Saskatchewan Scouting Trip

After dropping off our prints at the Art Gallery of Regina, Rob and I checked in to the hotel that we had reserved.  This time I was smarter, and reserved our accommodations in advance.  I did not want a repeat of last February when I drove around Regina from hotel to hotel trying to find a room.
It was still early... only about 4:30PM... with lots of daylight remaining.  We fuelled up the truck and hit the road on a bit of a scouting expedition.  We wanted to check out the general area and see if there was anything to photograph.  As we headed west on the Trans Canada Highway towards Moose Jaw, we drove through a strong summer thunder storm.  There was lightning and very heavy rain... almost like driving through a car wash.  But, it was short lived and as we passed through the storm to the other side, the skies were clearer and the wind died down.

Initially we tried to check out a Provincial Park called Buffalo Pound but it turns out that it was mostly just a campsite beside a lake, and there was an entry fee.  So we continued to the northwest and decided to check out some small towns.  We got to Keeler and found a cool old abandoned hotel and a bunch of old machinery.  The hotel was in a stage of serious decay and is not long for this world.  The ceiling of the tavern, or "Beer Parlor" as they used to be called, was coming down.

After leaving Keeler, we continued down the road to Brownlee and eventually to Eyebrow.  There were a few old buildings of interest in these places as well.  Eventually we turned south on a secondary highway, back in the general direction of the Trans Canada Highway.  We were supposed to pass through a place called Darmody, but there was nothing there.  Further south we came upon an old abandoned school house that was kind of interesting.

Finally we packed up and drove back into Regina.  We headed over to a Pub near our hotel and the place was just packed.  Turns out the the Riders were playing a Pre-Season CFL Football game against the Eskimos, back in Edmonton.  The Pub was full of cheering Riders fans watching the game on TV.  They got pretty excited when Edmonton turned over the ball late in the game and handed a victory to their Riders.  We finished up a couple of beers and our dinner and headed back over to our hotel.  We planned on getting up early the next morning and spending the day making photographs as we headed back in the general direction of home.