OUR PARKING AREA AT THE CONVENTION.WHITE RIG ON THE RIGHT IS OURS 

A TOW TRUCK PULLING OUT A STUCK TOW TRUCK. THIS WAS OUR ENTERTAINMENT 

FMCA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR COACH CONVENTION IN MINOT, ND

We arrived in Minot, North Dakota for the Family Motor coach Association Convention along with over 4000 other rigs at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. It was a good facility for the convention with lots of seminar rooms, display area for new RVs and scattered concessions. We gleaned very useful information from the excellent technical lectures there. We also had specific items that we wanted to buy from the 1000 vendors. We were successful there also, obtaining a transformer to boost our power in low amperage parks, a GPS that routes for us and gives spoken driving directions, a defibrillator for sudden cardiac arrest (we believe you can’t be too safe), a bathroom vent fan that automatically closes in case of rain, and minor other items. We were also able to solve some problems with excellent technical advice. We are still working on operating the GPS but it is pretty straightforward.

There was no joy in mudville however. We were parked with about five hundred other rigs in a farmer’s field for overflow. It was pretty bumpy coming in over the plowed furrows but we did have electric power via giant generators. On the third night of the convention, there was a heavy downpour of one-and-a-half inches of rain that turned the field into a sea of mud. The shuttle bus to the convention was no longer able to come in to get us and so we had to walk to the main road to catch it. When it came time to leave, rigs were digging deep ruts in the slick clay-based mud and getting stuck. Tow trucks came in and then got stuck themselves. So we saw a tow truck pulling a tow truck pulling a rig. One small tow truck lifted its front-end high off the ground trying to pull a heavy rig. We patiently waited a couple of days and were able to get out okay by driving on the grass instead of the roads. It also helped that most of the other rigs were out of the way.

We are really glad that we went to the convention but we are also exhausted even though we didn’t attend any of the evening entertainments. We now head for Gillette, Wyoming again for the RVing Women Convention. Zoe is to be the keynote speaker. She will probably hit a day or two at the Freightliner Convention also that is being held before the RVW one. As for me, I’m heading straight for the orthopedic doctor I saw last time and with the help of some X-rays and maybe MRIs find a solution to the pain in my hip and shoulder.

FANCY DANCE DRESS AT FIRST NATIONS UNIVERSITY IN REGINA ALBERTA 

FIRST NATIONS UNIVERSITY. NATIVE AMERICANS. ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND. IN REGINA, ALBERTA 

MOOSEJAW AND REGINA AND THE CANADA GAMES

MOOSEJAW

We have traded the cool mountain breezes for the blistering hot plains. There were acres of same looking rolling green hills. As we approached Calgary, it was a strange sight to see miles of the same roofs on developments. We passed three ski jumps left from the 1988 Olympics.We headed quickly to our favorite dinosaur museum at Drumheller and the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum. The exhibits of dinosaurs are overwhelming and they are still finding more in Alberta. There was even some right on the Tyrell grounds. The hills were made up of weathered cones of dirt of different colors.

We have enjoyed chuckling at some of the towns we have been to: Medicine Hat, Swift Current, Moosejaw. Medicine Hat was named for a battle between Native American tribes that was lost because the medicine man on one side took off and lost his hat. Moose Jaw was named, according to one source, because of the resemblance to a nearby bend of the river.

When we found out there was a boat ride in Moosejaw, of course we had to go. Captain Jack gave us tidbits of river lore as we cruised this small muddy river. It was a very relaxing ride and we caught an idea of life growing up on the river. Moosejaw is a rather charming town of 32,000. They have an interesting old downtown and parks everywhere, especially along the river. All of Canada seems to be doing pretty well because of the oil. In fact the Prime Minister of Canada has just announced a 3.1 billion dollars surplus in the treasury. We have done our bit to add to it with diesel at almost $4 a gallon.

The Canadian Summer Games were being held in both Moose Jaw and Regina. We decided to move to Regina because the Moose Jaw park only had 30 amp in 90 degree weather and we couldn’t run our air conditioner. We attended a Canada Summer Games girls basketball between BC and New Brunswick. BC won. We were impressed by how hard all of the girls played. Zoe’s hairdresser later told us that was because this was the time all of the scouts were out. If you didn’t get picked by age 16, your chances weren’t good to go on in sports.

We were also very impressed with First Nations University for Canadian Native Americans that was on the Regina University Campus. The beautiful building represented the Sun Dance Ceremony. A ring of tipis had been erected in celebration the summer games with drumming, crafts, dances and demonstrations. It was a wonderful display.

We left Canada with the forecast for a frost on the weather station.

BC ROOTING SECTION AT THE WOMEN'S BASKET BALL GAME AT THE CANADA GAMES IN REGINA 

THE CANADA GAMES IN REGINA. BC VS NEW BRUNSWICK