Old cars, tractors, grain elevators and other wonders of the prairies.

                                                                       We arrived here in Indian Head around noon last Sunday to discover the town was hosting a classic car show, after a quick lunch we headed into to town to look at the old cars.
                                                                             

A small Farmall tractor, not sure the age, late 40s early 50s at a guise. Beautifully restored. 

Mercury Rideau from the mid 50s

Now this car I remember, Pontiac Laurentian from the mid 60s, I had a friend who had one of these, you didn't get car sick when traveling in it , you got sea sick, it was like sailing in a small boat on a rough sea.

Mystery bird of the day.

Fargo pick up from the mid 50s.

The grain elevator at Sintaluta a few kilomtres east of Indian Head.

One of the elevators at Indian Head, not sure whether the truck is unloading grain to be stored or loading up to take the grain across the tracks to the ugly elevator. Photo on the left showing a rail wagon being loaded with grain. The 2 trucks when they left crossed the tracks and parked at this elevator.

Old plow, fancy sitting on that for a working day, I bet those old farmers had back problems when they got old. You see these everywhere.

Lark Sparrow another first sighting.

We are now in LeBret a few kilomtres up the Qu'Appelle Valley from Indian Head. The missionary's first passed through here in 1864 and set up the first Mission in 1865. The church was built in 1925.

Father Hugogard with a couple of First Nation children, this became the main centre for First Nation and Metis worship in eastern Saskatchewan.

The first thing you see on entering the village.

Mission Lake taken from the church.

 

A drive through the Qu'Appelle Valley to Motherwell Homestead.

                                                                     

The weather has continued on its crazy course, yesterday was like a monsoon, this morning was overcast with heavy looking clouds, another day of rain we thought, but what the heck lets go out anyway. 

Up the Qu'Appelle Valley to the Motherwell Homestead and what do you know, the clouds cleared away and we had a wonderful day, great scenery and sunshine.

The Qu'Appelle Valley is one of Canada's gems, you can be belting along the Trans-Canada Highway and just a few kilometres north you have scenery like this.  The prairies according to a lot of people we have met on this trip are boring and the sooner you are out of them the better.  That has not been our experience at all, there are some flat parts, but there is a lot like the photo above.

                                                                                   

Wild rose with a visiter.

Yellow lady slipper orchid, very rare in Europe, growing by the side of the road here.

Lanark Place, built in 1897 Mr. Motherwell was well established by this time, he arrived with his wife in 1882 age 22, lived in a tent for 2 years and then a wooden cabin before having this built in 1897, all the stone used in its construction came from his fields. The farm was 6, 1/4 sections  960 acres.  He started out with one 1/4 section, 160 acres and added to it over the years.

The green house is where the working men on the farm lived, 2 all year round and another 20 during the harvest.

 Horses in the stables, The farm is now down to  about 40 acres of which I think the guide said- 23 are farmed in the traditional way as it would have been done around 1910

A couple of farm wagons, still in use the one in front is a hay rick minus a wheel got to get that fixed for the threshing demonstrations in August.

Another wagon fitted with sleds for the winter.

Cockshutt seed drill built in Ontario in 1897 and still in use, pulled by 4 horses, last used a few weeks ago to to seed some Red Fife Wheat, an old strain they still use here, they make bread and sell it in the cafe/shop.

Part of the vegetable garden.  All the veggies grown here are used in the cafe.

This was a surprise anther slip.

I thought this was a good idea, waste bin (garbage in Canadian) built like a mini grain elevator.                                                                        

On our way back to Indian Head, Lake Katepwa at the south eastern end of the Qu'Appelle Valley.

Looking across the prairie towards Indian Head

The crop is canola - rape seed in Europe.

                                                                                 

The statue of the Indian Head as you enter the town.

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Moose Jaw to Regina and on to Indian Head.

                                                                  Moving on to Regina on Thursday morning taking the rain with us, we arrived for a late lunch and watched the rain and read books, no wifi again, the park publicity says they have it but it seems the modem has just failed, they had it yesterday or so they say!
                                                                           

These two photos where taken on Saturday morning, we had some dry weather and shot off to Wascama Park, managed to get a couple of kilometres walk before the rain came down again, photo above of the Legislature Building and the one below of downtown Regina across Wascama Lake.

Friday it rained all day, which for once was not a problem as we had planned on visiting the Royal Sascatchewan Museum.  The museum is on two floors, the upper floor is devoted to Saskatchewan, how the land was formed by glaciers and the animals that lived here millions of years ago, man arriving and life up to the present  time. The lower floor is given over to First Nation life and history. This is a really impressive show. I have picked out three pices of art work by First Nation artists.

This is the round dance

A pice of modern art called the Storey Teller.

A Drum.

Sunday morning and we have moved 70 kilmetres east to the town of Indian Head

Picture above taken from The Indian Head website around about the end of the 19th. century.

A photo taken this afternoon with a boring late 20th. century grain elevator, made of galvanised steel and concrete, can't see these ever having a preservation order put on them!

Just a few metres down the track one of the old elevators, there are two of these still standing and by the look of them as we drove past, still in use.

We intend to spend a few days here in Indian Head, lots to see here and we are at the bottom of the  Qu'Appelle Valley, lets hope the weather will be kind this coming week for exploring this valley.

Scenes from South West Saskatchewan

                                                           We are still in Moose Jaw trying to keep ahead of this dreadful weather the Prairies are getting at the moment.  We just had time to visit the bank and then The Real Canadian Superstore to restock the fridge and cupboards before the next session of rain.

A couple of posts back I put up another pic. of this truck and it's scoop, after our trip round Wood Mountain Post I now know what the scoop was for (I think!) First thing, it's called a slip not scoop and it was used to scrape up coal which is just below the topsoil.

This little wagon nearly buried in the undergrowth at Wood Mountain must have been used at some of the sites where they mined the coal.

Ruth tells me I'm getting boring going on about The Mounted Police, First Nations and old machines, so some flower photos.  First photo Hesperis Matronalis thats what we call it in Europe, Dame's Rocket here ? Photo taken at Maple Creek.

The last two were taken at Grasslands, a bit battered by the rain. This looks like a crocus.

Colorado Rubberweed, (where would we be without Wikipedia)

A killdeer doing a lap dance.

American Goldfinch amongst the leaves.

This fence surrounds the Rodeo Grounds at Wood Mountain, these boots cover all the fence posts looks like a good boot to me.

Next post will be from Regina