Gull Lake is a very small and peaceful town in the middle of nowhere, Saskatchewan, Canada. Settled comfortably in a small RV park, we set to explore the surrounding area. The RV park owner advised us to drive to Maple Creek, another small town about an hour down the road, and have ice cream at the local Grotto Gardens Country Market. We loaded up the dogs in Jane (our CR-V) and cruised down Hwy 21 toward sweet treats.
The ranch greeted us with goats on roofs and beautiful purple, pink, and white flowers overflowing from hanging baskets. We settled in with the dogs at a table on the welcoming front porch and David went in to get us some treats. The blueberry pie and soft-served pistachio ice cream were good, and we enjoyed relaxing outdoors for a while.
Back in town, we found a grocery store and I hunted for local produce or at least made in Canada. We found a most wonderful pancake mix that produced fluffy and yummy breakfast, topped it off with real maple syrup. We also picked up apples, tomatoes, cucumbers, and Canadian bacon.
The resort’s facilities were good and clean, with no frills. Living the RV life now, I have come to appreciate a good shower.
David went looking for a truck service station to top off the air in one of the tires. This simple task proved to be not so simple after all. Most gas stations didn’t have the right do-da (an air hose for an inside valve stem) to easily inflate the RV’s tires. We tried Maple Creek up the road, but had no luck. So, we went back to the campground, and hoped for better luck the next day.
On our way to Banff, we found a Pilot Flying J station and finally found the right air connection. We also found “the world’s largest teepee,” and the town of Medicine Hat, which looked like a happening place. Farther down the road, we stopped a fresh fruit stand right off the highway where we picked up plump cherries and juicy apricots – yum!
After so many days of driving through flat land – and trying to stay awake through it – we finally saw mountains! We left Saskatchewan, the Land of Living Skies and entered Wild Rose Country, Alberta. Banff suddenly materialized and welcomed us with beautiful vistas and fresh mountain air. As we drove in, a heard of elk was resting in the forest just to the left of the road.
Tunnel Mountain Trail Court RV Park was excellent. Once we parked Lexi, we walked up and down the paved ways, admiring the massive mountains jutting up at the end of each road. We found proof of the province’s slogan: blooming delicate pink wild rose bushes covered the side of the mountain, in the good company of white Daisies, yellow Great Blanket flowers and Shrubby Cinquefoil, Smooth Blue Asters, and purple Harebells and Bergamots. We also found more proof of elk passing through and were warned of bear sightings in the camp, but luckily didn’t run into any.
