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August 17 Wednesday Bicycle touring from Roblin Manitoba - Riding Mountain Park Manitoba The wind finally abates. We decide to make a motion before it starts up again. We head for Dauphin around 11 AM after making a quick stop at the bakery to reload. I found a coupon at the information centre for six free doughnuts. The girl at the bakery allows me to get six cinnamon knots instead. "They're considered doughnut Sheryl asks if we have room for some baked goods. I tell her I always have room for sweets. She runs back inside and brings out two bags of goodies. We really have trouble finding spare room to put them all in, but somehow we manage. We finally swing our legs over our bikes and head down the road to Dauphin. The route is curvier than what we have been used to, with more ups and downs than pretty much all the roads we've been on in Saskatchewan. The anticipation of what lies around the next bend or over the next hill spurs us on. Traffic is light and good-natured until we get closer to Dauphin around 4 PM. A couple of semis pass us side by side. There is no room for all of us, so, being at the bottom of the food chain, we elect to bale onto the gravel shoulder. I remember to keep my elbows in. The traffic continues to increase. We have no paved shoulder. Of course, no one waits before pushing past us. They just blow by whether anything is oncoming or not, not even bothering to give us a hair of room for a tire wobble. Even though I want to find a phone to call mom and dad for their anniversary, we opt for the bypass around Dauphin instead of going in since traffic is so heavy. We ride south towards Riding Mountain Park. There are actually a couple of thigh-burning hills to pedal up. We go in to Agassiz Lookout, which is a high platform looking out at the surrounding area. I'm positive we can see clear to where the prairies start. Forest surrounds us. I can hear a river somewhere far below. Still wishing for a phone, we mount our bikes and pedal off. Maybe there will be one at the campground? Sharon tells me not to worry. So, here we are, pedalling sedately along in the middle of a forest. And what do I see ahead? There is a pay phone along the side of the road, literally in the middle of nowhere. There's not even a parking spot. I wonder how it's powered? I phone mom and dad and wish them a happy anniversary from a pay phone in the middle of the forest. It turned out to be a good thing I used it too, because when we get to Moon Lake campground there is no phone. About 3:30 AM fireworks begin in the heavens. It is almost a full moon, but I can't see my hand in front of my face. We hurriedly close the vestibule, or rather, let it hang down over the door. The wonderful "No Service" sites they make nowadays don't even allow one to drive a tent spike in with a sledgehammer. In the morning, I am not surprised to find a small lake in the hollow behind our site. Mud is splattered a foot up the side of our tent. |
