After breakfast we drove to the RCMP Heritage Center and Depot and toured the galleries, watched a series of interesting videos on the RCMP training regime, and took part of a walking tour around the Depot.  We were supposed to see the Seargent-Major Parade but it was raining – A LOT – so they moved it into the Drill Hall instead of holding it on the Parade Grounds as normal.  It was also a Graduation Day for Troop 21 and since there were three school groups with us on the walk-around there was not enough room for all of us and the family and friends of the cadets so we were unable to go in.  We did see them march into the Drill Hall so that was cool.

  We left the RCMP Center and drove down the street to Government House which was the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories from 1891-1905 and of Saskatchewan from 1905-1945.  It has been beautifully restored and turned into a museum of the period.  It was a real treat to wander through.  We had planned to tour the extensive gardens, but the torrential rainfall began again while we were inside and was only slowing down as we left.  We next went to the SK Legislative Building, built between 1909-1910 and faced with white stone; it has marble from Ireland, Vermont, Cyprus, Italy, Quebec, and I think Sweden in the floors, pillars, and columns.  Beautiful, beautiful, building.  Our guide was a young fellow from Quebec so we got some tips from him on how to get around in Quebec City when we get there.  The rain had started again while we were inside – we had good timing on that all day – and stopped again as we came out so we were able to visit the nearby War Memorial.All in all it was a good, albeit wet day in Regina today.

Today was a short day.  We actually slept in which is very unusual for me and didn’t get on the road until almost 11.  But since this trip is all about the journey; who cares.Again the weather was sun and cloudy.  The only rain was a torrential 5 minutes as we were unloading the truck to check into our hotel in Regina.  Fortunately the entrance was under a portico.

The drive to Regina takes about 3 1/2 hours and we only made three stops.  The first was to take a photo of the salt works at Chaplin. Chaplin Lake is a saline lake and there is quite an extensive operation to extract the salt.  We thought at first that the huge piles of white stuff was snow – unlikely as that would be.Our second stop was a little tour around a small town called Mortlach.   There was no real town to speak of; a cafe, a library, a post office, and an antique store.  We didn’t see a gas station nor a grocery store.  But what they did have was a neat old fire station that was the town museum. They hold a Saskatoonberry Festival every year, but not until later in the summer.The third and last stop was in Moose Jaw.  John’s niece and her husband met when going to Briercrest Bible College in Moose Jaw and they also lived and worked there after they married.  We had to get a photo of  Mac the giant moose to send home to Salmon Arm to remind them of bygone days. After that it was a short drive to Regina.  We checked in to our hotel at 2:30 and spent the rest of the day writing blogs, uploading photos and relaxing.  Tomorrow we plan to tour the RCMP Depot Heritage Center and Museum and go to Government House.  Hopefully the weather will continue to co-operate.

We left Calgary at noon on Friday.  We had a bit of shopping to do before we headed out of town.  Specifically the purchase of the laptop I am using to write this blog.

Once again we were on familiar roads.  We had been thinking of going north from Calgary to Saskatoon since neither of us had been there before, but there is a large Jazz Festival and something else as well going on and not a hotel room to be had.  We decided to stick to the Trans-Canada for another day.

The weather was fine again.  No rain, just clouds and sunshine.  It was very nice to see the fields looking green with new spring growth.  Our other trips along this stretch of road were in later summer so everything was much taller and a much dustier green.  There has been quite a bit of rain in the area of late so all the crops were coming up and looking new and fresh. I love the wide open cloudy skies.John’s sister and her family lived in Medicine Hat for quite a few years and it was always a great visual image to see the gigantic        tee pee on the hillside as you drove into town. We crossed the Alberta/Saskatchewan border and made our way to Swift Current for the night.There is a very little traffic on these wide open prairie roads.  John is thrilled that my SSR is making about 30 miles to the gallon on fuel consumption.  That’s what happens when there are no hills.

We began our cross-Canada tour on June 20.  Day 1 was not hugely exciting.  It was really just a normal drive to Calgary.  We headed out a little later than we had planned; almost 11 and made a quick stop in Sicamous to say goodbye to Trish and hello to Kieran who had just arrived from Airdrie  to spend the summer with his dad and Trish.

The drive through the Rockies was uneventful but with the sun and  scattered clouds, new green growth on the trees and bushes, and the white snow high on the mountain tops it was, as always, a spectacular sight.I have driven through the Rockies many, many times in my life and they never fail to move me with their grandeur and beauty.  We do live a lovely part of the world.We had dinner in Calgary with John’s nephew Mark and his wife Julie.  The big draw at their house, however, was not Mark and Julie, nor the wonderful dinner we had.  We wanted to see Decker!  He is almost four months old and we have not had a chance to see him yet.  But….the little beggar missed his afternoon nap and had just gone down to sleep minutes before we arrived.  We left at 9 and he was still sleeping so we only got to peek into his crib.  You better be awake on our return little guy!