Saskatoon to Havre

Today, my plan was to get to Havre, Montana. I was sad to be leaving Saskatoon because there were so many people that I hadn't been able to see. Our son and daughter-in-law will be moving back, so hopefully, we'll get to catch up with more people on our visits.

I thought it was going to be a hot day, but the forecast must have changed. I had left all my jacket vents open, and it ended up being quite cool and windy.

There was a gusty croswind blowing as I headed west. At Rosetown, SK, I stopped for coffee and battened the hatches! After closing all my vents and after some hot coffee, I turned south toward Swift Current, SK. I was warm and comfortable, and now I had the wind at my back. The scenery was amazing and so expansive. The prairies really are beautiful in a way that is so different from the coast.

I made a quick stop at Swift Current for gas and carried on. Not far south, I met with the grasshoppers. They started pinging me, mostly from the knee down. When they hit your shins, you really feel it. They were annoying but not dangerous and were making a mess of my clean motorcycle.

I stopped for fuel in Val Marie and then continued to the border at Monchy. This is a very quiet border, and an older woman on a motorcycle is probably an anomaly. The friendly border control agents checked my passport and seemed happy to linger and chit-chat. Eventually, I was on my way.

This side of the border, the grasshoppers were a bit more aggressive, and I got hit right on my visor. I had to stop to clean it off and discovered two things. Grasshoppers had found their way into crevices all over my bike and bags and wasps really like the dead grasshoppers.

I was getting very tired because I hadn't slept well the night before. It was warm, and I was getting sleepy, so I occupied my mind by doing math. Every time I saw a sign showing how far something was, I converted it from miles to kilometers and then to time to travel in minutes.

I finally made it to Havre. I had decided when I was in Rosetown that I would get a hotel room instead of camping. It was either going to be very hot or cold and raining, and I was too tired to deal with either of those conditions in a tent.

The Siesta Hotel didn't seem like it was going to be promising, but it turned out to be very clean and very comfortable. I was in bed and asleep by 8:30 pm!!Read more