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July 10 Sunday Bicycle touring from Big Knife Alberta - Stettler Alberta We have some leftover grapes and peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast. Ah, to be such nutritionalist role models. We leave at 9 AM for the trout pond. The road drops into a valley where it crosses the Battle River. There is a huge cloud of mist rising off the water this morning. Some people were in a canoe going fishing as the fog swirled around them. The generating plant is nearby. The road rises out of the valley on the other side which looks picturesque as it winds up the other side. Sue fishes for 3 hours but she doesn't even get a bite. Some kids, using cheese for bait, caught a couple. Susan did catch some sea slime salad stuff though. We boil water for hot chocolate, then have a pudding and a nap. We leave for Halkirk on Hwy 855 still heading south. Coal mining used to be in this area and has now mainly moved south to Painted Earth. They are working with huge cranes digging up the coal as we go by. An earlier area has been reclaimed. The rows of bumpy hills are covered with lime green foliage. There is an interpretive centre. Before crossing the river, partway down the hill, is a little camp spot called Lee Park. We arrive in Halkirk around 3:30. It is a little place with an enormous black water tower. There is no store in town. We go into the hotel where there is a bar. As we walk in they tell us they are closed. But they let us stay and order ham and roast beef subs anyway. Vicky has to work tomorrow, so after our Halkirk lunch stop, she turns around and heads back to Daysland, where she left her car. She has a 75 kilometre ride in front of her. We turn west towards Stettler. The wind is blowing slightly towards us. Sue's knee is beginning to hurt. I hope it is better tomorrow after a rest tonight. She has a big pile on the back of her bike as she only has rear panniers and they are filled past capacity. Every time she stops and gets off her bike, it rears up like a frisky colt. In Stettler, I phone Rod Ince, a teacher whom I went to university with in Edmonton. His mom answers and says he is in the Shuswap on vacation. That is the trouble with teachers -- they are always on holidays when I need them. We had hoped to stay at Rod's overnight. We head off to buy groceries and arrive at the grocery store at 6:05. It closed at 6. Perfect. Plan B goes into effect as we scout around and discover a Greek restaurant. We are debating whether we should eat there when the owner bounds out and invites us in. "If you don't like what's on the menu you can leave," he says. It turns out he used to be a chef in New York City and then in California by Paramount Studios. How he ended up in Stettler I didn't get a chance to find out ... but I am glad he did. "Cycling is good in my country," he tells us. "It is always warm. Not like Alberta." He just finishes telling us this when the wind picks up and whips a handful of sand into my face. After a delicious supper where we didn't try quite everything on the menu, we head for the campground and find out it is 8 bucks with no showers. We leave and set up camp in a gazebo behind a school. Once again a cloud of bloodthirsty mosquitoes quickly chase us into our tents. We sneer at them from behind screened security. Dark storm clouds threaten, but only a few monster-sized drops of water leak out.. |
