I ain't froze stiff and my bones aren't bleaching on the the prarie

So it's been an adventure. On my layover in Chicago I stopped at Greek town for gyros. Pretty good! Also thinking that I should have waited a few days after the half marathon. I can barely walk my legs are so stiff! Hopefully I can ride thousands of miles on a bicycle?
So after assembling my bike in Minot, ND I decided I better get some maps and work out my route. I got some, yet my route keeps changing. Headed NW and was soon out of the "big" city and along the backroads and thru the small "towns". Stopped into a bar and soon I was in a guy's pickup headed out to the farm to see if the tires he had would work for my bicycle. Turned out they were the wrong size. Went on to the next town and stopped at the bar/cafe. Decided to splurge on a bacon cheeseburger and beer. PBR was as fancy as it got. Got talking with some old-timers and they were entertaining! Bought me another beer. Slept that night under the Western stars beyond the hundredth meridian, and gosh did I sleep swell.

Then I awoke sore, got breakfast, straddled my bike, and headed for the next bar. Now it may seem like this is one bar hopping bike tour, but ya must understand in the small towns that's all they got usually. These places aren't on the main road, the simple vinyl siding usually don't look like much, and you can never see inside so entering always a suprise. But there always a good place to meet the locals and tap into local knowledge. Really liked Crosby, ND. Got onto Route 5 and took it all the way thru to Ophiem, Montana. Along the way I passed thru Plentywood, MT where the great Sitting Bull returned to the U.S. from refuge in Canada. I chatted with a wonderful cheery girl mending fences on the ranch. Would have offered to help out, but Louis l'Amour and Zane Grey wouldn't like a ranch hand in lycra. The country is so beautiful here and so was she. Holed up in Scobey, Mt. to wait out the cold and rain. Spent a rest day there. Got some good groceries. Grocier told me that his daughter was state champ, despite the fact that the town pool is only open 6 weeks a year! Visited Pioneer Town and talked with the Edgar who lived it all. The wheat boom, and building of the Fort Peck Dam, and now the new West.

Then as the cold continued I headed for Canada. At such a small crossing I don't think the customs officer could really understand why I was there. Less traffic man! He let me in and the next day, which was colder than the last, I visited Wood Mountain Mountie Post. Not much there, but the women at the visitor center was helpful. Plus gave me hot water! So another re-route up to route 13 and the Red Coat Trail (NWMP). Stopped for the night in Ponteix. Not much there, expcept a nice Catholic church and of course the grain mill. Always the grain mill far out on the horizon announcing a cluster of buildings in the distance. The next day I made it to Eastend, my main destination in Saskatchewan. I just finished reading "Wolf Willow" by Wallace Stegner, one of my favorite Western/environmental authors, which in addition to other stuff, talks of his sence of place living a few years in Eastend. Stay in the nice park were Stenger once stayed. Finally some sunshine after days of cold and threatening colds. The next day I visited the town musuem and the Stegner house (it's now a place for artists of all sorts to stay and work). It was a mythical experience in Cypress Hills.

That afternoon I headed out and by early evening was in Consul. Stopped by at the town's bakery for it's grand opening. Chatted with the family for a bit. Grandpa tells me proudly of his daughter who just became discus champion of the province. Everyone in Canada I've talked to is so friendly and helpful. Lots of people wave as they pass by me. Load up with water and head out for Havre, MT along the now gravel road. People in Saskatchewan admit they have bad roads, but for cycling their not so bad. The road was not so bad so I decided to chance it and go route 501. Cross into Alberta and camp on the prarie beside the cow pasture with no one around for miles. The sunset, the sense of solitude, it was magical! Next morning more gravel road. As long as it's not loose and mostly hardpack it's okay, but then it ain't always good. Get to the junction of Route 41 and decide to stay on the gravel road. Then the gravel got looser and at one point two dozen trucks passed me kicking up so much dust I couldn't see the next one coming. I couldn't pull off because the mosquitoes had made their appearance in great force. Miserable, tired, hungry, low on water, and miles of prarie to pass. If discovered that the prarie can change faces. It can be beautiful solitude at dawn and dusk, but under the burning afternoon sun can change to and endless horizon of desolation. Finally, 20 miles past my exhaustion point I reach Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park. The hoodoo rock formations are beautiful even in my tired dusty state. Check-in, buy a blue raspberry slushie, brain FREEZE, drink some water. ah.... it's all good folks because I ain't froze stiff (it's nice and warm again) and my bones aren't bleaching on the prarie ( and the mountains are a days ride away).