Regina to Caronport - Royal Canadian Mounted Police Depot Sergeant Major's Parade and Car Problems

We got up early to be able to take in a tour of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and still get to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Center for the Sergeant Major's Parade and a tour of the base.  First, we stopped to tour the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.  The legislative building is quite impressive as it is located in a vast park 3 times the size of New York City's Central Park and it stands overlooking Wascana Lake.  Construction began in 1908 and the building was completed in 1912. Its architecture is in the Beaux Arts style and was the tallest building in Saskatchewan for many years.  The exterior is of Manitoba Tyndall stone.  The interior is most impressive as marble from Canada, Italy, Isle of Cyprus and Vermont decorate the entrance and rotunda.  The building's recently renewed copper dome is 56 meters high, The legislative chamber was quite interesting as the chairs for the assembly members sit facing each other on tiered floors and the chairs are movable so if one party loses seats they are moved across the aisle to join the seats of their party.  Additionally, the mace, representing royal authority, sits on the Parliamentary table with the head of the mace  resting upon a beaver pelt and  facing the majority party.  The mace's staff end faces the opposition party.  Chairs for former assembly members and prime ministers line the walls should any former members wish to attend a session of the assembly.  Of course, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of Canada, is prominently hung above the prime minister's chair.  The opposition party is greatly outnumbered by the Saskatchewan Party.

Saskatchewan Legislative Chamber

After our tour of the Leg, we headed directly to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Center to sign up for the base tour and Sergeant Major's Parade.  While waiting for the tour, we were able to take advantage of the Center's wifi to check mail, make reservations for our stay in Vancouver and catch up on some news.  We were unable to take in the Sergeant Major's Parade during our visit the previous day as it was a Civil Holiday which meant most people had the day off.  The first Monday in August is observed throughout most of Canada as a holiday but nothing in particular is commemorated nationally on this day.  When we asked people about the holiday, no one seemed to know why the first Monday in August is a holiday.  Its just a day off to create a long weekend.

Saskatchewan Legislative Building - Regina

The tour of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "Depot" Division base was very interesting.  All members of the RCMP go through 26 weeks of training at Depot prior to being awarded their badges.  It is the equivalent of military basic training with policing and law enforcement added as advanced training.  The cadets undergo a very rigorous physically and mentally demanding program.  A fair number of the cadets never graduate but "wash out" prior to graduation.  It was interesting to note that the cadets have their own band for parades which is made up of members of the current cadet corps.  The Sergeant Major's Parade is a daily event (with the exception of certain holidays) and is an accountability and drill exercise conducted at mid-day.

RCMP Cadet Band

Following the parade, we visited the Chapel which was similar in size and function to the Old Cadet Chapel at the US Military Academy at West Point and the old Post Chapel at Fort Leavenworth.  The chapel was decorated as an Anglican chapel with rich woodwork and spectacular stained glass windows.  The two stained glass windows in the apse are of a Mountie with his head bowed and rifle pointed downward in respect for those who died in service.  The second window of the apse is of a Mountie bugler.  One window at the rear of the chapel is dedicated to the wives of the Mounties who served along side their husbands in remote locations and provided services such as nursing care, laundry, cooking and maintaining the outpost particularly when their husbands were on patrol for days or even weeks at a time.  Numerous plaques were mounted on the walls commemorating deaths of RCMP members.  At the rear of the chapel was a book with a page for each of the RCMP members who died in the line of duty with a description of how they died in service.  The chaplain turns a page each morning so every day a different person is commemorated.  The chapel is truly a place of peace and honor.

RCMP Depot Chapel

Our destination for the day was Medicine Hat.  However, we encountered mechanical problems when our car coasted to a halt about 12 kilometers west of Caronport, a small town of less than 1,000.  Actually, that's not a small town in this part of Canada.  Fortunately, Dwayne was able to contact the American Automobile Association (AAA) who coordinated with the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) to get a tow.  Caronport not only had a CAA tow contractor but also an auto repair garage.   The nearest auto repair shop aside from Caronport was back to Regina (63 miles) or on to Swift Current (95 miles to the west).  Caronport also had a nice motel which made it very convenient.  The only "restaurant" in town was a Subway attached to the gas station.  Jay, the wrecker driver/mechanic said he would trouble shoot the car and order parts first thing in the morning.  He felt we need an alternator.  It usually takes a day to get parts shipped to Caronport.  We hoped for the best.  This was the best place to break down between Regina and Medicine Hat.