Day 16 August 8, 2026 Redberry Lake Provincial Park Saskatchewan to Prince Albert Saskatchewan 126 miles
We had several people stop to admire the car. One said that the small town nearby was having a festival the next day and we would be more than welcome. We will think on that one. That person also sad if anyone gave us trouble to let him know and he would take care of it.
As dusk began to fall last night the mosquitos came out in force. Most of them are small but they have big appetites. Rob spent at least 30 minutes swatting them in the trailer after we closed the door.
This morning we learned the batteries for the trailer had not fully charged. The reason for this is unknown. Rob turned on the car and ran it long enough to make coffee, tea and instant oatmeal. We must not have driven far enough yesterday. The trailer batteries are charged by the solar panels and the alternator on the car. The solar panels and everything in and out of the car are covered in dust.
Rob packed up and we headed back to the little town of Hafford to fill with gas. At the gas station another man stopped and invited us to join in the parade. He said a friend had seen us in Meadow Lake the day before. Well we followed him to the staging area for the parade. What fun small town parades are. Anything and everything is allowed in. So there were cars, fire department, heavy equipment, horses, floats, and decorated golf carts. The parade wound through most of the town. Seems you were either in the parade or watching it. They allowed candy to be thrown. Several people said they had seen us yesterday at the lake. Then Main Street had a car show, food vendors and sales folk. Live music was to play later in the day. We were told there would be good Ukrainian food. Apparently that won’t be available until at least 2:00 pm. They had vendors from Scentsy, Tupperware and Pampered Chef. We tried a Ukrainian meat pie. Not sure what kind of meat. Flavor was not what we are accustomed to. We would have loved to try the Spudnuts but they won’t be ready for another hour. They said that is similar to a donut but made with mashed potatoes and flour. We had an ice cream cone instead. Then it was time to get on the road.
We are headed for the Doukhobor Dugout House. The place is only about 30 miles. Well of course part of that is down dirt roads. No wonder all the local cars are covered in dust. Most of the roads are gravel. We got there without much trouble. The site was the original settlement for some Russian immigrants. The Russian government decided everyone should have military service. They disagreed so 7,000 of them placed their guns on a huge bon fire and set it ablaze. They came here and built small homes into the side of the river bank. The river is further away so no danger of flooding. Eventually they built bigger and better structures. A lot of their descendants still live in the area. They were also having special events put on by various cultures in the area. When we arrived there was a Native teaching a group of high school or college age kids some dances with hoops. They were making bread and had ice cream. We had a thick slice of bread with butter and jam. Unfortunately the jam was not homemade.
We decided to go to Prince Alberta based on the time we had. We didn’t see any lodging as we drove into town. We pulled off into a parking lot to ask Google. A very friendly couple came up to admire the car. They suggested a direction where the car should be safe. They said one of the other streets had hotels but homeless and druggies. We found one. On the way to the hotel a passing driver called out that he liked “our Canadian Cadillac” Now to do all the nightly duties.
Spoffords Travel 