February 23^rd, 2003:

-37° again, for the third day in a row. There is very little wind and a bright sun. I went for about a mile and a half walk and was quite comfortable. I even managed to take a few pictures! By noon, it warmed up to about -25° and an ice fog formed. I couldn't see Uskatik from here, and on the south side it looks like a very fine sleet falling. The sun burnt it off quickly.

Saturday morning, Prince Albert hit -40° = Forty Below! That magic number beyond which we call it "cold", rather than "coolish!" As far as I know, we haven't seen -40° for years, though some would differ.

Some schools must have had a break this past week, judging by the numbers of snowmobiles and kids around. The Park was pretty busy. There were even some skating on the Marina Saturday, despite the cold.

Sorry about missing last week - we went to Beiseker, AB to visit Sandy and Blaine and didn't get home until late Tuesday.

Road conditions were normal; ice fog, blowing snow, slush, etc. West of Kindersley it was quite foggy - not so bad that we couldn't travel at normal highways speeds, but too bad for passing. At one point, we were following a semi at about 105 kmh when another semi pulled along side of us. Suddenly he applied his brakes, fell back and pulled in behind us. We found out why when a little red car with a very scared looking driver came in sight, away over on the shoulder. After awhile, the semi passed us again, without trouble.  Then we realized he had passed the semi ahead of us too, when we met another
car with a frightened-looking driver, away over on the shoulder. We wished we had noted the semi's license number; it was a real menace.

While we were in Alberta, the temperature didn't change much either side of the freezing point, yet to me, with the wind, it seemed bitterly cold. Back in Saskatchewan, it was -10° but felt much warmer. Anyone who goes to Southern Alberta to get away from the cold may be disappointed.

One day, we went to Calgary; we dropped Doreen and Sandy off at a mall, and Blaine and I went to a model railroad show. I have no desire to build a model railroad, but I do like looking at them. Some of the displays were very impressive; one was going to be a working Spiral Tunnel but it wasn't finished yet. They had the tracks built in a spiral, and just had to put the mountain over it (made of Styrofoam).

There was one model engine we found fascinating - it actually burnt coal and generated steam. It was much larger than most of the models, but on its permanent raised track in Airdrie it could pull up to ten people! Next time I am in Airdrie, I am going to find out where it is and get a ride.

We stopped at Horseshoe Canyon, just west of Drumheller, thinking it would be pretty interesting in the fog. It was, too, but it was almost invisible!

Gas in Alberta was 77.9¢ to 79.9¢; In Saskatoon it was 83.9¢; at Humboldt, Watson and Naicam it was 85.9¢, and at Archerwill 81.9¢. Greenwater and Porcupine Plain are usually the same as Archerwill, but Betthel's at Bjorkdale may be a cent or two less. The following day, it went up to 85.9¢ here, too.

There was some new snow on the ground when we got back, though not as much as we hoped. Half an hour on the shovel looked after it. Almost every day, though, there has been a bit of fresh stuff, sometimes only an ice fog. The cumulative effect is some impressive snowbanks, something we haven't seen for a couple of years.

The Perigord Rummage Sale is being held on Monday, March 3rd, in the Parish Hall. If you haven't seen a Perigord Rummage Sale, your life has been far too sheltered!