Canada's Only Significant Contribution to World Architecture: The Grain Elevator

We had a really long day today. We drove all the way across Saskatchewan and half of Manitoba. We were on the road for about 14 hours with very few breaks. It sucked.

We had a quick breakfast at our Cypress Hills campsite and then set off for Winnipeg. Our first stop of the day was in Swift Current to pick up some essentials. We also spent most of the day listening to The Davinci Code book on tape that Reid downloaded for us when we were in Calgary. We put it on our Mp3 player, then while were passing though Medicine Hat yesterday, we picked up a FM transmitter so that we could listen to the Mp3 player through our car stereo. We are really acquiring the gadgets on this trip! We listened to quite a few hours of the book, but since it is 16 hours, I think we have a lot left. The book is so cheesy and reads like it is written for people who are used to watching movies, but that is what makes it so great for listening to in the car since you want to know what happens next. The road in Saskatchewan is so straight that we can just stare straight ahead, eat chips, and zone out like we really are at the movies while we listen to it.

We didn't have time for anything today though, since we were so hard pressed to make it to Winnipeg. No tunnels of Moose Jaw, no downtown Regina visit. It makes both of us cranky, but I guess it means we still have stuff to see if we drive across again in three years. We did have time for a quick stop at Fleming near the Manitoba border. The grain elevator there (in the picture above) is the oldest one in the world. We pulled over to see it, but after seeing grain elevators all day, it really wasn't that exciting. It was battered, disused, and forlorn, and I kind of felt sorry for it. We also stopped briefly at the Manitoba info centre for some maps and brochures. We promised Dar and George, our hosts in Winnipeg that we would be here by 8, but we miscalculated the distance and forgot about the time change and didn't arrive until close to 10:30. We were exhausted and the concrete highway outside of Winnipeg played havoc with the trailer. Hell.

Dar and George and the best hosts ever! Dar is the sister of Greg's parents friend, Dennis, and we have never met her before, but she is still so nice! They served us homemade meat pie and talked our ears off until nearly midnight. It's been a hideously long day, but at least it ended well with good food, friendly people, and a nice comfy bed to sleep in! Such nice people.