Day 5: Floreat Regina, The Prairie Queen…
June 27, 2007 | 7:16 PM
I drove from Brandon, Manitoba to Swift Current, Saskatchewan today. Among my stops were The Largest Oil Can in Rocanville, a small gas station in Sintaluta, Regina (the capital of Saskatchewan), and Calvary Baptist Church in Moose Jaw. Tomorrow I’ll spend some time in Swift Current before heading off to Medicine Hat, Alberta.
“Floreat Regina” means “Flourish Regina,” and is the city’s motto. It’s also referred to as “The Queen City,” thus my title. Regina was named after Queen Victoria (Victoria Regina), as I learned on Wikipedia. I didn’t stop in Regina, but it looked like a nice place on the way through.
One other thing. For the second time I refueled at a CO-OP. I’m not sure if this is customary, but most of the gas stations from Winnipeg to Swift Current have been full service. It’s kind of awkward standing there watching a man do such a simple job as pump your gas for you. I just did a little research on the CO-OPs. It wasn’t particularly easy to find the information, but from what I’ve gathered, communities across Canada get together and form a cooperative. Basically, the community owns the gas stations, grocery stores, etc. They all have the same logo, but they’re apparently separate. So if you’re Canadian and can explain this whole thing better, go for it. I’m interested in knowing more. And Josh Brown, if you’re reading… you should be interested too. Do they do this in the US? I’ve never heard of it.
The picture above is a mural on the side of Calvary Baptist Church in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. It’s called “Sunday School” and was painted in 1991 by Marsha Wade-Charlebois of Welland, Ontario.
Posted in Canada 2007 Series, Hello Foto Series, Life, Missions, Photography, Travel
joe kennedy, 2007
sounds like communism to me.
June 27th, 2007 at 10:36 PM
Josh, don’t go all Virgil on me. =) (Virgil, I’m kidding!) It sounds like individuals in communities going into business together. I found a little more about the Canadian version of these Co-ops here.
June 27th, 2007 at 10:40 PM
Joe,
Welcome to Canada!
If you’ll fill up with gas at either Extra Foods or Superstore, you’ll get a credit of 4-5 cents per litre that can be used for groceries. When you get to Cochrane, I’ll “buy” the credits from you, since I live in Cochrane at the seminary, and shop at Extra Foods. That way you can save $2-3 bucks per fill up. Just ask for me at the convention or seminary. I work here.
June 28th, 2007 at 12:13 AM
Nice pics Joe. I’ve enjoyed reading about your journey. Be safe.
June 28th, 2007 at 8:46 AM
Barry, I’ll try to make it to Cochrane. No guarantees, though, because I’ve got to make it to Okotoks on Saturday night, and I’m spending as much of my time as possible here in Medicine Hat for the next two days. Someone is going to plant a church here pretty soon, and I’m scouting out ahead of it for my friend Jonathan. But… I’ll see if I can’t make it up to Cochrane just to meet you.
June 28th, 2007 at 4:33 PM
Wow - when you said you would be doing such a long road trip I had no idea that you would have to do it so quickly. I imagined you getting to spend a bunch of time in each state. But you have been really flying through them. I miss road trips. Thanks for all the pictures. Pretty cool.
June 28th, 2007 at 7:41 PM
Dorcas, I had to drive hard to Canada, but now things slow down. Two nights in Medicine Hat, a night outside Calgary, then two in Montana, one in Wyoming, one in Nebraska, one in Oklahoma, and one in Texas before finishing the trip on July 8th in New Orleans. So I’ll cover more territory in less time soon. But think of it this way- a two week road trip is still a pretty long time.
June 28th, 2007 at 8:11 PM