BC Day

We spent our BC Day, Sunday(August 5), in the air flying to beautiful Saskatchewan. I’ve really had to convert my views of the Prairies these last few days. For some reason I’d thought of Saskatchewan and Manitoba as a barren flat wasteland, especially in the summer (and in the winter).

The truth is, both Susan and I fell in love with the Prairies this week. No wonder the populace of what they jokingly call “The Gap” are so proud of their provinces. What gorgeous scenery.

On Monday, we began the journey in our Ford Escape by heading through little towns that have waved the Foursquare flag for generations. We sat with Morley and Kim Ayars and Amos Cunningham of Cando, Gary & Arlene Neigen of Wilkie,

and Bud and Evelyn Chartier who now live in North Battleford. Bud and Evelyn are both in their 80’s yet maintain the same radio program they began over 40 years ago to the farmers of Saskatchewan and around the world. These are 2 of the originals who began back in the days of Aimee Semple McPherson 60 years ago. What an honor it was to have lunch with them.

After a good visit, we headed north to one of the best kept secrets of Canada—the scenic Turtle Lake area. We arrived in the

beautifully forested resort in the early evening and met with our gracious hosts, Dan & Judy Gies. After dinner, Dan had his way with us—I think his goal was to scare the wits out of us BC suburbanites. First Dan too me for a ride in his son’s Corvette. I think he hit about 100 miles per hour in 15 seconds then looked over at his pale passenger with a big grin . After that we all loaded in to their speed boat for a cruise around Turtle Lake Again Dan opened the throttle and got a chuckle out of Susan’s and my reaction. What did he have up his sleeve next? I never would have guessed. While Susan and Judy visited Judy’s mom, Dan pulled out a 44 calibre pistol and said to me “let’s go for a walk in the woods!” I’d never shot a pistol before, but had seen plenty of cowboy movies so felt quite ready, when he instructed me to pull back the lock and aim at a 10 inch tree. “Bang!” The 5 pound pistol whipped as it shot out flames and smoke with the large bullet. My ears went deaf except for the ringing which lasted about 12 hours. Dan laughed as I examined the bullet hole clear through the birch tree trunk. He’d achieved his goal of shocking these two city kids with Prairie fun.

Dan’s and Judy’s dog (Jack Daniels, aka JD) is a dear old lady. She has mothered several litters of kittens (12) so much she even lactates and nurses them through their infancy. It’s quite a sight! We stayed at the guest suite of the Turtle Lake Mission that night. (13 & 14) then in the morning headed for Saskatoon. I’ve spent a few nights at Gary & Sherry Waugh’s (15) heritage home. (It originally belonged to John Diefenbaker’s mom). They are such a warn and congenial couple. After lunch we rushed out to meet Shaun & Robyn Schmidt for coffee, before leaving for the airport.