Good Samaritan

Sunday 15th June.
Maple Creek to Eastend.
I was heading South on the Cypress Hills and it was hilly. Route 21 was busy until a sign said Recreation Park and the road emptied. I was alone on the road, a car passing about every half hour. There was nothing but huge stretches of empty roads ahead. Janice had told me to take plenty of food and water as there is nothing out there. She was right --there was nothing--prairies to left, prairies to right. I entered Frenchman's valley and it was eerie. I was beginning to feel afraid. To see the remains of a tin shed by the side of the road was almost comforting as a human being must have used it at some time. The loneliness was tearing me apart but I had to keep going. On a ship you would shout "Land Ahoy". On my bike it was "Any Mortal Thing Ahoy" I turned off to join Route 13, the so called "Red Coat Trail", where the Mounties took watch on horseback. A North East wind was coming in fast and ahead. the clouds were black. I had a long way to go and I was tired, tired through lack of sleep and tired at seeing the unending road. I decided to sit it out in a derelict barn until the rain stopped. I had been told many times about the prairies but you have to be here to fully understand the wilderness of the Saskatchewan Prairies. What was a 70yr old granny doing out here? I decided there and then that this would be my last challenge. I would spend lots of time with my grandchildren, do some knitting, join the rural, that sort of thing. Yes, this was sheer madness. I started to dream of cycling around the Galloway countryside. The Red Coat Trail is an endless road of roller coaster hills. If a car passes it can still be seen 5 mins later! I was on the edge of Eastend when a truck pulled over. It was Anne,one of the local Doctors. She said she had seen me earlier on the Cypress Hills. I told her I was looking for a camp site or Motel. Well she invited me to her home for a meal and stay over night. Out of the darkness, comes light. I met the family and after a delicious meal we jumped in to the family truck to take to the hills to watch the sunset.The skies over Saskatchewan are reputed to be about the best in the world. It was stunning. The cliffs were deep red from the reflection of the sky and the sky was a blistering red with a lilac shade running round it. They told me of the Dinosaur bone found by an archaeologist in 1998. Many more were found and Eastend now has a museum attracting 10,000 visitors a year.