Aug 21 - 29 The Prairies in a Whirlwind....Endless and Beautiful

Waterton Park to Winnipeg (1300 km) in 9 Days!!!

Back to where we left off! Two months ago, this is the junction where we turned south to head to Stephen and Beth's wedding. Now we are back to continue our TransCanada trip!!! Hwy 3 here we come!!!

As you travel thru the prairies you encounter some odd vehicles. In this case it is a Semi truck on train tracks pulling railway cars loaded with railway ties and an excavator mounted on top. 

Lethbridge, Alberta: The longest railway bridge in North America. 1624 m long and 95.7 m high. Built in 1908-09. 

Once again we stumbled upon a farmers market in Lethbridge. When asked the organizers if we could sell our photo cards they were very supportive and even lent us a table to display our photos on. 

Needless to say, it was a very successful farmers market for us. THANK YOU!!!

Things are getting mighty flat. 

Grain elevator in Alberta

Approaching storm in Saskatchewan. It provided an incredible tailwind that pushed us along the highway at amazing speed. 

Thanks to this wind we covered 320 km (200 miles) in one day! 

Absolute record for us so far!

Prairie impressions

Canola fields as far as the eye can see

THANKS GINGER AND DEVON FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY! They live in a tiny town called Tyvan along Hwy 33, Saskatchewan. 

Snack break with an oil pump as company. 

Road road road roadroadroadroad.......are we there yet?

Tractor monster and Bicyclette hanging out

Larry, Les and Elsie kindly let us stay in their back yard and fed us an amazing breakfast. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY AND THE WARM WELCOME!!!

Ice Cream to the rescue in hot Manitoba! The tub was far too small though.

Our whirlwind ride thru the prairies has been wonderful. People have been most welcoming everywhere. Temperatures got a bit toasty in Manitoba and if any of you ever plan on cycling in Manitoba, let me warn you that the roads SUCK! Very rarely will you find a paved shoulder so most of the time you are competing with cars, trucks and oversize transport vehicles for space. Somewhat nerve racking to say the least. The pavement is also quite rough and cracked. Other than that, the province is lovely :-)

Good night Manitoba! 

Aug 17-20 Waterton National Park

My parents came to visit us in Waterton Park for a few days. We indulged on tons of Okanagan fruit, Mom's home made bread and cake. MMMMM WHAT A TREAT!!!

Mom and Dad on the way to Goat Lake. 

Beautiful Goat Lake

Gorgeous mountain scenery

Dad and James cooling off in the river after the hike.

Interesting geological phenomenon! 

Last evening in Waterton after a hearty Fondue dinner!!! THANKS MOM AND DAD FOR SPOILING US SO MUCH!!!!!!

Aug 13- 16 Glacier National Park and Area

A local from Whitefish let us in on the secret of how to get into Glacier Park for FREE! Just follow the bike path which starts behind the ranger station outside the park gate! The bike path goes thru the woods and comes out on the other side of the toll station! Sweet or what!

It was a hot day so we took an extended break at Macdonald Lake. Absolutely gorgeously clear blue water!!!!! We could not help but jump in twice that same afternoon.

Next day we made an early start to hit Logan Pass. It was a fantastic ride and a stunning alpine landscape.

On the right of the picture you can see the road we came up. 

Grizzly paw print at the visitor center. Hmm...looks kinda big!

Monkey Flowers

I went for a short hike up to a view point and encountered this friendly mountain goat. 

On the other side of Logan Pass, we camped at Upper St. Mary's Lake for two nights. It was just beautiful. The weather was a bit too cold to go for a swim but the beach was still a great place to hang out and not do much for a day. 

We watched some movies in the tent and listened to some podcasts that day too. At some point as we were sitting at the beach an artistic wave rolled over us, the result of which was several beach stones getting pretty patterns scratched into them. 

Two bucks for 32 oz of beer. If that does not make you smile I don't know what will!! :-)

LOL!

Aug 9-10 Flathead Lake...Again!!!

Ken invited us to come back to his lake cabin on our way back up to Canada so of course we could not turn down such a tempting offer. His sister and her family were staying there when we arrived so we had great company. THANK YOU KATHY AND ROGER FOR MAKING US FEEL SO WELCOME AND THANKS A TON FOR ALL THE AWESOME FOOD AND DRINKS!

THANKS KEN FOR INVITING US BACK AND FOR YOUR HELPFULNESS!!!!!

Yeehaaaaa!

According to my camera, we took a quick trip to outer space. I don't have any recollection of this side trip so I will have to leave the talking to the picture below. Cool shot, huh? 

More water fun! I think this is about the 20th attempt to get both of us into the frame under water. Underwater self portraits are more tricky than one would think :-) (and not too flattering either, hahaha)

Dinner time!!!! All kinds of yummies!

Enjoying the sunset from the swinging chair.....the best spot on the property!