photo from the Prairie Dog Drive-In Facebook page

It’s Day 146 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. In the middle of a week of lengthy drives, the hour and a half it took to get from Wolseley SK to the Prairie Dog Drive In in Carlyle felt like nothing.

The Prairie Dog opened in 1981 as Ken Par Cinema Cinema, built by husband and wife team, Evans and Mabel Parobec. In 1996, Ray and Frances Boutin and their family took over the drive-in and soon renamed it the Prairie Dog.

Ray Boutin told the Carlyle Observer in 2012 that he had the first digital drive-in projector in the province. “None of this would be possible without our sponsors and amazing local support,” explained Ray. “The switch was fairly expensive, but we are lucky enough to be in a supportive community.”

I was really happy that the Prairie Dog was open for the season, and that I caught it on a Friday night. The concession stand was hopping, selling hot dogs, popcorn and the usual suspects. The movie was The Boss Baby, which I saw for the third time. It’s such a family-friendly film that I’m a little surprised I haven’t seen it even more often. And I should probably end that last sentence with “yet”.

Miles Today / Total:  88 / 18170 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: The Boss Baby / 65

Nearby Restaurant: One of the drawbacks of a long drive is that I don’t get a chance to have lunch at my destination. I was reminded of that because of this day’s short drive, allowing me to visit Michael’s Coffee Shop & Bakery. I love coffee, and I love cinnamon buns, but neither work that well at dinner time. For a late-morning quasi-lunch, this was great.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Just a few miles further north from the drive-in, I stayed at the Bear Claw Casino. My room was surprisingly quiet, with decent wifi and a coffee maker, and the low rate included a continental breakfast. Do you suppose they expected to make up the difference when I visited the slot machines?

Only in Carlyle: On the way to Carlyle, I passed Kipling, home of a very large paperclip in front of the Paperclip Cottage Cafe. According to Atlas Obscura, the monument celebrates Kyle MacDonald’s 2005 achievement of trading a red paperclip for a house through 14 transactions. The statue is called the World’s Largest Paperclip, but it isn’t really.

Next stop: Sky-Vu Drive In, Warren MN.

Photo by Drive-In 54 via Cinema Treasures

It’s Day 145 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I don’t have many long drives left on my schedule, but this was one of them. It took almost seven hours of driving to travel from the far-north Big Island Drive In Theater near Flin Flon MB to the Twilite Drive In Theatre, just west of Wolseley SK.

The Twilite was the first drive-in in Saskatchewan when it opened in 1954, and it has remained in operation ever since. The town of Wolseley site says “Stan Zaba, with the help of a few local people, built the drive-in which opened in June of 1954 accommodating 225 cars. (Now) the Twilite Drive-in is still going, operated by Stan’s son, Don.”

The CBC ran an interview with Don Zaba at the start of the season last year. He said he usually starts the season with a Thursday free show. (Very smart on several levels – getting a dress rehearsal with a friendly audience, bringing a crowd to the concession stand on an early weeknight, and reminding the region that the drive-in is open for business again.)

Zaba told the CBC that he switched to digital in 2013. “We did a fundraiser in the town of Wolseley which was a success. We ended up buying the projector and a sound system and we’re operating today,” he said.

The Twilite is only open weekends this time of year, leaving me out of luck on a Thursday night.

Miles Today / Total:  411 / 18082 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 64

Nearby Restaurant: I heard that the best Indian food in town was at the Leland Hotel. It’s probably the only Indian food restaurant in this town of 1000 residents or so. The butter chicken is amazing, and the setting of an old hotel pub made the experience even more interesting.

Where I Virtually Stayed: I was there to eat, so I figured I might as well stay at the Leland Hotel. All I needed was a clean bed and a bathroom of my own, and the renovated rooms here took care of me.

Only in Wolseley: Just a few miles away in Indian Head SK, there’s … a giant Indian head. According to Roadside America, the painted 18-foot statue (8 of which is pedestal / base) was designed by Don Foulds from Saskatoon and built of metal pipe, metal mesh and three coats of cement.

Next stop: Prairie Dog Drive In, Carlyle SK.

photo by noricum via Flickr

It’s Day 144 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Time for another crazy-long drive, seven and a half hours from Lumsden SK up north and just barely across the province border to the Big Island Drive In Theater a few kilometers south of Flin Flon MB.

The Big Island is the northernmost active drive-in. (I’ll leave the question of the northernmost closed drive-in as an exercise for the reader; leave a comment if you find one to beat the Big Island.) The Park Drive-In Theatre in Prince George BC is a close second.

The Big Island’s web site says that it “was created in 1957 by the Ernest family and operated into the 80’s before it changed hands into the Leefe and Eastman families and operated until 2015.” According to The Reminder of Flin Flon, Bill Leefe was converting to digital projection in June 2015. Then, according to the Big Island site, “Dawn and Dan Hlady purchased the drive in and went forward with the digital conversion.”

Boy, did I get lucky this time! The Big Island was showing movies Wednesday through Sunday already, so I had some entertainment. Even better, it was a movie I hadn’t seen yet, the “domestic thriller” Unforgettable. Fed by White Castle burgers from the concession stand, I was happy. And really far north.

Miles Today / Total:  430 / 17671 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Unforgettable / 64

Nearby Restaurant: The Chicken Chef had me at “chicken”. It’s a regional chain, mostly in Manitoba. After a hard day of driving, I chose the standard four-piece dinner with poutine and onion rings. Add a grilled cinnamon bun for dessert, and you’ve got a large, solid meal.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The Oreland Motel doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it’s another one of those hidden gems, a mom and pop kind of place that’s as good as the chains. My room was clean and had a full kitchenette and decent wifi. The price was amazing.

Only in Flin Flon: Flin Flon sits just north of an irregular, about 1.25-mile east-west segment of the generally north-south border between Saskatchewan and Manitoba. There are also other such jogs at other points along that border. As explained in 2012 by The Globe and Mail, they’re “caused by adjustments in the land-survey grid for Western Canada, to compensate for the curvature of the Earth.” I could explain more, but you ought to just go read it.

Next stop: Twilite Drive In Theatre, Wolseley SK.