04-18SEP09 - Sprucewoods, MB (via swift current, sk)

Originally we had planned to spend over a week in the Canadian Rockies visiting Lake Louise, Jasper & other scenic areas; but we had another alarm “problem” that we had been living with for some time and finally had had enough. So we decided to drive straight through Alberta & Saskatchewan, to Corrie’s brother Ed & wife, Elaine, outside of Brandon, Manitoba. Enroute we spent the night in Swift Current, SK, where we visited one of the smallest Indian Casinos we have seen. We would be in the Brandon area for three weeks which should give the local Freightliner dealer plenty of time to figure out the problem and order parts (if necessary). It has been two years since our last visit to the Brandon area; see below BLOGs for more on Ed & Elaine, and all the other Riesmeyers:

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2007/07/25-29jul07-brandon-manitoba-underway-is.html

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2007/08/3031jul07-brandon-manitoba.html

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2007/08/corrie-spent-wednesday-and-thursday.html

Turns out that Ed & Elaine had recently sold their old house and scuba business to their daughter Kim & husband, Brian; and have been in their brand new house less than one month. So rather than just sit around and freeload we decided to help out in completing some of the finishing touches. Corrie decided to help with the landscaping and getting grass started; Dan decided to take some of the leftover lumber and build shelves in Ed’s brand new “shed”, & help with the finishing of the “shop” inside the shed. Did we mention the “shed” measures 40 feet by 65 feet, with 16 foot walls; and the “shop” (ie future man cave) measures 20 feet by 40 feet!

After a couple of days of doing nothing much, we began to visit other relatives. We started by visiting Kim & Brian to celebrate the second birthday of their daughter Haily. We also attended a local High School football game to watch Matthew, son of Corrie’s youngest brother, Rob, play as wide receiver. Unfortunately, sister Alie & husband, Janik, were on vacation in Poland.

Ed took Dan to one of the largest potato farms in Canada to watch the harvesting, sorting and storage of this years crop. It was an amazing operation with semis bringing in forty ton loads to be dumped on the huge sorting machine where workers scrambled to sort out the debris and damaged potatoes, before the “good” potatoes were deposited in sheds that can hold over a million pounds! Ed warned Dan not to turn his back on the workers sorting potatoes, because they have been known to chuck a piece of debris (ie dirt clod) at you if you are standing around doing nothing.

Since Ed & Elaine’s new house is just across the street from a Sprucewoods Provincial Forest, we also found time to go quad’ing. Four wheel drive ATVs are called Quads in Canada, and the Provincial Forest has miles and miles of trails that are used by Quad enthusiasts. When Ed and Dan would go, they would look for the forest trails and mud holes. When Elaine & Corrie would go, they would stick to the main trails or ride alongside the roads. The quads are big, mean, green, Kawasaki machines, with unbelievable power and acceleration; Ed warned Dan that if he hit the throttle too hard while standing still, the quad would rotate about its rear wheels and fall over on the driver (not a good thing?)!