Yesterday was in some ways more of the same. Light, but frustrating headwinds and wide open sunny skies. I did a "doh!" at one point in this trip when I suddenly realised the significance of the name of the first town I came to in Saskatchewan. The town's name is Alsask, which I first thought might be derived from a First Nations' word. Then I worked out that it was in fact "AL[berta]SASK[atchewan]". The fact that it is also a few easy typos away from Alaska might have misled me.
I saw what I thought was a large drone helicopter in the distance. I say I thought it was a drone as it seemed small and to be maneuvering very actively at very low altitude. As I got closer, I was surprised to see it was in fact a full sized crop-dusting helicopter.
I have been seeing any number of slightly arcane signs written on the road for and by the construction crews. Some of them are evidently for the placement of construction related signs and persons. The person doing some of them, evidently got carried away as he or she wrote "FLAGGGG" at one point, painted the figure of a flagperson at another, complete with a cooler for lunch and after marking a speed camera warning, then wrote "Say Cheese!" ;-)
At one point I spotted a pair of mule deer in a small valley beside the road. They weren't terribly keen to see me, so they wandered off. I was, however, a Parks Canada recommended distance away. It was an interesting distraction.
Another distraction was trying to figure out what was growing in the fields. I stopped a few time to examine the crops more closely. I wonder what the market would be for an agricultural museum which would explain to non-farmers what the various crops (and livestock) are, what they are used for, etc. Possibly combined with a demonstration farm. As well, some explanation of what all the assorted farm machinery that you see actually does might be quite interesting. It would also be more interesting that than typical "warehouses" of old knickknacks, odds and ends, and surplus farm machinery that pass for museums in these parts.
I also had a vision of a TV show called "Crops". Each episode would look at a different crop (wheat, barley, canola, lentils, soy beans, etc.) and would explain how it grows, the varieties, the harvesting techniques, the uses, the history, the markets, etc. An ending segment would feature the week's crop being prepared for human consumption.
After coming over a rise, I saw what I thought was an old style grain elevator, covered in sheet metal in the distance. It was only after a few kilometres that I realised that it was in fact an optical illusion caused by telephone poles in the distance.
A few hours later, I saw a large white object on the horizon, again at the top of a rise. The sight of it, along with some other objects, made me believe that Kindersley, my destination for the day, was in sight. This brought both relief and frustration as it was still 30 odd kilometres away! I made it, but there was more frustration in store as there were what seemed like several kilometres of industrial equipment sales lots to pass before you got into Kindersley proper! (The large white object was the water tower.)
Today is a rest day. After that, it will be two more days of biking before I get to Saskatoon.
The application of antihistamines and Dristan nose spray has reduced the sneezing. However, my nose is sore from the combination of sneezing, blowing, sunburn and windburn. The precise cause of the sneezing eludes me.
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