Our May Adventure

Andy and I retired this year and we set out for our first significant adventure on May 9^th – a trip across Canada. We started out from Oakville, Ontario. It was a glorious sunny day. Our plans included stops along Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Winnipeg, Riding Mountain National Park (MB), the Saskatchewan badlands, Grasslands National Park (SK), Cypress Hills (SK/AB border), Waterton Lakes National Park, southern BC and finally Vancouver Island. Unique B&Bs where we planned to stay included a sheep farm in Manitoba, a ranch in Saskatchewan, and a cattle farm in the badlands of southern Saskatchewan.  I was quite sure there would be a good adventure to write about. With hikes in various parks, watching nature up close and personal, and checking out all of the 50 meter pools across the nation to prepare Andy for his half ironman, there was bound to be a story or two worth sharing.  What we didn’t realize on May 9^th, that our first big adventure would have nothing to do with hiking, sports or wildlife, but everything to do with a lonely, remote national park in the middle of nowhere.

Grasslands National Park is the last remaining undisturbed dry mixed-grass/shortgrass prairie grassland in Canada and home to many at risk species such as plains bison and black-tailed prairie dogs.  The park has dry hills, badlands, eroded river valleys, and provides some spectacular scenic vistas which first drew me to seek out the park. Warnings of the dangers of rattle snakes and bison are provided before entering the park.  The closest town, Val Marie, is about 25km away if you take the right route, and the town’s meager population totals 92, so we were told.  It is truly a breathtaking remote spot. People come from all over to star gaze in the undisturbed night sky – free of any unnatural light which can provide life changing experiences for those who love the sky.  The park has glamour tenting which we took advantage of. A tentik is a large and sturdy tent, set up on a platform with a lovely deck to sit out on when it is not windy (not sure when that is), and few stairs down to the campers’ walk way.  Since it was our only camping experience on the trip, we opted to use the tentik and not drag a tent across the country for one lone night of camping.

After checking in at the park office in Val Marie, we took the recommended eco route – an 82km trip through the park experiencing many things such as the prairie dogs and their whistling, bison, ancient tent circles from nomadic tribes, and so on.  It was truly a unique experience.  Then off we went to the Frenchman Valley campground for settling into our tent.  The wind was not rustling, it was howling.  The tent poles shook violently and rattled from the minute we entered the tent, but from what we could understand, these tents had been experiencing the prairie winds for years with no incident. So the tent was fully secure. After writing a few post cards, we set into town to find a restaurant for dinner. We did take the long route by accident but found the town and an open place for dinner – not so easy pre-tourist season in a town of 92.

By the time we returned to our tent there were a few drops of rain and a very cloudy sky – so no light show for us that night.  One of the unfortunate campers’ tents had blown down in the wind.  We wondered what they might do that night with the huge tent flat as a pancake awaiting their return? We were lured to sleep by the sounds of the wind and sheer darkness of the night.  By 3:30am a call to nature woke me up. I found a light and exited the tent.  There was not a star to be seen. Not a light to the washroom either just sher pitch black like I had never experienced before.  So, with flashlight in hand I started out. Kaboom!  I was on the ground face down, landing on my right arm. With no warning I’d missed the first step and plunged down to the bottom of the stairs.  My arm was in agony. Andy heard a short shout and called out.  Since there was no answer he assumed I’d stubbed a toe and continued on my way.  Then he called out again.  “Over here,” a tiny voice said.  “My arm seems to be floating.”  With no medical experience on either of our parts, Andy examined my arm and noted that there was no dislocation.  “Should I call an ambulance?” Andy asked. “From where I thought?”  We decided to go back to sleep.  If kids in the war zones of the world could manage with worse injuries, than I could make it through the night.

By 5:15am the sky was light and my arm was not so good, so “we” (ie Andy) packed up and headed for Val Marie to see what medical support might be there for the park.  None from what we could tell once we arrived, and also figured an x-ray would be in order and therefore a larger town would be required. We knew Swift Current was at least an hour and a half away but with all of the driving through the park we’d done unexpectedly, we’d emptied our gas tank to a driving range of about 54km. Not so good.  This was the second misfortune of May 18.  We waited in town for the Park office to open to see if there was a place to buy some gas but we quickly had to move on to plan B.  There was a small town en route to Swift Current about 55km away with one gas station. Could we make it?  A nail biting drive and constant monitoring of the gas gauge resulted in 0 mileage left in the tank 1km from the station.  We drove on fumes and yes, we did make it!

Perhaps the rest of the story is not so interesting. With a fractured humerus, a sling, pain killers and Ibuprofen, we managed to drive to Vancouver Island.  We loved taking the less trodden path on the southern route of Alberta and BC (highway 3) and wonder why more people don’t opt for this region which is equally nice as Banff and not nearly so developed.  Waterton Lakes, despite the fires of the past year, was a breathtaking site.  The drive from there to Penticton, and then on through the mountains, lakes and rivers of the Selkirk Mountains and Kootenays, blew us away with the scenic beauty.

Back to the adventure. An x-ray in Victoria showed a full break. The result – a trip to the OR: a plate, 10 pins and 37 staples in my arm; and no running nor cycling for at least 6 months.  We did get to experience BC health and it was excellent.  I hope I can write about some real adventures as time passes but that is one of the most memorable (however unfortunate) parts of the trip.