Southern Saskatchewan Safari

 Bailey and I are always watching the weather reports all around us - to find the next good opportunity to hit the road.  Well, I am always watching the weather reports, Bailey is keeping me pinned down by sitting on my lap!

After our last trip to BC, and Vancouver Island, it was time to find some flatter terrain.  I had wanted to go down to Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan the last time we were in Saskatchewan in June, but the weather was not cooperating then.  This time however, it looked good.

Lots of action on the home front, with the usual deer browsing in the front yard.

So, we set off on a Friday afternoon, with just enough time to make a rare visit to Calgary; both to drop one of my scanners off for repair, and to get a new battery in my iPhone.  The shop was quick to replace the battery while I waited, but it turned out that they would have to order some parts for the radio, so it would take a while longer.

We got off the Trans Canada highway east of Calgary as soon as possible, and found a nice quiet dead-end road spot to spend the night, with some horses to intrigue Bailey and keep us company. 

From there we continued eastbound on secondary highways, with a stop in Vulcan UFA to fill up our DEF from the dispenser there.  I wish more fuel places had them. 

There were huge solar farms we found west of Lomond.  It was nice to see these ones still had natural grass to provide needed habitat for the gophers, bugs, birds, snakes, and mice, unlike most of the sterile gravel ones we are accustomed to seeing in California or Arizona.

Strong winds from the west were pushing us along, but we dropped anchor at Bow Reservoir PP to take a break and have a snack.

We located a previously enjoyed scenic spot to spend the night south of Medicine Hat, before continuing cross-country into Cypress Hill Inter-provincial Park. 

After a quick check of the crowded beach at Elkwater, and it was time to head up to Walsh, for some of the cheapest fuel in the area.  

 

Then back into the provincial park on the Alberta side, before using the backwoods entry into Saskatchewan.  This road is very impassable in wet weather, but it was hot and dry today.

  

 

We stopped for a look around at a favourite viewpoint at Conglomerate Cliffs. 

Cypress Hills drive ...

Very much ranching country out here, with a great variety of gates and entrances.

Because of all the recent rains, there was tall green grass and good hay crops everywhere.  Cows were happy, grazing belly deep in the grass.  But it was hot out, so all the potholes full of water were also full of cows trying to cool off.

 

Huge fields of flaxseed (?) often made it look like water from a distance. 

 After a long drive, and an overnight thunderstorm and a bit of rain, we arrived at the East Block of Grasslands National Park.

When I last visited here 6 or 8 years ago, things were mostly undeveloped.  There were unimproved trails leading through the hills, along ridge tops, and down the valleys.  I quite enjoyed it, and was looking forward to a repeat, and spending a couple days here exploring.  But it was not to be.  Parks has done a wonderful job building a beautifully paved, single lane, 11km long scenic drive with various pull-offs and parking areas. 

 
But, virtually all the viewpoints require you to get out of your vehicle and walk up a hill to the view.  While I normally applaud the idea of getting people out of their cars to connect with nature, the mosquitoes were sooo bad this time, that I did not take advantage. But it also means that in times of pouring rain, howling winds, freezing cold, blistering heat, you don't get the best views to enjoy the incredible landscape.  I did not see anywhere that the elderly or disabled could take advantage of the view.  And for me, all the trails I previously enjoyed were gated and signed, and I could get nowhere near the US border like I did last time.  Yes, I suppose these areas may still be available by foot or bike, but with the heat and bugs, I was not about to take advantage.  So - my 'planned' two day visit lasted about two hours!

 

Rental accommodations in the East Block Rock Creek campground.

Some signs in the park have these bird deterrent spikes on them - I believe to keep raptors from using them for lookouts?

Unlike typical address signs at farm gates in most areas, some of these ranches just have the land's legal description posted at the gate - in this case shared with a road sign.

 

On the way back west, the plan was to go through a portion of the west block of Grasslands, but despite having GPS, a back roads map book, and always-on internet courtesy of Starlink, we got led down some garden paths, into ranch yards, through gates, and mudholes, community pastures, and only saw cows.  No bison this time.

 

Strangely, on this trip through miles and miles of prime antelope habitat, we only saw 3 separate individuals in about 6 days.

But, there were lots of small remote towns to discover on our way.  We cruised through East End, Climax, Shaunavon, and Gull Lake on our way back to the north west. 

There was even a Prairie Dog town or two in the park lands.

After topping up with supplies and fuel in the Medicine Hat area, we spent the night in another mosquito infested spot north of Jenner on the Red Deer river, then headed for Dinosaur Provincial Park.

We didn't see, or run over any ...

I think our next trip was some more camping in British Columbia, but that will have to wait till next post.

 

Vancouver Island Adventures

 We were stuck at home till mid-June, waiting for an inconvenient dentist appointment.  The minute that was done, we headed west as soon as possible.  A logging road just on the west side of Yoho National Park provided a primitive BC rec site for the first night.

When working, I used to patrol this area on occasion - but there are huge new clear cuts, and many new spur roads since I was last in the area.

 

It rained a bit overnight, and the next morning was a slow start as we continued west through Golden and Revelstoke on the Trans Canada Highway #1.  After an overnight stop near Kamloops we kept on westbound to Cache Creek, then picked up the scenic, and often steep highway 99 towards Pemberton and Whistler.

 

 Alongside Cayoosh Creek I parked at a spot I have stayed previously.  However, a very polite but firm native fellow showed up to advise me that it was private land (despite no signs), and I could stay as long as I wanted, just not overnight!  

 

A few km further up the road, another equally attractive spot lured us in with the sound of rushing water to send us off to sleep.

This area is completely devoid of cell service, but with the trusty Starlink set up beside the bed in the camper, it was not a problem staying online and keeping the satellite view on the truck's screen as we motored along.
 Whistler has become a zoo, with traffic, condos, and pay parking.  Managed to stop briefly to have some food, but not pay for parking.  There do not seem to be any paper permits to display on your windshield, so I assume enforcement is done by scanning licence plates.  Pretty sure with no front plate (Alberta), and rear plate under tailgate, and a parking spot backed into trees, rocks, or benches, it would discourage all but the keenest parking lot enforcers.  Not a problem though, as we were soon back on the road - down through Squamish.  Mid-day, so I knew my friends in town would be hard at work, so we just kept going down the very scenic and winding Sea to Sky highway, and got ourselves in line for BC ferries.

 

We opted to go up the Sunshine Coast,just for a change, and it proved to have not changed very much!  Still mostly narrow, tree-lined, busy road with only a few brief ocean views, unless you are going to a resort or park beach.  Caught the next ferry at Earl's cove, which had us going through Powell River in early evening.  A couple of possible camp spots did not work out, so we were stuck roadside with an ocean view on a dead-end road - where we have previously spent the night.

 

For some reason, I was not in the mood to explore much in the area, though there is plenty to explore.  Tried to check the ferry schedule over to Comox on Vancouver Island without success, so decided to just go and get in line.  I don't really mind waiting a bit, with a camper, food, entertainment, and a cat.  Turns out we were 2nd in line - for those without a reservation.  After a 3.5 hour wait, we were the very last vehicle to get on the boat.  Felt kind of sorry for the people in the grey pickup patiently waiting behind us who were blocked by ferry staff.  Check out the video below! 

Once on the island proper, we both wanted to get to a scenic waterfront camp spot where I have stayed before a couple times.  We settled in there just in time for a sunset parade of cruise ships, all headed for slack tide in Seymour narrows to the south.  I don't get these cruise ships! They tend to leave one city after a visit, then sail all night through some of the most spectacular terrain - in the dark - only to dock at yet another city in the morning!  Who wants to see another city - most of which you can drive to?  I'd just want to see all the beautiful spots between.  Isn't that the whole point of a 'cruise'!  

We spent a few days here, before the urge to explore somewhere new got us mobile again.

Our next destination was a fair bit further north and west of where we were; a place on the remote NW coast of the island, called Side Bay.  Most people would consider Port Alice to be fairly remote, but this is another 80km on a maze of logging roads with few signs and possible washouts.  This time, at least, Google did an awesome job of getting us there - with the reassurance of being online the whole time with Starlink.  I think it was a weekend, so there was no logging truck action, but the road conditions varied a lot - from freshly built and graded road to overgrown grassy trails, while some places squeezing through the brush, and everything in between.  Conditions weren't bad for a logging road, but you are driving blind in spots, going from intense sunlight on the windshield, and then entering a very dark shaded section where you can see nothing.  It took us over 4 hours to make the 80km, without shaking the camper completely to bits!

But, we made it, and were rewarded by spectacular scenery, cloud banks, and quiet camp spots on the beach.  Bailey got to meet some other camping cats, and enjoyed exploring the area.

Here's a new, radical improvement in off-grid communication.  Rogers is my cell phone provider, and I don't know if this is somehow exclusive to their service?  Last year, they announced that I could send txt messages direct to satellite.  I think I had to somehow select that option, then stand outside, with a clear view of the sky, while holding the phone up and turning to align it to some satellite?  If someone replied right away, and you were still standing there holding your phone, it might just get a reply.  Despite the fact that I have Starlink, which works great, it is usually turned off to save power.  So it was a bit of a surprise when my phone began receiving Facebook messenger messages, some with images, some e-mails, all while the phone is in my pocket and/or in the camper!  It would send messages, some even with images!  It would usually show a banner across the screen saying that there was now a satellite connection.  Not quite a replacement for Starlink or cell service, but encouraging new development.

After Side Bay, we returned to Elk Bay rec site for a few more days, before moving a bit south on the island.

Back in Campbell River, despite finding the cheapest diesel in town, we set a new record fill up at $262.!  I'm sure I could have squeezed a few more litres into the tank, but knowing we were headed for cheaper fuel down the road, there was no need. Fortunately, this truck gets well over 20 mpg (imperial gallons) average driving, and with the large tank, the range is impressive, between these crazy expensive fill ups!

We spent a few days further south down island, visiting friends and relatives, then jumped on the ferry in Nanaimo for the trip back to the mainland.