In this weeks episode of Driving Across the Country, we go through what it's like to drive through the prairies.
When we told people we were going to drive accross the prairies, all people said was get ready for it to be boring. Well, I wouldn't say it was boring at all. Driving out of Calgary isn't the most scenic. There are no mountains anywhere, but only farmers fields and construction sites. You drive for miles and don't see much change in the landscape.
As we left Calgary it was overcast. I looked at the weather on my phone to see what the weather was going to be like as we got into Saskatchewan. Well, it wasn't raining, it was pouring. Like hard rain that makes a sound on the dashboard when it comes crashing into the glass. At this point I was mortified and couldn't think about taking the wheel. I can barely get up enough nerve to pass semi trailer truckers in full sun, nevermind the pouring rain.
So we drove and we drove and we drove. We passed signs for Medicine Hat, with the big teepee. You next pass Swift Current and then into Moosejaw. We thought about stopping at the big Moose, but couldn't be bothered since we were both tired and in bad moods. Somewhere on the side of the road, we stopped and had lunch at a Kelsey's, to warm up and for the driver to destress a bit. We said we would switch at this point, but I couldn't muster up the nerve to get in the driver seat and go. I realize I am travelling with a very patient man.
We arrive to Regina to our motel and a warm shower. This begins the journey of trying out every hotel pool we can in every place we are staying. A hot tub does wonders after a long drive. After debating where to go to dinner, we decide to head downtown since our motel is near the highway and not in the core of the city. I had never been to the province or the city before and I wanted to see the city.
Regina is the commercial center of the province. The streets of downtown are laced with old high rises of companies and bank buildings. The Wascana Creek runs through the city, making the university buildings look majestic and large in the dimming light.
Regina is a football town. There is no hockey team and no basketball, so football being the only live sport that is worth talking about in the city, is big. When we chose to go to the Hotel Saskatchewan, the game was on every tv in the bar.
I wanted to go to Hotel Saskatchewan because I had heard good things about it and it reminded me of the old CP hotels that are dotted all over the country in large cities. It is renovated, but they have kept the old charm of the years past. You can imagine yourself in a ballgown at a fancy dance, with your partner in his tuxedo beside you. The drinks from the bar were great and were welcomed after a long day of driving. We asked the young lady who was working to suggest a place to go eat. Sometimes it's better to ask the locals since they might know what is open and closed better.
We left the hotel and walked accross the park and towards a restaurant she had suggested. It was around 7:30 at night at this point. The streets were dark and no-one was around. It's not often that you go to a city and find no-one on the streets. We stumbled upon a bar hosting open mike night called the Cure Kitchen and Bar. It reminded me of Green Room or Nirvana in downtown Toronto. It was dark and moody and brought people of all different age groups together. I was excited about the fact that we could listen to live music after a crappy day and some of the people were actually quite good.
As the night rolls down you look at your clock and remember you need to drive again in the morning, so you pack it in early and set up to leave the next morning. I remember thinking okay we are almost halfway accross this cool country. Lets hope the next journey is better than this one!
So we didn't actually see this part of the prairies because it was raining so hard on this day. I did see a few grain elevators and trackers on the side of the road when it would clear up a bit. I do recall seeing many signs about prices of alcohol on the side of the road towards Moose Jaw...weird.
One thing I would checkout if I was ever to visit the city, is to see the wall art around Victoria Park. Some of the murals on the way were really cool and worth a walk to check out.
*Something funny to add about this drive is that when we went back to Kelowna to get our mail this September we found a ticket and a picture of our car in an envelope from the government of Saskatchewan. A big 175 dollar speeding ticket for going 10 km over in the pouring rain. A cherry on top of a crappy drive.
It did bring back some funny memories though
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