Regina

Regina was our next stop-a bright and sunny afternoon and a chance to visit with our friend Heather. Ron took the opportunity to get the car into the dealer for servicing so we are ready for more time on the road. Maxine joined us for dinner on the club train car at the Casino which is in the old train station in downtown Regina. The 4 of us played many of Heather’s favourite machines and by the end of the evening we came away with a profit of 45 cents.

The day dawned cloudy on Sunday but soon the sky was again that wonderful blue with sunshine and wonderful white clouds—easy to see why it is called the province with the land of living skies.

We had a slow start to our day and then went for a wonderful walk around the lake at Wascana Centre—a beautiful spot right at the legislature where we saw the centennial sculpture of Queen Elizabeth on her horse Burmese. As part of the big dig the lake was drained, dredged and made much deeper to prevent the growth of grasses. Wascana Lake is in a large in-city park in the heart of Regina—it is huge so we certainly got a good workout walking around the perimeter enjoying the old houses on Albert Street, the McKenzie Art Gallery with the cow sculptures, the Canadian Geese and all the trees. It turned out to be a very hot afternoon and we were fortunate to escape the mosquitos as they had been in evidence the week before. Heather treated us to a Prairie Barbeque—yummy chicken wings with potatoes, carrots and onions all done on her wee barbeque on the balcony. Our meal finished with a Saskatoon berry pie—what could be better?

Regina was called Pile-O-Bones at one time by the Cree Indians. The Indians used the banks of the Wascana Creek for drying buffalo meat and cleaning and stretching the hides so the area became known as Oscana (pile of bones). IN the 1800's a settlement sprang up at the rail terminal on Wascana Creek as the CPR was completed. Princess Louise, the wife of Canada's govener-general, renamed the city Regina to honor her mother, Queen Victoria.