studiowest.ca

Cowboy Trail: Rocky Mountain House Part two

Our trip from Sundry to Rocky Mountain House was only 81 kilometers, we arrived early in the day so we could check out the National Park.

Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site commemorates a series of fur-trade posts built between 1799 and 1864 by the North West Co and the Hudson’s Bay Co (HBC) near the junction of the North Saskatchewan and Clearwater rivers. The posts were established to form a link between the eastern supply routes and the Pacific Slope fur trade, and it was intended that they would promote trading relations with the Kootenay of eastern BC.

The posts were in the territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, which opposed trade with the Kootenay, so they failed in their intended purpose. Instead, Rocky Mountain House became the centre for sporadic trade with the Blackfoot. Despite HBC attempts to close the post, Blackfoot pressure kept it in operation. Little remains except 2 restored chimneys from the last establishment. Trade with the local aboriginal peoples continued until 1821 when the companies merged, they continued to trade until 1875 and closed the Rocky Mountain House post. The name of the settlement however remained. We’re told the Post there was opened and closed seven times in its existence. The site includes a campground, visitor centre and interpretive hiking trails.

The Park campground unserviced sites were $26 per night where we stayed. The campground also had showers and washrooms as well as some other interesting accomodations. One can book the Métis Trapper Tents: Sleeps up to 5: double or twin beds, wood floor, table, and chairs. Fur Trade Camp Kit: bison hide, period cooking kit and utensils, blow tube and flint/steel fire-starting kit, bannock mix, trapper’s tea, spices, oil, and soap.

Another option Tipis: Sleeps up to 8: sleeping mats. Wood floor, table, and chairs. Fur Trade Camp Kit: bison hide, period cooking kit and utensils, blow tube and flint/steel fire-starting kit, bannock mix, trapper’s tea, spices, oil, and soap.

Or more modern Trapline Cabins: Sleeps 6 people: 1 double pull out bed and 4 sleeping mats in the loft. BBQ, table, chairs, cookware, utensils, mini fridge, induction burner, microwave, and lighting. There are also Walk in tenting sites along the river.

The day was a bit overcast and rainy, we donned our ponchos and toured the histoic sites walking approximately 5 kms. There are many hiking trails of varying distances to choose from. We found the park very interesting watching some jig dancing, wearing native costumes in the days of fur trading.

We also visited a early blacksmith shop demonstration before hiking back in the pouring rain. Along the river path we took back is where we discovered the Trapper cabins and walk in tenting sites. There are many hiking trails where if you pick the right time you can see Bison and also some in person demonstrations of Tipi living on the prairies. We found the park very interesting and to do it justice perhaps two days to see it all taking ones time to check out all it had to offer. Sometimes we just rush too much.

The campground was quiet for most of the evening but it was Friday and the weekenders arrived. Arriving later in the evening they set up across the road until 1 am, portable fire pits, tables chairs, BBQ’s were all set up with the constant banging around of car doors and the unhooking and leveling of the big unit. At just before 8 am in the morning the generator fired up to perk that first cup. Other units were arriving and it looked like it was a group camp out so we decided to move on that day and head to Drayton Valley.
Am I old and grumpy… probably, but first of all we try not to arrive too late at our campsite and if we do we try to be as quiet as possible, saving setting up to the next day. But we’re finding unserviced sites are becoming very noisy. We have spent a lot of money on solar, batteries and ways of cooking making coffee etc without a lot of power so we can utilize the less expensive unserviced sites. We carry a generator as a last resort emergency power source, as I hate the sound of even our own quiet generator running and I’m sure the couple in the tent next to me did not leave the city to camp next to a power plant. We as RVers must be considerate of those who wish to get into nature and camp without all the necessities of home with them and do not require power.
This site is about RVing and travel so I can rage on. One of our favorite National Park campgrounds at the Narrows in Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan. Once a quiet campground to enjoy the sounds of nature and a little peace and quiet around the campfire has become a mobile home park with generators providing the power day and yes last year all night. In one way I feel sorry for those who were sold a 40 foot something on wheels that requires massive power and they provide a single 12v battery, or perhaps two at most. This little 12v battery has to power two maybe three slides, at least four leveling jacks and of course the power awnings just to get set up, and already the battery is dead. This is before the microwave, air conditioner, coffee perk, toaster, water pump and large screen TVs are even turned on. Yes one would have to run a generator, or better yet book a site with power they now come with 50 amp. These units they call campers are actually mobile homes and require 110 power not one 12 volt battery as sold by the mobile home dealer.
Unfortunately we along with a lady who does a lot of camping especially at the Narrows packed up and left early as this is not what we signed up for. We choose the Narrows for what it used to be, a quiet place to listen to the loons, and escape the noise of everyday life in the city to CAMP. Perhaps it’s just me but when you book an unserviced site one should be prepared to do without power, sewer and water. I would not think of taking my 4×4 truck camper into a walk in tenting site. Just a little consideration folks we all love the getaway.
When you spend months in your RV as we do we get to see many places and experience all types of camping and people. We find those who spend a lot of time in there RV and travelling are much more relaxed, happy and considerate of those camped around them. We travel for the sights, meeting new people and to enjoy the beauty of nature God created. There is nothing more beautiful than nature quiet and at peace. For all others there are taverns, bars and nighclubs and city lights and sounds built for exactly that reason.
We enjoy sharing a bit of the beauty and places we see in hope it will inspire others to travel and learn about our history, communities and lifestyles. We share the good and the bad of RVing along with the beauty of nature where there is no downside if left in it’s natural form. Let’s be mindful to keep nature and its creatures for all to enjoy, by not leaving our garbage and destroying natural habitat along with a healthy respect of the people around us. Even the grumpy old campers in their slide in truck campers.
No more rants I hope that I have not offended but I would rather it was taken as constructive criticism. Thanks to our new subscribers, our old ones will tell you they have never been bombarded with unwanted product, just notices when I get around to posting. Were just selling the lifestyle as we see it nothing more. Your comments are alwayts appreciated.
Next post we continue up the Cowboy Trail (yes there is such a thing I did not make that up) check it out. Until then we hope to meet some time down the road.
Gerry (RVcowboy)
Charlotte (Editor In Chief

Travelling Alberta’s Cowboy Trail
Part 1
Our plans to someday travel Alberta’s Cowboy Trail finally became a reality after getting rid of some bad tires from Canadian Tire that slowed us down in our travel plans. Thankfully in Calgary they changed us out of those X Trail tires for our KO2’s and everything has been fine since then, that nightmare in a previous post.

So Yea Haw! and let’s get the Cowboy Trail covered, it’s already mid July and we have some ground to cover. The best thing about writing much later from my diary notes is one gets to view the photos and relive the four months of summer travels.
NOTE of Interest: This whole trip we did not make one campground reservation, if we had made reservations along the way our tire problem delays would have created a nightmare with those reservations. We will never fall into the trap of having to make reservations and plan our travels by the day and clock, if it comes to having to make reservations we will probably quit travelling. We had no problem finding places to stay without adding restrictions to our travel life. After spending a week visiting Charlotte’s brother and sisters and our two adult children who all unfortunately live in Calgary. I lived in Calgary for a period and Charlotte grew up in Calgary but it was smaller then, now to me it’s just carbon monoxide, cars, gravel trucks and people everywhere. Some love it, it’s just not me, it’s home to the famous Calgary Stampede. If you want to catch a real rodeo check out the ones in Bragg Creek, Sundre and many of the small communities along Highway 22. They don’t call it the Cowboy Trail for nothing. At small town rodeos one can taste the dirt sitting right next to the action and get to know the cowboys and cowgirls up close. You have probably guessed I do not like big cities, let go country.
The Cowboy Trail starts south at Cardston, Alberta and travels Highway 5 to Highway 6 near the Waterton Lakes National Park, north on 6 to, I think Lundbreck, where it becomes Highway 22 north to Longview, Alberta. We jumped on 22 at Longview so probably missed a lot in the Mountain View, Pincher Creek area. Pincher Creek Rodeo August 15 to 18th and only $15 per adult (top that Calgary) still on the bucket list.
Chris, our daughter’s partner gave us the tour heading from Calgary to Bragg Creek a very interesting area in the foothills. I’m not sure how we got from there to Highway 40 as he took a pretty much unused Forest Service road through the back country.

We hit Highway 40 in Kananaskis Country known as the Kananaskis Trail and headed south to Longview, Alberta. The Trail is 148 kms long and passes through Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and the Highwood Pass. This is Canada’s highest paved road, a beautiful side drive in the summer, as the pass is closed each year from December 1st to June 14th due to high snowfall and to protect wildlife. This was a great side trip taking us to our start point on the Cowboy Trail at Longview, a beautiful community set in the foothills of the eastern Rockies.

I will not do the Trail justice and even at that it will take several blogs to cover the little we did discover and enjoy, as we were pushing north to the Dawson Creek area after our delays. Leaving Calgary we stopped briefly in Bragg Creek to pick up supplies then on to Sundre, Alberta where we stopped for the evening. A nice campground on the outskirts along the river it cost us $35 with power for the night a little noisy from the highway but not bad.

The camper had shifted from the high side winds in southern Alberta so I took the time to jack the camper and straighten it on the truck. Some hiking included checking out the local RV dealership where we were in for a surprise. The fifth wheel units were massive including two bathrooms, fireplace and too many slide outs to count and a lot more dollars than I could count. I would hate to have that thing follow me around and find space to park it. I was very happy to get back to my cozy, go anywhere, park anywhere truck camper, one bathroom to clean. Cozy and content we called it a night. Our next stop was in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta.

We did not spend much time in Rocky Mountain House but went to nearby Rocky Mountain House Historical Site and camped there. Rocky Mountain House is a beautiful small community of approximately 6,500 residents in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Rocky Mountain House became a firmly established town by 1912. The town has a long history dating to the 18th century with the presence of British and Canadian fur traders during the westward Canadian expansion. In 1799, the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company each established the Rocky Mountain House and Acton House fur trading posts. Trade with the local aboriginal peoples continued until 1821 when the companies merged, they continued to trade until 1875 and closed the Rocky Mountain House post. The name of the settlement however remained. Were told the Post there was opened and closed seven times in its existence.
Rocky Mountain House was also a stop over for the explorers such as David Thompson even as it now is for those travelling the David Thompson Highway or Highway 11 west through the mountains to Banff National Park. Put that one on your bucket list if you like mountain driving.

The official Cowboy scenic Trail is well suited to all types of RV travel big and small. However it’s advisable to download maps to your GPS or have a hard copy as scenic routes often take you out of cellular coverage. We found some incredible scenic trails, some to explore at hopefully a later date, however just a note do some checking on road conditions. Scenic roads in Canada can be beautiful paved highways to gravel and dirt roads to forest service roads. Not all these are designed for towing long trailers or Class A and C RV’s. Roads can be windy and narrow with little pullouts as we found out. Good advise is to always check with the local residents if unsure.
Part Two coming in the next post. Images and a little of what we learned about Rocky Mountain House National Park Historical Site, a very interesting National Park for sure. then we continue our journey along the Cowboy Trail.
Thank you for giving me a reason to relive our summer and share a few images with you. Your interest and comments make it worth while and perhaps will inspire others to actually find the beauty and interesting places in these areas for themselves. If your interested in planning a trip on the Cowboy Trail you can do more checking at ExperianceTravelGuides.com/Library

It’s just all so easy in a truck camper hope to meet you down the road.
Gerry (RVcowboy)
Charlotte (Editor in Chief)

Not often would one run into a Saskatchewan RV nomad calling her motorhome home wherever she parks. We first met Cara Court camped in Prince Albert National Park, we were in the site next to her overlooking the Narrows on Waskesiu. Over the course of a few days we got to know a little about Cara, camped in her small Class C motorhome she called home. At the time she had just retired from the Prince Albert City Police, rented out her home and decided to live and travel for a year or so in her 20 foot Class C. Her daughter travelled with her for most that first year after her University classes ended.
Retired at a young age she had already put in 25 years of service. “I joined when I was really young and back then there were not many female police officers on the force.” It was a learning curve for all involved. Myself being an RV nomad at heart, I was naturally interested in her story and travels and when we parted it was ‘see you down the road’. I occasionally saw her posts to Facebook so knew she was still on the road and doing well.

Fast forward three years, staying in the same spot along the Narrows one camp neighbour pulled out and a 26 foot Class C pulls in and sets up camp. It was kinda crazy as we both recognized each other at the same time, our rig had not changed but Cara’s motor home had grown an extra six feet. She had a new partner Bruno, a big dog, an amazing dog as he was bilingual and would respond equally as well in French as English. Bruno was very protective of Cara but eventually we earned his trust.
It was fall again and as it turns out as this is our go to place when it quiets down from the summer season, it was also her go to place as well. We had just come back from three months of travel having rented our cabin out, and over the next month we spent many hours around the campfire and hiking telling each other our stories and comparing notes. As always the people we meet who live or travel a lot in their RV are always upbeat, happy and have many interesting stories to tell. Cara has allowed me to share her story with you. And although, as with the other nomads we have met, I cannot even begin to share all their stories with you but had a few questions for Cara of interest to me.
Cara enjoyed some tent camping when not working and after retirement bought her little class C motorhome which she said was perfect size for her. A novel by Lee Child about Jack Reacher, a single nomad and ex military cop with just a backpack, travelling, free to go wherever really appealed to her. That’s when she decided to rent her house and travel for a year. The downsizing started then, getting rid of her accumulated stuff and putting some in storage. The more she got rid of the freer she felt and as she found out it was just stuff she really did not need.

That first year travelling with her daughter they put on a lot of miles visiting National Parks in Canada and the USA. Travelling east in Canada, and being an avid Blue Jays fan they caught some games in Toronto before heading south when the border opened up. They travelled through New York and south searching for a warmer climate as far as Big Bend National Park in Texas. This was in a short time as they entered the U.S. November ninth and then to Las Vegas December 20th where her parents reside to be with them for Christmas. After, she travelled to the Valley Of Fire State Park for a week then to Palm Springs area for a month now travelling on her own. After going back to Vegas and picking up her daughter they headed back to Canada. “My daughter was very happy to get back and out of the motorhome and end RV life as we had several issues with it” she said. When asked what issues she said it did not start at most of the places she had stopped at having starter problems and then fridge problems several times. Not all in RV life is easy but she said the benefits far outweighed the negative and she continued on alone with Bruno.
The second year she spent travelling in Saskatchewan. “I grew up here and really did not even know about my own province” she admitted. “I thought I should see my own backyard and I travelled to many small communities throughout the province over the summer” she added.
On her way south that fall she had an accident in Casper, Wyoming totalling her little Class C. “That was scary. Bruno and I could have been both killed,” she said. When asked if it was tough to go back out on the road after in that bigger 26 foot Lepricaun Class C which her parents in Las Vegas helped her find, Cara said it was a little, but there were places she still wanted to travel and see, so had to keep on. She appreciated the help of her parents where she stayed while looking for a new RV “they really helped me back on the road, I think they wanted me out of the house,” she laughed.
When asked if it was scary starting out on her own as a female she said not really. She travelled the first year mostly with her daughter, then got Bruno, the bilingual dog, so she was not really alone. After a trip to India with her daughter she met at least three other women travelling on their own.They inspired her and as well she had met other single women camping and travelling who were also an inspriation and she knew she could do it. “When you can’t find someone to do it with you, you just do it” she added.

When asked what the highlight of RV life is, she said “definitely the people you meet along the way”. I asked if finding spots to stay, propane and dumpstations were the downside she said not really you always find a place. Living a little more glamorus life than Jack Reacher her backpack a motor home. When asked about setting out in her motor home if she had done any research into RV living, vanlifers, full timers on YouTube or Bob Wells from Cheap RV Living, she said “no”.

Now well into her third year on the road Cara says all the positives of the lifestyle far outweigh the downsides which is cold weather, adding “but then you just move to where it is warmer”. “Being able to get up and do Yoga outside sometimes with trees on one side and the lake on the other, like now with leaves falling, it just does not get better than that” she added. I also asked how long she stays in one location she said the longest has been about a month. “Again I do not have any set time, it’s just when I want to move on” Cara added. As for goals she wants to see as many National Parks as she can and even the small towns along the way in Canada and the US. When asked if she had a hard time emotionally selling her house and getting rid of a lot of stuff she admitted renting it for the first year to make sure was a good idea. As for getting rid of the house later and a lot of her stuff she said was in a way very freeing and found it actually enjoyable. I asked what her friends and people she knew thought of her selling all to live and travel in a RV, “For the most part a lot of people say they were jealous and said they would like to do it. A lot of people are starting to see the benefits of not owning a home and paying all those bills”. When asked if she felt RV living was less expensive Cara said she could control her costs, “like when we went to the Maritimes it was expensive, but I planted myself a month before and a month after so it kinda all works out”. It really depends a lot on what you want to do and your lifestyle.

What now I asked. “Well I plan on seeing as much of the world as I can and am not planning on quitting, I may be doing this for three more days or another three more years.” It all depends on how she is feeling and what suroundings she wants to hike, bike and do her yoga in. We got to know Cara and her not wanting to wear her battery down running her heater, we know it will be someplace warm. Safe travels Cara, thanks for sharing your thoughts and we hope to meet again down the road.

A brief touch on the life of a Saskatchewan, Canada nomad, who along with so many others, Ron and Anne, Owen and Lynn and of course Joei to mention a few have the best stories to tell and when and if we meet on the road again it will be just like we parted company last week. Only new stories to tell and roads to share.

PS: many have asked how they can get Joei’s books and she gave me permission to publish her email. JoeiCarlton.H@gmail.com you can reach out to her there.

That’s it for now, next blog, our trip up the Alberta Cowboy Trail. As my posts are very sporatic you can subscribe by email and get a notice when I publish if you’re interested. Thanks to those who have done so it helps working at this when you know there is intrest in my rambling. We hope to meet you down the road studiowest.ca
Gerry (RV Cowboy)
Charlotte (Editor in Chief)

The title says it all and we met Joei, an RV nomad in Dawson Creek, British Columbia this year. We love our travels as part time nomads partly because you never know who you will meet next.

Pulling into Mile Zero Campground in Dawson Creek in northern Brittish Columbia, located on the start of the Alaskan Highway, we ended up parking next to another truck camper. We noticed it right away as it was a Kodiak, one of the many truck campers we have owned. We were due for a laundry day so Charlotte headed straight there going to get that task over with. In between loads she told me she had met our neighbour in the truck camper, a young 80 year old lady who had been a nomad for 31 years on her own. I had to meet her figuring she would have some great travel experience and some stories to tell. Yep I was right, she has enough stories to tell, she has written numerous books on her experiences and travel as a solo female since her 50’s. She told us, with a grin, that we were allowed two days to set up next to her and then we would have to move on or she would have to do us in. The reason will be obvious as my tale unfolds, we spent two and a half days there and listened to more stories than could be written in this blog, it’s not much wonder she has published so many books. I think she kinda liked us as she said she was sorry to see us go despite her previous warning.

More about Joei, her business card reads Joei Carlton Hossack, Author/Entertaining Speaker/Photographer/Publisher/Jewelry Maker and Designer/Artist and Painter…and Woman of the World. You just won’t read all about that in this blog you will have to buy her books. I was interested in why she chose the lifestyle, the challenges and if she had any regrets.After getting permision to post to my blog she told me her husband Paul and her were stricken with a wonderlust and looked forward to travelling the world together. In 1992 they purchased a large condo in Florida where they would store their “stuff” while travelling. Shortly after they travelled to Great Britain where they had their Renault Traffic motorhome stored and continued to travel. Only 16 days into their planned four-month trip Paul had a heart attack and died in a campground in northern Germany. “That condo to store our stuff would become my milstone” she said adding Florida was never the place she wanted to end up. She felt trapped, but in the meantime had started writing about their 2.5 years of travel in Europe for newspapers and magazines as well as some speaking.
After constant complaining to her neighbours about how much she disliked where she was at they told her she should just get out. “So I did” she said proudly, she put the place up for sale and sold her “stuff”. After the condo sold she said she felt free, no tears, no joy, just relief, she was free. Selling it all she admitted was not easy and had hoped it was the wise choice and started looking at RVs. She said no matter the cost and all the fancy trim one still had to go outside to hook up the sewer. She settled on her first trailer a 22.5 foot Thor fifth wheel and her new Ford F250 Powerstroke Diesel to pull it. Well after many differnt rigs over the years some good and some not so good, she still has her trusty F250 diesel now with a 9.5 Kodiak truck camper. She really likes this set up as it is easier to drive, can park anywhere and she is home.

Those first years she admits were a steep learning curve starting with pulling a trailer and driving my “Big Diesel truck”. She travelled the USA speaking and ended up publishing her first book of several, took art classes and started making jewelery which she started selling along the way. “I was well set financially, her friends referred to her as trailer trash with a debit card,” she said. She has spent time in Walmarts and many different places and campgrounds enjoying every moment meeting new people along the way. RVers and especially nomads are always upbeat and have great experiences to share, she said. As we found out one never knows who you will meet down the road with interesting travels and stories, and the more time they have spent travelling the better the stories.
Despite not everything being all roses and some trying times, things breaking down, lousy weather, she would not trade her lifestyle for anything. “If I don’t like a place or the weather is bad I can just leave,” adding with a grin “or if I don’t like the neighbours.” Being a solo female traveller has never to her appeared to be an issue as she is usually surrounded by interesting like-minded people. Joei now spends most of her time in Canada, not retuning to the US during the winter as it is a hassle with health insurance as one gets older becomes very expensive. She now winters in BC when not on the road. Mile Zero campground where we met her now appears to be her summer place, as she has a monthly rate and an OK from the owners to sell her books and jewelery.
I would need books to share her stories, and I heard a lot of them, I found her stories and life an inspiration to follow ones dreams. She loves the freedom from being tied down with “stuff” and perhaps pushing ones self out of their comfort zone to obtain their freedom. At 80 she is fit and healthy and not ready to change her lifestyle any time soon. Mile Zero campground is the ideal place for her as there are many people heading up the Alaskan Highway and her RV neighbours are always changing usually never staying more then two days, more stories and more book sales along with her jewelry. I bought her book, “Kiss This Florida I’m Outta Here”, and one of her short story books, “North to Wherever”. She was told many people had the attention span of a “gnat” so she wrote and self published several short stores, (at the time we met her some 22 of them) for those with the attention of a “gnat” could enjoy them.
In her words to sum up her life,” I have been an RVer for 33 years – 30 years as a solo RVer. Thirteen years as a full time RVer and 10 years as a solo full time RVer. And yes my family and friends are a little worried about me, but this is my last kick at the can and I’m not ready to give it up soon”.
You will probably find her next summer between May and Sept in Dawson Creek at Mile Zero, ask for Joei and be prepared to listen and share. Did I mention she is also very outspoken, a shameless self promoter and sales person, but it fits her perfectly as she puts it “Woman of the World.”
Joei you made our brief stay at Mile Zero very interesting, informative and inspirational, we hope to meet again down the road.
I still have some catching up to do on the interesting people we meet, the great places and not so great places we have stayed at so stay tuned. We’re also pumped that we got tickets to the Quartzite Truck Camper Rally this year, it always sells out allowing only 450 truck campers to attend. If all works out it should be a good time meeting like-minded travellers, kinda sucks to be Canadian when the $50 ticket becomes $70 once you put the maple leaf on it. But hey, Joei would say …go for it!
Thanks for your comments and feed back on our travels always enjoy them, hope to see you down the road,
Gerry (RVcowboy)
Charlotte (Editor in Chief)

A wild western days weekend in Beechy, Saskatchewan Canada
Beechy Western Days, just one of the longest running rodeos in southern Saskatchewan, Charlotte and I had the pleasure of attending this summer on our travels. We made it to Wood Mountain Stampede, the longest continual running rodeo, and now in it’s 56th year Beechy Western Days. For a small community of around 250 people, some say more, some say less, but regardless of the number the community and surrounding area came together to host not only an excellent rodeo but an added feature “the lawn mower races” wild and western entertainment at its finest.

Beechy is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Victory No. 226. The village is located in the Coteau Hills region of the province, at the intersection of Highway 342 and Highway 737. It’s really a destination community as it is not located on any of the major highways but a nice drive in the rolling hills on a decent highway, we met only a couple of vehicles on the way. The Beechy area was first settled by ranchers early in the 20th century, starting in the 1910s, immigration of Europeans to the Canadian prairies resulted in an increase in population for Beechy. These settlers started ranching and farming in the area, which remains Beechy’s primary activity today.

Beechy boasts a long history of community events, the first agricultural fair was held in the area in 1922. The first racetrack was built in 1948, and the following year the first harness races were held In 1996 the first Beechy Western Days Rodeo was held and continues on to today.
Charlotte and I arrived a day before the event and were amazed at just how much work went into putting on a first class rodeo, as well setting up many games for the kids and a first class race track for the famous lawn mower races. Small communities like this could not make these events happen without volunteer support from the community and area surrounding Beechy. Pens had to be put in place for the rodeo stock, the arena ground prepared to provide safe footing for the rodeo stock and barrel racing horses. Beer gardens and dance area set up, a full hall of events for the young ones and a race track second to none for the lawn mowers. Sometimes those of us who just show up for “the show” really do not appreciate the work that goes into entertaining us that goes on not just before but after the event as well.

That first evening with our truck camper parked on the hill overlooking the arena all by ourselves we settled in for a very quiet night. The next morning we moved, fueled up and did a little shopping in town at the local Co-op and gift shop in town. Contestants needed the area we were parked in the night before, so we moved to spend the night near the golf course, close but thinking we were out of the way. To our surprise we awoke early the next morning surrounded by trucks and horse trailers all around us. We were in the middle of a rodeo so to speak, needless to say we knew more would be coming and in the hilly community of Beechy every space would be needed to park and unload their horses. The beauty of the truck camper is we could easily move our home to a steet in town and out of the way, quieter but close enough to enjoy the atmosphere.

Being one of the only Canadian Cowboys Rodeo on that weekend and near the finals the number of contestants in every event was packed for the Friday and Saturday performances, by contestants chasing the standings for the finals. Sunday’s performance featured the top ten from the prior events.

For those who do not know rodeo it is one of the only sports I know of that the contestants themselves pay the winners of the event. They pay an entry fee which goes into the event pool with the top three splitting the money, those who do not qualify for the money go home earning nothing. In some cases rodeo committees will add extra money to the pot to attract more contestants. Most rodeo contestants live on the road all summer long competing at rodeos across the province and for some as many as three in one weekend, putting on many miles. A lot of the contestants are from cattle ranching operation backgrounds and are a big family every weekend visiting and story telling, but fierce competitors in the arena.

Outside of the rodeo Charlotte and I were impressed with the amount of work that went into entertaining the younger ones with some very simple games we had not seen since our youth, fishing in the duck pond and bobbing for apples…go figure.

Then there were the Lawn Mower Races, the year finale to be exact on a very challenging track, lawnmowers and people packed the pit area all preparing the lawn mowers for the races, all helping each other make sure they were running their best. On the track it was fast and furious and everyone for themselves, with rollovers, crashes and bumping and grinding at full out speed. When one contestant ran into trouble and broke down everyone helped get the mower and driver fixed and back into the race. A first for us, we will never look at a riding lawnmower the same again, great fast paced entertainment, good sports and a good time for contestants and huge crowd of spectators.

Charlotte and I would like to thank those involved and the community of Beechy for making us feel right at home and part of the event. We met so many great residents of the area names elude us and we would just get them mixed up anyway, so thanks for your hospitality. The main organizer of the lawn mower races requested some images from me, he reached out but for some reason I cannot email to a gmail account so if you know him have him contact me at 306 229-4542 and I will arrange to get him the images.
If you have some time next year and want a weekend packed with fun check out Beechy Western Days, sure you will not be disappointed.
In our four months of travel we stayed at some pretty fantastic spots and met some very interesting people who live full time in their RV. I look forward now that we are stationary for a few months to feature them and places of interest we visited with you in future posts. Also working on a breakdown of costs and our feelings about life on the road in a truck camper.
Hope you enjoyed the images as much as I enjoyed taking them the indoor rodeo photos are a little blury due to low light and fast action. Thanks for those who subscribed and your feedback on the posts is always welcome…more to come, and we hope to see you down the road.
Gerry (RVcowboy)
Charlotte (Editor in Chief)

Not exactly a travel article but it’s part of life on the road, many of my 25,000 views come from people who are RV travellers and as a RV owner you know how important tires on the ground are, this is my story. Lack of photos to accompany this article as they would be in Canadian Tire service centers not very exciting or creative. Last September I had four new Motomaster X Trail tires installed on my F350 SRW truck. The truck is used only to carry our slide in Northern Lite truck camper. Upon installation in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan I noticed a shake at 100 km per hour. At the Saskatoon Canadian Tire Preston store there is no appointments made, it is first come first served, I live out of town and after having spent nearly 4.5 hours to have the tires installed sitting in the waiting room I did not want to repeat this process. Also I had to return as my low tire pressure light was on, this before I left town one hour later. I was told by the service person if it did not reset by itself I would have to have Ford do it. (They did not even know it has a reset code link 23, I did it myself after going on line at home.) I was told to drop it off and would have to unload the camper to do the balance (the only shop that required this as no other has asked to unload the camper) and they could not give me a time to get this done just leave it and wait. The service manager told me to get them balanced locally and send him the bill. Time went by as we were not using the camper and winter came, we did not use it over the winter. My first mistake waiting

This spring as I am a travel writer we once again planned a four month trip, rented our cabin out and before hitting the road had our truck totally checked out by Vanscoy Auto and assured only a top ball joint, steering stabalizer needed attention. I had Valley Ford do this along with a wheel alignment. I replaced the shocks with four new Bilstine shocks and a new steering stabalizer at this time thinking perhaps this was the shake, it did not go away. I paid to have the tires rebalanced at Martensville Canadian Tire before we left at their regular rate, there I was told 3 months had passed and no warranty. Still a shake at 100 km per hour, we had to get on the road and thinking perhaps driving them a bit would work out the shake. This was my second mistake.
We got to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and stayed over two extra days, Sam the service manager in that Canadian Tire store got us in and rebalanced the tires, this time at no charge, still a shake as he took it for a drive himself. So they rebalanced them again at no charge, but now delayed two days on our way to the Wood Mountain Stampede. After balancing them twice with no change and we were told our lower passenger ball joint was a little loose and may cause the shake. They could do nothing for us as their alignment guy was on holidays for a week and a half. When asked if they would change out the tires they did not have the X Trail tires in stock to replace them. We went directly to Knight Ford in Moose Jaw who got us in right away, note with the camper on. So I paid $1200 plus to have that work done and another wheel alignment with no success the shake was there. So far my wife and I spent approximately 10 hours in service centers. (The wear was minor and probably not necessary but on the advice of the Canadian Tire service people we had this done, I really had no choice). Now for sure I suspect it is the tires as my old Wranglers I took off before the trip had no shake what so ever. Moose Jaw Canadian Tire said they would order some in if I drove back and try that, I even considered at that time paying to have a different brand put on but they did not have those in stock either. So far the service manager Sam Morrison in Moose Jaw was the only service manager we encountered out of many that was really trying to help solve our problem. He test drove our rig several times to know what we were dealing with and agreed we had a problem.
We attended our rodeo event and contacted the Canadian Tire store in Medicine Hat, Alberta, they had a set of the X Trail tires so I contacted Moose Jaw informing them we were heading to Medicine Hat. After rebalancing them again with no luck, the store there replaced all four. Still no change and once again paid for install and balance and warranty. Still no change and they could not change me up to a different brand of tires as they had none in stock.

Having to be on our way to Calgary we stopped approximately 50 kms later at an Integra Tire shop in Bow Island who rebalanced the tires and told me the one tire had a hop in it and it was probably a bad tire. Note! they did not even charge me a dime got me in right away camper on, thank you for excellent service, I was in and out in under one hour.We then drove back to Medicine Hat where they replaced the tire and told me the rim could be the problem but had no rims in stock. We found a Ford dealer in Brooks, Alberta that had a new rim ordered in for us. (Again,Canadian Tire service people indicated the rim should be replaced as it might have a little bend). We overnighted there and had an oil change at the Brooks Lube and Alignment shop where I paid to have them to move the front wheel to the back for only $10.00, no change just the same shake now on the rear. Going back after picking up the new rim, I than paid them to mount the new rim on the suspect tire, still getting a shake. Since we are on the road in a truck camper for the next now three months we had no place to take the old (not damaged rim) so left it behind. The folks at Brooks Lube and Alignment were excellent, very reasonable, and we were in and out in in under one hour with no appointment and camper on…go figure.
We had an event in Didsbury, Alberta we had to go to so continued on. After our stay in Didsbury several days later we took it to OK Tire in Linden, Alberta asked them to check the front end and drive line and anything that could possibly cause the shake. They drove it and told me it felt like the tires were out of balance so I paid once again to get them to rebalance them. They noticed a tire hop in the front tires so moved them to the back and the shake was a little better but still there. They feel it is the tires, now we are approximately 17 hours in service centers and a lot of money later spent on various improvement to our truck, only some were necessary at the time. Interestingly enough the old Wranglers we removed for these new tires never caused us a moments trouble and shake free even before all this work was done. OK Tire Linden Alberta were honest enough to tell us the tires could not be balanced properly and wrote what they found on the invoice. Excellent service and with the camper on, Saskatoon Canadian Tire take note.
By this time I had contacted Canadian Tire corporate office and after several attempts Andy at Corporate Customer Relations returned my email and upon sending him our sad story said he would replace those tires at no charge while we were in Calgary so I requested BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2 tires. I have in recent years used Canadian Tire to install Wrangler Duratrac tires on my truck and our Nissan Xterra and other vehicles and had no problems and being as we travel a lot could ususally find a Canadian Tire store located near us. These Motomaster X Trail tires checked all the boxes I needed re load rating and winter all terrain driving. I never suspected this amount of trouble and expense to change out my tires.

Follow up to service work in Calgary:
After being sent to Canadian Tire Pacific Place store as they indicated to Andy they had the tires, we made the appointment to have the tires changed out with BF Goodrich KO2 tires. The appointment was for 12:30 and we were early. Approximately two hours later the truck was still on the hoist with no tires, I was then told after inquiring as to what was the hold up, that due to a miscommunication, they did not have the right size tires. This would involve sending their driver one hour away to pick up the right tires. At 4:30 we finally had the truck with tires installed in only four hours a new record. I noticed the service man driving my truck and slide in camper over the speed bumps very fast. I ran out and asked him to slow down, he looked at me laughed and raced off over more speed bumps turned and left down the road. I was not told the truck would leave I had left my camera and lens just inside the camper on the floor instead of in the cab when worked on. Had I known the truck would leave this would not be where I would have left it, luckily other than things in the camper moved around it was OK. Those who know truck campers can appreciate this, the moron who drove it had no idea the damage that could be done. I use the word moron as a calmed down version of what he was. When I voiced my displeasure at this I was pretty much ignored with a shrug the service manager did not come out of the back shop and left the counter person to deal with it. She basically told to sign off and that these tires would carry no warranty. This after a warranty I had just paid for on the second set of X Trails and travelled perhaps 200 km. In my opinion after considerable time 22.5 hours spent in service centers and the extra expenses and down time I did not need to be treated like that by these people perhaps she should find a job not customer orientated. To this point I am the idiot for even putting up with this starting right from Canadian Tire Preston in Saskatoon Saskatchewan. Do not be me!
Thanks to Andy at head office I now have some tires that do not shake the truck around but am out of pocket $2,595.83 in uneccessary expenses and have spent 22.5 hours in service shops not counting the 4.5 hours to have them installed in Saskatoon originally. I notice the Canadian Tire service rate $145/hr. Well as a travel writer my time is also worth some thing and the last straw was how I was treated at the Calgary Pacific Place store. The upside to this is that Charlotte who spent most of our travel time browsing Canadian Tire stores will not even enter one, money saved right there.
My last word and lessons learned
I have in the last several years purchased tires for our truck and Nissan Xterra from Canadian Tire due to their warranty policy which I agree is good under normal circumstances, however like most insurance and warranties anything out of normal is a problem. To be honest it took two independent tire shops to let me know they could not balance the tires 100% and suspected the tire or tires. All the Canadian Tire service centers that balanced them told me they were out of balance so how can so many different Canadian Tire stores let an unbalanced tire go and charge me for it, the weight position changed every time they were balanced. I tried to question this but got no where so it is not all on me.
I will never again wait over four hours to have new tires installed and balanced, I will expect any problems to be dealt with immediately, also I will have a set appointment time and expect work to be done then. I would expect to be treated like a customer whose time is also valuable. After a summer of visiting many tire shops and service centers this takes Canadian Tire Service centers off my list of possible suppliers. Unfortunately some of our big chains have forgotten what a customer service is and even the good local people who work there, their hands are tied. In future local owned shops will get my business and will stick with brand name tires. So far we have put on nearly 2,500 km since the change and no problem, haven’t visited a service center since. I’m sure many have had different experiances, this is just my story. I wish I could have posted a better article as this reflects poorly on me for putting up with the run around. My time at the Calgary Canadian tire shop was the last straw and felt my story needed to be shared.
I really want to thank Andy from Corporate Canadian Tire who got me out of the Motomaster X Trail tires and Sam Morrison service manager in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for treating me like a customer during this time, and although Sam and Andy had corporate rules to follow he treated me like he cared, a small but powerful gesture much appreciated.

So if my updates to the blog are sparse this summer you now know why, between tire issue delays and fires we have had to be very flexiable this summer. Other than our waste of time in service shops we have seen some great country and met some interesting people and learned a lot about full time living on the road. This we will share with you in upcoming posts. Subscribe if you’re interested in updates through your email, no charge to you and won’t make me a dime either it’s just good to share.
Hope you summer travels were good, stay safe and hope we meet down the road.
Gerry (RVcowboy)
Charlotte (Editor in Chief)

Before our visit to see the home of world’s largest T.Rex our tire problems persisted and I have had a lot of you ask to hear our story on that. My tire problems have been resolved. I am trying to be fair to the tire company in seeing how they handle my nearly 20 hours of wasted time and travel as well as almost $2,400 in extra costs. At this time it has not been resolved to my satisfaction and will share my experience at the end of this month which I feel has been adequate time for even a large corporation to respond.

On our travels we stopped for breakfast in a small town in southern Saskatchewan, I had heard of Eastend and someting to do with a dinosaur. We noticed the T.Rex Discovery Centre built on the side of a hill from our breakfast spot in the park. We drove up after breakfast and it was not open yet, so we toured the small community nestled in the hills of southern Saskatchewan. Eastend is one of those small towns one drives into and you say to yourself “I could actually live here”. The well kept community has most of the amenities one would need as well as a great campground, which we ended up not staying at as we had another tire appointment.
The reason for Eastend being put on the map was the discovery in 1991 by a local school teacher Robert Gebhardt joining a team of palaentologists to look for fossils in the Frenchman Valley. What they discovered was a tooth and tail vertabra from what would be later discovered to be from the world’s largest know T.Rex dinosaur. In 1994 excavation began on what is now known as one of the most complete 75 percent, 65 million year old carnivorous dinosaurs ever found. The T.Rex was nicknamed “Scotty”. The T.Rex Discovery Centre was opened to house the fossil remains and is open May 20 to Sept 4th for visitors and admission is by donation.

The wait for the centre to open was very much worth it and would recommend it to anyone. Charlotte and I were shown around by a young student palaentologist who answered many of our questions and educated us a lot on the process of preserving and identifying the remains of these million year old discoveries. He also told us how they can date such finds but I have already forgotten that it was kinda over my head a little. We really did appreciate the personal time that was spent with us as we knew literally nothing about the process and time required for them to safely excavate and store the prehistoric past.

Eastend is in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada 55 kms north of the Montana border and 85 kms east of the Alberta border set in the rolling hills of the Frenchman Valley. For more information check out T.Rex Discovery Centre or watch the documentary, The story of the T.Rex-Biggest in the world.
Hope you enjoyed the photos and just a little information on this community I will leave the rest for you to discover and enjoy as we did.

Thanks to our new subscribers as this is a non monetary site so just your appreciation and interest is our pay and we are pleased to share our images with you. Way more to come as we have another 6,000 kms to go and may I add on good tires.
Hope to meet you down the road, the scenery is great but the people we meet make the memories. Make today and every day the best day of your life.
Gerry (RVcowboy)
Charlotte (Editor in Chief)

We left Wood Mountain this morning to the Grasslands National Park East Block, just 29 kms south of Wood Mountain on the US border. Rock Creek Campground turned out to be more than expected with 24 tent/RV sites all with 50 amp electrical. Eight oTENTsiks, picnic tables, fire pits and fire wood with a burning permit. Vault toilets and RV sani dump station with potable water. The park also features dishwashing stations, and a kitchen shelter. The park can also facilitate the equine campers in a fantastic setting to hill ride in the grasslands of southern Saskatchewan.

If you’re looking for water activities this park is not for you, if you want to hear nothing but the wind blowing and big open skies full of stars at night this may be a fit for you. GNP is Canada’s only national park that presents and protects the Prairie Grasslands Natural Region. The park represents one of the finest intact parcels of North American mixed grass prairie habitat in existence. This is the type of park we are looking for away from the noise and the crowds and land untouched by plows and concrete, nature pure and natural. I am so pleased we have the National Parks to preserve nature in its natural state and protect the grasslands from the plow as it appears canola is taking over more acres all the time.

This is so different for Charlotte and I as we have travelled the north and the forests in the province, but if all we wanted was more of the same we would just stay home and not travel. We are finding beauty wherever we are either in a canoe, hiking or just passing through. It’s been a great day and a great find.
Before registering at the campground we took a tour on a paved roadway passing through the park and were amazed at the hills and deep ravines, there are many spots to get out and view the landscape. We registered for $31.50 which included power and water. There were very clean washrooms, potable water and sani dump. After taking one of the hikes through the hills we enjoyed the quiet of the campground where one could only hear the wind, a total change from the rodeo. We also enjoyed meeting a couple Marc and Nancy from Quebec who practised their english on us and did very well, much better then I would do in their province. They had been on the road for several months and were returning home in their class B van. We also met Ron and Maureen from Ottawa travelling pulling a teardrop trailer it was good to meet others who had no timeline to be anywhere.

The park staff were very helpful and friendly, also fluent in french and helped us understand the balance of sharing a natural resource with the public. This is definitely a park we would return to and one we almost overlooked in our travel plans.
That’s it for this one, thanks to the new subscribers it makes me feel good as we are now over 23,000 viewers to the site. Take care, have a safe summer and we hope to meet down the road…
Gerry (RVcowboy)
Charlotte (Editor in Chief)

July 7th saw us at Wood Mountain Stampede, this was definitely not on our original travel plans. Delayed for a medical procedure in Saskatoon, we had spent the month of June in Prince Albert National Park. We then travelled north to La Ronge for a short trip and to pick up the best wild rice grown anywhere. So far our trip has taken us from La Ronge to Prince Albert, Smeaton, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, and Wood Mountain Regional Park. It was here at Wood Mountain the longest running continuous rodeo in Canada was held, it’s been 134 years of traditional rodeo.

One of the best rodeos anywhere and we have been to a few, in our earlier years we followed the CCA rodeo circuit as rodeo photographers and were at one every weekend across the province of Saskatchewan. This is the account as recorded in my daily journal:
Friday July7th
Stayed over in Moose Jaw last night had rear tire balanced one more time with no change in the shaking at 100 kms. Thinking it must be the tires. Drove to Wood Mountain Rodeo $70 for two nights on the rodeo grounds and $15 each for rodeo passes. Visited Wood Mountain Post established by the NWMP in 1874. The post established just north of the newly established international border with the US made it a strategic point in stopping illegal trade including whiskey traders, horse thieves and cattle rustlers. When Fort Walsh was built the post was closed.
In 1887 when Sitting Bull and thousands of Sioux fled the USA the post was re-opened to monitor their activity. The Sioux lived comfortably in the area until food supplies ran short and returned to the USA. The Wood Mountain Post was once again closed in 1883.
The North West conflict prompted the NWMP to re-open the post in 1886 to do border patrols and stop supplies coming from the US. Following the conflict the post was used as a police station until the Provincial Police Force was established in 1918 and the Post was closed for the last time. Today it still stands partly reconstructed a reminder of by gone years in our history.

Another day in Wood Mountain Regional Park. Today we took in a team roping competition in the rodeo arena, a Ranch Rodeo and the Canadian Cowboys rodeo. We talked to and met some very interesting people that love the western lifestyle. Also a different breed of RVers who travel all summer long going from rodeo to rodeo pulling their horse trailer which also includes RV living quarters. Some of these units would be right up there with the top RVs on the market today and are dual purpose. It has been 26 years since we were at this rodeo and enjoy the laid back, very traditional western feel to the event. This includes placing willow and poplar branches over the grand stands and bucking chutes. This practice dates back to the beginning of the rodeos here. The popular rodeo draws a large number of contestants, featuring the beer gardens and cabaret dance on the Friday and Saturday evenings after the performances. The CCA Rodeo is Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday night was one of the noisest nights we have had so far, When there is a rodeo dance on you can expect the music to play into the early morning and it did. That was expected, what was not expected was a generator parked right out front ran all night long, and not a quiet generator. Sleep was very sporatic to say the least, we hope it was for a sleep apnea machine or something.

That’s about it for this blog, so much one just has to experience it for themselves and take the time to explore the rich history of the area. We’re off to Grasslands National Park next blog and would like to take you along for the trip. We were impressed by this park if you want to subscribe leave your email address and you will be notified by email when I actually get a post up or get cell service. We are working our way north now that we have travelled from the north of the province to the far south.

The best part of this travel is meeting some very interesting people who we will also share with you.

Safe travels and make every day the best day of your life…..Cheers

Gerry (RVcowboy)

Charlotte (Editor in chief)