Some trips just seem to have more "adventures" than others. Our trip in September of 2019 was one of those more "adventurous" trips, especially after we crossed the border into Canada. We hit the border around 6pm on a Monday night. This crossing was not busy, at least not at this time of day. It was our first time ever going out of the country. I wasn't sure what to expect. I had heard the Canadian border agents can be a pain to Americans, especially if you are from certain states, usually those with very lenient gun laws. Despite all the giant animals that can eat you lurking in the woods, Canada doesn't like guns. Being from Tennessee, I expected to get picked on a little bit.
The border agent was fairly nice, but also very thorough. Aside from checking our passports, we had to answer a lot of questions. He asked me if I was transporting any drugs or weapons, then proceeded to list off about 50 weapons. Many were things I had never even heard of. I guess us Americans are known for packing some pretty crazy things. One of the more annoying things is that you can't take bear spray across the border. You can buy it in Canada, so it just seems like a money-making thing. We had read up on this though and didn't have any in the van that could be confiscated. After more questions about carrying any fruit in our cooler, he started to peek around and ask about the more obvious things. He saw our tent and asked if we were camping. When I said yes, he laughed hysterically and said "You guys are going to freeze to death!" Then he handed us our passports and sent us on our way.
I guess in my mind I expected some big change when we entered Canada. Nope. Just the same old brown fields with oil pumps bobbing up and down. We entered into Saskatchewan which is very rural. It was a while before we reached a town. In preparing for this trip, we opened a new bank account with a bank that had many partner banks in Canada and doesn't charge currency conversion fees. We got our new debit card right before the trip and planned to withdraw some cash as soon as we could find an ATM. That was a great plan, except that it was 7pm and Canada is already going to sleep. It was like going back in time when we rolled into the town of Weyburn. Almost everything in town closed before 7. Only 7-Eleven and Walmart were open. The 7-Eleven had an ATM inside so we stopped for cash, but our card would not work. We tried multiple times and even had an employee give it a try. Nothing. Off we went to Walmart to try to get cash back before they closed at 8. We grabbed some quick snacks and got in line. We left with some munchies, but again no cash. This Walmart did not do cash back. In fact, they had no idea what we were talking about.
It was another hour and a half to the next town that had more in it than grain silos. It began to rain heavily as we drove through the farms to Moose Jaw. This city was much bigger and we found a few ATM options. Again, our card would not work. At the 7-Eleven we had hoped it was just their ATM, but now I was getting worried our card was bad. We also did not have phone service being in another country. We happened to see a Starbucks in the distance where we were able to get some wi-fi and Skype a call to our bank. The representative tried a bunch of things that took about 45 minutes and then said the card was fixed. We tried to buy a muffin and it didn't work. Thankfully, Shannon had a gift card so we did get to eat that muffin. And a scone. I called the bank again. The second representative put me on hold for about 20 minutes. I tried to go outside during my calls to not annoy those in Starbucks, but it was raining so hard that I couldn't hear and had to go back inside. It was miserable out there. Finally, the lady comes back on the line and tells me she found the problem. The bank is doing updates to their ATM system and debit cards in Canada tonight. The cards won't work through the night. Great. Some timing we have. She assured me the card would work in the monring. I really didn't believe her at this point. It was now after 10 and we had no cash, no way to use our debit card, no phone once we left Starbucks and we were in the middle of a flood. At least we had gas int he van. We decided to just keep driving for a while and see what we came across. Worst case scenario we would just park the van and tilt the seats back for the night.
A few miles up Hwy 1 we came to a Flying J that looked like a good place to sleep. We were worn out and still a little damp from the hiking earlier in the day at the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The rain was still coming down so hard that we could not get out of the van to rearrange without getting soaked. We knew we packed in a way that could allow us to sleeping in the back instead of in the front seats. We pulled under the cover at the gas pumps. The rain was blowing underneath, but I was able to get out and move a few bins around to make a little room in the back without getting completely soaked. Shannon stayed inside and set up our sleeping mats as soon as there was enough room. It was pretty tight in the van. I had to sit hunched over on our cooler to change clothes. We had to sleep on our sides like two pieces of toast in a toaster, but it worked. We actually got in a decent night's sleep as the rain continued to pour down. We were very grateful that it was cold up here. There is no way we would have been able to sleep on a hot night crammed in that close with rain keeping the windows up.
Our first night sleeping at a gas station was a success. We got sleep and we didn't die. The card did not work at the fuel pump, but it was still earlier than the time the bank representative said card service would be restored. We still had plenty of gas in the van so we continued west on Hwy 1. It was still raining. Starbucks are literally everywhere along Hwy 1, so we had several opportunities to use wi-fi to find ATM locations along our route. Finally, we had some success in the city of Swift Current at an ATM inside a 7-Eleven. I took out extra cash just in case. I don't know if they really were doing ATM and card updates, or if that lady just told me that to give me an answer and end the call.
The rain finally stopped in Swift Current, but then returned again a few miles further west. It was still early in the day and we wanted to find something to do besides hydroplane all day. We saw an Information Center and stopped by. The lady inside said there were several parks nearby. One was north of Hwy 1, the other south. She lives north and said it was raining there on her drive in, but said that the rain did not extend very far south. She recommended we go check out Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park that straddled the Saskatchewan-Alberta border. It didn't seem to be very far away and the map she provided us showed the road through the park moving west which is the direction we wanted to go. There were numerous trails on the map as well. It looked like a prefect way to explore and get away from the rain.
The drive took longer than we hoped. We stopped in the quaint little town of Maple Creek for an early lunch, but nothing had opened yet except for a little cafe that did drinks and milkshakes. It wasn't raining which was nice. We had a break from the rain for another hour as we drove southwest to the park entrance. Finally, we found the park and turned onto a twisting road that climbed sharply for a couple of miles. We hadn't seen any real elevation change since leaving Theodore Roosevelt. It was lots of flat fields. Suddenly, there was a huge plateau in front of us and on top of this plateau sat the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. As we climbed, the grasses and scrub brush gave way to thick forests. We climbed into the clouds and found more open flatness once we reached the top of the plateau. The fog was thick as we worked our way into the park. Then the road turned to gravel. We saw a sign and stopped. It had a labeled map that we took a picture of. It looked like the park was only about 10 miles across. We decided to stop and explore all the labeled features on the map. The first was Conglomerate Cliffs, which required a short detour off the main road. This side road was gravel too. The rain returned with vengeance. Puddles began to form as the road became more dirt than gravel. Just as we started questioning whether we should keep going we arrived at the cliffs. Small cliffs made of a mix of different rocks stuck out from what appeared to be the edge of the plateau with a sharp drop off the other side. We couldn't tell how much of a drop was beyond the cliffs due to the fog. I bet it was a great view, but we will never know. The cliffs were cool though, looking like boulders of pea gravel.
The puddles were deeper on the way back to the main road. I knew they had a solid bottom, so I wasn't too nervous to cross them. The main road was more puddled now too, but also felt like it had a good gravel base underneath with no mud seen. The park is a free-range cattle area and the cows were everywhere. Visibility was terrible. I would be driving along trying to watch the puddles and then suddenly there was the outline of a cow right in front of us. We were trying to watch for trails too, but had not seen any yet though we felt like we should have seen several already according to the map. We thought we just missed them in the fog. We were ok with that as we really didn't want to wander across a flat field in a rainstorm. I wanted to get into the forest we saw on the climb up onto the plateau.
The road started to descend and the gravel got deeper. Then it got steep and muddy. It changed in a matter of feet. I realized this was a bigger hill than we could see through the fog and we probably shouldn't go down this. I hit the brakes and we did nothing but continue down the hill, sliding in the mud. It was sketchy for a minute as I couldn't control the speed, but the road stayed straight and we quickly reached the bottom. We saw a ranger station off to the right. That made me feel better as I knew if we got stuck there was help to be found. We had only seen one other car since entering the park and it was right at the transition of pavement to gravel. The road was muddy, but we had no choice other than to keep going. I knew I could not climb back up that hill in this van. I figured we were only a few miles from the end anyway. We rolled slowly through the mud for a few more miles before reaching a campground. It was primitive and there was nobody staying there. No camp host and no guests. Not even a sign stating the name of the campground. We thought about staying there, but it was so early in the day that we wanted to keep moving toward Calgary and find some trails. If nothing else, we got a peaceful bathroom break.
Back on the road, the mud started to get deeper. The rain had stopped while we were at the campground and the sun popped out briefly. The deep mudquickly thickened into peanut butter. I started to get a bit nervous. Then we saw a hiking trail sign. We stopped to read the sign, expecting it to be the last one that was labeled on the map. To our surpirse, it was the first trail on the map. We then realized the map was not to scale in the portion beyond the paved road. We were only about 1/3 of the way through the dirt road. I was really nervous now.
We decided not to hike as we were afraid of how long it was going to take to get out of this park in these conditions...if we could even get out at all in this van. A few miles later, the mud became even worse. I could barely control the van. A big hill came into view ahead that did not look like something we could climb. I thought maybe we should turn around in a little patch of grass next to the road and head back to the ranger station. The grass was firm and we turned around easily, but once back on the road we had no traction at all. I couldn't move the van forward a single inch. I backed up into the grass again and parked. We hopped out to walk down the road to examine the climb ahead. Before we got to the climb, a truck pulled up. It was a park ranger who had seen us go by the ranger station earlier. She asked why in the world we were in this park in a minivan. We told her about the lady at the Information Center. The ranger said the lady should never have sent us down here. This road was too much for a minivan in dry conditions, let alone in the mud. She said it had been raining here for days. She also asked why I continued on past the "Impassable When Wet" sign that was right after the road turned to gravel. I don't know if it was broken down or if we couldn't see it through the fog, but we never saw that sign. And we were looking for signs. The ranger basically told us we were screwed and that it would take several hours to get a tow truck out there that could tow us through this kind of mud. Her truck was getting through it, but the park doesn't allow the rangers to give tows to visitors. I felt like she wanted to help us out, but couldn't. Her suggestion was to go until we got totally stuck and then call for a tow. She said she would take us into town to wait until the van was pulled out. Tha sounded like a plan to me. I took a peek at the hill and then decided to give it a try. She would lead the way and try to give me a heads-up when treacherous spots were coming.
I was nervous, mad and excited all at the same time. I couldn't believe we had missed that sign and ended up in this kind of predicament. This all seemed totally avoidable. I felt like we were tetering on ruining our trip on just the fourth day. And maybe even my vehicle. The hill was long and had two parts to it. I made the first part easily, but the mud was deep on the second rise. With less speed going into this steeper, longer portion, we kept stalling right at the top. The ranger had pulled ahead of us and was out of sight. I backed up multiple times and kept going at this hill. I got to within about five feet of the crest seven times. Yes, so close seven times! On the eight attempt, Shannon stood near the top and gave me a little push. It couldn't have been a lot of force as you could barely stand up in that mud, but it made all the difference. We still stalled out at the same spot, but this time the van slowly inched forward until the tires bit something firm at the crest and over the top we went. Shannon jumped back in as the ranger came walking up the backside of the hill. She had been waiting and had given up on us being able to get out. She said if we cleaned that hill we had a chance of making it out. There were two more hills and then it was easy rolling to the paved road. She jogged back to her truck with a bit more pep as you could tell she felt like we could do this.
The second hill came quickly. It was shorter. I hit it with speed and we made it on the first try, even keeping up with the ranger. We got a little break of easier terrain before the third and final hill came. The mud was still deep, but I was getting used to it now. This last hill was like the boss at the end of a video game. It had three long, steep pitches. There was a creek crossing just before the start so getting up speed was difficult. It was a challenge that looked well beyond a minivan and my own driving skills, but I figured if we were going to have to get towed then I was going to go until I was stuck so bad that even the tow truck would have trouble getting us out. I drove the creek crossing well and got us up the first two parts. After the second rise, the road dipped which made for a very wide and deep mud puddle. I got across the puddle, but stalled out before the top of the rise. Backing down on this one was hard as it was very slick and I had to back through the puddle each time to get enough traction to start moving forward again. Three more attempts came up short. I decided to back all the way down the second rise as well to get up more speed. It was even slicker onthe way down and I could barely keep the van in the road. On the next attempt I was super close to the top like on the first hill. The tires just wouldn't bite. I spun them until we could smell burning rubber.
Shannon decided to hop out again to try to push. The ranger came walking back and convinced Shannon it was unsafe to stand so close to the road with me being bordeline out of control. Again, I stalled out before the crest. The ranger came over and asked if I was letting off crossing the big mud puddle. I said yes. I was having to roll out of the gas for a second as the spray from hitting the puddle would cover the windshield and then I couldn't see. I wanted to be able to see going into a narrow, muddy climb in a van at 45 mph. Her reply: "Don't let off this time. Just give 'er." Point taken. I almost put the van in the ditch backing down this time as the mud was getting so deep from all the times I had gone through it. We were so close! I could not put the van in the ditch backing down for a retry. The left rear tire was hanging over the ditch when I slid to a stop at the bottom. I got enough bite to get back onto the road and got it straightened up. That was a mjor pucker moment.
This time had to be it. Make it or break it. I got moving and then picked up speed over the top of the second rise. I put it on the floor as I reached the puddle. The wave of mud did cover the windshield. I had my finger on the window button as I hit the puddle, hitting it as the wave receeded. I now understand what the one-click automatic window button is for. I fought the wheel as the window came down and then stuck my head out so I could see. Shannon and the ranger were hiding behind trees knowing I would be out of control for sure this time. The extra speed got me right to the top, but still I looked to be coming up short. I stayed in the gas hoping I could inch my way through the last five feet like the first climb. Shannon ran out and gave me a shove again. Inch by inch we moved forward until the tires hooked up and over we went. We made it! Both the tires and mud were smoking. Shannon said she didn't know you could smoke tires on dirt, but I gave her a good demonstration. The poor van will never be the same again.
The ranger was right. The last few miles after that climb were easy compared to what we had already been through. Finally, we saw pavement! The ranger stopped as we reached the road. She appologized for our trip to Canada starting off this way and said she would go talk to that Information Center to make sure nobody else got sent down there without knowing what was in store. She could not believe we got through there in a minivan. I told her it was ok because I had a blast now that it was over. When else do you get to drive like that?!! I just wish we had taken pictures and video of the whole thing. We were so focused on the task at hand that neither of us even thought about documenting the incident.
We were still a ways from getting to the western edge of the park. There was another gravel portion, but this one in good condition. We were still a little tense though. Both of us had seen enough dirt road to last a few years. The rain came back as we ended the last gravel section at Reesor Lake. In all, it was about 35 miles through that park that looked like 10 miles. It is probably a nice park, but I hope I never see Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park again.
We were still over an hour away from the next town, which was Medicine Hat. We stopped for some food and a car wash. We learned about loonies and toonies when getting change for the vacuum at the car wash. That's what the Canadians call their one-dollar and two-dollar coins. I do want to appologize to the car wash we used. We had to have wrecked the place. The rain helped clean the outside, but there was so much mud under the van that you couldn't even see the ground in places when looking under the hood. Even with two washes it was still a little dirty. The vacuums helped, but only went so far in getting mud out of the floor mats.
There was still some time left to move further west and find a place to camp before dark. Dinosaur Provincial Park was a place we had found when researching this trip. It is located about halfway between Medicine Hat and Calgary, and has a campground. It sounded like our best option. The rain had stopped in Medicine Hat, but it wasn't until we got off Hwy 1 and headed north toward Dinosaur that we saw blue sky and an abundance of sunshine. A partial rainbow formed to the east. It felt like a sign that our troubles were behind us. For the most part they were. Dinosaur tracks painted on the road lead you to the Dinosaur Provincial Park. We didn't really know much about this place other than it is a fossil quarry and active dig site. The drive into the park is flat prairie like everything we had seen outside of Cypress Hills. Like the approach to Theodore Roosevelt and Cypress Hills, the landscape changed suddenly as the park came into view. The prairie gave way to giant gulleys as we started down a descent into the park. In the bottom was more badlands, totally hidden from view until you reach the very edge of the prairie.
Our last hurdle of the day was to get a campsite. The campground had open sites, but the reservation system is all online. They don't have self-pay stations, take walk-ups or even mark the sites that have been reserved. The park office was already closed. There was wi-fi at the office that was slow, but did finally get us to the website where we confirmed there were a couple of sites open. We paid for two nights. We were going to stay put for a couple of days and relax after that mud adventure. We were able to get our tent set up before dark and unload the bikes into the tent so we could have some room to sleep in the back of the van. No sleeping like toast tonight! And we even got a warm shower at the bath house to wash off the rest of our Cypress Hills mud.
More on Dinosaur in the next post.
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