The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Not our best overnight choice...but it turned out great!

A little late getting on the road yesterday morning. It was probably about 10:30am by the time we finally left Rivers Provincial Park. No worries, but we did want to try to make it to the other side of the big city of Winnipeg (pop 675,000) before rush hour traffic affected us at all.

So we said goodbye to Lorne and Sue and their dog Charlie. The RV dump station was still open, so we took advantage of that, and hit the road.

Still had time for a photo though...

Kevin, Ruth, Sue, Lorne, and Charlie.

Be sure and stop by and see them during the summer at CJ's Snack Shack in Rivers Provincial Park!

We were still going on the full gas tank we had when we left Cabri Park. Looking at Google Maps, I found a Shell station in Portage la Prairie and I figured that we could make it there. We had just under a quarter tank, but I'm pretty good at knowing how far we can still go when it shows empty...there is about a 10 gallon reserve at that point.

Going to a Shell station means we get to collect Air Miles...and this particular station had fuel at $0.944 per litre CAD. That's about $2.75 USD per gallon, so not bad. And quite a few Air Miles!

The Trans Canada Highway.

Arrived in Portage la Prairie, and sure enough the tank was empty. Pulled into the Shell station, and filled it to the brim with 207 litres (54 gallons). Which means there was still 6 gallons in the tank. Like I said, a decent size reserve once the gauge reads empty.

We had lunch in Portage la Prairie. They have a nice park that is on one side of Crescent Lake which is right in town. And a nice bike path that runs along one side of the lake, so we decided to get the bikes off and go for a ride.

Portage la Prairie (pop 13,000) has a not so great reputation. In fact, in 2010 it was tied for first place on a list of worst places to live in Canada. 

And they also have geese. Thousands of Canada geese. We call them rats with wings. Nasty creatures, and they leave their droppings everywhere. 

Thousands of Canada geese on Crescent Lake in Portage la Prairie.
 ,
Yuck.

Ruth, out on the bike path.

At one point, the stupid geese were all over the bike path. They see you coming but they wait right until the last minute to get out of the way. I took a video for you...


Free exercise equipment in the park.
 I'd like to see this kind of thing installed in our park back in Saskatchewan!

We had a nice bike ride though, and really, we thought Portage la Prairie wasn't that bad of a place!

Back in the motorhome, we carried on towards Winnipeg.

Bad accident on the opposite side of the highway.
How does that happen in broad daylight??

Sure enough, we hit some traffic in Winnipeg. We took the southern bypass route, but still had to go through some built up areas to get to the Regent Casino...our planned overnight stop. We had been there in October of 2007 when we were heading west at the time, and although it's not ideal, we didn't want to drive any further.

They've got a new parking garage under construction, but fortunately those guys were just finishing up for the day. Not the nicest scenery, that's for sure. But, it was a quiet enough night and it was free. In fact, they even paid us to stay there!

We went inside the casino, prepared to spend $5 each on the penny machines. Of course the penny machines don't really exist anymore because they make you bet in minimum penny amounts that range from 25 pennies to 40 pennies at a time. So you can go through $5 pretty quickly.

But, we went to the Players Club, and asked if there was any benefit to signing up. Sure enough, they give you $10 in free play! Bonus!

So off we went with our $10 each of free play credits.

Ruth turned her $10 free play into $17.75 cold hard cash! And I turned mine into $4.20! So we walked out 10 minutes later with $21.95. 

Nice.

So, it was a worthwhile stop.

Yesterday's drive, 275 kms (171 miles).

Today, we're heading into Ontario. Haven't been there in almost a year, and even then it was only a four day visit. This time, we'll be in Ontario for just over a month.

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Seriously? People spend this much money for coffee?






27 comments:

  1. That's alot of geese!!!! We have them here too in the summer, they try to attack Sammy (our puppy), he knows to stay away. They like to stick their tongue out and hiss at you. The larger males chase you and snap. They can get quite mean. Good on the money at the casino!!!

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    1. Too many! They aren't the nicest in temperament, they are noisy and smelly, we certainly wouldn't miss them if they weren't around.

      We love it when casinos give us money. :-)

      Delete
  2. e have an overabundance of geese in Cornwall as well. They have a section of the bike path all covered in excrement, and the City has a sign to pick up after your dog.

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    1. Paul, it is so ironic to have a sign like that when all the geese are messing all over the place. It seems to me the town citizens should have goose for dinner a few times a week.

      Dee

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    2. Kevin and I say that all the time, especially when our small dog was around, her poop was about the same size as the goose poop, not that we would ever not pick up her poop! It really is disgusting to have to walk through it all.

      Dee, in Canada you have to have a required permit in order to shot a Canada goose and apparently you have to have a reasonable reason for them to issue you one, although I am sure that wouldn't stop a lot of people.

      Delete
  3. You guys always seem to walk out of casinos with a little cash - that buys groceries!

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    1. That is always our intentions! I said to Kevin as we walked out, that that was the same amount I spent at the grocery store earlier in the day. :-)

      Delete
  4. Like Sherman, our RV has a 60 gallon tank, and when it hits "E" it takes about 52 gallons to fill. What I always wonder, though, is how much fuel is in the tank when the engine starts to sputter. Only one way to find out, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After all these years, we have never run out of gas with the motorhome, I think once you get to know your motorhome's limits it makes a big difference.

      If you go about trying to check that out Creigh, just make sure you have an extra supply of fuel onboard and that you aren't out in the boonies! ;-)

      Delete
  5. Love that free cash at casinos! The Dancing Eagle near Albuquerque, NM gives you $10 full hookups, $5 coupon for the restaurant, $10 free gas and a free mug as well as $10 free slot play. You can hardly afford to NOT stop there!

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    Replies
    1. and you can bet I will next time in N Mexico

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    2. We will have to remember that one as well! :-)

      Delete
  6. Wow! That's a lot of geese, is there an open season for geese? They must be tasty with all the grass they eat. Nice win at the casino!

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    1. From what we have read online there is NO hunting season for Canada geese as such but you can't just go out and shoot them at least not legally! From our reading they are a protected species but if they become a huge nuisance and are a threat to you our your property you can go a get a permit that will allow you to scare them away, move them away and a times kill them but you have to prove that you have a viable reason to get "rid" of them. They really don't make things like this easy. I would assume that the majority of people out in the country that have big problems with them, get rid of them by their own methods rather than going through all that red tape. And yes, I expect that they are very tasty!

      Delete
  7. We enjoy Casinos stops, too,even if we don't win on the free play, its free camping.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it always works out one way or the other and you get a bit of entertainment too!

      Delete
  8. It would be inappropriate here to use the words I'd like to, to describe just how much I dislike Canada Geese. I've heard them referred to as the "Canadian Air Force", which I thought was kinda funny. Nasty creatures, and they crap everywhere.
    I try to scare them off the road as best I can, without actually hitting them, and that's only because I wouldn't want to damage the front of my vehicle.

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    Replies
    1. Bob, you have to admit they are good for something!! Goose is very tasty.

      Dee

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    2. I don't think I would want to refer to them as the "Canadian Air Force" that would just be an insult to the air force and we have a better one than that! :-)

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. I would seem that most people don't like them! ;-)

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  10. The accident most likely occurred because of a cellphone user. When we were in Canada the geese were everywhere I couldn't understand why there wasn't a campaign to feed the poor or down and out. I guess you don't have any of those in Canada. Sounds like a good solution though. Or export it canned to some other needy country.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. It could be, who knows!

      It would make sense to use the geese for food but most governments do not understand common sense. :-P

      Delete
  11. Love the exercise equipment in the park!!! Canada geese, yes, hmmm as long as they stay down by our pond they are not a bother for us country folk! But I sure understand the grief in the city or in a park. Yeuch!

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    1. We have seen this type of exercise equipment in several other countries and it gets used a lot but we haven't seen it very much in either Canada or the USA, which I don't understand because it is a great idea.

      Yes, out in the country they are fine but in public places they are pests , just nasty and dirty!

      Delete
  12. Canada is in the process of naming a national bird. The 5 favourites, as decided by popular vote, are the Common Loon, Snowy Owl, Gray Jay, Canada Goose and Black-capped Chickadee. Judging by the comments above, I wouldn't put my money on the Canada Goose.

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    Replies
    1. We are thinking that you are correct! We think the loon would be a better choice.

      Delete

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