the prairie post

Hi there! Right now I'm in Fosston, Minesota, and loving life on the road. It's kind of rainy, so I'm at the library for a while. I'm kind of at a loss for what to write - I've seen so much that it's hard to know what to pass on, especially since I haven't put anything up since Calgary.

So I'll start with the obvious: I've been in the States for a week. North Dakota was beautiful, and so is Minnesota. There are more trees here than in Saskatchewan, and now I'm coming in to forests and lakes. People are generally just as nice as north of the border. There are lots of people to spend time with, but less than in BC. In Estevan (Sask.), this guy named Carl took me in, fed me, gave me a place to wash my clothes, a bed to sleep in, and so on. He's a grandfather, and was really good company. I've also had great company in Brooks, where P.J. made me a fantastic meal, with corn and king crab. We played board games for a while.

Cycling on the prairies is kind of monotonous, to start out. After a while, it gets interesting again, when you start seeing the slight changes in the landscape, and when you start watching the sky. Clouds can be tremendous entertainment. Sunsets and moonrises are absolutely fantastic when they have so much sky to play out on. My second full moon has passed. The night of the full moon (I think), there was a coyote that watched me for a long time, followed me to my campsite for a long ways down a side road. The way they jump to see above the grain is really neat!

The border crossing took ages, since they ended up searching all my gear. The border guards really take their jobs seriously. And they took my oranges! That's what really hurt. I suppose I get my vitamin C from Gatorade powder, though. I've been eating pancakes, as per Alex's recommendation, but unfortunately, they turn into scrambled pancakes for lack of a spatula. Still quite tasty. Soups, cold oatmeal, and powdered potatoes are all very satisfying as staples.

Em and I at the cottage

and Ken & Pat

reminded me of Elysium, in the film "Gladiator"

power lines

the kind of place that gives the States its character

prom flowers!

beautiful ND

and a beautiful roadside to camp out on

beach on Devil's Lake, ND

self-portrait, from yesterday

the missing captions

I suppose I should mention why I've put these pictures up, and what they are:

The first two are in Vernon, with Heather and Allison, and more of the wonderful Harkers.

Next is the lake in Three Valley, toward evening. I guess this photo is pretty similar to the Kenomee pic

A shot of one of the perhaps half-dozen avalanche sheds I had to bike through after Glacier Nat. Park, I think. I hid from my first rainstorm in one of them. A bit nerve-wracking.

Next are Saskia and Marco fom Holland. I spent the better part of two days with these two, and Dean. We hid from the rain in the cooking shelter at the Takkakaw campground in Glacier and then ended up reconnecting in Lake Louise. Amazing folks.

A butterfly I saw in Yoho Nat. Park. The moneyshot out of maybe fifteen.

Remo Bruppacher. A super-cool Swiss boy that ended up hanging out at my campsite three days in a row. We spent a lot of time trying to communicate in German, Swedish and English. Lots of pointing at objects and naming them, motioning, and so on. His parents made me coffee two mornings.

Remo doesn't exactly have a steady hand, but this is the best picture I have of myself at the moment. The hat feels right for life on the road. I've appreciated it in the sun and the rain.

Heather flowers above the treeline in Glacier.

My lunch spot on the first epic hike, of two. Probably the coolest spot I've eaten lunch recently, on a ridge overlooking two different glaciers.