Day 16
I decided to try camping on the side of the road again near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. No storms were on the horizon when I found a suitable place on the other side of a hill that wasn't visible from the road. There wasn't a forest like last time so I thought animals wouldn't be an issue.
In the middle of the night the inevitable storm moved in. Four nights in a row I had thundershowers and this final night was the crown jewel of prairie storms. First the wind almost blew my tent over. I was right beside a barbwire fence so I decided to collapse the tent rather than risk it getting torn up. Being shorter is also good for avoiding lightning strikes, I thought. A collapsed tent doesn't shed much water though so I was quickly soaked.
As the heart of the storm approached I began to worry about being up on a grassy hillside. I couldn't get any wetter so I grabbed my bag of important things and rolled down the hill into the ditch beside of the road. I didn't feel much safer as the sky lit up as if under siege. It was absolutely beautiful when I briefly forgot about how terrified I was. I laid down flat and regretted leaving my shoes in the tent.
The storm passed but I had no idea how much time had gone with it. I had left my phone in a tent pocket. It was probably done for. I walked back up the hill and tried to set the tent up. There had been casualties in the night: two out of three tent poles where bent. I reassured them that the winds had mangled them but I secretly worried I had done the damage when I collapsed the tent while in it. I got into my sleeping bag and tried to fall asleep.
Day 17
My phone's alarm went off at 5 am and it took me a while to decide that I was happy that it had survived its bath. Cold and shivering I packed my newly-aquatic gear away while eating an energy bar. I got on the bike and warmed up on the first little hill down the road. It was amazing how little a mark the trials of the night before had left.
I made it over the border and all the way to Wilkie where Miles, a relative of mine on my Dad's side of the family, picked me up in his truck. It was a quick ride to his farm outside of Landis so I recounted the most exciting parts of the night before. Miles' wife Chandra greeted me with big smiles, big hugs, and homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Maybe lightning did strike me down and the afterlife is all baked goods and warm smiles. I could live with that.
I had just enough time to shower before the Sunday night CFL game started. The undefeated Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing the Hamilton Tiger Cats. I was an instant Riders fan; the enemy of my enemy is my friend and boy do I hate the Ticats. Neither could they score points nor stop the Riders. More proof of the afterlife!
Day 18
I took two days off to rest and see all of my Archdekin family in the area. And it was a great time! I haven't been out here for 15 years or so so there was lots to catch up on. The best part was a crash course in farming (thanks Miles!).
Now I've made the final leg of my cycling journey to Saskatoon. This doesn't mean my adventures are over though! Stayed tuned and I'll have more stories soon.
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