Double Gas Prices, Triple Liquor Prices, and the Relentless Wind- We Enter the Canadian Plains

We left Dickinson, ND and started toward Regina (ri JYN uh), Saskatchewan. Right from gitgo the going was tough. We had pouring rain, strong head winds, and the headache of massive truck traffic.

Nasty skies of approaching storm

Western North Dakota is experiencing an oil drilling boom as numerous shale oil fields are being developed, drilling derricks and producing wells are everywhere. Of course, all of this activity places huge demands on infrastructure and support services that they were not designed for. Need a job? Move to western ND and make a fast buck while suffering through the brutal winters.

All kinds of traffic

Our trek northward was along a two lane highway which was shared with tanker trucks, hay haulers, farm implements, and general haulers of equipment whose function could not be surmised. On top of everything, road construction was in full swing for the short summer and there were several road widening projects where we had delays. Rain and wind didn’t slow anything down.

We made it to Fortuna, ND where we presented ourselves for a border crossing into Canada. We answered all of the agent’s detailed questions, whereupon she took our passports and headed into an office with a computer terminal.

At the border

When she emerged we expected that this old, innocent couple would be waved through, but she surprised us and asked us to “pop the trunk.” After a 5 minute search of our rear end possessions, she cordially told us how to get to where we already knew how to get to, and let us cross. We figured that some of this is retaliatory procedures for what our border agents put the Canadians through and wondered how much easier life would be if everyone were subjected to profiling. We found southern SK to mirror the activities of western ND. Shale oil field development was everywhere.

We checked into our motel in Regina then headed out to a Wal-Mart to pick up some cold drinks, car snacks, and roadside lunch items. Unlike Louisiana, we found that Wal-Mart didn’t sell any beer, wine, or liquor. We asked a nice lady about where to purchase these items and were directed to a provincial liquor store. Sticker shock! Alcohol prices in Canada are astronomical. After looking at all of the purchase options, we ended up getting 15 cans of beer for $25 and a “cheap” 1.75L. of vodka for $54.

That's about $5/gal.

At those prices Capt. Larry figured you didn’t have to worry about a hangover! We filled the car up with gas and had a devil of a time with our debit card before we finally finished our purchase with a credit card. We hadn’t eaten in restaurants much, because we were still adhering to our “Alaska bush plane low weight diets,” but Jane wanted some Chinese food. We found a Chinese restaurant that was voted “Best Chinese” in 2012 by Prairie Dog magazine, but we found the food to be greasy, lack seasoning, and be a strange offering of traditional Chinese dishes we have experienced in other restaurants. We got back to our room and tallied up our purchases which totaled $380 for our first day in Canada. And Alaska is supposed to be expensive?

The next day, Friday, we headed north to Prince Albert in a 30 m.p.h. headwind that shook the car all over the two lane road. This part of SK displayed massive wheat, oats, or barley fields, most of which were waiting to be planted, and not much else.

Watson, SK grail elevator

We noticed that Canada had very few rest areas, very little litter on the roadside (probably too expensive with recycling requirements), and no dolllar menus at the fast food resturants. We stopped in Watson, SK which claims to be the home of the original Santa Claus holiday. We found a post office and decided to by some stamps to mail postcards to the granddaughters.

Watson Santa Claus statue

A book of six stamps and 3 stamped postcards cost $13.50, so Americans shouldn’t bitch about 5-day delivery! The granddaughters will have to bear with us.We left Watson and made our way to Melfort, SK, arriving around  lunch time. The wind was so strong that we had to have lunch in the car, rather than set up at a roadside picnic area. We arrived in Price Albert and checked into our motel. Jane did laundry while Capt. Larry took the car out to get it washed, refueled, and pick up a couple of grocery items. We exercised in the motel’s gym (too windy to walk outside), had dinner and watched some movies before turning in.