May 25, Day 19 - We are in Saskatchewan! 2 down and 8 to go.

Medicine Hat to Eagle Valley, west of Maple Creek Sask.
98 km
5:48 in the saddle

We woke up in Medicine Hat to a cloudy day that promised rain and sun -- but, we had NO WIND as we left town after a bit of an exploration. Medicine Hat is on the South Saskatchewan River and has some lovely old residential areas. The city is full of trees and greenery -- probably helps a lot in the hot summers that are common here.

We left Medicine Hat, bound for Walsh and the Saskatchewan border, but we arrived at Walsh with plenty of time to spare so decided to push on to Eagle Park, about 40 km into Saskatchewan. Those 40 k took a lot of time and effort as the wind had now moved to full-on north east (and our direction was east).

At Walsh we were treated to a fitting end to our Alberta tour -- a HUGE rainstorm complete with hail. We missed it by staying in the Alberta Visitor's Centre, but Mark was riding ahead. He caught only a corner.

The day had lots and lots of amazing views. We saw antelope (Mark got a great shot), we saw coyotes, and even one stalking an antelope. This area of Sask, just at the western border on the Transcanada is a bit hilly, but after the huge rains of late is green and lush. We are still amazed at the bird life -- wish we knew our birds better!

Today it is off to Cypress Hills.

More later.
ttfn
Mary