This one isn't from the archives. These pictures were pulled fresh from my phone today May 3, 2021, they're swift and current after a birthday weekend on the road.
It's a little ahead of camping season so we didn't have the luxury of electricity at the campsites. The nights were cozy under a feather duvet, the morning coffee was steaming, but the outdoor wash basin was frozen solid this morning. That's the challenge but it's also the fun. It's what we tell ourselves.
Cypress Hills was almost empty, the crowds will show up in June. We hiked on the Moose Trail and saw a moose who watched us as we made a wide arc around him.
From Cypress Hills we explored the road north past Maple Creek, with no agenda and lots of time to visit every little cemetery that caring descendants have maintained over the decades. The small Rosenfeld German Baptist graveyard had markers dating back to 1912 with white crosses indicating unknown graves. A touching inscription for a three-month old child was barely legible, "Budded on earth, Bloomed in heaven". We looked through a binder tucked into a box with names and dates of people long forgotten. The air was filled with silent stories. We sipped our coffee under the heavy skies and lovely calmness.
We could see a little island of green completely surrounded by enormous fields that stretched to the horizon. Vanna White didn't mind the trail across the stubble to take us to the Krassna Catholic Cemetery and the ornate iron crosses of these German settlers who emigrated from Russia.
The landowners sometimes own these little graveyards and are not compelled to save them from becoming part of the cropland. These ones have been left untouched by the plow so far.
The adventure livened up east of Liebenthal on a sandy road. It was the back entrance to the Sahara Desert of Saskatchewan! So unusual and unique and truly amazing! Everyone should visit the Great Sand Hills. Take kids with you, take crazy carpets!
It's easy to hike on the paths between the dunes and the Cowboy Boot marker leads you back to your vehicle, so you won't get lost forever. Carry water and snacks, there's no services at the parking lot. Access to these dunes is from either Liebenthal or Sceptre.
Country cruising means poking around abandoned farmyards. We think of it as appreciating these open-air museums, and haven't yet been approached as trespassers.
Sunshine, blue skies and quiet stillness, except for the clear song of a meadowlark.
We drove through every little town we came to... Maple Creek, Fox Valley, Liebenthal, Sceptre, Lancer, Abbey, Cabri, Success and occasionally found something of interest. An artistically landscaped back yard with beautiful trees and a charming She Shed was in the tidy village of Pennant. I'd like to return sometime to have a better look and meet the owner.
A concerned woman came to check us out in one town, she thought that a strange white van roaming around could be drug dealers.
Last night we camped at the little resort of Cabri Regional Park nestled in the river valley, not a soul around. Just us and the coyotes on the shore of the South Saskatchewan River.
