The Tree

We rarely take a summer vacation. Summer is the busiest season for Martin. . . However, we did have plans for this summer. We were planning to travel to Yellowstone National Park for 2 weeks. Over a year ago we checked to ensure that Malia could travel without a Canadian Passport, and were told it shouldn't be a problem. In May I called the US consulate (just to be certain)and learned that our travel plans would have to wait until Malia has a passport, which she can only get once she is a Canadian citizen. We thought her citizenship would long be in place by this summer. Our other option was to travel to Calgary to get a travel visa for Malia. That is a trip in its self, and therefore not feasible. We were very disappointed, but decided to make the best of things and explore our local area of Saskatchewan.
The first place we decided to visit was "The Crooked Bush" (a small clump of prairie trees that are crooked and gnarled for some unexplainable reason)and "The Tree" (apparently the largest tree in Saskatchewan). It turned out to be the most comical excursion ever! We began the day by meeting Martin's brother and sister-in-law and family at Rosthern Regional Park for lunch. Then we headed to "The Crooked Bush" with only a vague idea on how to get there. We decided to stop for directions at a gas station and were given the wrong directions. We spent several hours trying to find the place, in a driving rain and hail. Eventually we gave up and decided to head to "The Tree". This time we did not need to stop for directions. . .Yeah! There were signs! (can you hear me chuckling?!?) :) We followed these signs and eventually found the tree!

Sounds good. . .doesn't it? We had to look closely to find "The Tree". (By now we were all laughing!) We stomped through the mud, swatting at mosquitoes, quickly took a picture, again swatting at mosquitoes and dashed back into our vehicles, swatting mosquitoes!

So, if you're looking for some fun. . . I can give you directions, well sort of. . .