June 12th, 2017, Day 22, Chaplin, Sask to Moose Jaw, Sask. 87km

Ahhhh…… so nice to sleep in to the leisurely hour of 6am! By the time we had everything ready to roll, it was 7:40. The sky was opaqued by clouds and there was a light wind from the ESE. Away we went. I was feeling ready to take anything on as we has less  than 100km ahead of us. We felt refreshed by all the TLC and the great sleep we had experienced at the home of Melanie and Ross of Chaplin. We planned on taking the next day off to explore or rest in Moose Jaw. Melanie was insistent that we spend Monday night at the townhouse shared by her son, Jean Francois and her daughter, Danielle. She said that she had a room in the house that we could use and that she was going to be there too. What an offer!! We said that we would gratefully accept provided that it was OK with her kids and if we could make them all dinner. Deal!

Lots of rolling hills. Who ever decided that the prairies were flat? It was like riding the humps of the Loche Ness Monster. Panoramically, the colours were subtle with many variations of green! No wonder the Roughriders chose that as their signature colour! The Trans Canada Highway has been surprisingly less travelled than we expected. It is busy near the larger cities, like Vancouver, Kamloops and Calgary and there areas where the shoulders have been poor but overall we have been satisfied with our chosen route. Through the prairies the trucks and other vehicles come along 2, 3, 5 at a time and then often, there are many minutes where nothing passes us and the roads are quiet. It gives us the opportunity to hear the many birds that inhabit this part of the country. I especially want to sit by one of the many marshes. They are LOUD with birdsong! Maybe tomorrow. There are plenty of marshes between here and the Cambrian Schield.

A sign announced the village(?), hamlet(?) of Parkbeg, population 11. On one side, our left, was a gnarly looking abandoned home,   on the other, directly across, a small eclectic and run-down gas station turned cafe.  There were washrooms accessible from the outside, which Charlie took the liberty to utilize. I waited outside, still astride my bike when a small woman with curly hair opened the cafe door and beckoned me in. “Com on in. I’ll put the coffee on.” Her name was Leta and for some reason she had left Ontario some years back and was now helping maintain the town(?)’s population in the double digits. She was trying to make a go of it with this cafe but was also working at a military base in Moose Jaw. She wanted to talk and on and on she went. She was still talking when we finally said our goodbyes and rode off.

Tims…. where is there a Tims in Moose Jaw? Eventually we went to another (inferior) coffee shop which offered free (inaccessible) wifi. Charlie and I quite enjoy spending an hour or so after a long ride, just sitting around, reading, blogging, staring into space or contemplating Harikari. It was good. We shared a DQ Buster Bar, which, if you didn’t know, is the best thing on the DQ menu. There was just enough time to get to the grocery store and buy what we needed to get for our pork tenderloin stir fry and to find a strawberry rhubarb pie. 

Melanie’s kids were very receptive to hosting us. We arrived and took over their kitchen. Danielle, the daughter, 24, is a pharm tech and Jean Francois, the son, 31, is a blackjack dealer at the casino. Melanie was there too and after dinner and pie, ( not strawberry rhubarb, alas), we sat for quite some time talking. JF excused himself to play video games downstairs and Charlie, cross-eyed with fatigue, disappeared upstairs. We women sat in the diminishing light talking and laughing, telling stories and connecting the way women do. Suddenly we heard it! AAAhhhh!  AWWAAAGHHH! AAAWWAAAGGGHHHHHhhhh! Loud and urgent, it broke our quiet time.