Warm Friends and Cool Heritage

What an inspirational week.

First we were fortunate to catch up with a friend from Perth - Terry Bolland.
Terry's exploits make Bear Grylls look like an amateur.
Terry has kayaked many of the  major rivers in North America, as well as biking, hiking and kayaking 24000 kilometres around Australia. He is currently on another 5000 kilometre adventure across Canada from the head of the North Saskatchewan river in the Rockies to Montreal (or further if the conditions are good). And if that wasn't inspirational enough, Terry recently celebrated his 60th birthday.
You can follow Terry's adventures on his blog:
Terry across Canada   or his website  Canoeing Down Under

Not only has Terry got another 4500 klms to go - but he had to drag his kayak and gear 1/2 kilometre to the river, as this is as close as we could get without getting bogged!

Glad I only had to drive the car and not the kayak.

Friday we spent a wonderful evening at Jim and Joanne's cabin by the lake (Sandy Beach). As usual the Canadian hospitality was exceptional; delicious food, ice cold beer and warm company. We are certainly inspired to buy our own cabin by the lake when our lottery numbers come up.

The Lovely Ladies Laughing by the Lake.

and the Languid Lads Looking at the Lake

For more inspiration from the past we ventured back to North Battleford to check out the Western Development Museum. We were not disappointed. The exhibits and outdoor heritage village brought Saskatchewan's past to life. Again we are in awe of how people in the past carved out a livelihood and ultimately thrived to build this  prosperous province.

Everything you need in a heritage village.

Yes, people are dieing to ride in this!

How does it check your emails and take photos?

There is always one in every class!

I will do anything to avoid buying a ticket.

Another classic Canadian barn.

Ukrainian Pioneer Home

A hair raising experience using this.

Coming to a Walmart near you

And to conclude our inspirational weekend we finally  encountered the world's largest tomahawk

OK - who threw their tomahawk at my tepee?

A kick in the Butte

The best and worst of Canadian culture!!
The cup certainly runneth over.
We knew Canadians were passionate about their Hockey but this was totally out of character from our experience.

The Vancouver Riots - check out the Aussie making love not war!

 I think a true reflection of the Canadian spirit, we have experienced in our time here,  was demonstrated the day after the riots -  Strong, spontaneous local support for the police and a desire to show that Canadian communities are constructive not destructive.

A more positive side of Vancouver residents.

Vancouver residents place messages of support on a police car following the riot after the Canucks Stanley cup defeat by the Boston Bruins. (Photo courtesy of Global BC).

It isn't just Hockey that has some Canadians upset. At present the postal workers have been locked out, Air Canada may have just averted a significant strike and  Health workers as well as Saskatchewan teachers are in the midst of  industrial unrest.
I think it must be something in the summer air - such as the Tornado warning we had this week - and silly me thought the dangerous weather had passed until after the holidays!!!!!!!

As previously discovered, many rural communities really value their history and we had the pleasure of visiting another wonderful local museum in Frenchman Butte.
Despite less than 100 inhabitants the museum and tearoom provided a delightful and interesting afternoon immersed in the past.

The school house - A naughty girl with Gertie our  Museum guru.

Typical one room school - desks for grade ones to grade twelve!

And what a way to finish a hard afternoon museuming  -  a delicious afternoon tea.

Check out the link below to see what you missed at this unique museum.

Frenchman Butte Museum

A summer days over the North Saskatchewan River - thankfully not a tornado in site.

One wonders what kicks will be in stall for next week?

Horsing around.

There is just so much to see and do at this time of the year, I think most Canadians must have seasonal  ADHD (activities during hotter days).                   
Thankfully there is  less than 3 weeks of school left so we can soon  'check things out' full time.

This weekend we started off with the Lloydminster Summer Streetfest - entertainment, food stalls, home made goods for sale,  bouncy activities for young and old, local art displays - all on the street,  under the sun and not a car in sight. It was great to see how much Lloydminster has to offer as an alternative to the big franchise stores.

After the thrills (and thankfully no spills) of the Chuckwagon races last week, this week it was the skill, strength and courage of the Lea Park Rodeo.

Lea Park Pro Rodeo

What a great afternoon of action:

Ladies Barrel racing

I would have enough trouble getting past the big barrel at the back!

Even though your hat is nearly as big as you are, you are still a cowboy.

Spot the odd one out!

Tie-down roping

Who is taking who for a walk?

Saddle Bronc Riding.

I think the horse can see what the problem is.

Steer Wrestling

How do you 'steer' this thing?

and the scary, but so impressive Bull Riding.

He is making it look easy, he is only using one hand.

When your private parts are tied in  knots - what would you do?

And if that wasn't enough for one weekend (along with end of year marking and cutting the grass every other day) we had the opportunity to see the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Musical ride.

RCMP _ Musical Ride 

 The event wasn't just a horse riding display, we were fortunate to be treated to a traditional dance display by the "Onion Lake" dance group.

Battle of the Little and Big Worn.

A display by the local police dog and handler.

Maybe the smell of my armpits will distract him.

Getting your teeth into an arrest

and a fun and French  musical interlude.

The youngest and biggest wooden spoon playing event.

 But the highlight was a wonderful display of police and horse, cleverly manoeuvring to the music in perfect  time and synchronisity.

No speeding here.

Imagine having to clear up after this lot!

Practising cooking sausages on the fire whilst on horseback.

Charge.................

 How the traffic should flow......

And to round off another terrific weekend in relaxing and hospitable style we had a traditional Canadian BBQ with our wonderful neighbours Michelle, Brad, Jaycee, Stephen and Amy.
I say traditionally Canadian because we were treated like treasured family and the delicious home grown steaks were as big as our plate.

If this keeps up I will be in the next rodeo........as the barrel!!!.

Elevating the Past

Summer is on its way; the grass is growing like mad and needs mowing every other day; Canadians can engage in their second favourite pass time, (behind watching hockey)  organising and attending garage sales;

Garage sale heaven!

and its opening time for many tourist attractions.

Is it against the grain to have a museum in here?

One museum we were looking forward to checking out is the "Climb thru Time - Elevator Museum" in Paradise Valley.

 As we climbed the inside of the iconic Canadian grain silo we investigated 55 historical exhibits - from a Sod house to a Salt & Pepper shaker collection - the journey through time was fascinating.
In addition to appreciating the past we really had the sense of civic pride as all the exhibits had been  compiled by  volunteers from the small local community.

"Are you being served?"

What's my classroom doing in the museum?

This sporting moment bought to you by "Kellogs".

How to get ahead in the museum world.

Another visit high on our list was the 1885 trail.
Frog Lake was the location of the murder of two priests and seven residents by 'Big Bear's Band" in April 1885. The large headstone marks the grave of Constable Cowan of the North West Mounted Police (NWMP).

Frog Lake National Historic Site

Indians of Big Bear's Band moved to Fort Pitt after the Frog Lake Massacre.  Inspector Francis Dickens, son of Charles Dickens, and a small force of NWMP were unable to defend the fort but were allowed to leave in a boat on the North Saskatchewan river. Left behind were 70 hostages.

The history lessons continues.

An area at Fort Pitt commemorating lives lost

By late May the Indians (with all hostages) were ready for a battle at Frenchman Butte with the militia led by General Strange.

Location of the Indian rifle pits

Plaque and cairn commemorating the battle of May 28, 1885.

The decisive battle of the North West uprising was at Steele Narrows (see April 3 blog post) .  All 70 hostages were released unharmed after two months with Big Bears Band.

It was an insightful day investigating this fascinating period in North West Candian history.

Another historical feature we also passed on our travels was a large water tower, pivotal for the success of the rail roads in the area.

World biggest Water Closet!

Just for something different, whilst in the area we stopped off at Whitney Lakes Provincial Park for a delicious picnic at the beach.

Beautiful Whitney Lake with equally beautiful scenery.

So much to see and do - we can see why the locals pack so much in during the warmer months.

A "Bonanza" of a time

Wow, 'chuck'  this out.

They call it "Half a Mile of Hell".

World Professional Chuckwagon Races

Our first Chuckwagon race meeting and it was a real experience.

The lovely Lea Park girls show their patriotism

And they're off - we hope.

A photo finish - and I still did my dough.

Not only were the races exciting to watch -  all the helter and skelter at the start then the mad clattering dash to the finish - but the entertainment before and during the races was worth the admission price alone.
Before the races started the Graham Sisters -  trick riders -  showed  female Canadian horse riders can be the equal or better than any male rider. And they train the horses themselves.
When they are not riding horses one sister is a teacher the other a nurse!!

I hope the horse didn't have curry for dinner!

Do not  try this at home.

Just to add even more excitement to the night the Dewberry crowd were treated to the Professional Freestyle Motocross riders. As with the Graham sisters on their horses what these boys did on their bikes defied gravity and common sense.

or this!

 

 

A great evening made even more special by the fact that the community of Dewberry, who helped organise the event, has a population of less than 220 people.

The original - World's largest chuckwagon.