WINKLER TO BRANDON MANITOBA & ON TO WEYBURN SASKATCHEWAN…WIND-WIND-WIND!!

THIS ‘TUESDAY’ POST MAY PUBLISH LATE

SURE IS FLAT OUT HERE IN THESE PARTS

Winds flopped our awning covers again through the night.  It’s been a non-stop wind since we drove out onto the Prairies last Friday afternoon & I knew we would be driving right into it again after leaving Winkler this morning.  With prevailing winds most always blowing from the West across the country it always costs us more on fuel heading for the South-West each year than it does heading back home in the Spring with welcome tail winds pushing us along.

 

THE PILOT WORKS HIS WAY THROUGH AN EGG SALAD SANDWICH WHILE THE NAVIGATOR WORKS ON AN EMAIL TO MILLENICOM

Before we began our LEISURE TRAVEL VAN tour Monday afternoon I asked both the receptionist & the tour guide if I would be able to take any photos in the plant.  Answer was yes but I was asked to not photograph the employees if possible.  So with that in mind most of my photos do not include people.  Bit of a challenge of course & would liked to have shown workers doing what it is they do best.  At the end of the tour our guide Mark turned to me & with a big smile on his face said, “we went through some sensitive areas today where we are working on future technologies but I didn’t say anything & you walked right by them without taking any photos & that was good”.

LEISURE TRAVEL VANS ALSO BUILD MOBILE OFFICE TRAILERS (MOTS) & MARK SAYS THEY CAN’T KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND FOR THESE TRAILERS GOING TO PENNSYLVANIA, NORTH DAKOTA, & THE ALBERTA OIL PATCH…SOLID RUGGED CONSTRUCTION

         

It was a cold morning for dumping tanks but some things just have to be done no matter the weather.  We know it’s best to let a black tank fill up before dumping but unlike traveling from RV Park to RV Park we have to dump our gray & black tanks whenever & wherever the opportunity presents itself.  In these colder climates most RV Parks with dump stations are now closed for the season & that also means no water.  Plus we always try to keep the rigs overall weight down.

ON OUR WAY TO BRANDON WE WERE ACTUALLY SURPRISED TO SEE THIS GRADE WITH A FOREST OF TREES ON EITHER SIDE

 

IT’S NOT EVERYDAY ONE GET’S TO PASS A HOUSE ON THE ROAD…ACTUALLY THE DRIVER HAD PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TO TAKE A LEAK & THAT’S HOW WE ALL GOT BY:))

Rolled out of Winkler Manitoba at 8:10 heading in a North-West direction for Brandon.  Used a combination of highways 3,2, & 10.  Heavy head wind so did not want to use the Trans-Canada highway.  Very light traffic on the secondary roads so we could go at our own pace & not have to compete with heavier traffic on the Trans.  How nice to see a partial sunrise through the breaking cloud cover.  By the time we reached Brandon it was a nice mixture of sun & cloud:))

THE WHITE SPECS IN SOME PHOTOS IS SOMETHING SMOOSHED ON OUR WINDSHIELD THAT BLEW OUT OF A TRAILER BEING HAULED BY A TRACTOR WHEN WE WENT BY

 

We had arranged to meet with long time blog readers Don & Louise Sherwin at a mall in the southern end of Brandon just off the highway.  Gave them a phone call when we pulled into the mall & they met us about 5 minutes later.  Always so nice to put a face to all the helpful emails we have received over the past 7 years.  We weren’t long in getting ourselves seated in a nearby Tim Hortons with Don buying the coffee & donuts.  How fortunate we are because the day before in Winkler Jake & Anne bought us our breakfast.  Thanks everybody:))

DON SPRINGS FOR THE COFFEE & DONUTS

 

<<< I’M HOLDING ONTO MY HAT BECAUSE THE WIND IS TRYING TO RIP IT OFF MY HEAD…PHEEBS IS SAYING, “OH DON CAN I TAKE YOU HOME”

Don & Louise, also RV owners are so much like most RV folks we have met over the years.  Just downright plum nice people.  Always lots to talk about & talk we did for probably close to an hour.  Those hard plastic Tim Horton seats are literally a PITA & we all walked out of there flat bummed.  Soon as we stepped outside it was obvious the wind had really picked up.  Said our good-byes to Don & Louise & we were off.  Well not quite.  Kelly had spotted a 5 Guys burger place so of course we had to burg ourselves.  Another stop just across the plaza at a Safeway for yogurt, milk, & bread.  Last stop before we headed south out of Brandon was for gas.  Wanted to load as much gas aboard for added weight.  Usually we try to travel as light as possible but I knew with the now stronger head winds we were about to encounter weight was going to be on our side.  And boy oh boy did we ever have to plow our way through heavy winds for the next 4 hours or so.  Note to Don….roads were great all the way to Weyburn:))

 

JUST SOME PRAIRIE SCENES ALONG THE WAY

The winds were brutal but the weather & scenery made up for the battle we had.  Lots of warm sun coming in my drivers window.  Although the Prairies are about as flat as a pancake I did enjoy all the scenic little water ponds along the highway, grain elevators, & various crops.  Combines in some of the fields.  Liked how the sun splashes played across the landscape.  Could see for miles upon miles in any direction & there were times when we had no other vehicles either ahead or behind us for as far as the eye could see.

STRANGE SWIRLS IN SOME PHOTOS ARE REFLECTIONS FROM OUR DASH

 

By the time we reached Weyburn Saskatchewan I was beginning to feel the effects of struggling against the wind for hours.  Sore neck & figured I might need a new set of arms from hanging on to the steering wheel.  But that was all Okay because it added an exciting challenge to the day & being one of those characters who loves to drive I thoroughly enjoyed every wind swept mile we bucked through today.  The Big EEE performed flawlessly & took on those winds like a true trooper.

 

Stepping out of the coach near a Park in Weyburn we were so surprised at the milder temperature compared to Winkler the past 3 days.  Bonus.  Garmin Gertie our GPS system led us to a nice clean looking & spacious Walmart on the South-West edge of town.  Lots of grass for the Pheebs.  Bonus.  Just as we were pulling into the Walmart lot Kelly’s Blackberry phone rang & it was my Aunt Jean from Florida calling to wish me Happy Birthday.

NEARING WEYBURN WE KNEW WE WERE FINALLY IN THE OIL PATCH

Now as a rule I never mention anything about my Birthday & always manage to squeak through the day without anyone knowing.  I had fully intended this year to be no different.  But this morning when I opened my Facebook page there in full color was my own mug staring right back at me with a ‘Happy Birthday’ on it.  Now how do you suppose that got on there!!  Well I noticed right off it was Kelly’s page I was actually looking at.  The cat was out of the bag & that was that.  Couldn’t believe all the Happy Birthday wishes coming in & especially on Facebook.   Thanks everybody, it was totally unexpected.  Now about this candle in my hash brown:)))) (Shout  Box)

GOT US A NICE SPOT IN WEYBURN SASKATCHEWAN’S WALMART PARKING LOT 

We are now only an hour’s drive from Roleau Saskatchewan, home to ‘CORNER GAS’ which will be our last Canadian stop before crossing the border into the States Wednesday.  Figure we might get to the border around noon.  Heading for Custer South Dakota on the next leg of our trip:))         

 

TONIGHT’S FULL MOON OVER WEYBURN SASKATCHEWAN

GOOD NIGHT WEYBURN & SLEEP TIGHT….I KNOW I WILL

GROANER’S CORNER:((  YOU THINK GASOLINE IS EXPENSIVE? (note: I’m sure these are old prices)

Diet Snapple 16oz for $1.29 = $10.32 per gallon

Lipton Ice Tea 16oz for $1.19 = $9.52 per gallon

Gatorade 20oz for $1.59 = $10.17 per gallon

Ocean Spray 16oz for $1.25 = $10.00 per gallon

Pint of milk 16oz for $1.59 = $12.72 per gallon STP

Brake Fluid 12oz for $3.15 = $33.60 per gallon

Vick's Nyquil 6oz for $8.35 = $178.13 per gallon

Pepto Bismol 4oz for $3.85 = $123.20 per gallon

Whiteout .7oz for $1.39 = $25.42 per gallon

Scope 1.5oz for $0.99 = $84.48 per gallon

And this is the REAL KICKER...... Evian water 9oz for $1.49 = $21.19 per gallon .....$21.19 FOR WATER!! So next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on Nyquil, or Scope, or Whiteout!!!!

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A man was asked about the gas mileage he got on his new car.  He said he thought he got about four miles to the gallon, while his teenage son got the other thirty.

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