Fort Quappelle, Sask

Very interesting night. We had a relatively short drive into Fort QuAppelle from Winnipeg and arrived here about 8pm - having gained an hour - confusing to know how much time you actually take on a trip. Google says 6hrs drive - I'll go with that.
Very much a surprise driving accross the prairies and then all of a sudden a sign says steep hill - you still don't see why, then the valley just unfolds in front of you. QuAppelle has a long history and is still writing itself a place - I won't go into here. I will add that our reason for coming here has to do with it being one of Merv's childhood homes. In fact the house he once lived in became a museum.

As we are driving around the lake looking for Echo Provincial park, it's getting dark and difficult to see, we pull out the gps to get a fix on the location and yes, the quiet little park we're looking for is now an overflowing, casino looking site, home this weekend to the biggest pow-wow I have ever seen. Literally, hundreds of tents cars and trailers have decended on Qu'Appelle this weekend. There is no place open or vacant, it's dark, and the road winds close to the rocky cliffs of the lakes that dot this valley. We drive back and forth looking for a second park Katepawa Provincial park - to no avail. Finally I ask at the local Hotel for a spot and that's when we find out about a new park opened only two weeks ago. We make our way there and find a little haven in a field. Not many have discovered it yet and the paint is still drying, lol. No one is at the station, but it says, Welcome - pay in the morning.

As is the habit now we test for connections constantly and here we are, totally unexpecting anything in this out of the way place, but online.

We are spending a day here and then on to North Battleford and then Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. It has been difficult to upload any pictures. Face book may be faster.