North To Alaska - Day 4 - Yorkton City Park, Saskatchewan

We are driving along today from Manitoba and crossing into Saskatchewan. The scenery is beautiful and very similar to North Dakota going into Montana in the United States. We are just above that area on the map. 

Although it is flat, the terrain has it's own special beauty. We were driving along and saw what we thought were funny looking white caps on this pond. But they were black and white? We got a little closer...

Yep, the whole thing was dotted with Canadian geese! They were all bobbing along in the water. It was quite a windy day so they were all hunkered down and hanging out in the safe spot on the pond. They are on their route north for the summer season.

They all look kind of funny spaced out and evenly proportioned I think looking for stuff to eat in the pond below. I have a feeling there's not a lot left behind other than goose poop?

It was getting close to lunch time, So we scouted out a little park down in a gully off the main route. It was called Portage Spillway Park. It was nestled down in among the trees where a river was cutting through the land. There was a dam and rushing water below the dam.

The little parking lot was perfect for us to settle in and make some lunch. We did see three young men and a woman come to do a little fishing. They only stayed a little while and left again. No fish?

We walked over by the river and it was quite rapidly churning and dashing past us. I think with the rains the last few days it really increased the flow.

We walked further downstream, but I backtracked to get my good camera. It was easier to take long distance photos than with the little GoPro.

A little ways downstream there was a cluster of pelicans cuddled on this island. We think they were nabbing up all the fish that were spawning in the river?

A few of them were braving the wind and the rushing water to float out in the middle of the river.

If you are wondering what that lump is on the beak.... Google says:

"If you're an American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), it's obvious, grow a large bump on your bright orange-yellow beak. The bony protrusion (also called a caruncle) grows on both male and female pelicans and is believed be an ornament to attract an ideal breeding partner."

Nicholas enjoyed a little bit of beach time and resting in the sand. It was nice to take a little bit of a break from the winds. We were having some pretty hefty gusts up on the flatlands of the highway. 

We walked back up along the shore towards the dam. It was a nice break in the afternoon to get out and stretch our legs. While traveling, we've got to remember to do this more often.

As we got settled back into the motorhome, we started making a video while sitting at the seats in the cockpit. It seems that my wireless mics are not connecting properly to the transmitter.  So we decided to just record a segment while sitting at the dash without anything running. Here's the video if you want to see what we discovered next: 

Steve was looking out at the picnic area and saw a little critter digging a hole right by the fire pit. Sure enough, it was our first prairie dog! He or she was so cute.  So that's another one to add to our wildlife list...

We got back up on the highway and saw two bison alongside of the road. We're pretty sure they might have been part of a game farm, because there was a fence nearby. I don't think we were seeing wild ones. At least not yet. I think we have to get further north.

It was pretty windy, so we checked ahead to the next town to see if there were any campgrounds available. There was a Walmart, but we were kind of thinking it'd be nice to get away from a parking lot and stay at a campsite. We found a city campground in Yorkton. The price wasn't too bad at $40 Canadian if you use credit card $37 cash. After the exchange rate it was only $28.93 for us. Not too bad for a site with electric and water.

The temperature had gone up to about 84° while we were on the highway. The motorhome was pretty hot when we got there, so we plugged in and turned on the air conditioning. Steve set out the lawn chairs for the evening and we relaxed. The campground wasn't really all that nice. The bathroom and shower buildings were cement block and pretty moldy and gross. Steve went into the men's side he said it was not acceptable even for him. So we opted to just take our own showers in our own rig with our own water. That's okay, that's what we have an RV for.

We heated up the rest of our wonderful Godfather's pizza for supper. It tastes just as good being reheated in the oven on the second day. The winds have died down a little bit and it was a nice breezy evening to sit outside and relax.

We did notice that a lot of the other campers were some kind of construction working crew. They all came back at the same time and they all hit the showers. They all seem to know each other and gather together for a Saturday night unwinding and letting off a little steam. They weren't too loud. But we could tell that they were all together and they were there probably on a monthly basis. 

In another part of the campground there were about 40 tents with boy scouts. They must have been out on day trips or hikes or activities when we first got there. They came back in the evening and they weren't too rowdy either. 

We decided to just curl up inside and watch some YouTube's and go to sleep. 

The dense morning, as we were getting ready to exit the park, we pulled up to the dump station. 

Ummmmmm

Imagine our surprise when the camp host came over and told us what to do to dump our tanks... We were a little shocked to say the least.

Right next to his host campsite, there was a large opening and he told us don't even use your hose. Just pull the lever and let it fly!!!! 

Steve asked him if he was sure? Isn't that going to stink? But the host said go right ahead and do it. That's how they do it there. I can't imagine camping right next to that? And right across from it is the office... And all the boy scouts who were packing up at the end of their weekend. Did they have to smell that too? We have no idea.

It's on the YouTube video link above if you wanted to watch it yourself. I didn't actually film the contents of our black tank going down, but you get the idea.

We hit the highway and headed west. We don't think we are going to recommend Yorkton City campground to anyone. 

Stay tuned as we head to Saskatoon!! 

336 mi today 

1,069 mi total