So many prairies - Day 13 - Oyen, Alberta to Rosetown, Saskatchewan

I never thought that I'd be missing the mountains, trees, or lakes. The prairies although beautiful in their own right are definitely a bit mind numbing after about 10 minutes of cycling in them... so just imagine what an 8 hour day feels like (and this is only day 2 of riding through them). Patricia from the Netherlands had told me that on her journey across the country she was amazed by them and said we have "so many prairies" she was right.

I suppose the trick to cycling across the prairies is to appreciate the rolling hills, the long straight roads, wide shoulders, and wildlife. Something that I didn't realize was that the prairies aren't as flat as I had always imagined... they are like any farm land - vast and varied.

Today, I suppose cycling into Saskatchewan made me realize that I'm doing really well with the journey so far, especially after meeting some more cyclists who didn't seem to be enjoying their travels. I guess a bit of schadenfreude... or maybe just a sense of personal pride at my accomplishment thus far.

Highlights:
- seeing two antelope run across highway 7 (one actually stumbled) - definitely not deer as they had a different gate and a local confirmed that I'd be more apt to see one in Sask.
- once again hearing the prairie dogs chattering at the side of the road - I did try to take a pic of them as you can see in today's post.
- watching a mouse run across the road - the things you see when you are silently cycling down the road
- seeing signs with "Point of Interest" only to learn that the "point" is a rock - mind you one that was left from the retreat of glaciers and used by caribou but still is it wrong that I thought it would be something more?
- leaving Alberta - not that I didn't enjoy it...
- ice cream a DQ
- learning how to open/spray and rub in bug repellent while cycling so that when I stop I'm not eaten alive by the mosquitoes

Distance traveled today: 177.21km
Distance to date: 1659.17km