#3: [13-Aug-11]

#2: [08-May-02]

28-May-2002 -- We left Regina at 8:00 AM to drive west on the Trans Canada Highway. At the city of Moose Jaw we stopped to pick up Gladys and Grant then continued west. Two hours later at the city of Swift Current we turned south to drive for 30 km on Highway 4 where we joined Highway 343 to head west again. Along this road we spotted a few white tailed deer including a mother with her newborn fawn. This area has an economy founded on farming and ranching. The farms had attractive homes, the usual shelter belts of trees and were generally well maintained. Farmers were busy working the fields as it was finally another good day for seeding. The weather hasn't been very cooperative on the prairies this spring. As recent as six days ago we had strong winds that raised clouds of dust followed by a storm that covered most of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan with snow. Although moisture is desperately needed, rain might have been more appreciated in May! However, prairie humans and beasts are hardy and adaptable, taking all types of weather in stride. It can be as low as -40°C in winter and as high as +40°C in summer. The predicted high for this day was to be +30°C so a good one for confluence hunting.

It was also a good day for a picnic so at noon we turned south off Highway 343 into Lac Pelletier Regional Park located on Lac Pelletier. Lac Pelletier, a fresh clear lake, is almost 5 km long and situated in a valley. Several sections of the shore are lined with cottages and one section of the waterfront with the hamlet of Darlings Beach. There are a couple of campgrounds, a picnic area, golf course, boat launch, and fishing. In winter there is ice fishing and down hill skiing. Across the road from the campground on the southern end of the lake was a large pasture with a herd of cattle grazing. There were many birds in the undeveloped areas of shoreline along with Canada Geese, ducks and a pelican on the lake. At a picnic area called "The Point", 4.6 km east of the confluence, we stopped and had our lunch.

After lunch we explored the lake shore and then headed to the confluence area just down the highway. We parked in the ditch along Highway 343 then walked 683 meters to the spot in a field. It was quite typical of most of the confluence sites in southern Saskatchewan - flat and in a field. Out in the wide open space it didn't take long to get all zeros on the two GPSs and take our pictures. Before we knew it we were driving south to explore the vicinity a little more. 1.2 km Southwest of the confluence we found an abandoned one room school house with a plaque honouring Bissell School 1913-1960. 2.4 km Northwest of the confluence we found the "village" of Vesper, at least according to MapSource. It may once have been a village on the now abandoned and removed rail line, but as you can see in the photo, the only inhabitants of Vesper these days would be ghosts!

From Vesper we headed back to Swift Current for ice cream then east on the Trans Canada Highway. A few miles before reaching Moose Jaw the confluence team donned their other "hats" to become The Prairie Plotters Geocache Team. It was time to see how our geocache had fared over the winter. All was well, the comments in the book favourable, so it was time to find a restaurant in Moose Jaw. Gladys and Grant were home by 7:45. We were home by 9:15. Our total trip was 662 km. It was a great day to spend outdoors in an area of our province we had never visited before. Finding a gem like Lac Pelletier here on the prairies was a highlight.