Day Trip & Picnic

I can't take the credit for coming up with the idea for packing a lunch and going on a day trip to Lake Diefenbaker.   It was all Hubby.  He mentioned last week that we should.....and we did!  We packed the car with sandwiches, chips, carrots, water and lot's more water and even more water, peaches.....oh and water.  

We headed out on the highway.....

     .......looking for adventure.....

Brandy~puppy the Super Dog came with us too.  As soon as she realized we were going somewhere and we had her leash and some dog food, she was raring to go.

Lake Diefenbaker is a very interesting place.  The main attraction is the Gardiner Dam.   Gardiner Dam stands 64 meters high with the ability to discharge 7,500 cubic meters per second. The Gardiner Dam was the largest earth-filled dam in the world and continues today, 36 years after completion, to regulate the flow of water into the South Saskatchewan River.  The South Saskatchewan River is the river which runs through Saskatoon.  See this link for more information:  http://town.outlook.sk.ca/skytrail/skytrail-4.html

Standing on top of the spillway.

Panoramic from the side.

The calmness of Lake Diefenbaker.

The bottom of the spill way.

Across from the Dam was a visitors area.  There were picnic tables, a beach and an information centre that had a place called Top of The Dam Cafe that had burgers and ice cream.

Does this make anyone else think of the Simpson's?

We got back in the car as dogs were not allowed in the visitors area.  Brandy thought that was very wrong. 

We found a Provincial Campground called Danielson.  The lady in the kiosk let us in even though we are supposed to purchase Provincial Campground day passes.  We drove through the loops of the campground which were very spacious and nice.  They were electrified and had really nice washrooms, including showers.  On one of the loops was a camp kitchen so we decided that would be the perfect place to have our lunch.

When we were leaving Danielson we asked for directions to another campground called Douglas.  We were able to tour that one as well and found the campsites even nicer because they had more trees.  The amenities weren't as nice, but then it's supposed to be 'roughing' isn't it?

Our next stop was the town of Elbow.  The main street had quaint little shops, a school house museum and a sod house.  It looked like an interesting place to visit if a day turned cloudy or rainy and camping wouldn't be so enjoyable.

Elbow, SK has a marina and yacht club.  It was very cool to see such large boats.  You'd need a large water craft for the size of Lake Diefenbaker, but it looks like you'd also need lot's of money too!

Since it was already getting late and it would take us at least an hour and a half to drive home.....we headed for home.  It was a very fun car ride, adventure and picnic!  I think next summer if we camp in this area we will have no problem finding things to occupy our time.  We barely scratched the surface of what attractions are at Lake Diefenbaker.

Tired Brandy thought the trunk was the best place to ride on the way home!