Day 24 – Sunday August 29, 2010
Kilometres: 578.0
Time: Eight hours (including stops)
Weather:
Edmonton: Overcast, 8 C at 9:45 AM
Saskatoon: Overcast, 10 C at 5:45 PM
This was an absolutely unremarkable day. It was cold, with periods of rain throughout the day. My only stops were for gas and food, which where at the same places. The only variance was a short diversion into Battleford.
Battleford was totally dead. I only saw two kids playing on the street and one person mowing the front lawn. All the stores were closed and almost every house had a car in the driveway. It seems that no one goes out on a Sunday. The town hall was erected in 1912 and it looks like the post office building was also built around the same time. I went up and down a couple of streets and was quiet surprised to find that about 75 per cent of the homes are mobile homes that have become permanent.
There were only two places open in Battleford: one was a Petro Canada station and the other one was a Shell station. Both were on the highway. I stopped at the Petro-Can for gas. It also seems like this is the only available washroom in town. There was a lineup.
Next I drove through North Battlefords (collectively they are called “The Battlefords”), which had people on the sidewalks, cars on the streets, and open businesses.
Originally, I had planned to detour just prior to The Battlefords and visit Cut Knife, tour Fort Battleford, and then ride northeast to Batoche. Again, the weather convinced me otherwise. I really, really, REALLY hate being cold. By the time I’d reached The Battlefords, I’d lost the feeling in the tips of all my fingers. All my planned activities were outdoors, which meant I was cancelling them.
During the hour and a half ride from The Battlefords to Saskatoon, I spend most of the time hunched down over my tank trying to get a bit of protection from my windshield. As I type this out, I have very stiff shoulders and am looking forward to a visit tot he chiropractor next Tuesday.
