Chapter 27
A Trip To Denver

The first winter I was in Govan, 1980-81 the Saskatchewan Transportation Company sponsored a chartered bus tour to the Denver Stock Show in January. I learned of this while at the Regina Agribition in November 1980. Zellie and I talked about it and I said I had hoped for many years that I might have the opportunity to go. It seemed like this was the time to go. I was well and not tied to any working agreement, so I made my application which was accepted. The traveling agreement was based on $400 for those traveling with a partner and $500 for those going alone. Meals and personal expenses were extra. Not knowing anyone that was interested in going, I chose to travel alone. There were twenty-four of us besides the driver, Pat Pander and tour guide, Joanne Austring. It was a delightful trip, the weather and roads were good. The group were good mixers, except for two or three individuals that seemed to drop out of sight at each night stop, but they were no problem to anyone. We toured parts of Denver in groups, attended the show on free tickets two afternoons and also had free tickets to one night of rodeo. The rodeo program was a four hour show and was varied enough to please almost anyone. It was the only time that we attended the show in a group. We also made a side trip to an Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs at least fifty or sixty miles south of Denver, and spent one afternoon west of Denver in the mountains at a place, I believe was called Red Rock Park. The soil and rocks were just that, very red. We had only one experience that would be called a problem. It was with great difficulty that after the rodeo program we found a conveyance to take us back to our motel. We had told our motel staff we would need a bus immediately after the program about 11:00 p.m. However their buses were also expected to serve patrons coming or going to the airport, and so we waited a full half hour for a bus.

The temperature in Denver reached 60 F. every day and hardly dropped as cold as 30 F. at night. Apparently the tour was not an economical success for S.T.C. as it was never offered again. I do see Pat, the driver at the Bus depot occasionally, and met Jack and Alma Pearson on one occasion in Regina. I have also been to visit them in their home near Whitewood and I sometimes see Bill Lemay from Redvers at Agribition. It was an enjoyable experience I will treasure all my life.