Buffalo Pound

We were up and at’em at an early time because we knew we had such a long drive ahead of us. Tearing down of camp was beginning to run like clockwork. We all knew the drill, so we were out of there within an hour.

Sadie was the hero of the day! She had taken Chip for a walk at a rest stop in Carberry, MB, in an area that had some long grass. Once we were back in the car, she was doing her usual vigilant job of checking Chip for bugs or bites, and, lo and behold, she found a tick on his front left leg. As calm as can be, she told me she found a bug and described it to me. I knew right away what it was, so we stopped as soon as we could in Brandon, MB. Thank God for my good friend Lori who gave me two tick kits before we left. This handy kit came with everything we needed to remove the tick, record all needed information, and keep the bug intact in a small container to give to a vet, if necessary. Fortunately, with Sadie’s keen discovery, Chip was in little danger of being infected with anything from the tick.

As a side note, Brandon, MB, happened to be where my brother, Len, was born. My parents and my brother, Shawn, were there in July 1981 to pick him up when we adopted him at the age of two and a half! It was nice for me to finally see the town he came from.

Not long after leaving Brandon, we crossed the border into Saskatchewan! The sun was finally shining, the air was warm, and the roads were dry. What a relief to get out of our car and finally feel summer! The goal of the day was to make it to the campground before the pool closed at 8:00 pm. We pulled into Buffalo Pound Provincial with over an hour of swimming time left. We set up the tent, the girls changed, and they headed straight for the pool, conveniently located across from our site.

Unfortunately, our adventures with ticks weren’t over. I changed into my bathing suit, and lighter clothes for the pool, and headed for the bathroom. That’s when I saw it...a tick on my thigh!! I wouldn’t say removing the tick from Chip was easy, but I kept my cool during the incident. This time, let’s just say there was a bit of drama. I described the difference to my kids as being in “mommy-mode” when I had to take care of someone else, but switching into “child-mode” when it happened to me. I was freaked, the girls were freaked, I think it even freaked out the tick! After trying to pull it out a couple times unsuccessfully (eeeeew! I hate just remembering it), the darn thing detached itself and walked onto the tick removal stick – which I promptly flung onto the ground. The tick kit was once again a life saver – thank you Lori!! Because I found this invader right away, and it was not even fully latched on, I’d say I also was in very little danger of being infected with anything. But having the documentation and the offending bug to give to a doctor just in case was very comforting.

After such a long day of driving, complete with tons of melodrama, we were all too exhausted to even think about setting up the rest of camp or cooking dinner. Marc came to the rescue, over the phone, a couple times for us that day; essentially, calming us down when we needed it most, then booking us a room at the Comfort Inn, in Moose Jaw, for the night.

We packed up our tent and headed into town where we had a delightful meal from Dairy Queen and visited with Mr. Moose (who was disturbingly anatomically accurate in a huge way! LOL!). After watching a couple TV shows, taking warm showers, and snuggling into comfy beds at the hotel, we fell into a beautiful night of dreamy sleep, putting an end to one crazy day. Aaaaaaaah...