Murder Cafe

We were just on vacation, taking the travel trailer from Calgary into Manitoba to visit family.  We traveled along the TransCanada, and since we’re pulling the trailer, we suck more gas than usual, so we plan our stops such that we’re never lower than 1/4 tank.  We did have an incident a couple of years ago when we just made it into Redcliff AB on fumes and a tailwind, so quoth the Raven: “Never more!”.

Now on this trip out, there was a terrific tailwind, and we were getting fabulous gas mileage (for a truck & trailer all you Prius fans).  This threw our 1/4 tank plan awry as we were just under 3/4 of a tank at one of our planned stops, so we just kept on going.  We were just entering the eastern end of Saskatchewan, and those of you familiar with the country know that things start getting pretty bleak & empty fast.

The tank was starting to flirt with 1/4 and I knew that there were very few gas stations on the road ahead, so I started to look for a station.  Given the circumstances, I wasn’t going to be picky.  If I heard banjo music when I stopped, I may reconsider, but other than that, any station was fair game.  We saw a lone station on the road ahead, and we pulled in.

I filled up with gas as the family took a pit stop.  I also availed myself of the facilities after paying for gas.  The place was pretty much your standard out-of-the way gas station.  There was a cafe attached, but it was closed and had very much seen better days.  The washrooms were well…in a state that left very much to be desired: levitation was a sanitary requirement.

After we got back on the road, we were sharing our thoughts on the place, and my daughter thought it was very much a place where a murder had occurred.  Bingo!  A playlist was born – the Murder Cafe.