The weather was not too bad after all and we were ready to roll by 8:30AM.
That Road Trip Guy
Tuesday, 29 April 2025
Manitoba - Day 1
Monday, 28 April 2025
Manitoba - Day 0
It will be May in a few days so time for another adventure. We're leaving tomorrow for three weeks in Manitoba...another province we have visited briefly and passed through in the past but never gave it any true recognition. We're just about ready to leave at noon tomorrow. That's an early morning airport pick up then off we go.
Too bad we're not leaving today because it had a beautiful start. Tomorrow's forecast is far less enticing with rain forecast. I don't like flying at the best of times so fortunately it's a relatively short flight at under 3 hours.
As before, I will attempt to post each day, dependent on internet service. We're not going to be in many hotels so it may be an issue. You'll be informed so please join us. 😎
Thursday, 17 October 2024
Day 30 - Wednesday, October 16
Sadly, all good things must end and it's time for us to leave Alberta. The Hampton Inn and Suites may have other thoughts...you see, I had a bit of an issue with the desk chairs, yes chairs, not one but three. The first one was so loose I felt my using it would end in a trip to the hospital. We called and they replaced it. The replacement was so tight that the next day I leaned back and it exploded; screws and washers all over the place. Called again and the same good-natured maintenance man found me another one. This one was somewhere between the first two but was making loud noises any time I moved at all. I decided it was best to say nothing and bear with it. We left with the chair and me intact. 😂
The whole return flight process was seamless and almost enjoyable. For once our boarding gate was only half way down the long line of options and surprisingly was not changed. It was raining when we left Edmonton right on time. Rain, what's that? It cleared as we progressed. We flew over the Soo as the sun reached that golden hour that photographers love so much, so I had to participate.
This was our fifth visit to Alberta so we deliberately stayed away from the Banff/Jasper corridor. We did pass through Jasper but did not spend any appreciable time there. Had we done so it would have been too sad. We saw first hand the devastation suffered and how they were struggling to rebuild after the summer wildfires. I was particularly moved by the sight of a lone elk at the roadside rummaging through the ashes that were once trees and grasslands desperately looking for something to graze upon.
It's just as well we made that decision. Some of the spectacular highlights along the route no longer allow you to drive to the location. You have to leave your car in a central parking area and take a shuttle to the site/sight. I know that's better for the environment (not appreciably so unless they are using electric buses and shuttles) but in my mind it just accentuates the crowds bringing more things I hate to the table. The sign I saw in the hotel in the ghost town of Wayne near Drumheller best exemplified my feelings...I used to be a people person but people ruined that for me.
This trip was to concentrate on areas we had not previously see. That took us on a 5000+ kilometre road trip that was simply amazing. I knew there were prairie lands in Alberta but had no idea there was so much of it or so many areas that indeed looked just like Saskatchewan. Another oddity (due to my sheer ignorance of such things) was the existence of far more natural gas fields and plants than oil. The almost total lack of wildlife sightings did not surprise me – that's standard fare on a Whitehead road trip.
We had phenomenal weather almost every day. The predominant colour was most certainly blue in the clear or only slightly cloudy skies. Having said that, the beautiful fall colour, primarily yellow in this province, competed with the sky for top honours. I don't see how this trip could have been better.
Once again, we thank you all so very much for tagging along. In a lot of ways it made us feel like you were with us. Stay well and keep smiling. I'm sure we'll do this again soon.
😎
Tuesday, 15 October 2024
Day 29 - Tuesday, October 15
To start things off Happy Anniversary to US!!! 😅 47 years of marriage, 56 years together. Life is good.
October 15, 1977
Monday, 14 October 2024
Day 28 - Monday, October 14
As you saw from the Thanksgiving Day card, this morning's sunrise was worth getting up for. I believe if you can see it and enjoy it, it's worth it (even with a less than ideal foreground). One of many things to be thankful for.
Sunday, 13 October 2024
Day 27 - Sunday, October 13
We stayed in "our house" right until 11AM because it was only about a 2 hour drive to Edmonton from Red Deer. I wasn't crazy about that so mapped out an alternate route far off the main highway. That increased our travel time to 5 hours but included a lovely hike through Pigeon Lake Provincial Park...and you know what kind of day it was. 😀
We're still in rolling prairie land but there was a lot more trees than I expected - not unlike many parts of Ontario actually.
Saturday, 12 October 2024
Day 26 - Saturday, October 12
It was minus 4 feeling like minus 6 when we headed out on our exploratory journey of Sylvan Lake. Sylvan Lake is a town (and a lake) with a population of approximately 16,000 about 25 kilometres west of Red Deer. It's a pretty little town on the lake; the beaches are probably a busy, happy spot through the summer. It reminded me of an upscale version of what I remember about Wasaga Beach. That may be very different now as my memories of Wasaga Beach are a few decades old now.
There were a number of things we wanted to see and do in Sylvan Lake and we got to them all but one. More on that in a moment. The Sylvan Beach lighthouse was my top priority, it being one of a very few inland lighthouses in Canada, the one in Cochin, Saskatchewan comes to mind as another. The lighthouse gracing Sylvan Lake's shore was modelled after the famous Peggy's Cove structure and completed in 1988. By 2011 the structure had to be demolished as it was in disrepair.
Using duplicate blueprints for the original Peggy's Cove lighthouse, donated by the Premier of Nova Scotia, the new structure was completed in June 2016. Nowhere near as big as the one at Peggy's Cove the Sylvan Lake model is a pleasant sight.