. Even with a population of 1.2 million people, they have been instrumental in shaping politics and political parties in Canada.  Three prime ministers came from the Province of Saskatchewan!

5. We decided that we would travel across Canada and try to use secondary highways as much as possible.  We have enjoyed taking these alternate highways however, although they are maintained they are rough.  We had to get an alignment on the Santa Fe because of the bumps.   Saskatoon has many potholes in their streets. 

6.  Distance is no problem for a Saskatchewan-ite.   They think nothing of driving 100 kms to meet a friend for coffee!      

Overall, Saskatchewan has been a pleasure to travel through.  We enjoyed meeting the people who live there; they are welcoming, open and interesting. 

The drive to Riding Mountain National Park was finished faster that we anticipated, and we pulled into the Park at around 5:00. Wasagaming Campground is a large campground with 731 sites.  Our site was situated at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.

We are here for three nights and this looked very promising. We set up camp, started a nice campfire, and opened a bottle of Proseco to celebrate arriving into another province.