Since the wind was so bad and since we were in the park and since we weren't committed to walking all around the park and since none of us had been to it for years, we decided to pop into the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.
I love that museum! I will take any out of province visitor that comes to it. Most people have a preconceived idea of what Saskatchewan - a prairie province - looks like. Usually they think of grain fields, flat terrain and big skies. All true but our province has so much more!
The museum has diaramas of all the different areas of Saskatchewan, including its wildlife.
I love the quality of the exhibitions, particularly how they have blurred the lines between the painted backgrounds and the 3-D displays (taxidermy). (NOTE: No beast or bird or fish was killed on purpose for these displays... from road kill or deaths from animal/bird sanctuaries etc.)
Here is a sample of some of them. (Click on them to bring them full screen!)
And in the spirit of Hallowe'en...
The winds were just too fierce today to walk around the park. They were straight out of the Arctic with gusting of 70 kms/hour. However, visiting friend Susan, Regina friend Bev and I decided to drive to a variety of spots in the park and then stroll around the area.
Here is a selection of today's park pictures (no snow yet BUT as I pulled into the driveway there were a few stray flakes). Again, best viewing is to click on them. :)
I went to my first Rider game in years courtesy of good friend Susan who was in town to attend her nephew's wedding. Her brother is an executive in a corporation that is a sponsor so his corporation has seats in the lounge. He had reserved 4 seats for this game & his out of town siblings (Riders against Aulouettes) but he couldn't go. Hence there was a seat going begging!
Such fun for so many reasons....
a) I got to see our new Mosaic stadium just opened this year
b) We got parking close by
c) We got to go into the lounge before the gates opened
d) We had an incredible meal provided in the lounge - salads, appetizers, hot food, desserts, snacks - available all through the game as well
e) We got to watch the game from the warmth and comfort of inside seats
f) AND Jim provided us with a credit card for our drinks as well.
Life is good.
Note: We all agreed that watching the game inside was great on a cold night game. However, we completely missed the sounds of the crowd... we couldn't hear them at all.
A better Rider experience would include sitting in the seats with the crowd and roaring along with it. Somehow I couldn't imagine a "wave" being started in the inside seats. :D
Nevertheless this was an experience I was thrilled to have had.
The stadium - Susan's sister & husband and then Susan & me. Susan's husband Dan didn't come to the wedding... just too much for a quick weekend visit. I wore my wig but am liking it less and less. Oh well.
Nobody is in the seats at the moment... we are let inside before the gates are open to have our dinner. Below are a few pictures of a SMALL selection of the desserts, salads and appetizers. There was also 4 stations - each with 3 or 4 different tray selections of hot food as well. What a choice! In addition there was a snack table - popcorn, tacos, cookies etc. All food was available throughout the game as well. What a treat.
Above is a view from my inside seat... you can see I was sitting on the 50th yard line!
Here the stadium is filled. We had to step outside to the outside balcony just to hear the roar of the crowd.
A great time (glad I slept in and had a nap in the afternoon though.)
Today I got my winter tires on. Yes! Now I am prepared for winter - which in Saskatchewan - could hit any day now. My new car (new used, that is) was very 'slippy' on just a little skiff of snow so definitely needed good winter tires.
I went to my sister's brother-in-laws. He is a great mechanic (and a thoroughly honest one!). His service shop is near Pilot Butte.
Because I am treated as a member of the family I also enjoyed a walk and visit with Angie, she fed me a lovely lunch - and there was even a kitten to cuddle. It was a nice afternoon!
Enjoy the pictures. Click on them to bring them full screen.
Note the one picture that both Angie and I lamented had a pole in the middle. Oh well - that's the price we pay for our 'mod cons' - including electricity!
One picture was taken near the Murray Golf course on my drive home.
Was able to get another walk around Wascana Lake in today. Given that snow may be flying soon there may not be too many more opportunities this year.
Thanks to Bev & Cheryl for indulging me in all my picture taking! Alas, if I hadn't taken some we might not have been caught in some of the drizzle... Thanks for your sacrifices.
Yes, some of the 'same old, same old' shots... but see how the landscape has changed a bit each week. In fact, given the hurricane winds we had last week I am surprised there are any leaves left anywhere.
As always, click on them to advance them full screen.
