Regina, SK to Winnipeg, MB to Holcombe, WI

After leaving Saskatoon I went straight to Regina, the capital city of Saskatchewan. It was very similar to Saskatoon in a lot of ways. The people seemed similarly impoverished and stressed out for the most part, but I did find one happy person that made the visit worthwhile. I took a tour of the Saskatoon Legislature building, and the tour guide there was a very honest and peaceful guy. During the course of the tour, he said many things that I think would normally have gotten him fired, but he trusted me for some reason. I was the only person in the tour group. He is not a big fan of the monarchy, which in fact does exert a great deal of control over Canada, even though most people perceive that Canada is totally independent. Anyway the building is beautiful as you can see for yourself.

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A man-made lake was built around it, and there's a park around the lake.

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It's a very peaceful environment, at least in the summer. It occurred to me that my walk around that park was probably one of the last times that I will walk around outside without sweating this summer.

From Regina I went east to Winnipeg. I had heard a lot about Winnipeg listening to CBC Radio 3, a radio channel that is dedicated to the independent upcoming rock bands of Canada. It's a hip kind of place. It also has another beautiful legislature building. I arrived 10 minutes after the last tour unfortunately.

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I wandered from the legislature to the area of town called, "The Forks." This is an area where two rivers come together. Many people were gathered around tables eating and dancing under a gazebo. I don't think I've seen anything like this in Boston. People just randomly got up and started dancing.

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I left there late at night and crossed the border shortly before midnight. My entries into the U.S. have been much simpler than those into Canada. My car was searched again at the Canada/Alaska line, and I was again questioned about the amount of money I had in my bank account. I suppose they want me to buy lots of stuff in Canada!

I slept at a rest stop and changed my oil in the morning after the Falcon made it to 275,000 miles. Then I went on to Holcombe, WI. I had located a 1971 Mercedes 220D car in excellent condition for a fair price. Even though I love the Falcon and I do intend to keep it, I need a presentable car for the time being, and the Falcon is anything but. It has many battle scars and many electrical and mechanical issues, so I needed a new car, and I bought this one. The man who sold it to me owns an autobody shop, and he repainted it himself in 1985. It's been in storage since then, and the paint is extremely shiny. I think it's beautiful. Now I can stop searching craigslist for extremely rare cars!

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I am now outside a Panera on the outskirts of Minneapolis headed south for Houston. This is the final stretch of my journey. I will probably not be doing any touring, but I will be thinking of a summary of my trip which will include some important deep thoughts that I have been able to think by pursuing this journey. I promise there will be at least one more post to this blog!