In the last ten years we have travelled Canada from coast to coast to coast and typically see next to nothing when it comes to wildlife. Today was exceedingly exciting because about 30 kilometres before arriving in Kenora we saw a bear! The bear was spotted by Karen as I sped by. It was close enough to the side of the highway I turned around and hoping against hope went back to get a few photos. Amazingly it was still there!

My horse was named King and Karen’s was Jess. It’s always best to be on a first name basis with your horse when you ride like I do. Even so, we never really did see eye to eye. I spent more time fighting him to stop eating and get going than anything else. I think he paid me back by passing every tree along the trail as close as he could. However, when all was said and done we both had a great time.

The people seemed to have different ideas about how to drive particularly when it came to intersections. I stopped behind a guy at a green light. There was traffic so I was fine with stopping. The light turned orange and he waited then the light turned red and he still didn’t move. The oncoming traffic had cleared by the time the light changed orange and he didn’t move so once it turned red I found myself wondering, “just exactly what colour is it you’re waiting for?”

I rarely accept the scientific and logical if a mysterious, unexplained option is offered. Because no one knows for certain how the deformity happened, the explanation involving aliens landing and damaging the growth forcing future flora to be twisted and deformed was good enough for me! That theory was given credence by the local fact that cattle from the surrounding farms will not enter the area of twisted trees. Spoo-ky!

The resort village of Cochin has a functioning lighthouse; an oddity indeed as there is no sea in sight in all of Saskatchewan. Its light shines for landlocked tourists rather than seafaring ships. I imagined its presence must have come about by a conversation made with someone with hearing like mine. "A grain elevator?! I could have sworn you said build a lighthouse!"

As we looked down the road the true meaning of the term “vanishing point” became evident. I love that I was standing in the middle of the highway to take a photo and just before I did someone coming the other way stopped and asked, "Everything good?" Canada has the greatest people on Earth.

The clouds continued to darken and the wind picked up. I returned to the SUV for my camera equipment. While there all hell broke loose with lightning, gale force winds and driving rain. The vehicle was shaking violently as I sat basically waiting for a tornado. At the horizon was a bright sky but very black sky all around me.

The Visitor Centre in the East Block of the park is strategically hidden and, of course, not marked with any type of understandable sign so an initial detour in the way of an overshoot happened. The signage coming into the park was downright evasive. However, the Visitor Centre is in a campground – would it kill you to put that on the sign? There was also a sign indicating an Information Centre which I knew was different from the Visitor Centre. Obviously I should have gone into the Information Centre and asked them where the Visitor Centre was

One good thing came of all this. By not turning into the campground we drove past the Visitor Centre access road by a couple of kilometres and came across a herd of pronghorn antelopes.

Saskatchewan was so very different and diverse from what I had imagined. We had a great time touring and discovering along the way. I learned I loved small towns (I actually already knew that) but some are too small in terms of what they offer in the way of services like hospitals, good grocery stores, suitable spacious newer housing and other things I think I need. I loved Moose Jaw and Assiniboia got my attention with a good local/rural hospital. Isn’t it pathetic the way your mind set and expectations change as you get older?