edwards block

Tuxford to Regina. DAY: 89.04km. ODO: 2,459km. AVS: 17.6km/h. MXS: 38.0km/h. ATM: 5:03.

I woke up at 5:00am, as all of those lovely birds that I am so fond of were all chattering up a storm. However, as I was awake, I did notice two White-tailed Deer standing twelve feet away from my tent. They hung around for about ten minutes before moving on. Then, I got more sleep.
However, I was up again at 8:00, and I got packing. Though I am constantly getting more efficient at packing up all my stuff, I’m not getting any faster at it, and I still wasn’t on the road until 10:00. There were still no park staff on site (must be a union shop), so I didn’t have to pay for the past two days.

I was heading southeast to Regina. Unfortunately, the wind was coming from the southeast, just my luck. The wind had much less strength than previous days, but once you et moving into it, it still seems pretty strong. On the way to the Trans-Canada junction, I spotted a Marbled Godwit looking for food on a stubbly field.

I was quite lucky with the rain once again. As I was slogging down the Trans-Canada, about 30km west of Regina (you can see downtown Regina from 35km away), there were sheets of rain coming down about a mile to the south, but it was still a mix of sun and cloud where I was. About 10km from Regina, I got hit with just a few drops, but it started pouring behind me (no doubt onto the other cyclists from BC that I had passed). I checked into my hostel at 5:00pm, just as it started to pour. Beat it again!

I stopped for lunch today at “Chubby’s Bar and Grill”, in the town of Belle Plaines. In these small towns, wherever I stop for lunch, they always have a TV playing, and they all seem to be tuned to the same channel – some CTV station. The show that is always on is some sort of talk show cum self-help program, hosted by a woman who looks vaguely like a young Marlo Thomas. Today’s topic was on sleeping problems, and they had some kind of expert on that was explaining sleep issues from all sorts of perspectives. At one point, he said that he was accustomed to seeing numerous patients who do not know that caffeine causes sleeplessness if consumed in the evening. What kind of moron can grow to adulthood without learning a thing like that? If these are the kind of twits that are sucking up the heath care dollars, maybe a little privatisation is a good idea. If they have to pay $35 to ask a doctor a stupid question, maybe they’ll use their brains a little.

And as long as I’m on a good rant – the commercials on daytime television! There was one ad, one of those ones that shows someone in some “lifestyle activity”, with a voiceover explaining why this product is perfect for his or her activity. This one showed a guy climbing a Kilimanjaro-like peak in burning noon-day sun, and his commentary was all about how he needed a good, strong antiperspirant that could handle the job. There were lots of camera shots up the guys’ armpit, etc. Who the hell cares what you smell like when you’re doing something like that? Need to smell nice just in case you run into Prince Charles and Camilla out on some precipice? Give me a break!

As long as I’m in complaining mode, let’s talk about these guys (I have yet to see a woman driving one, though I’m sure it must happen) in giant motorhomes that have every convenience of home. What kind of mileage do these things get? It can’t be very good if they can justify burning the extra fuel to tow their Grand Cherokee behind them! It’s this sort of resource wasting that really burns me. The parodist in me is tempted to continue my trip across the country with a small tricycle tied to the back of my bike.

Tuxford (Sightseeing). DAY: 37.26km. ODO: 2,370km. AVS: 22.0km/h. MXS: 51.0km/h. ATM: 1:41.

Since I’ve been here, I have seen: White Pelicans, Common Loon, Western Grebe, American Wigeon, Franklin’s Gull, Spruce Grouse, Grey Catbird, Rufous-sided Towhee (spotted western) and a Chipping Sparrow.

As I am staying another night, I wanted a little more food. The small store here in the park is only open weekends, so I had to ride into town. Tuxford, the nearest town, is about 15km away. I rode in with the wind at my back, only to find that Tuxford has no stores at all. Back through the wind I rode.

I went for a long walk up the lake, looking for the Buffalo (which are apparently kept somewhere nearby) as well as historical information – apparently this park is named after a place into which the Indians used to chase the buffalo, trapping them for slaughter. But I found nothing, other than a bunch of mosquitoes and a wood tick that tried to attach itself to my leg.

Tim’s legacy, coast to coast:

There are still no other campers here, but there are some people that come during the day with their boats, mainly to fish. However, there is a crew out there today water-skiing, with something that I’m sure they refer to as “music” blasting periodically over the water.

The squirrels here are a little annoying. They must be used to people feeding them, as there are several varieties that are forever running around my site. One kind, that makes a noise that sounds like a bad cell-phone ring, appeared under my picnic table suddenly this morning, as I was sitting at it reading Saturday’s Globe and Mail. He let loose his ear-splitting ring, startling me into smashing my knee against the top of the table and spilling my tea. I jumped up and threw a rock at him, but he only chased it to see if it was something edible. They need more birds of prey around here.

Cutbank to Tuxford (Buffalo Pound Provincial Park). DAY: 152.00km. ODO: 2,332km. AVS: 21.9km/h. MXS: 47.0km/h. ATM: 6:56.

As I was packing up, an American Goldfinch dropped in to feed on the dandelions. They were much higher than he, a problem he solved by walking up the stem until the top tipped to the ground and he could pick at the seeds.

I set out at 10:30 without a firm destination in mind, just a direction. I would travel southeast on highway 42, another quiet, secondary route. I thought about spending a night at (Tommy) Douglas Provincial Park, also on Lake Diefenbaker, but as it was only about 55km away, it seemed like too short a day. The next park was 150km away, which I didn’t know if I felt up to. The only practical place in between to camp would be a municipal site in the town of Eyebrow, a little more than halfway from Danielson.

By the time I got to Eyebrow, it was only 4:30 and I decided to keep going, as the Buffalo place sounded more interesting. Unfortunately, the wind (in a rather abrupt change from the past week) has shifted, and was now blowing from south-southeast. It wasn’t a strong wind, but I was heading straight into it, and combined with my own speed, added challenge.

After the town of Keeler, I spotted a pair of Willets on the bank of a marsh and stopped to observe them for a while. This turned out to be quite interesting, as I had an opportunity to observe them copulate, which was the most excitement I’ve seen for some time. Also along the way I saw some Eastern Kingbirds.

I arrived at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park at 7:15. I am the only human in the entire place. Very quiet! I don’t usually light a fire when camp, but I did this evening, for a change. It had been quite a cool day, and I was feeling a bit chilled at the end, and this warmed me as I prepared my dinner.

Birding has been very good since I left Saskatoon, and I can already see that it will be good here too, judging by the numbers of birds passing through my campsite (and singing around it).

Sunset over Buffalo Jump Lake: