We stopped in Winnipeg mid-day and wandered around a bit, looking at shops, people-watching, and checking out the flat brown water of the Red River going through the middle of town. Soon back on the road, more prairie. Driving west into the setting sun on flat treeless land can be harsh but Mother Nature shielded us with a big bank of clouds.
Ultimately, the highlight of the day was 1) crossing into Saskatchewan, and 2) getting to watch a thunderstorm across the prairie, watching the clouds twist in shape and the multiple lightning strikes on the horizon. The dramatic weather continued for quite a while, including a brief burst of small hailstones, and long after it had stopped raining here we could still see and hear the electrical activity nearby. One particularly strong blast set off a couple of car alarms.
Once in Saskatchewan, we couldn’t figure out why all the clocks seemed to be an hour off. It turns out that while we’re still in the Central time zone, the local time matches up with Mountain because Saskatchewan doesn’t do Daylight Savings. This diminishes the tiny thrill of passing into the actual Mountain zone as we approach Alberta.