To Mossbank

Gravelbourg was a short distance away and, coincidentally the 10th annual Summer Solstice Festival was happening. This community seems more prosperous than some of its neighbors and does a great job of advertising itself. Check it out at http://www.gravelbourg.ca/index.html.

The day was filled with entertainment, great food from local restaurants, craft booths, and

amazing face painting for the kids.

We turned east onto Road 43, it's so nice to have a road with adequate shoulders. Going north on Hwy 2 was even better. Mossbank, population 415, was a couple of miles off the main road and we'd arrived mid-afternoon.

We went to the local restaurant for lunch #2. Dick ordered a "loaded" hamburger. We've learned that in Canada, if you order a hamburger (cousin Phyllis will love this), you always get just meat and a bun. If you want ketchup, mustard, pickles/relish, lettuce, and tomato, you must order it "loaded." I heard the two boys in the booth behind us tell their parents they wanted "poutine." I had to ask what that was. French fries with two kinds of melted cheese and gravy over the top.

This weekend, Mossbank was hosting the Little League playoffs and teams traveled up to 100 miles to compete. The city campground was next to the playing fields. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to watch little kids play baseball. The girl playing first base is watching the runner and about to mis-catch the thrown ball. "Ow! Ow! Ryan, you almost broke my finger," she called out to her teammate as she shook her gloved hand. The runner was safe and Ryan apologized.

"Arlete!" What? Who could possibly be calling my name? It was Gail from M.O.M.S in Lafleche.
We had a nice visit. The friendliness of Canadians is just endearing.

Miles completed = 1368

Rest Day #2

We were supposed to ride north today, but the winds are 46 kilometers/hour (29 mph) out of the north. Now, that's a headwind. Therefore we decided to stay in our Lafleche motel for just one more night. This is the first time we've taken a 2-day rest.

Rest Day

The weather forecast was rather dire this morning. Weather alerts are in effect for the area where we are and where we're going and Dick needs to rest his sore legs. We decided to take a rest day. The Flying Goose Inn generously allowed us to do all our dirty (really dirty!) laundry in their facility - a real bonus.

I am appreciating more than ever the local gathering places in Saskatchewan's villages. We went to M.O.M.S. (Merchandise on Main Street) to get a soft serve ice cream this afternoon. The place was packed. Once again - get your own coffee, pay for it by putting money in the can before you leave. Either the person on duty, today it was Gail, or one of the customers will provide refills.
Here, you can get breakfast or lunch when the kitchen is open, buy an STC bus ticket, visit with friends, order Avon products, find jam, jellies, and chokecherry syrup,

buy a raffle ticket for the quilt on the back wall (the 6th annual quilt raffle)

go in the back rooms and buy fabric, sewing supplies, gifts, toys, souvenirs, bling, Red Hat clothing,

items made by local artisans, rent a video, and there's more.

M.O.M.S is also the local Culligan Water distributor, Kwala-T Dry Cleaning agent, provides unsecured wireless Internet access and a massage lounge chair, and sells Juice Plus+, Discovery Toys, two newpapers, and offers quilting classes and gift wrapping. Is there a Female Entrepreneur of the Province Award? Would someone please nominate Betty-Ann Tallon?

To Lafleche

It began to rain even before we left Mankota. Again we had to battle a side wind.

The colorful grain elevators of Kincaid where we stopped for lunch.

Once we turned onto Hwy 13 heading eastward, we had a headwind for the final 21 miles. It continued to increase. The final 6 miles took an hour before we reached Lafleche. After a ride down main street we stopped at Merchandise on Main Street, commonly known as M.O.M.S. Betty-Ann, the proprietor, gave us the low-down on the town and included an invitation to tonight's benefit barbecue at the local historical museum.

This event was very-well attended, especially when the population is just a bit over 500. The barbecued hamburgers, homemade salads, and cake were delicious. We are learning to refer to ourselves as "pedal-bikers." I almost always use the term "bicycle" rather than "bike" so people don't think we're riding motorcycles. Nevertheless, we are frequently asked, "You mean you're pedal-bikers?"

Tonight we're staying at the Flying Goose Inn. There are weather alerts across southern Saskatchewan for thunderstorms and heavy rain. It's coming from Montana, the skies are certainly dark and threatening to the south.

Miles completed = 1324

To Mankota

This is road 18 heading north. On the official Saskatchewan road map it's called a "thin membrane surface, no shoulders." There is also very little traffic, maybe one vehicle/hour will go by in one direction or another. Our goal is to avoid the many gravel roads.

Contrary to what some think, the prairies are not flat. They are flatter than roads through the Rocky Mountains, North Cascades, etc. There can be some short steep climbs, conversely some wonderful downhills, although rather bumpy due to poor road surfaces.

As you can see, the weather is changing. This morning the Canadian Minister of Agriculture said in a television interview this is the wettest spring in 40 years. Everyone is talking about the coming rain, maybe 2 inches will fall in the next 3 days. The farmers are worried getting the fields planted and the possibility of hail if crops have already sprouted.

The main street of Mankota, population 382.

We were able to put up our tent in the city park as soon as the tall grass had been mowed. We had coffee at the local hotel then visited the library located in a 12' X 12' space, part of the town office. We had some light rain on today's ride and headwinds, which make for a tiring day.

Miles completed = 1281

Rest Day

A rest day of course allows the body to recover a bit, but it also gives you a chance to explore and to meet some of the people who live here. Dick rode a few kilometers on his bike then hiked to the top of 70-mile Butte in Grasslands National Park. The trail was indistinct, a little bushwhacking was required along with throwing rocks at 4-5 foot long bull snake to get it to move along.

Meanwhile I hung out at the Val Marie Hotel where there was wireless Internet access. Main Street of Val Marie, population 165.

Val Marie Hotel, owned by Aline and her family. Her husband also runs a small cattle operation and farms outside of town.

The hotel restaurant is busy throughout the day. This morning the vehicles are lined up, including two school buses, the drivers having a cup of coffee before starting their routes.

We soon learned to get our own coffee and offer to refill the cups of other patrons along the way. Aline, wearing the dark green t-shirt and white apron, has lived in Val Marie her entire life. She has never been farther east than Regina and just 2 years ago traveled west to BC to visit her brother. Her son, 13 at the time, was shocked to see mountains for the first time and didn't understand how it was possible for there to be snow at the tops in the summer. Aline's daughter, standing, graduates from high school in a few days and is about to wear a dress for the first time in her life. Her standard uniform for 18 years has been cowboy hat and boots and jeans. She plans to spend the next year living and working in Swift Current, just 70 miles north, to see if she can stand to live so far away from home. If successful, she will go to college in Red Deer AB the following year.

Val Marie School is K-12 with 42 students and 7 teachers. Some students ride a bus for an hour to get here each day. It was scheduled to be closed by the provincial government last year, but the next closest school is another hour away. A 2-hour bus ride each way was deemed unacceptable so the school remained open. There are 6 seniors graduating on 19 June, but only 2 kindergärtners enrolling for next year.

To Val Marie

This is Saskatchewan, green prairie and blue skies so far. Antelope, deer, gophers abound. Villages are identified by grain elevators.

This is a provincial highway 4 heading for Val Marie. Side roads seem to be dirt and gravel, we'll try to avoid these.

Today we found a few businesses open, but no the grocery store. We went to Grasslands Art Gallery, Grasslands Interpretive Center, and Prairie Winds and Silver Sage Museum, where Dick was able to get a cup of coffee. The museum is located in the old Val Marie School.

We are the only people in the campground, hot showers are available, the cost is minimal. And that's about it for Val Marie.

Miles completed = 1238