mineral pools & tornado warnings

Odometer: 65,807
Price of gas: $4.78 (oh, Canada!)
Swift Current, SK to Brandon, MB

Bless the tourism guides, they are so very useful. After leaving Swift Current this morning, I stopped in Moose Jaw. No, not for the Al Capone tunnels (smuggling operations), but for the fabulous spa. And who knows if they actually have a fabulous spa: they have a fabulous mineral pool. 105 degrees outside (in the rain), 97 degrees inside… looking back, I think I have a rule about not passing up hot springs. Heck, going back to the family vacation through South Dakota when I was about 10, we went to Evan’s Plunge which was a hot springs pool. Ah, good times.

Anyway, one should never pass up a hot springs, even on a holiday when they jack the price on you. It was lovely and I lounged for an hour and a half or so. The last hot springs I went to (Hamner Springs, New Zealand), I had a heck of a time driving afterwards. As I did plan to drive onward, I figured I needed to maintain a decent level of alertness. And surprise, it’s still raining.

The rain did, at least, taper on and off as I drove this afternoon. I stopped in Regina, the capitol of Saskatchewan, and did a brief tour of the capitol building. I figured I should make at least one government stop, and it helped to break up the drive. Prime Minister Harper is likely to issue the call for elections this week, is anyone in the US listening? Probably not. But love the Canadian radio. The building was cool – it cost $2 million when it was built and would cost over $250 million today. Within the legislative hall, there is a beaver pelt pillow that a mace normally sits on. The mace is used by the sergeant at arms to defend the speaker in case of attack. Excellent.



Queen Elizabeth on her favorite horse, Bermese, a horse from Saskatchewan.



Does anyone else find it hilarious they have lit lampposts in their legislative chambers?

Thereafter I drove. It’s a holiday, so the oh-so-helpful visitor centers were closed. Sigh. I pretty much just barreled through to Brandon. It did get entertaining as I was listening to Manitoba radio and they announced a tornado having been spotted somewhere in Manitoba and of course I have no idea where anything is. Fortunately, having looked it up, it was near Winnipeg and not near me. I’m hoping the morning is decent and that I can get a ride on my bike before moving on. My poor bike: rained on the whole way these last few days. Hopefully the seat is dry by morning.

Need to look at what’s out there, but odds are good I’ll be back in the states tomorrow. Unless something in Ontario distracts me…