Storms to Grenfell

Apparently there has not been any rain in Regina at all in the last month, and for years the Prairies have been fairly dry.

Well, we must be just what they've been looking for, because it hasn't stopped raining since we've hit Saskatchewan.

It was pouring down as we left Regina, and continued all morning. For a brief while, it seemed to stop and clear up for us, but the dark clouds kept coming in waves. Being Sunday, stores in the smaller towns weren't open, so we decided to wait 65km to hit Indian Head for some lunch. Pat got a flat just outside of town, so Mike and I headed in ahead of them. Just a few kilometres out, we could sense we were heading right into a storm. We were cruising along at ~30km/hr when all of a sudden the wind picked up from the South, and we slowed to about 10km/hr. It pushed me halfway into the highway as I tried to turn back into it, and we were fighting hard. Then came the hail, hitting us like sharp pellets from a gun. We had to get indoors, and found shelter in a restaurant while we waited for the others to get in. They finally made it, and we sat down to a hot meal to wait out the wind and hail.

The flash storm subsided, and we got back on the road to calmer conditions. It only lasted about 30km though, because 20km outside of Grenfell another set of dark clouds loomed and the wind picked up. Amazingly, the winds blew everywhere from due south to due north, but never helped us at all. Some luck! We had to battle into town, and after a day like that with more rain on the way tonight and tomorrow, we ditched the thought of camping and crammed everyone into a motel for the night. It's pretty sleazy, made of trailers connected together and with a nasty funk to it, but it's better than the alternative.

Tomorrow we'll likely cross into Manitoba, and we may get some good winds finally! At least the forecast says so.
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