Chuck:
The wind died off about 2:30 am. About 7 am, Betty drove me the 5 miles back to the point I reached yesterday. There was a light breeze; later as it grew, the direction was variable; mostly a quartering tail wind but sometimes a direct cross-wind. As the day progressed, wind intensified and was mostly behind me, either quartering or directly. I am on Alberta Highway-13, it is very “biker friendly”; the surface is serrated just outside the right white line and 18 inches to 4 feet of smooth paving to the right of that is for me. Still most vehicles move to the far left lane if they can. The terrain is changing from mostly gigantic grain fields to mostly cattle grazing; rolling hills with more trees and spotted occasionally with smaller grain fields. For lunch, I stopped near a railroad embankment, hoping that it would block some of the wind. Then a strange thing started happening: truckers honked and waved, local pick-up drivers nodded and gave a “thumbs-up”, even female drivers waved and smiled. This was not normal. After some consideration I determined it was only traffic from one direction that acknowledged me and that I was positioned on a curve in the highway so that vehicle drivers coming from the south could see me from a half- mile away. My bike was leaned against a post nearby and I was sitting back on the grass with a sandwich in one hand and a water bottle in the other. They were envious! The sun was peeking through a partial overcast and spring was evident in every direction. Once I figured it out, I lingered a bit longer.
B & B found an RV Park in Killiam, AB and called me with directions. I wheeled in and went into what is now becoming the routine: brief exchange of each of our experiences since departing earlier, drink water, shower, drink more water, rest for about an hour, then do miscellaneous chores. By then it is time for happy hour, followed by dinner (Thanks Betty), then a group effort cleaning up dishes etc. All TV reception has been questionable, both Direct TV and use of a local antenna, so we each check email, read and sign off for the evening. Good-night!