The original plan was to head south through Medicine Hat and revisit some favourite photography places in southern Saskatchewan. Smoke from forest fires in the north west US blanketed the area so I am now travelling the northern route.
Most of the day was great thanks to friend George's recommendation to take the roads less travelled and go to Frenchman's Butte. It was a good decision. By Vegreville I began settling into the beauty of the rolling countryside and then as I worked my way along the range roads I realized this isn't my first rodeo and any first day nervousness disappeared.
When I found my way to Frenchman's Butte I had a personal tour for over 2 hours with a guide whose family had lived there forever. They won an award for best small town museum in Saskatchewan and after seeing all the sign's for museum's in every little town I drove through they had a lot of competition. It would have been even more of an experience if I had stayed with him and the other volunteers for juice but I'm not ready to set aside 'destinations' yet. As it was it took me over 8 hours to get to Battleford, made easier with Saskatchewan's girl Joanie Mitchell and Alberta's Ian Tyson.
Why doesn't anyone talk about how beautiful Battleford is? It was past dinner when finally I pulled in. My campsite has a spectacular view out over the whole valley. I tried to have dinner at the picnic table but eaten alive by mosquito's. They left me alone when I went for a great walk along the valley crest to the Fort, big sky's and big clouds moving in.
So that was the good now for the ugly. Before I left I had decided to drain my tanks at my first campground. On the roads less travelled there was a longish stretch of construction with slippery muddy clay. Anyway, to keep it short, the whole drainage system was caked with cement like dried clay that required an ax, a knife, big pots of water, whisk brooms, and well over half an hour on my knees to get it unhooked, drain it and hook it back up. I have a maochistic sense of pride born of desperation that I problem solved my way through it. Of corse it then required a trip to the ice cream shop in order to recover.
So alls well that ends well. Time to read about Sitting Bull, Sam Steel and the Riel Rebellion.
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