Day 43 RV’s, Wet Roads and Travel…

Up at my usual time of 5am but so wanted longer….John had the aircon going and around 3Am I couldn’t cope any longer I was an ice block…so I got up fumbled around in the dark to find one if my many coats I bought..my old faithful beige puffer coat…once I got back into bed I could finally get warm enough to get some sleep…besides the mower man beside me chopping down trees all night it’s a challenge sleeping 🤔🤪😳😳😳😳😳!

Anyway no free Brekky today so a reheated Tim Horton’s Bacon Farmers Wrap…which sufficed…John had the last of his muesli….

Then off we speed deciding again to not go on the main Hwy to stick to the back roads seeing the rural way of life…

The closer we got to Dauphin the more and more and more and MORE massive RV’s and massive Vans we saw… I lost count of them after awhile…honestly I have never in my life seen so many at once…and every Van be it RV gooseneck of Van were at least 25-32ft long… to see a short one is rare but there are a few… o,us everyone of these big suckers all have slide outs…most more than one slide out… Unreal to see…We think we in Australia have many Van’s but Canada and when we were in the US years ago have it over us… if they aren’t using them to travel from A-B then they have them Set up beside their homes as extra accommodation…. Very clever to be honest…our laws in Australia wouldn’t allow that I am afraid….

It got the better of me when we pulled up for a cuppa that turned into Brunch, I asked the waitress …….it turns out it was from A massive Country Music Festival they expected at least 8,500 or more this year… in 2019 there were 3,500 Rv and Vans sites, 9,000 people and 1,500 volunteers….Covid killed 2020/21…so this year they expect a huge number…and from the sheer number of Massive slide out Vans I would say they had a great roll up… nearly every single RV or Van was a slide out as I mentioned before…they look as big as a truck coming towards you on the Hwy, but much lighter…John is surprised they don’t bend in the middle with such long chassis and only 4 small wheels behind a major stress point…but they all seem to not have any major issues that we have noted…but then we haven’t talked to anyone about it either…

We stopped Ste Rosa Du Lac cross roads after going to town to look for a cafe which we found but was either shout down or not open yet…so back to the cross roads to a very busy Cafe/ Motel for a cuppa that turned into brunch…funny we were told about the special of Thick Meat Broth soup and an egg sandwich…..we asked could we have the soup and a toasted ham and cheese sandwich…which we were told then that wouldn’t be the special….so we said that’s fine can we pls have the soup and a toasted Ham and Cheese sandwich which were told, then that’s extra… we said that’s fine…the meal arrived and it was the special 😂😂😂😩 anyway we sucker it up and had what she bought….best soup yet I have had….sandwiches were a little dry but that was fine… then she come back to tell us because we had the special 🤔😂😂😂 we could have the jello and cream…ha ha guess it is the whole special we weren’t having…. John’s fav is jelly and cream,,, he had in the mean time ordered their fresh rhubarb pie ice cream,…not knowing he would get jelly too 😳😳 bonus….all in all we ended up with heaps for what was supposed to be morning tea… but being well an odd time…. Well that’s the issue….it was 7.20am when we left but as we passed from one time zone to the next so it was if we count back to when we left that made it 8.20am…. So instead of 1030 it was 1130…so we guessed it was brunch….no need for lunch now after all this…funny changing all these time zones and trying to keep up…
While there the whole car park area was taken up with massive RVs or huge caravans….not much room for normal parking with this lot in the area….

Back to the car after our enjoyable brunch and very full….. we headed up or was it down I am lost….to the outskirts of The big lake of Manitoba both sides of the Hwy…occasionally seeing both sides otherwise due to actual trees it was hidden…not pine trees like 90% of the country real trees 🌳…….we noted Indian reservation as we zipped along, the area of houses dotted well spaced out from each other all had a big ute in their yard…and some the usual RV for extra accommodation…..
The lay of the land changed heaps some looking very, very wet… to others a bit dry…. Interesting noting the different terrain in this area of the country compared to other areas we had been it was very different….

Todays animal count was way down….1 very fast Prairie dog running fir his life before our wheels gave him a sad end….., no deer, no elk, no moose, no bears 😩😩😩

Rain started and set in…and it rained and rained and rained….making it difficult to see the sights or animals if there were any….

Everywhere we have been are theses The little sheds lined up on the Hwy advertised for sale…. I have worked out they are meant for the iced lakes to take them to that and put them on a spot drill their big hole in the ice to catch their fish.., John said I am making up stories but I bet I am right…worked it out when I saw a sign on a factory front….they are everywhere these cute little sheds…big enough to put on a trailer… to take to the iced lakes in winter, but we have also seen them used for yard sheds and wood storage…very popular and very cute…

The rest of the trip was on a pretty good Hwy especially after we crossed over into Manitoba the roads improved out of sight…. Before that it was like we were in poor man’s land with the roads and even the properties that looked run down…once over the border even the properties looked newer and kept much neater and clean….

Arrived around 3.20ish to Winnipeg again this time out if the city staying at a Travelodge along with Everyman and His Dog,,,,yep you got it right heals of dogs 🐕 win their owners staying here…There is a heated pool and a heated spa, but the weather seems to have turned everyone off…
The room is spacious and clean considering dogs stay here…and another win a bugger grudge with a good size freezer…we were to meet Jess and Tim for dinner but we were tired and they had further than us to get here today…8 hrs of travel compared to our 5 hours which was a lot less this time..,,,but with having to concentrate with the heavy rain…. It makes you very tired….we contacted Tim and asked could we do Brekky in the morning before we go…
The hotel had on the front a restaurant so we thought we could eat in…no luck it was on,y fir breakfasts now, as with so many after Covid they have just stopped a lot if services,…plus we are still seeing signs everywhere for help….no one seems to want to work….

So for dinner we found a dinner nearby and headed there on foot…not far….John had his speciality he never gets which was Liver and Mash with green beans and gravy…I had my speciality chicken soup with garlic toast…perfect dinner….and he got fruit 🍉 after as part of his deal..l,everywhere you go there us always extras added on and condiments coming our your ears all added into the meal…..home we have to pay for every little extra….mind you I think we are still cheaper all up…so I guess it all comes out the same…Read more