HOW DID I MISS THAT?

After nine days, we got back in our moho. That was not in the plan, but we had a good time in Alberta anyway. Thanks to great rellies, our wretched little car, and the province of Alberta, especially Lac La Nonne. Great place.

Here are some things we did not know.

Strathmore, the scene of the airbag fiasco, has great bike trails. Miles of them. After we got re-organized in the moho, we cycled all over Strathmore. Like I keep saying, ya got pay attention and not just drive through….

Then we went to Medicine Hat. I’d driven through there quite a few times,and was there once getting a double wide which was bound for Ft St John. Based on that one time, I did not like Medicine Hat.

Medicine Hat is an incredible place. Have you ever heard of Medalta? Nor had I. Turns out that, back in the day, Medicine Hat experienced the confluence of three factors: abundant clay of the right sort, abundant natural gas to fire kilns, and a railroad. Resulting in a vast outpouring of bricks, and also of pottery. We went there after hours, but still got into a private pottery showing…there are pottery schools, big kilns, a whole historical show there..who knew? Medalta. I just thought the Hat was a hell hole.

And the downtown there is something else to behold. All I’d ever seen was the hiway and Atco’s yard, but lemme tell ya, that downtown is something else. Big brick cathedrals, stone this and that, whole neighborhoods of old mansions made out of brick…I could go on.

Anyway, we were going to stay on Walmart’s lot that night, but for some reason we didn’t so we ran out of daylight about an hour east of Medicine Hat and stopped in a rest stop. I know from experience that you have to be more than 50 yards off the road or you can’t sleep, so this place looked like that. What I didn’t see in the dark was the railroad track. Ya. When the first train came through I thought it was coming through our bedroom, but I was wrong. It missed by about 20 yards or so. It shook the moho and made us laugh. After all that, it was good. We could hear cattle bellowing and all that good Canadian prairie stuff.

Tonite we are in Moose Jaw, going to see Al Capone’s tunnels tomorrow. Have you ever heard of that? Me neither, but we’re going tomorrow.

We had time to look around Moose Jaw this afternoon. Incredible place. I would not lie to you. We happened upon an art gallery named after Yvette Moore. I am not an art gallery person, but this place was something else to behold. You can google it or take my word or whatever, but really…If I were a rich guy I would have bought half the stuff in there. You really should look at this woman’s paintings on the net. Unbelievable.

Then we went to the Grant hotel. Perhaps you tire of my rhapsodies, but this joint was unbelievable. Look it up. And then this large large park with nobody in it, and other stuff. At one point we noticed how eerily quiet the downtown was, but maybe we’re just used to overcrowded Victoria. I didn't even know that Moose Jaw had a downtown.

Those are the places. And then there’s the people. We asked this guy in Strathmore where to find the four sisters bakery, and we got a 15 minute history of the guy’s life. I thought that guy might discourse at length on the big questions of life, but we never got the chance. Then there was a gas bar attendant in Swift Current who went on about the hockey culture in his town. He said that Kelly Buchberger of Boston Bruins fame was from around there, among other things. I likewise wished that I could have heard his thoughts on the cosmos, but you can only fit so much into fifteen minutes. Which is what it takes to gas that hog up.

And just a couple of hours ago, we met a couple from Nanoose Bay who sold their house, bought a moho much like ours, and are going to Newfoundland seeking a new life. I said we might see them later down the trail.

So that’s it for now. My brother Ray sent a link related to my latest rant about enjoying yourself. It’s by a guy called Ronald Rolheiser from Cactus Lake Saskatchewan, a philosopher and theologian by trade. It’s an episode of CBC’s program Tapestry. You might enjoy that. Or you might not. I did.

Next stop: Winkler Manitoba, where this moho was made. We hope to solve some mysteries over there.

Meanwhile, here’s to the WWiners. And here’s to paying attention to all the stuff that’s been right under your nose for your whole life but you’ve never seen before.

And, oh yeah, enjoy yourselves. We are.