Day 18 - Indian Head to Whitewood

Sunday, June 4, 2017

The Dynamic Duo set off this morning into a bit of an East wind to challenge them a bit.

This was a cool classic Grain Elevator in Santaluta.  It was particularly appropriate since they painted the Celebrate Canada Leaf Symbol at the top as a tribute to Ritchie!  Actually, I think it might have been painted in 1967!!

We finally caught up with them near Grenfell, Sask. and took a minute for a group shot.  Note the two men's physiques in the picture.  The one on the right is capable of 80 kph and riding distances of 200+ km.  The one on the left is capable of attaining speeds of almost 30 kph and is capable of riding 100 km once a year!

Pretty much every road you pass going North and South is a numbered "Range Road" i.e.. 3200.  These roads go on forever!  Where do they go?  Maybe we'll return to follow a few of them.  Sometimes a vehicle (almost always a truck) is booting down one of them and there is a dust trail for about a mile.  An image that will stay with me.

We drove into Grenfell to get some bananas and the supplies.  All the stores were closed, you could have shot a cannon down the street.  Oh yeah, its Sunday and some things are sacred out here.  Good on them.

We caught up with our riders near Broadview, Sask and Caroline joined us after 58 Km.   We headed for our home for the night, Whitewood, Sask. Municipal Park.  Another great location.  Somewhere along the way we went through another time zone.

When you have a high performance bike, it requires a lot of tender loving care which Ritchie has plenty of.

Here's today's summary.  

After a couple of MONSTER days, it was good to give his body a bit of a break.  I say that, but I've never ridden THAT far.......ever!

 The campground is located in Larson Park which also houses a pool, kiddie pool, golf course and this beautiful ball park.  Notice anything strange?

The bases are left in!  If this was back home they wouldn't be there long!😞

We decided to have dinner out tonight.  Archie's was just down the street and had good reviews on Trip Advisor.

The food was great, and was a little like a 50's diner, but what struck me most was the people.  The place was hopping!  Everyone knew each other.  Someone would come in and if there were no empty tables, someone would invite them to sit with them.  One guy got up to get something from another table, gave us a big smile and asked how we were doing.  I felt like I was in a timewarp, in a better time when folks were friendlier and had more respect.  We have found this in both rural Alberta and especially Saskatchewan.  I am extremely envious of these fine folks.

We are in a spot where there are no trees nearby, so where do all these tent caterpillars come from????  We came back from dinner to these.......

We were joking last night about them enveloping the RV overnight and consuming us and then my sister sent me this this morning! Click Here
Maybe we'll be gone by morning!!😱

Day 17 - Moose Jaw to Indian Head

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Weather

We have had super amazing weather so far in this trip, other than one day of headwinds (which was still a beautiful day).  Mother Nature has been very kind.  The last two evenings/nights we have had thunderstorms and even some hail, but by morning we have favourable winds and beautiful skies. 

MWPATBC

In the "Meeting Wonderful People Across This Beautiful Country"(MWPATBC) category, yesterday we met some great folks parked beside us, Lloyd and Bev Koziak from Calgary.   

We had some great conversation and they supplied us with lots of great information.  They are living the dream, splitting time between their home, 5th wheel (a beautiful rig), timeshare (they own in Canmore and have been all over the world with it) and cruising!   

Way to go Lloyd and Bev!

They have been married 26 years and got married on the 3rd of August, so every month on the 3rd since then, they always do something special.  And......today is the 3rd!! They have it all documented since they started.  Cool!

It's Flat!

So, okay, it's finally getting flat!!!   As we approached Regina, it looked like a mountain rising out of the plains!

Ritchie and Caroline got a good jump on us this morning and we rendezvoused 76 km later in Regina at Perkins Restaurant to meet up with Dwayne and Ev Pow (another of Lynn's late husband Jim's cousins). 

I had a great time getting to know them.  Awesome folks  and full of laughter, right down my alley  (they also fall into that MWPATBC category).  Hopefully, they will stop in to Brantford this July when they might be in the area. 

After a great brunch, Ritchie sped off and the three of us picked up supplies.  We couldn't catch up to him till we got to our destination tonight, Indian Head Campground. 

Indian Head Campground

He put up another amazing set of numbers today. 

Look at that top speed!!!😲

Stretching

Part of the daily routine for the Dynamic Duo, stretching about 20 minutes after their ride.  He has a "little" more flexibilty than me. 

Bugs

We have seen a lot of these guys the last few days.  

I believe they are tent catapillars and this is the damage they do.  

Ritchie has been splattering them all day long today.  

As I sit outside and type this, they keep crawling up my leg eeewwww!!!

Marshmallows!!!
Loving the camping (Glamping?) part!

Technology

One thing ALL campsites have in common, crappy WiFi!!  We have yet to run into one that has satisfactory wifi other than downloading a few emails.  Consequently, I have been using cell data.   I upgraded my plan to 12 Gig before I left.  I have had to add "5" - 2 gig packages at $25 a pop!!  This blog (and Lynn's Face Book☺️ ) is costing a fortune!  So at this moment I have used 21.38G and my new month starts tomorrow (sometime), so there has been no social networking today.  I have been trying to upload my photos for this blog on the campground WiFi for the last 4 hours!😡  

I am writing this in Notes on my iPhone and will transfer the verbiage to my Mac later. 

Blogger used to have an app for my iPhone but it isn't supported anymore!  Aarrgg!

Technology!   Sometimes it's great, other times........you should hear me and Ritchie when we're tired and trying to post something late at night...........then again, maybe you don't want to hear it.  

Maybe we need to go back to sending Post cards that arrive after you get home. 😏

Editor's Note:  I finally had to put my data back on to get the last photos to download!

21.82 G used!

Day 16 - Gull Lake to Moose Jaw!

Friday, June 2, 2017

Thar She Blows!

Woke up to a gusty morning, but the gusts were from the west!  Today was going to be a MONSTER day!!  Ritchie and Caroline were flying and we had to hustle to catch up.  By the time we got to Swift Current to pick up Caroline (she was there for half an hour), Ritchie had already left to take advantage of today's wind.

Instead of saying "BIG SKY" today (although it was),  my phrase for today was "Still Not Flat!"

I have grown up being told that the prairies were flat and boring.  They are still definitely not flat.  I expected flat as a pancake.  Not so far!...........and definitely Not boring!  Whether its all the Prairie Dogs running around, or just the grasses dancing in the wind, there is always something to see.  Another beautiful part of the country!

These are the modern day grain elevators.

Big Sky!  Not flat!

One of the few breaks he took.  Okay, starting to look flat!

That's a full size helicopter on the weather vane!.......maybe qualifies for a "Big Stupid Thing"

This is Joel.  He's from Toronto.  We passed him on the road and then he caught up to us while we waited for Ritchie.  He is riding from Vancouver to Sydney, Nova Scotia and plans to arrive there on July 1!!!
He is travelling a little lighter than us!

We offered him food and drink, but all he wanted was a little air for a slow leak he had.  He is raising money for Cancer.  Go Joel! Safe Travels........ Here is his website https://www.wheresjoel.com

This was shot in Chaplin, Sask.  It looked like piles of snow there, but it is actually the purest form of Sodium Sulphate in the world.  What's it used for you ask?

Sodium sulphate is sold for use in powdered laundry deteregents, glass making, textiles, modified corn starches, carpet deodorants, Kraft pulp mills and mineral feeds for livestock. 

Here's Ritchie riding through the Sodium Sulphate area.

With the tailwinds he was reaching over 70 kph!!

A whopping 226.8 km today.  Amazing!!

And look at the speeds.  Max. Speed 71.6 with an avg. of 41.1, now that is boogying!!

We made it to Moose Jaw and stopped at a bike shop to get his bike's gears adjusted (maybe he burned them up!😀), before picking up supplies and heading to Prairie Oasis Campground for the night.

An amazing day!

Day 15 - Redcliff, Alberta to Gull Lake, Sask.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

The Dynamic Duo got off to an early start today with winds in their favour.

Lynn and I cleaned up and headed back to "The Hat" to pick up a new Keurig (my old faithful has become very cantankerous, even after a good cleaning).  We bought a cute little "One Cupper".

We never got to see the Red Cliffs (sorry Stevie), but did stop in at the "World's Biggest TeePee" (although I'm not sure the one we saw in the Dakotas wasn't bigger).  Had to take a picture for my brother Bud to add to his collection of "Big Stupid Things" (although he's probably been here).  Can't wait to get my picture taken with the Big Musky in Kenora that is on my list.😊

By the way, can you see me in the TeePee?  Gives you an idea of the size.

 Can you spot the Dynamic Duo?

There they are!

Check out the photo above.  The geography is similar to what we've seen all day.  Where's flat?

Everyone said that I'd be bored in the Prairies..........Not Yet!

Everyone said that it was flat and went on forever!..........Not Yet!

What kind of hawks?  Somebody's got to know!

Ritchie and Caroline made great time today!  Two days ago they averaged around 22 kph with the headwinds.  Today they averaged around 32 kph.  I think Ritchie averaged almost 40 kph the last 80 or so km!!!
We're in Rider Country, Saskatchewan!

We rendezvoused at the Maple Creek Visitor Centre where the girls were very knowledgable and helpful.  They also put a post about Richie and Caroline on their Face Book Page!  The lady standing with them is a 27 year retired veteran.

My very first Grain Elevator!

We arrived at our destination,  Gull Lake Municipal Campground.  Rates have risen from $25 to $30 this year for 30 amp service and water! 

Lynn walked into town for groceries and saw evidence of Rider Country!!

This is Al Lens, a former Optometrist type guy (appropriate name).  More importantly, he is also riding across Canada on his way to Ottawa (he started in Merritt, BC).  He ALSO plans to ride back!
He is riding on his own and has a real entertaining blog that you should check out click here!
Good luck on your ride Al.  I'll be following you.  Hopefully, we will cross paths again.
If you're ever in Brantford, you're welcome to couch surf with us (actually we'll give you a bed)😊

Ritchie and Caroline had a great day today!  Caroline had another 100+km day!
Way to go Girl!

Day 14 - Rest Day - Dodged a Bullet!

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

We dodged a bullet today (actually a couple of bullets)!  Ritchie has had a sore on his knee for several days.  After reading something on Face Book, Lynn thought that it might possibly be a tick bite!  We took the opportunity of a rest day and headed into "The Hat" (Medicine Hat) for a walk-in clinic.  The good news is that they gave him some antibiotics "in case" its a tick bite, so he's good to go!👍
The other is that this is a scheduled "Rest Day" and it came at a perfect time.  Yesterday was a tough day wind wise and today the winds were even stronger!  Glad they didn't have to ride today!
I stopped into a Shell station to fill up and have to honestly say that I haven't seen a pump like this in years. Why you say? Just take out the hose fill 'er up ($150) and THEN go in and pay.  No place for a credit card AND no need to pay before filling!  Cool!

Today was Camp Day so we made the annual stop at Timmies to show our support for this worthy cause.  We stopped into Costco to pick up a few things and now that we're part of the campground society had to pick up one of these bean bag games (What are they called Judy?).  The Prairie Dog was quick to check it out!

Another great Municipal Site here in RedCliff.  $30 and very tidy.  Hydro only, but there was a dump station on the premises

 A great chill out day and we enjoyed a very nice fire to close the evening out.

One final note.  I do not have a fetish for washrooms, but this one is noteworthy.  The Municipal Campground is part of a Recreation Complex with a number of ball parks.  There is a Restroom for the whole complex.  It is extremely clean (pristine) and offers free showers with unlimited hot water (compared to some of the pricier parks that are twice the cost and you have to pay for a time limited shower)!
What I found particularly remarkable was that what I thought was a one or two year old building is actually 10 years old!  Not one bit of graffiti or damage!  It is open 24/7 during the spring, summer, fall!  That says a lot about the pride they take in this community.  Well Done Redcliff!👏👏👏