9/1-
Early flight out of Birmingham. There was a short delay but it did not affect my connection and I still had time to pick up some food in Dallas. I landed in Bismarck around 2:30 then picked up my rental car and headed north. The destination for the night was the town of Devil's Lake. I did see a decent sunset over the lake but overall, the town was nothing special. That was okay. It would have been too hard to make it to Winnipeg that night and this was a good stopping point. North Dakota was ranked #42 in terms of natural beauty according to Thrillist. That's probably about right. Outside of Theodore Roosevelt NP, you won't be awed by the scenery but it's not a barren wasteland either. There were several nice lakes visible from the road and the western half is a lot more scenic than the eastern half.
9/2-
I expected to face a bit of scrutiny at the border because of where I am from. They don't get many visitors from my neck of the woods. I did have to wait almost an hour because the border crossing didn't open until 9 AM but it went without a hitch and I was welcomed into Canada, more specifically the province of Manitoba. The drive from Devil's Lake to Winnipeg is only 3 hours but I took a short detour to the town Delta Beach on Lake Manitoba. It won't be confused for Florida or even South Carolina but the beach scenery was not half bad. Surf was minimal as expected with no rideable waves. I didn't go out much beyond knee deep water but yes, it was warm enough for a swim. The water temperature was probably around 70 degrees.
As far as the weather, days dawned cool but it warmed up rapidly after 9 AM. Normal highs for this time of year are in the low-mid 70s but the next 2 days topped out at over 90F. However, with virtually no humidity, I felt quite comfortable on my walking tours. Because of the dry air, I needed plenty of water to prevent a sore throat. A cold front came through the night before my flight home but fortunately, the rain held off until my touring was complete.
Lunch was a slice of pizza just a few kilometers from the beach and I was back on the road to Winnipeg. I arrived just before 2 PM then went straight to the Museum of Human Rights. It was interesting and thought provoking but it also offered some pretty nice views of the Winnipeg skyline. From there, I walked around the Forks, which is a park down by the river then went back downtown. Winnipeg is a fairly large city but its downtown is compact and you can easily get from one side of town to the other. Dinner was a good but overpriced steak at Keg's Restaurant. I did not go out for more drinks on the town but did walk a few blocks from my hotel to get a night view of the city and view the Provincial Capitol. I met a nice girl but didn't have much time to talk.
9/3-
Up with the sun. It would be 5.5 hours driving time to Regina, Saskatchewan. As expected, the drive was incredibly boring with nothing but flat prairies and open spaces. I did gain an hour so I arrived in town by lunchtime. I stayed on the north side of town a couple of miles from the city centre so I would have to drive to get to my attractions. Fortunately, I got a map of the city on my way. I went down to Lake Wascana to see the Capitol and found that the leaves were already beginning to change. I bet the foliage will be nice at the end of the month With time to kill, I went into a nearby science museum and got a quick sample of downtown. The museum was better than expected with many cool dinosaur exhibits. I learned that millions of years ago, Saskatchewan had a tropical climate and its latitude has moved. However, even when it was further north than it is now, the climate was still mild. Of course, this was long before CO2 emissions were an issue. The Earth's climate is always changing.
The part of the trip that I probably looked forward to the most was a CFL football game. It did not disappoint. There were passionate fans on both sides and several rule differences that IMO make for a more exciting and interesting game than the NFL version. In the end, Saskatchewan won an overtime thriller over Winnipeg by a score of 32-30 on a missed 2 point conversion. Though I really didn't much care who won, I couldn't help but feel a bit excited in that atmosphere.
9/4-
Regina is about an hour and a half north of the border. Getting back into the USA was no problem and the scenery did improve further south. I actually crossed into Montana then headed back east to North Dakota. It was another 2.5 hours to the North entrance of Theodore Roosevelt NP. That was much better than I expected. It was about on par with Badlands NP in South Dakota. It was another hour to the South Entrance of the park. That was cool too but unfortunately, the haze from the Canadian wildfires began to affect the views as the wind picked up. A cold front was coming but I finished my touring before the rain hit. My hotel was about 30 minutes east going back towards Bismarck.
9/5-
With time to kill before my flight, I went out for a sit down breakfast then drove 1.5 hours back to Bismarck. I did have time to sample another interesting history museum near the Capitol area. My luck was good on the trip home. Because the flight landed about 20 minutes early, I was able to get on an earlier flight back to Birmingham. I arrived at the gate just in time and learned later than my original flight was cancelled. If not for the early arrival, I would have been stranded in Dallas for the night.
Final Thought:
I really wasn't expecting this trip to be all that great but it was better than expected. To be honest, if I wasn't for the bucket list to visit all 10 Canadian provinces, I doubt that I would have gone here. This part of the world is not a popular tourist destination but it should not be overlooked. I have now visited all 50 states at least twice with the exception of Alaska and have visited 9 of 10 Canadian provinces at least once. The one that I am missing is Newfoundland. Perhaps, I could make it there next month but I am leaning towards waiting until next summer.
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