Nothing scary here, I promise! In fact, it’s all pretty good, like this beer from a brewery named after Scout:
The SK spelling is a play on the provincial abbreviation for Saskatchewan. The beer is very good, just like a certain pooch…
Oh, ok, not actually named for Scout, but we were pleased to find it. We drove through Moosomin, SK, a couple of years ago, camping just outside the town and looking forward to visiting the brewery because the name caught our attention. And because it was a brewery. Unfortunately, we hadn’t checked the opening times and the place wasn’t due to open until after we moved on. You can’t blame them…
I’ll leave it this week with a photograph of my favourite spooky display found in our neighborhood:
Yikes!
Thanks for reading – enjoy Hallowe’en if that’s something you celebrate – and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Here are a few seasonal sippers we’ve enjoyed, home and away, since the leaves started to turn and darker beers appeared on the shelves.
Delicious in any season, a great campfire sipper!
When I find a particularly good beer, I often think I’ll go back and get one or two more, set them aside for when things turn really cold and we’re indoors on long winter evenings. Then I’ll read about or see another new one to try and completely forget about stocking the nonexistent cellar. Easily distracted.
More than a hint of berry, not my usual, but just right in early autumn
What was I saying? Oh yes, a few fall favourites, and they’re all pretty good, no need to have a top choice, but because that’s a fun game (in my head only) I’ll reveal the sort of winner at the end.
Shared this before – really good, but more suitable for winter?
I did try a splendid triple strength Belgian style beer from Quebec, but it must have been so strong that I didn’t remember to snap a photo. Maybe I’ll get one or two more in for later in the season. I’m always thinking I’ll do that. (Did I say that already? Forgetful, and easily distracted…)
Autumnal through and through! Quite light, could probably still drive a tractor after a small glass…
And the winner is – it would have been that Quebec beer, but no photo, so not this time. Where were we? Oh yes, and the winner is – oh, hi Scout! You like the dark ones best? Cool!
“Beer? Yum!”
And the winner is:
Born Ready Brown Ale from Manual Labour Beer Company. Fall in a glass – dark, but not too dark, malty, with just enough hops for a bit of zing to cut through the caramel – delicious!
What a wonderful beer that brown ale is. They were all decent beers, but the Manual Labour brew was the best suited to fall for me! I might buy one or two more…
Should I do this again for the winter beers? I’ll probably forget, or get distracted… Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We enjoyed – is enjoy the right word? – a sprinkle of snow over the recent long weekend, a reminder of what might be waiting for us as we tiptoe towards winter.
“Is this all? And anyway, isn’t this snow a bit early?!”
The actual amounts were a bit of a let down after much fuss in the forecast with dire warnings of travel disruption. In fairness, I’m sure more snow fell elsewhere and caused a bit of slipping and sliding for some…
Bow brilliance
It melted away and temperatures have since climbed back to seasonal and even somewhat above. Crisp mornings and warm afternoons, blustery breezes and big blue skies. Jackets? Not really. A sweater? Maybe for the morning, and then back to shirtsleeve afternoons. A western Canada fall!
Photographs this week were all taken along the Bow, with leaves hanging on even after the wind and snow. Brilliant autumnal days, and maybe we’ll enjoy a few more before the temperatures properly plummet!
Still leafy
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
And fabulous fall! Here are a few pictures taken along the lovely Qu’appelle Valley, SK.
Echo Lake
We enjoyed bright blue skies overhead, some warm and still days that felt like summer, followed by a few days of big gusts and strong breezes – they sent leaves tumbling and skittering, dancing yellow and gold.
Green and gold
We’ve gone from lazy summer into very brisk fall – goodness, it was barely above freezing yesterday morning – in the space of just over a week!
Hanging on
With those temperatures dropping, it is probably time to pack up, head back and store the trailer until next season…
Is that a ghostly Sasquatch figure floating in the trees?! Too soon for Hallowe’en stuff…
But what a way to complete this season – a colourful week in sunny southeast Saskatchewan!
Saskatchewan sunset
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
“Chase leaves? Nope, I’m too regal… is the camera off yet?”
Lesser? There’s a bigger one?! Yup – maybe we’ll get there in a few weeks…
Lesser, but not
Lesser Slave Lake is about 100km long east to west, and the widest point is about 15km across, north to south. We’ve had a mix of wildfire smoky days and clear blue sky days. On even the clear days, we were unable to see the far shore, so it feels more like being at the sea rather than on a lake.
Shady trails, lake views
Perhaps due to the fairly remote mid Alberta location, the lake and surrounding area is quiet in terms of visitors. The sandy beaches are pleasant, quiet, and the perfect place to sit and spot bird life. I’m not good at identifying birds, but the bald eagle was easy, along with the loons. We’ve seen other ducks – mergansers? – and a hawk or two, as well as terns, crows and those small birds that refuse to slow down so we can identify them! If you’re into bird life, then this is the place!
Beach time! And time to dip in a paw?
Mixed boreal forest kept us well shaded on the hot days, and the mosquitoes knew where to find us. Bug bite count? It’s gone up from two…
Keeping cool
If you’re ever looking for quiet camping in a rugged location, and you don’t mind a bug or two, then Lesser Slave Lake might be perfect for you. We love it here!
North! (photo: Mrs. PC)
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We mostly had a spring in our step, enjoying the fresh greens as we hiked in the foothills through stands of aspen and spruce.
It’s sunny now, but just you wait…
Most days started sunny and finished cloudy, with temperatures below seasonal. Cooler conditions, fewer bugs! The big show was on our last night, featuring several thunderstorms with heavy rain and some hail, rolling through one after the other. We don’t mind that weather, but Scout isn’t a fan, trembling more than those aspens.
Good for hiking
One morning, at second coffee o’ clock, a bear wandered by, just a few metres from where we were sitting. Scout, who always lets the deer and squirrels know who’s boss (don’t tell her, but they are) didn’t even look up. All that time she spends playing at being a wolf, and she couldn’t be bothered with as little as a token growl.
Bear territory
The bear wasn’t bothered, not by Scout, nor by us, and off it went in search of more wildflowers, perhaps hoping to be a step ahead of the many deer in the area. We finished our coffee and enjoyed a short loop hike above the Sheep River, close to our campsite, where we saw the clouds building up over the mountains nearby. We just made it back before getting a soaking. Phew!
Striking
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We’re back on the road for the next little while, in fact we have been the past week. We trundled through the prairies for a few days, before heading into Kananaskis at the end of the long weekend. As we ventured in, we saw quite a number of campers leaving early. We wondered why?
Was it the weather? Maybe!
It grew distinctly cool as the weekend progressed – more snow anyone? Yup, that happened. Thank goodness we didn’t have to worry about keeping our evening beer chilled. Who needs ice or a cooler?!
Alberta cooler
By the time this is posted we should be somewhere in BC, searching for some warmth and a little less snow…
“Snow? Behind me? I don’t believe you!”
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We do! If you ever have the opportunity, traveling the Hoodoo Trail in the Drumheller, AB region is an interesting way to discover some amazing geological formations in an arid location.
Near Drumheller, AB
I imagine it gets pretty busy – and very hot – in the summer months, but we were lucky enough to stop at the formations shared here on a relatively quiet and pleasantly warm midweek spring day. Early in the season as it was, it felt hot after the long slow start to spring – no complaints!
“Hoodoo? I do!”
It always amuses me that the area is known as the badlands, and I understand why, but they are some of my favourite lands to visit, with such a different geography and geology. Dinosaur territory if that kind of thing interests you…
Spotted this one roaming our campground
We ended our morning with a fine lunch and cold pint at the Last Chance Saloon in nearby Wayne. As with the rock formations, if you ever have a chance to visit, it is great place to stop and cool off.
One of my finest photographs ever, taken through a dusty windshield
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
It’s mud season when it isn’t ongoing snow showers season, and, in April, I just can’t get excited by that…
So let’s skip the remainder of April – blogging-wise – and then, when mud season is over (by the end of the month, he says, hopefully) we will be out and about because the last of the snow will (surely?) have melted and most of the mud will have dried up! Goodbye brown grass and hello greenery? Maybe. Camping here we come.
The last of the last of the last of the snow? Maybe…
Tomorrow is forecast to be the first double digit sunny day of the month, so I’ll say we’re heading in the right direction! Enjoy the rest of April, and let’s catch up sometime in May!
Apparently, this is the good stuff? (Yes it is! Mrs. PC)
I’ll keep it brief this week, and confess we’ll be having two out of three of the above this coming long weekend!
Apparently, this is the good stuff? (Yes it is! Mr. PC) A wee heavy (a Scottish beer style) and what I’ll be after too much beer and chocolate.
If you choose to celebrate Easter this weekend, enjoy, and even if you don’t, perhaps you’ll have a beer, some chocolate, or maybe even enjoy some spring sunshine where you are?
It is sunny, and it is calendar spring! Taken earlier this week – technically, three for three?
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
“Yes, I know dogs can’t have chocolate. No, I’m not sulking…)
PS:
Nope, two out of three! Taken yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
