Glory had been looking to go work in Churchill since last summer, but between the pandemic and her postponed graduation ceremonies, it just didn't seem very probable. To make matters worse, Belinda's grandfather had recently passed away in Australia, so it was a bad time to discuss the situation with her.
Two weeks ago, Glory was at last able to have a conversation with Belinda, and expected it to go along the lines of, "well, too bad it didn't work out, - maybe next year." Instead, Belinda's first question was, "So, have you bought a train ticket yet?"
By the time the phone call ended, Glory was in agreement and eager to go, which was good as she had only ten days or so to pack and prepare.
Within a few days, the 4x8 table downstairs was filled with all the clothes Glory would need for five months.,.. and then a little bit besides. Fenya helped her pare some of it down, based on her own experience in Churchill 4 years ago.
Glory got her luggage into two checked bags, a personal item and a carry-on, plus she fit in a visit to Oma and Opa in High River and got together with her bestie the day before we left, July 5.
The original plan had been to put her on the train at Hudson Bay, SK, the same place we picked Fenya up in 2016. But on July 1, I got a notification from Via that the train had been cancelled from Winnipeg to The Pas. Thankfully, The Pas is only about another hour's drive, and unlike Hudson Bay, has an actual train station.
Sunday morning we loaded up the Flex, said goodbye to Nitti (who was ably looked after by our house-sitting nephew Mark), and hit the road.
Despite rainy conditions, the drive was largely uneventful but ye Gods, the road from Nipawin to The Pas was brutal. Despite appearing as a highway on Google maps, Sask.55 is unpaved and was overdue for a visit from a grader, with puddles that clutched at the wheels as Audrey tried to keep her speed to a reasonable level. Luckily for me, I had taken the first shift at the tiller and driven from Edmonton to Prince Albert. I spent much of his part of the trip watching Black Hawk Down with Glory on the iPad in the back seat.
And it is a pretty drive, despite Saskatchewan's reputation as a place where you can stand on a stool and see the back of your own head, or watch your dog run away from home for up to three days. We saw rolling hills, beautiful parklands, and lush green fields thanks to the rain - but I was still glad when we got to the Manitoba border and the road improved.
I had also miscalculated the time change so it was after 8:00 when we checked into our motel. We had been prepared to have our first experience of dining out since March at a nice little place in The Pas called Good Thymes, but it turns out they are closed Sundays. We had resigned ourselves to pizza or Chinese food in our motel room, but even a lot of those places were closed. Pizza Hut was still open, but had run out of pizza, so had pasta and a caesar salad to tide us over until 0100. (Future blog topic: was it my job to ask for plates and forks from the restaurant, or should the pizza-less restaurant perhaps take it as a given that we did not pack our own plates and cutlery?)
Glory's train was scheduled to depart at 0230, and they asked for passengers to be at the station at least 45 minutes ahead of time. As you might expect from a smaller train run in a town of 5500, we needn't have rushed; only three passengers boarded at The Pas (although another 50 would board at Thompson).
We also realized Glory had no luggage tag for her checked duffle, but Audrey MacGyvered one up from the Flex's glove box: the string from a face mask, cd envelope and the purple Sharpie she carries on her person at all times. Most impressive!
We got Glory's bags situated around 0220, and she boarded shortly after. The conductor, Claudette, showed her how to open the train door and lower the step, if necessary, as she was the sole passenger in her particular car. And yes, it helped us to know that there was another woman on board the train.
We waved to her out the window for a bit - no tears, just eager anticipation - and returned to the hotel just before the train departed the station, around 0240.
She was in Thompson for a five-hour layover before we even got out of the province, texting us periodically along the way. We drove back the way we came, and Sask 55 was quite a bit more forgiving without the rain, and we even passed a grader improving the road somewhat.
Glory's train left Thompson about 1730, we got home just after 2030, exhausted after 20 hours in the Flex, but still upbeat. The next day, I started work downstairs and got a text from Glory, saying she could see Belinda from the train as it pulled into Churchill.
And thus a wonderful adventure begins for my youngest. It's bittersweet, because it's part of growing up and eventually moving out, and I already miss her a lot. Leaving her at that station was actually the hardest part of the drive. But she is great at keeping in contact and I think she is going to have an awesome summer and a tremendous start to her post-secondary experiences.
See you in November, my girl!
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