Our non canoeing day

Saturday, since everyone was off from work, we planned to make our great escape to the Gardener damn with grand plans to canoe, fish, swim and play in the sand. We were so determined, we ignored all warning signs that this was a very bad day to try this scheme. My father is probably the craziest driver I've ever known and thinks that weather is never much of an excuse to stop a moving vehicle. Mom and I were wound up like tight tops as we drove down the highway watching the two canoes tied to the van do a frenzied dance in the wind. John, who was driving behind us said that the canoes were lifting about a foot off the van. At one point, he had us pull over and they tightened the ropes. Like fools we continued on our path and came to the most treacherous leg of the trip, where the highway is way above the damn, on a land bridge, sided with the deep waters of the damn to one side and a steep cliff to the others. At this point, I was quite sure that the canoes would lift off the van and tip us over the side, or break a rope and come smashing into us. John, pulled his car back away from us in the event of catastrophe. Mom kept begging dad to pull over. To his credit, he did SLOW DOWN just a bit and we did make it safely to the freezing cold, windy, deserted, beautiful beach. We weren't the only fools, other campers and canoe topped vehicles had also made the drive and soon turned around. We ate our picnic wrapped in blankets, while my nordic niece campered all over the playground, grass and beach oblivious to the cold. I don't have to wonder where she got this adventurous spirit since her dad John actually rolled up his pants and put his feet in the water. He told us about swim lessons where they chopped the ice off first. He's from "up north". Ivan was very dissapointed not to canoe, but even he thought it was too cold. We made the scary drive back to my parent's with canoes flying overhead, but saw some cool old farms, a deer and chalked this up to another Saskatchewan adventure.
From left-right: mom, dad, my niece Imogen, sister Jenn, brother Andrew (behind Jenn), her husband John and us.