Stormy prairie skies.

Outlook Regional Park (1 star)

We travelled from Kindersley to Outlook, stopping at several elevators we had not yet seen. As is typical, the rails are rusted or even removed, the elevator is filled with the sounds of pigeons, and the town is usually dilapitated. It is a sad reminder of what has happened to Canadian prairie life.

We got set up in Outlook and detached Chuck in anticipation of tomorrow's travels. Then the wind came up with such force that Lee thought the mighty old poplar next to the Schooner might actually fall over onto our unit.

A 5th wheel is only stabilized to the ground, besides the four wheels, with the stabilizers fore and aft. There was the thought that the Schooner might move in the wind, so we played it safe and re-connected Chuck for stability.

Lez is almost blown away: Literally - the wind this afternoon after we parked in the Outlook Regional Park was truly gale force. At 4 pm, shortly after we docked the light winds switched from SE to NW in a heartbeat and then recorded 46 kph. Between 4 pm and 5 pm the temp dropped from 26C to 15C. The sun shone the whole time, clouds that were in the area blew away! Blowing dust almost hid the other shore of the South Saskatchewan River. The Schooner was rocking on the prairie.

It's now 8 pm and there is just a slight wind. We went outside, and Hobbes led the way. There was a sound I had not heard since last August - crickets. BIG smile, the sound of Saskatchewan. On the drive into the campground, I had noticed a lot of dandelion puff balls on the stalks. Now they are completely gone. The stalks bent with the wind, but the seeds are now spread for miles around.

The relatively short drive was nicely uneventful, and we managed to take a few more grain elevator pictures.