20030902                   Open new window with today’s pictures.

Semptember 02, 2003


Start:   Hudson Bay Provincial Park, Hudson Bay SK
End:     Riding Mountain National Park, Wasagaming MB
Miles:   278
Hi Temp: 65.3
Lo Temp: 48.6


It rained through the night, heavily at times. The local radio station (CFMQ) we listened to over breakfast said an inch of rain had fallen.

The local radio station is a hoot. They do all the small-town things we remember from the past - the want ads, the for-sales, the lost kittens, and the rest.  He gave all numbers in four digits, since the area code and prefix are the same for miles around.  He had an accent like "Fargo" gone wild - lots of "oh, ya" and "you betcha". 

At one point, he was reading the dedication for a song to "Billy" from "Jack and Rose" and said, "Oh, I didn't know Billy was back in town."

After we quit laughing, we dragged the trailer out of the woods and headed south on SK-9.  The rain was variable from misty to heavy, but the wind was out of the west and blowing like mad.  We went south to Yorkton, where we stopped at a "Superstore" for a few food items and to stretch our legs.  Still raining and blowing.  We got onto SK-10 heading east and stopped for fuel before we left town.

We were banging along fairly well on this road, since it was straight down-wind. I had the engine just above an idle and we were still doing 62mph (100kph).  I suddenly saw a white-tail deer crossing the road right-to-left. Sure enough, a fawn followed a few seconds later, just before we got to that point on the highway.  The deer jumped a three-strand barbed wire fence and the fawn followed; I swear the fawn jumped higher than mommy.

We continued east to the Manitoba line, where SK-10 turned into MB-5, and kept going on it. Then we joined MB-10 and followed it south from Dauphin into Riding Mountain National Park. The admissions gate wasn't open, so we went on in (MB-10 goes through the park) and traveled to the south end of the park.

Riding Mountain isn't all that much of a hill, but you do go up gradually for some distance before you level off and then start a descent on the south side. As we approached the top of the hill on the winding road (speed limit 80km/hr), a little car (Nissan?) passed us on a curve going like mad. When we got to the top of that part of the hill, he was already out of sight around the next curve.  Five minutes later, we started around a long curve. Part way around it, we saw the (Nissan?) in the brush of the left margin, pointed back at us. We slowed, but two cars had already stopped and one of them was a Park Services truck. The driver of the (Nissan?) was walking toward the road and the Services guy, so we figured everything was under control and went on.  A few minutes farther south, we met two Park Police cars screaming north using lights and sirens.  I hope the squirrel learns something from this.

Just before or just after this deal, we saw two young male (small antlers) moose in the margin on the left side of the road. As we approached, they were play-fighting with antlers down and at each other.  They weren't very serious (the antlers are still fuzzy and tender), just playing.  Our approach spooked them, and they started galloping down the margin on the left, going south with us.  I got a few pictures (we were doing 20mph and they were pulling ahead) until they made a left turn.

We found the campground (very large) and checked in, then found our site and set up. We had skipped lunch (bad move), so we quickly put together hamburgers and things. After eating, we went off to explore the park while it was still daylight. That turned out to be another 100 miles of gravel road.

We headed out to the east end of the park and saw lots of boggy swamp (how does this happen on top of a hill?), but no animals. We came back the same road (no choice), then went out toward the bison range that is part of the park.

Going around a corner with a minivan overtaking us, we saw a moose in the brush on the left.  I put on the emergency blinkers and pulled to the right and slowed, then stopped. The minivan went whipping around me, then skidded to a stop when he saw the moose. We both watched the moose watch us for a bit, then the moose got antsy and departed. The minivan took off and we followed.

The bison are somewhat controlled (cattle guards on the road and fences around a large area) but wild.  We came around a corner to find the minivan stopped, looking at a herd of 20 or so bison. The wind was still blowing and the rain coming down, but these beasts were just moving along slowly and eating as they walked.  Dumber than dirt.

We turned back as darkness was approaching.  On the way back, we startled a large bull elk. He took off and crossed the road in front of us but disappeared quickly in the brush.  Not a chance of a picture, but it surely was impressive watching that big animal move out.

After we returned to the main road, we saw a pickup acting goofy on the left shoulder. We slowed but didn't stop when we saw he was looking at another moose.

So this was quite a day for ungulates (the species with split hooves like deer, elk, moose....).  We saw deer, elk, and moose.

We finally got back to the little house in the big campground at 8:30pm Central Daylight Saving Time. Now we're snacking and settling in.