Surprise! We invited Trish to try our breakfast concoction and she actually said yes! Charlie prepared 3 bowls of plain raw oatmeal, powdered milk, chopped apple, Harvest Crunch and yogurt. She said she wanted “to try what was fuelling our trip across Canada”, and she said it was delicious! Trish had actually hoped to be asleep this morning. She has a nasty cough and has had multiple rounds of antibiotics with no positive response. She has now been prescribed something with a narcotic to suppress her cough and help her sleep. She needs to get over this as she is awaiting surgery for a different reason. Unfortunately, she was wide awake all night despite taking her medication.
We asked her what route we should take today and she said she’d done part of highway 105 and it was pretty flat. Deciding to give it a try, we set off.
It WAS flat! We sped along at a great clip, enjoying the ride. Before long though I told Charlie I was hungry. I wasn’t feeling totally well. I had a bit of a headache and felt dehydrated. Happily we stumbled upon an out-of the-way little country market/ antique shop/ restaurant called Casey’s. 
Breakfast special of 2 eggs, bacon, ham,or sausage, hash browns and toast for $5.25. “Yes, please, and coffee too please when you get the time.” Charlie said he didn’t want any because we’d already eaten but he gave in. It was just what I wanted and what my body seemed to need because I felt much better soon after the meal. And if second breakfasts work for hobbits, then……
Highway 105 dead ended at Jemseg and we exited onto the TransCanada highway. Nice wide, smooth shoulders. Hills, yes, but long and gradual. Doable. Again we were exposed to the relentless sunshine, but it was all in all, a very nice ride.
Arriving at the Irving truck stop, we went in to check out their restaurant menu but learned that the restaurant had closed and there was only a little take-out spot now. We built our lunch there with food we already had, Charlie sprawled on the grass for a nap and I got a coffee, blogged and read. I woke him up an hour and a half later. “Charlie, you’re in the sun. You have to move. You have to get into the shade.” He stirred, pushed himself forward a couple of feet, then fell back asleep. “No, Charlie, you have to move further than that. You can’t lie there in the sun.” By then he was fully awake. He groaned and stretching, sat up. I had found out about a campground just down the way, not more than 2 km.
Never trust a non-cyclist’s perception of distance, terrain or elevation! That 2km turned into 13 extra km! And there were really no signs. We saw a woman sitting outside her home and stopped to ask directions of her. It was 1 km away, but she wasn’t sure if they sold food.Maybe hot dogs. There was a canteen though. She hustled into her kitchen and came back, insisting we take a can of Zoodles and a can of Chunky Soup.
The campsite is very popular with the RV set. There’s a sign at the entrance advising, “Please drive with caution. Seniors and Children Playing!” Many, if not most of the RV’s appear to be permanently stationed there, with decks, gardens, and patio lanterns. Stopping at the office to register, our concerns were confirmed. No real food. One last bag of hot dog buns but no hot dogs. Mustard. Chips, pop, marshmallows. Becel margarine. Surprise candy bags. Nothing real. We bought the buns, then rode into the wide expanse set aside for tenters. It had full river access, soft grass, picnic tables and fire pits and we were the only people down there. Too bad we had no food to eat at that table. Too far to try to find something elsewhere.
We set up our tent and prepared to go down for a swim. A golf cart appeared on the far side of the campground and bounced its way across to us. The girl from the campground office had rounded up a package of hot dogs from her grandparents place and a firewood bundle. She dropped them off with us, saying that they were on her and that no, we couldn’t pay her for them. After a delicious long swim/bath (ok, skinny dip) in the river, (we were surprised by a tour boat that passed us by, loaded with people all discreetly looking the other way) we started up the fire with one try, roasted the hot dogs, topped them with Zoodles, shared a spoon for 
chunky soup and sat around the fire. 
The sun went down, the fire smouldered out and the stars, with nothing around to compete with their brilliance, the stars, oh the stars, shone down all around us.
Wendingourway:Across Canada by Bike 2017 
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