After the morning’s hike, the picnic lunch, and the long backcountry drive, David and I were in need of some coffee! We had been told that there was a small museum in the old Val Marie schoolhouse that also, importantly, had good coffee. Even after the already long outing, we convinced Oscar to extend the day just a bit with this last stop. Hearing that it was a museum, and his recent experience at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, probably helped stoke his acquiescence.
When we finally got back to the village, we brought both kids into the old schoolhouse building, masked of course. The “museum” was essentially one room with a diorama of local animal species arranged in the middle. This kind of display was now familiar to Oscar, but Delilah just lost it. She was so excited and proceeded to point out every animal she knew and ask about every animal she didn’t. It was small but comprehensive! The cafe was in the next room over. It was also the gift shop, another novelty for the kids, especially Delilah. She probably picked up every stuffed animal they had, gave it a hug, said “I love it” and put it back. We only saw one other person, also masked.
We got iced coffee for ourselves and a raspberry Italian soda for Oscar, which he adored and nursed slowly the rest of the afternoon. There was a shady picnic table outside where we enjoyed our drinks…until the kids spied the playground of the current (modern) school of the village of Val Marie. It was right in the sun but the kids insisted on trying out all the slides!