We have seen the end to narrow, twisty roads, but also the end of the magnificent mountain scenery. Most of the rest of the Canadian potion of our return will be on the 4 lane divided Trans-Canada Highway. This is essentially all prairie. We are seeing still larger fields of canola and other grains.
Grain elevators, both modern and old fashioned have replaced mountain peaks as the highest points along the way.
There is a huge amount of land here and farmers make the most of it. They even farm hay in the median of the Trans-Canada!
Sixty years ago there was a huge oil strike in Saskatchewan and there are still many oil wells visible along the highway.
There are a few “special” sights along the highway like the world’s largest tipi frame in Medicine Hat, Alberta and Mac, the world’s tallest moose in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
We stopped in Medicine Hat to search for a place to eat lunch. When we found the historic downtown and began walking to find a restaurant, we saw about 5 or 6 young men dressed in similar outfits that included cowboy hats. While we were sitting in the sidewalk cafe of Twist Tapas Bar and Restaurant, we saw 4 women dressed in nearly matching conservative clothes. Two of them split off and joined 3 of the guys. We speculated if they were local Mennonites. There are a decent number of them in Alberta.
We had very pleasing food there – Ardith’s chicken, pear and brie panini was a big hit and Jim really got into his Benedictine Blue Cheese Salad that included pears, pecans and dates.
We had been caught off guard by time zone changes before and while we were driving today, we speculated where the change from Mountain to Central time would occur. When we visited the Saskatchewan welcome, there was a sign on the door stating that time in Saskatchewan was the same as in Alberta. We were good for another day and a half.
We spent the morning and part of the afternoon of our full day in Regina, Saskatchewan’s capital, ath the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy and Heritage Centre. The Heritage Centre is a museum telling the story of the Mounties who were formed in the 1870s and were called the Northwest Mounted Police for several decades. Displays in the museum included uniforms issued throughout its history.
They also had displays of early weaponry. In their earliest campaign, they dragged several cannons from the East into the western parts of the country. These were totally unnecessary for the situations they would encounter, but the government officials felt it would add a commanding presence.
They also displayed means of transportation from dog sleds to modern vehicles that can go through deep snow.
A car in the display brought back memories to Jim. When he was a kid, his family went to visit extended family in the Buffalo-Rochester area of New York. They always made an excursion to Niagara Falls and made sure they went to the Canadian side. Jim was very much into cars from about 7 years old until past the time he got his license. He was always fascinated by the Canadian cars that were “hybrids” of US cars. The police care below was a Meteor. That was basically a Ford with a variant of Mercury trim. There was also a Monarch that was a Mercury with trim very similar to that of a Ford. The Crusader, Regent and Mayfair were blends of Plymouths, Dodges and DeSotos. GM was not to be outdone; the Lauerntian was a spiffed up Pontiac.
There was also a section on forensics with several interactive displays. One had you look at bullets under magnifiers to see which were fired from which gun.
The RCMP Academy, known as the Depot to all Mounties, has been their main training center since 1885. It is currently also used to train a variety of other special Canadian security agencies. Every new recruit to the RCMP comes here for an intensive 24 week course of training and study. He or she is part of a 32 person troop that moves through the training together. While we were there, 4 different troops were in various stages of training. These stages can be discerned by their uniform. They earn new pieces as a group. If one person fails, the group fails. The first piece beyond the basic uniform is black, low boots. Before that, they wear sneakers. Next, they earn a stripe for their pants, then large boots. Graduation day is when they first get to wear the iconic scarlet coat.
We took a tour of the Academy and went in places like the drill hall and the chapel (the oldest building in Regina).
We also saw the outside of some of the classroom and training buildings.
We watched the candidates practicing for and participating in the Sergeant Major’s Parade, which is held in the early afternoon, 3 days a week. This includes a roll call and inspection and is accompanied by the Cadet Band.
There were a few pieces of fun available. We bought small animal Mounties in the gift shop for our granddaughters. Jim modeled them next to their big brothers.
Next stop was the laundromat. We found one that was quick and clean. They took in a lot of laundry that was dropped off to be picked up later. That made sure they kept their equipment in tip-top condition.
Next we went to Government House which is the official residence of Saskatchewan’s Lieutenant Governor. This is very different than the position of the same name in most US states. This person serves as the Queen’s appointed representative in the province and is “head of state” where the head of the government is the premier, and elected position. The duties of the office are primarily ceremonial. After a few decades of disuse, the building was restored to its condition in the early 1900s under period under Lieutenant-Governor Amédée Forget (pronounced forzhay). Much of it is a museum and is often used as a hospitality facility for government and non-profit organizations.
There was a lot of furniture that was in the house at the time, including a fainting couch.
Jim liked the photocopy of the 1906 phone directory that included rules and regulations ans well as listings for probably a bit over 200 subscribers.
The Forget’s didn’t have any children, but had pets in the house, including a monkey named Jocko. They now have a stuffed monkey that resembles Jocko. The staff regularly hides the monkey in new places and children and folks like Jim are challenged to find him. Jim failed on his own, but enlisted the help of a boy who was about 10 who spotted him hiding under a bed.
The Lieutenant-Governor had toys to distract the monkey who could otherwise be a handful during official functions.
Another fun thing in this place filled with nice furniture and plumbing fixtures was a U-shape table where there were cardboard cutouts of all the prior Lieutenant-Governor’s. They spotlighted pair of them and had simulated conversations between diverse historical figures. Some were somber, some witty.
We ate great meal at LaBodega Tapas Bar and Grill. We shared each of the plates. The first to come out was our favorite, the Brie Plate. It had slices of crostini for spreading the freshly roasted garlic, brie, apple slices, walnuts and sea salt. The combination was yummy; the garlic was the real key. That was followed by Steak Frites with a red wine glaze and Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan chese and olive oil. All were elegant and excellent. This was another place where we were just barely first for dinner and got the best seat in the house.
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