165. Chemo Points of Interest (Part 2)

I camped in the Meota Regional Campground. The sites are spacious, mostly treed and well laid out and maintained.  Walking around town a bit towards the edge of the lake, I was impressed that the houses were so well kept.  I couldn't believe it.  What a difference from south of Lake Diefenbaker, where I camped with the boys last time, and where the surroundings looked so forlorn and depressed.  It turns out that the soil around Meota produces good crops and in addition contains an abundance of oil and gas.  No wonder that people in this part of the province are able to make a good living.  And although I am not a big fan of the oil industry (I know, I know, I do drive a car 😳), it was nice to see that the area and the local population is prospering!

Next, onward to a place I had been wanting to visit for a long time!  Near St. Walburg you will find the studio of Count Berthold von Imhoff, an artist known for his religious murals and paintings.  The church Dave and I were married in had paintings by this painter.  Born in Germany, he first emigrated to the United States and then moved to Saskatchewan.  By all acCounts (sorry, couldn't pass this one up 😄), he had an interesting life.  The studio is located on private property belonging to his descendants.  Make an appointment and the lady of the house will give you a tour of the studio and part of the house (a separate building) where the count and his family lived.  The studio is chockful of artwork and the other part of the house is still lived in by the grandson and family and therefor off limits to the public.  The photos are the outside, and a glimpse of the inside, of the studio, not the house.  A modest fee for the tour helps the family toward maintenance costs as the province provides no funding.

164. Chemo Points of Interest (Part 1)

I have been referred to a liver specialist at the University of Alberta (Edmonton) for liver resection.  I haven't received word yet whether they will take me on. There is more waiting ahead and more chemo.

So I went car camping to distract myself from all this medical stuff. I left on Wednesday and was back home Saturday night.  I would have stayed away longer but the incessant wind made me cold and miserable, so I had had enough of that after 4 days.  When Dave and I went camping, we made it a habit of stopping at the Points of Interest: in part because we thought it might reveal something interesting, but also it was a good excuse to stretch our legs and move around a bit.  I do not stop at these signs anymore for the following reason:  it mostly describes a building or an event that is mostly only interesting to folks who live or lived nearby and most of the time, other than the surrounding landscape, there is nothing to see, no building left, some rubble at most.  You need an extra-ordinary portion of imagination and historical interest to picture what would have been there.  So I try and discover my own points of interest on my travels.  Here are some I have come across this summer.  You may like them as well. (or not) 

After visiting my son and grandson I decided to check out the RemaiModern Art Gallery in Saskatoon.  The building is not-so-new anymore but I hadn't been there yet.  There were several exhibits spread out over several floors.  What I preferred were the spinners in the foyer and the very creative photos of the First Nations artist Meryl McMaster: bloodline  And a propos: there also was an exhibit of pottery decorated by Picasso: interesting but not earthshaking, I thought.  Some reproduction tableware with his artwork on it sold for a whopping $ 430.00 a piece in the museum's store...  Are you kidding me?

Next Point of Interest was a tiny gem store in the small town of Raddison (population 505).  The store's owner is 19 year old Judah Tyreman.  This young man is so knowledgeable about stones, fossils and anything else that can be found or dug out the ground.  And he is an excellent salesman to boot.  He sold me a dragon's egg for my grandson.  He just blew me away.  His shop was featured on the Discovery Channel.  Wow!  Impressive!

Chemo Still No News treatment-wise

 So I decided to go Car Camping again.