It
was cold when we left Yorkton but it was a crisp and bright morning
with clear blue skies. We made a quick stop to get maps for
Saskatchewan and Alberta and then set off. On the outskirts of town
was a large pond, partly frozen over, with a large flock of geese on
the shore. Stef, becoming again a budding naturalist, decided he
needed more bird photos to add to his collection so we spent about
twenty minutes waiting for them to do something interesting (i.e.
fly away en masse).
The
roads were again long and straight stretching for miles ahead of us.
In the sunshine we had a different perspective of the landscape as
everything always looks different in the sun. We stopped at Foam
Lake for lunch. It is a tiny place but there is a diner on the main
road which seems to be the hub of activity. There was a steady flow
of people coming in and out, including the local priest.
Back
on the road we stopped to take photos of the grain silos we passed
along the way. The farmers seem to work on a collective co-operative
basis and all bring their crop to a central store. Here big silos
are set up alongside the train tracks. They tower above the flat,
empty landscape and, if you were able to climb to the top of them
would give fantastic views of the area.
Ukrainian influences were still visible along the way with very
small local churches. They looked as if they would probably only
hold twenty or so people at a time but all seem very well
maintained. Further on we passed Big Quill Lake, the largest lake we
have passed since leaving Lake Superior. You could just make out the
other side in the distance. A slight breeze was blowing giving the
impression that the lake was really a sea.
We turned off the main road down onto the 365, a smaller road
heading down to Manitou Beach. A popular tourist resort in the
1930’s, its popularity seems to be building again. It is famous for
the waters in the local lake which have a mineral content higher
than that of the Dead Sea. Not only is it good for floating but it
also has healing properties. These were first discovered by the
local Indian tribe when they were hit with a smallpox epidemic.
Moving west to try and avoid further illness they had to leave three
of their party at Manitou because they were too ill to continue. One
of the Indians, with a burning fever and raging thirst, managed to
make it down to the lake and drank the waters there. Next morning he
woke, cured of the smallpox and took his two companions down to the
lake to drink. Their tribe were surprised to see them alive and
well. Since then, the lake has been a site where both Indians and
settlers have come to bathe and drink the waters, and this is why
the area became a popular tourist resort.
We booked into a small motel just opposite the local spa. The guy at
reception seemed not really with it. He made little eye contact and
seemed to have trouble actually opening his mouth and speaking. They
have been fully booked over the weekend but tonight I think we are
the only guests. With the sun still shining on the lake we went for
a short walk along the shore. It is busy here in the summer and at
weekends throughout the year when bands come to play at the local
dancehall. Dating back to the 1920’s it still has its original horse
hair floor.
Today though, the only other people we saw were a father and son,
playing on the swings. With the light fading and sunset coming, the
hills on the other side of the lake took on an almost pre-historic
feel. I was waiting for a dinosaur to appear on the barren slopes
looking for the last signs of grass to eat. We stopped at the café,
the Village Perk, opposite the spa for a coffee and a very tasty
piece of chocolate carrot cake. It opened in the summer this year
and then only at weekends when trade is high. They had a gift shop
at the front and a small café at the back overlooking the lake. Here
we got chatting to a couple of local girls. They told us that they
have had strange weather this year which resulted in a late harvest,
hence the hay bales still in the fields. Normally it is all well and
truly over by now.
As we left the café the owners parting words, knowing we were going
to the spa were “don’t be put off by the colour of the water, it is
meant to be that colour”. Lonely Planet also says that it is a brown
colour but I do not think that either of us expected it to be the
shade it was. It was a very sludgy sort of brown but any
reservations we had soon disappeared as we floated away. A sign on
the wall lists all the minerals in the water and there are lots from
magnesium to different types of salts. We both have picked up a
couple of grazes and we could feel them stinging in the water for a
while.
The lake was formed by unusual glacial activity in the river
valley. An underground stream resulted in silt deposits building up
at the end of the valley creating a natural dam. When the glacial
waters started to melt there was no way for them to leave the valley
so all the mineral rich water stayed within the lake. The water in
the lake was icy cool but here at the spa they heat it.
There is one big pool which is split into three separate areas.
You first get into a part that is nicely warm, from here you can
work round to the hot pool and then cool off in a third area. It was
a strange sensation floating in the water. It is incredibly buoyant
and whilst I could swim on my back I could not swim on my front. In
the cool pool there is a part that is nine feet deep. You can hang
vertically in the water but you do not sink, your shoulders always
stay above the water.
Stunning skies at Manitou Beach
Bobbing in the water (so dense you can
freely walk in it!)
The local population all seem to have season tickets for the
spa and pretty much everyone there seemed to know each other. One
man got chatting to us, well to Stef really as he ignored me. He
lives twenty five miles away but still comes here regularly. He told
us that the water now is not as buoyant as it used to be. A while
back a dam was built at the end of the lake and fresh water was
added to it, diluting the mineral effects.
We had gone to the spa planning to soak for half an hour or so
but the waters were so warm and relaxing we just stayed and stayed
and stayed. Unlike most pools where your fingers go all crinkly
after a while ours had not and we were in there for just under two
hours in the end. It was only when we were out and dressed again
that I realised how much I had warmed up during the soak.
For dinner we went to the local diner, recommended by the man
at the motel, rather than driving to Watrous, the nearest town. Its
sign outside promised home cooked food and Mennonite and Ukrainian
meals. Rather than going for something we knew we would like we
tried the Mennonite and Ukrainian. I had a smoked sausage which was
good but it came with perokies. They were like ravioli stuffed with
mashed potato and would have been totally bland if they had not come
with a good dose of fried onions. Stef had a different sausage, also
good, but then a plate of pasta with a creamy sauce. We were both
glad we had tried this food but would probably not repeat the
experience.
The diner was pretty quiet but we somehow managed to end up
talking to the other two customers who turned out to be the mayor
and his wife. Originally from Regina, the provincial capital, they
have now retired to Manitou. Ear-wigging their conversation they
were talking about a big competition coming up which seems to be a
local curling competition. They said there was always something
going on here and that it helps to attract people at the weekends.
The owner and his wife (who is the Mennonite connection) also came
to chat. He was pretty chatty but his wife was hard work. Stef has
come to describe some of the more rural people we have met as having “slack-jawed bovine expressions”
on their face and she fell into that
category. She was very friendly but it was hard striking up
conversation. The waitress eclipsed them all though, she was so shy
we could hardly hear her talk.
