Brandon, MB to Regina, SK

July 5th

Had a good start to the day – on the road just after 8 am. Pretty driving through the Prairies – lots of canola fields blooming and lots of puffy clouds in the sky. Nice weather in the morning bright but not too sunny or hot. The T-Can through Manitoba is divided, but not controlled-access, so lots of little roads enter directly onto the highway.

Our kids are so good in the car. We don't have a DVD player, but we listen to a lot of CDs. DD1 plays with her Barbie doll and DD2 likes to colour. Sometimes I read books to them or we play games like who am I or eye spy. We take nice long lunch breaks, and always try to find a play park or somewhere the girls can run off some steam. We stretch DS out on a blanket so he gets to move around too, but since he doesn't crawl yet or doesn't like to lie on his belly, he usually ends up sitting and reaching out for grass to stuff in his mouth. In the afternoons, DD2 and DS usually have a good nap and really try to coordinated filling up for gas before their nap or after they are awake. After about 4pm, DS reaches his limit and starts to cry, so a few times we have made a stop for supper before pulling into our site.

Our trailer is awesome for this type of travelling. We had a tent trailer before, and couldn't really use it while travelling. But with our 17' travel trailer, it's nothing to go in and make a meal or even eat inside while on the side of the road. Emergency potty access is also helpful, as I still haven't convinced the girls to pee on the side of the road.



Our lunch stop today was in Moosomin, a fair-size town in SK, just west of the MB border. It didn't have any picnic areas, so we looked for a public school. We ate in the trailer and then the girls played at the park. We noticed another family doing the same thing – Len struck up a conversation and found out they were from Lanark, on their way to Edmonton! What a small world, as Lanark is just outside our city...



We had to change our clocks again today, because although SK is on Central time, it doesn't observe daylight savings. At least it will be the same when we cross into AB later this week.

Landed in Regina in the mid afternoon and are staying right downtown, about 5 minutes from the legislature building, with our friend. We walked to the provincial legislature and checked out some of Wascana Park, a very large urban park in the centre of Regina. We then went for a fantastic meal at The Creek in Cathedral Bistro – sampling each others dishes and sharing dessert. The kids were unbelievably well-behaved, it was an upscale eatery but they had macaroni and cheese on the menu. How perfect! It was actually prosciutto-wrapped mac 'n cheese and was like a little taste of heaven.


After getting the kids to bed, the three adults stayed up to play, what else but, board games. I decided to join in at the last moment (while doing a load of laundry – yahoo!) and pretty much slaughtered the guys at 'RuneBound'. It was an awesome game that built on Dungeons and Dragons principles but had a pirate theme. I really like it. Unfortunately, we played till 3:30 am so I will pay for it tomorrow!

Spruce Woods Provincial Park, near Brandon MB

July 4th

What a gorgeous park this is, along the banks of the famed Assiniboine River! Too bad it is a four-day drive from our home because we would love to come back. It is a huge park with a well-equipped campground (Kitchie Manitou). We had a lazy morning – slept in and had a nice breakfast then pack a lunch and spent the afternoon at the 'Spirit Sands' – a desert-like area that has 30m sand dunes. Within the Spirit Sands is the 'Devil's Punch Bowl' – a pond formed by an underground stream. The trail is 3.5 km one way, and we new DD2 would never make it, so we opted for the easy tour – a covered wagon ride pulled by a team of Belgians and driven by a pair of cowboys! What fun! DD2 and DS slept through a lot of the ride, but DD1, DH and I enjoyed the tour immensely. Our guide, Larry, and his ancestors, grew up along the Assiniboine so he was a fountain of knowledge. He pointed out a lot of native plants (different kinds of willows, aspen, and junipers) and aboriginal uses for them (bug repellant, analgesia, laxative)x.

We had beautiful views of the meandering and silty Assiniboine River. Our campground is located in the middle of one of eleven 'oxbow lakes' formed by the Assiniboine thamk are located in the park. After our tour of the Spirit Sands, we had a picnic lunch at the Day Use area – the girls tried out yet another play park and then checked out the Interpretive Centre. The Centre was excellent – the kids got to see a Northern Prairie skink and Western hognose snake that are native to this area. They also had giant puzzles, games and lots of stuff to colour. The girls even got to take away a 'Nature Detective' book that will be great for the car.

Came back to the campsite and had pizza pie irons for supper – yum. The firewood was free, but wet. The only downside of the park is the ferocious mosquitoes. I was afraid they would carry Thomas away! Somehow they are getting in the trailer – maybe through the AC unit? When I woke last night I could here them all buzzing – it was creepy! The kids are covered in bug bites, poor things – good thing we have lots of calamine lotion. The bugs are really too bad to stay outside, so we enjoyed the campfire from the comfort of our bed end – also got to watch the sun go down – very pretty.

Another drive tomorrow, to visit with a good friend in Regina.

Fargo, ND to Brandon, MB

July 3rd

odometer 90324

Fargo is a ghost town today as everyone is away for the Independence Day long weekend. We didn't even see any big rigs on the Interstate. Got a great tailwind up the I-29 to Grand Forks, but then was driving against the wind most of the way to Manitoba. North Dakota is very beautiful, but flat flat flat! The only trees you see are around the homesteads and property lines. We were surprised by the number of wetlands and enjoyed seeing different birds like coots, terns, and yellow-headed blackbirds. Swallows and swifts were everywhere, but moving too fast to identify. I even got to drive today as DH wanted to do some birdwatching.



Did a bit of a detour towards Turtle Mountain, on the ND-MB border to visit the International Peace Gardens, as per our friends' recommendation. Saw a giant turtle made out of wheel rims along the way. The gardens are divided along the 49th parallel, so half of the gardens are in Canada and the other half are in the US. The gardens had a lot of potential but were poorly maintained. They had a couple of nice floral displays (the Canadian and US flags) and a working floral clock, but overall it was mostly weeds and sad looking flowers. There were signs about restoring the sunken gardens, so that may explain it. Nonetheless, everybody enjoyed walking around the gardens and getting some exercise after a long drive. We had a BBQ (love our portable grill) on the grounds of the garden while the girls played in the playpark. In fact, for them, this trip is pretty much all about play parks – everywhere we go we try to find one!


Pulled into Spruce Woods Provincial Park around 8 pm and were pretty tired. The rear left signal light on the trailer isn't working and the trailer brakes were seizing trying to back the trailer into the site. Poor DH, everyday it seems there is something with the trailer. Isn't that always the way – the first few months with a new vehicle is nothing but little problems?

Fargo, ND

July 2nd

We are staying at Lindenwood Campground in the middle of Fargo. It's a great big park with two huge play parks and lots of picnic spots. A perfect place to spend a lazy day. The girls enjoyed the play park in the morning (see pics). DD2 had a nap in the afternoon while I enjoyed some quiet time to read and catch up on my blog. DH and DD1 and DS went to town to get some supplies. Not a good afternoon to be outside – it was 100 degrees! We got to break in the air conditioning in the trailer. Funny how you enjoy things you once said you would never do!



It was nice to have a relaxed supper and get the kids to bed on time – DH and I had a nice evening.

I have enjoyed travelling through the US, the roads are good and the gas prices are great. Towing the trailer we only get about 25 L per 100 kms and are filling up 2 or 3 times each driving day, so the savings sure add up. Makes me wonder if we should have gone all the way west via the US... I can't get used to travelling in miles though. Every time I see a mileage point for our destination (e.g. Fargo 105) I get excited until I make the conversion to kms. Miles are just way too long!

Back on the road tomorrow, bound for Spruce Woods Provincial Park, near Brandon Manitoba.

Wisconsin Dells, WI to Fargo, ND

July 1st

odometer: 750 kms, 11 h driving time

Canada Day – we wore red and white, and the kids had on the Canada shirts that Granny bought them for the trip. Still took us 2.5 hours to have breakfast and break camp...tyring to get us up and on the the go seems epic!

What a huge drive! The countryside went from fairly flat with funny rock outcrops (see pic) to rolling with funny peaked hills.

Had a nice lunch stop outside of Menomonie, WI and I got to call home as we've been unreachable while driving through the US. We drove over the mighty Mississippi River on our way out of Minneapolis, which was pretty cool. Minnesota was very pastoral once we left Minneapolis – lots of flat farmland and grain fields. Saw more interesting licence plates: Arizona, Iowa, Missouri, Maryland, and Colorado – and of course Minnesota and North Dakota.

We saw a few unusual (for us) birds during the drive. While breaking camp, DH saw an Indigo Bunting in the campsite – what a pretty blue! While driving through Minnesota, we saw Great Egrets, American White Pelicans, and an immature Bald Eagle perched on a huge nest.

Had to do supper on the road, and managed our most efficient road stop yet... We picked up supper (McD's), gas, and filled our propane tank all at the same time. We took our supper to the next rest stop (see pic) to eat outside and let the pooch and kids burn off some energy. Pulled into the campsite around 8 pm, bushed. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow!

Wisconsin Dells, WI

June 30th

odometer 88947

This morning we ran errands such as gas and groceries, then checked out the Wisconsin Dells 'strip'. It was pretty amazing for such a small little place – like a mini-Vegas. Lots of amusement parks, water parks, and hotels. Went to check out 'Noah's Ark' – the world's largest water park. It was so awesome that we decided to go. We raced back to the campground to get our swimsuits on and were trying to figure out how to see the park, look after Thomas, and locate a replacement spare for the trailer. DD2 insisted that she did NOT want to go to the 'big' water park – she wanted to go to the dinky park at the campground. So, DD1 and I got to go for the afternoon, while DH took DD2 and DS while he located a spare tire.

To say Noah's Ark was awesome is an understatement. We had 4.5 hours at the park, with almost no lineups, and we only had time to repeat a few rides. There were rides we couldn't go on because DD1 did not meet the 48” height requirement. Thank goodness, because frankly they looked pretty scary. The Scorpion's Tail is a near-vertical drop (the floor literally drops beneath you) followed by a upside down loop. I thought most of the rides were great, and DD1 rode on all but one of the one she was eligible for. She was often the littlest kid on the ride – she' s got guts! Our favourite slide was a double-tube ride called the Bermuda Triangle – just the right amount of drops and turns to make it thrilling but not scary. Our least favourite was the Time Warp. I was very nervous in the line up when I saw the DD1 was the only kid. The slide was in the dark – a very steep drop followed by a vortex. The drop was so big that I nearly lost my glasses. I was pretty scared, but DD1 looked fine. As we were walking away, she quietly said 'Mama, that ride was a bit too fast'.

Meanwhile, DH was having adventures of his own trying to find 'Blaine's Farmer Fleet' in his hunt for the spare tire. I took him 2 hours to find the store that was only 12 miles away, partly due to road construction that was creating havoc. He eventually found the store and the tire, and during his travels saw his first Eastern Bluebird – a rare bird for Ottawa. Len also noticed a sign for an 'Adult Superstore and Bakery'. He was intrigued by the odd combination butwith two kids in the car, decided to check it out another day...




We all headed back to the campsite for a supper and a campfire. I had done groceries in Michigan, and had picked up 'campfire marshmallows' – they were gigantic! (see pic). They were so big that we had to use two graham wafers on each side to make a s'more.

The kids all went to bed around 9 and DH and I enjoyed a drink and a game of Kahuna before bed. One good thing about being on the go all day is that the kids all crash at night and are easy to get to bed.

Holland, MI to Wisconsin Dells, WI

June 29

odometer 88739 km, 590 kms, 9 ¼ h travel time

Had breakfast with our friends, then hit the road around 9:45. We had a good driving day - we enjoyed driving through Chicago along the Skyway and had a nice lunch stop outside the city where the girls got to play at a municipal park.

We took a lot of toll roads (I-90) through Illinois, I think we paid 25$ US for 5 sections. Saw a few new licence plates: New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, and of course Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

We discovered the sweet spot for towing is about 50 ft behind a big rig – DH loves to watch the RPMs drop a few hundred. The trick is finding a truck going the right speed – most are too fast for us. We managed to get behind a few today and followed them for a ways.

Once again we averted near disaster when our trailer tire blew out on the I-90. I'm not talking about getting a flat tire – I mean the tire literally fell apart and smoked and by the the time we got stopped we were towing on the rim. It took DH 30 minutes (I provided moral support) to change it with our full spare. My FIL (father in law) thinks it blew because it was a cheap, made-in-China, belt-style tire. We have two left, so we'll see how they last.

We choose the Wisconsin Dells area simply because it was a good stopping point, distance-wise, on the map. As it turns out, Wisconsin Dells is a mecca for families. It must be the water park capital of the world! Pulled into Mirror State Park around 6 pm. It was nearly empty and a nice quiet spot to camp.