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1 to 15 July 2020 16 to 31 July 2020

Thursday, July 16, 2020

We woke up to a sunny sky.

A busy boy looking for bugs under the rocks.

I emptied the gray water tank this morning.

I also filled the freshwater tank. I basically have to transfer water from the blue water jug to the tank in the MH.

We played a few games of Labyrinth.

We had lunch, we had really good crepes my mother used to make. Michele does them very well.
Gabriel loves them.

It was with a full belly that we go hunting for fossils.

We only found some interesting rocks.

We got back home and ate Mr. Freeze because it was so hot, +32° C.

I guess I got lucky, I got a tick on my leg. It did not have time to really bite me.

With this hot weather, we decided to go to the town of Rockglen. Rockglen is about 35 km away. On our way, we saw those four Swainson's hawks on fence posts.

Welcome to Rockglen. Population, 400 souls.
Why this mammoth skeleton?
This area is one of the richest resources for dinosaur fossils in Canada.

After a quick visit to the local grocery store, we head back home.
Gabriel has a hard time staying awake.

Our first antelope for this trip.

My superhero!

It was a good day even with the heat.

Friday, July 17, 2020

After much discussions, last night we decided to do the "Valley of 1000 Devils Route".

So, after a good breakfast consisting of cheesy eggs, we are off for the trail. It is a 6 km one-way trail with an altitude gain of about 194 m. Gabriel is full of energy.

It is kind of hard to see, but the ground is covered with small cactus.

Gabriel has a sharp eye. He saw this nest while we walked right passed it.

Our campground, can you see the MH?

Gabriel is a good hiker.

Further away from our campground.

No signs are telling you where the trail is, but it is hard to miss.

The Badlands.

We are at about 3 km in the trail. The king of the hill.

Our campground, really, really, really far away.

A partial antelope horn.

Gabriel on top of the hill!

What a scenery.

Michele decided to wait for us at the hill. Gabriel and I continue on for the last two km to the end of the trail.
Can you see us?

We are somewhere on the right of the tall mountain.

We made it. We are at the end of the trail and what a sight we have in front of us. The Badlands.

This is the actual end of the trail. This outcrop is about 100 feet off the ground, but about 500 feet above the valley.

We take a small snak on the outcrop before we head back. We now have to hike 6 km back home.

Michele was still waiting for us. We all got back home together.

According to our handheld GPS, we actually hiked 11.7 km today.

Gabriel found the last two kilometres rather long. We can say he did very good on a long hike. He never complained.
It is so nice to cool off after this hike.

Even tired, Gabriel still had energy to play.

Michele doing some reading!!!

Gabriel, the funny guy!

Michele's back is acting up again. She thinks the hike was just a little too long for her back.
The clouds are starting to roll in during the evening.

Saturday, July 18, 2020

We woke up to rain.

During one of the sunny intervals, Gabriel and I went to hike the Rock Creek trail again.

Although it is the second time around, it is still a nice short hike.

After the trail, we continued to walk around the campground.

The day ended with rain.

Sunday, July 19, 2020

The temperature cools off and we still have some rain this morning.

The campground looks empty this morning.

Since everyone else in the MH is asleep, I went to the information center with my coffee. The view to the north and to the east.

Look at all that nice firewood. We could not have a fire because of the fire ban. Shoot!

With this weather, we played a lot of board games.

Gabriel is filling out the rest of his Xplorer book and have it checked out by the staff. He did get his reward, a nice Park Canada Dog tag.

It warmed up in the afternoon. Gabriel is still looking for bugs under the rocks.

We received some photos from Jeremy and Kristin.

Gabriel saw a nice stuffy at the information center. A bison.
He went back to get it.

He is so happy with his bison. Look at the green dog tag around his neck.

Tomorrow, we are going back home.

Monday, July 20, 2020

Today, we are leaving Grassland.
Gabriel is helping me put away his bedding before we leave.

We have to iron the bedsheets, the old fashion way.

We put the MH in travelling mode after breakfast.
We are ready!

First stop, the dump station.

It rained all night and the roads are pretty sleek.
Remember, the campground is at the bottom of the valley.
To drive out, we have to climb up.
The rear end of the MH did slide to the right for about 10 feet. We do not have the car hooked up to the MH at this time.

Once on the paved road, we hook up the car to the MH.
We are taking the same road to get back home.

Gabriel is always hungry.

The canola fields are doing great.

We made it home no problems. Look at the MH? See how dirty it is?
I will wash the MH over the next few days.

After lunch, Jeremy and Gabriel went to Buffalo Pound Lake to try out the outboard motor. It is still not working very well.

We are very happy to see Natasha again!

Many of Kristin's flowers have bloomed.

Can you see Natasha?

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

They look so good!

Natasha is always happy.

Today is the day we install the pool.
We prepare the ground before the installation.

Kristin had bought some foam squares to put under the pool. The yard has a lot of roots and other hard "things" coming out of the ground. It needs to be covered.

Meanwhile, Gabriel is watering the flower bed.

The pool is bigger than we remember, we had to add more foam squares.

The filter system.

The inspector is making sure everything is good to go.

Brrrr. The water is cold!

We did add four hot water tanks to the pool to make it nicer.

It is at an acceptable temperature now. The kids at play.

Natasha wants to see everything.

A quiet moment.

It was a great day for everyone. By the way, it was +32° C. today.

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

We not only have good photos of Natasha.
We also have some special moments, like this one, poop time!
She sure makes us laugh.

It is another warm day.

Lunch, outside in the shade.

Time for a dip?

Why not, the water is not that cold. In the right photo, she has her bathing suit on.

A break from the pool.

One happy little boy.

And back in the pool.

It was a good day for everyone.

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Once again, Natasha is working on a "gift". She is so funny.

Other then that, she smiles all the time.

Friday, July 24, 2020

Natasha is always well dressed.

A good lunch.

Jeremy still has not found what the problem is with his outboard motor.

Fun in the pool.

Natasha loves being outdoor.

Gabriel spends a lot of time in the pool.

Saturday, July 25, 2020

A quiet morning with the cat and Natasha.

Gabriel and I are having fun with Natasha who likes to stand by herself, with help of course.

But! Sometimes, a fall takes place. No! It was my fooling around with her.

Michele went for a walk with Natasha. She is sleeping in her stroller.

Gabriel loves to be close to the people he loves.

He is a good boy.

Kristin has been working on a project for the last few days. Here it is. It is really nice.

Gabriel loves waffles. He barely takes time to cut it before it goes in his mouth.

This is a special lunch Kristin makes for Gabriel, and all of us too!

After lunch, I took Natasha and look how she ends up, all crooked. She placed herself like that!

Kristin and Jeremy are having Kristin's parents and her sister's family for supper.

Zac, the youngest from Erin's family loves the water. He is completely frozen, but still want to play in the water.

We had a good time.

Our Chef, the master of hot-dogs and Hamburgers.

They made a lot of food. Everyone ate their fill.

Naughty grand-maman, she gives ice-cream to Natasha! Natasha does not complain.

The three kids in the pool.

It was not too hot today and the wind kept the bugs away from us.

We really enjoyed our time with Kristin's family.

Sunday, July 26, 2020

The photos Jeremy sent me at 7:20 this morning!

Natasha loves food.

Gabriel is having a sleep-over with grand-maman in the MH.

Another week over.

Monday, July 27, 2020

We have a busy day ahead of us today.
The morning starts with lots of fun with Natasha.

Gabriel plays well with Natasha, until she wants to eat his nose.

Gabriel is not mad at her, he is very gentle with her.

Mommy with her baby.

As I mentioned, we have a busy day ahead of us. First off, we head to Regina this morning to get some parts for the outboard motor. BTW, the Audi is very comfortable. Michele is at home with Natasha.

This is our first stop, Pro-Tech. This place repairs all makes and models of outboard motor. They had the parts for Jeremy's old motor.

Now that we have the parts, we go to Cabela's. I am shopping for a small, lightweight camping cot.

They did not have any.
This part of Saskatchewan is very flat.

With the new parts installed, we head to Lake Diefenbaker for some fishing. It is next to the small town of Riverhurst.

Kristin and Natasha wishing us good luck fishing.

Arriving at Palliser Regional Park, we go to the marina. It is about one hour and forty-five minutes from home.

This is a nice boat launch.

The marina is in a long and deep bay.

Gabriel loves fishing. He found my old cowboy hat and insists to wear it most of the time. It is too big for his head, but he still wears it.

It turns out the motor is not working. We use the electric motor to move around.

It is very hot today (+33° C). Just imagine at 4 pm on the water!
It does not take long we head to the beach to fish and play.

Jeremy caught a walleye. Gabriel is more excited than his Dad. Gabriel is the net guy.

Gabriel with his new friend.

I caught a walleye too, but it was way too small.

The scenery is so beautiful here. Can you see the deer?

Here he is. We were on this beach half an hour ago.

I caught a Goldeye. It is not a very good fish to eat.

Jeremy caught a second walleye.

With the sun setting, we install the running lights on the boat.

Kristin has a ball game in Regina this evening.

Meanwhile, Michele has some fun with Natasha.

We got back from fishing around 11 pm. Gabriel is worn-out. We only kept only one walleye. But, we had a lot of fun. The only bad thing is that the motor is not running.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

We still play around with the motor. We cannot find anything wrong with it.

Natasha.

It is another hot day.

A welcomed break in the shade.

After about an hour in the pool, Jeremy offered a banana split.

Gabriel loves his cowboy hat.
Handsome man.

A handsome man, but a little creepy.

The boys being boys!

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Natasha is really good at eating her cookie by herself, almost.

A few days back, I borrowed this pressure washer from Jeremy's friend. I used it to wash the MH after our trip to Grassland. Today, I use it to wash my sun-shade for the windshield and the carpets.

The windshield needed it. Four months in the sun and dust in Texas, they get dirty.

The two kids playing in the pool.

All clean.

Our two carpets drying on the grass. The carpets were really dirty.

It is way too hot for Natasha to be outside for long.

We even let Gabriel watched TV in the afternoon because of the heat.

Kristin has another ball game tonight.
Jeremy found an out-board motor like the one he has for $700. It deals for a bit and gets it for $600.
The motor is in Regina. Off we go.

Grand-maman is looking after Natasha and Gabriel.
They are so easy to look after.

Jeremy buys the motor for $550. Once the other motor will be fixed, he will sell it for about the same price.

We have a lot of laughters with Gabriel.

Thursday, July 30, 2020

The person selling the motor did make the motor run, but we wanted to do it again today and really check it out. It runs very well.

Some of Kristin's flowers.

We are so lucky to have both of them in our lives.

This is a very, very hot day, near 40° C. with the humidex.

Natasha loves green beans. I think she loves all food!

The last one out of the pool.

Friday, July 31, 2020

The two compadres!

Jeremy and Kristin's friends came over for a visit this morning. They are in town for a few days.
Joel, Rebecca and their little girl Calie are very nice.

Gabriel is very happy to have other kids to play with in the pool. Anna and Myra are very well-behaved, nice girls.

Natasha is at the spa again!

I sure don't look too happy.
But I am...

Michele and Gabriel are back in the pool in the afternoon. It is not too hot today.

Kristin and Jeremy are not here this evening. Kristin is at ball and Jeremy is gone mountain biking with friends

Grand-maman is having a sleep-over with Gabriel. It only so Gabriel can try our new cot we bought Wednesday, so he says.
The new cot is in the blue bag.
Jeremy gave us the military air mattress in the green bag.

This is the mattress inflated.

What is in the cot bag?
The legs, three of them.

Two long bars to make the sides of the cot.

The fabric making the bed.

Let's start. First, you place the two long bars in the fabric.
Next, you assemble the legs and place them on the bars.
Flip the levers and make the fabric tight.

The view of the underside.

And the right way.

Gabriel will try it tonight.
But first, time for cartoons with grand-maman, in our bed!!!

The two best friends.

Life is good...