Sunflowers, Oil Wells, and Pelicans

 After last night's heavy rain and based on my experience of the past few days, I fully expected to see a sky full of fat grey clouds that threatened rain. I was disappointed to see that I was correct. The temperature when I left the motel was in the high teens and the sky was grey with nary a sign of the sun for the first 200 kilometres. I could see clear sky to the west but I didn't seem to be able to fins the sun. Then things changed. The clouds ended and the sun began to warm everything, including me. My boots and gloves were still damp and cold from my encounter with heavy rain yesterday morning so I welcomed the warmth. motorcycle. 

I stopped once more at the spot that marks the geographic centre of North America both to visit that spot, since the time that I saw it last before my first visit on this trip was forty-nine years ago when I was riding my 1972 Suzuki GT750J, but mainly to stand in the sun and suck up some warmth.

I carried on to Minot, ND, where I stopped at the local Walmart to pick up a bottle of ibuprofen to ease the pain I have been developing in my shoulders and forearms. Holding handlebars and the throttle of a motorcycle for hour after hour, day after day stresses shoulders and forearms. Ibuprofen is my friend. I find that it relieves the aches that I develop while riding.

About 30 kilometres west of Minot, Highway 2 continues west and Highway 52 heads north to the Canadian border about 125 kilometres to the northeast. The highway runs through one of the most beautiful valleys I have seen in my travels. The low rolling hills border a lush valley that is farmed for much of its distance. Two crops that stand out are canola and sunflowers. They make an already beautiful place even better.

Shortly after I took tis photo I saw a porcupine making his best effort to become buzzard bait alongside the highway. I hope he made it.

Sunflowers in the valley of the Souris River.

Additionally, the graduates of a local high school mark some of the hillsides with large two digit numbers denoting the year that they graduated. On an earlier trip I saw the same thing near Arco, Idaho, with the earliest being a large '24' from the class of 1924. The earliest one I saw today was a '68', so the tradition goes back a long time. This photo shows the number from the Class of '73 and faintly, the number '68'.

Class numbers on a hillside.

Small lake along Highway 52.

Further along the highway passed two lakes and I was surprised to see a flock of twenty-five or thirty North American pelicans swimming along the shore. I found out that there is a large nesting population of these birds in North Dakota. Apparently there is a lake in Saskatchewan named Pelican Lake because of the presence of these birds.

On the way to the border near the little town of Flaxton, MN, my attention was drawn to several oil wells. Unlike most of the wells I have seen previously, these wells had flares to burn off natural gas. Several dozen oil wells ad these flares, so I can only surmise that natural gas must be a feature unique to the oil fields in this area. It is beautiful in a strange way, though.

The run to the border went smoothly and the crossing at North Portal was not overly busy, although the wait to pass through customs sitting in the sun on a hot motorcycle dressed in black leather isn't the most pleasant experience.  A sign at the border tells people to declare any cannabis products when passing through customs. I was curious about that because cannabis is legal in North Dakota and Canada and I imagined that it would be treated like alcohol - declare what you have and if it is below a specified amount, you would just pass through just as if it was alcohol. I asked the customs officer if that was the case. He told me that you are required to declare any cannabis upon entry and it would be confiscated. Apparently, while it is legal in both jurisdictions, it is illegal to bring it across the border. Go figure. Lesson learned, though.

Southern Saskatchewan is an energy producing area as well. In addition to oil wells, the area also produces coal. The coal deposits are close to the surface of the land, so the overburden is stripped off with huge shovels and draglines. The land left behind is a hellish landscape. It surprises me that the land hasn't been reclaimed because the landscapes in the area are quite striking.

The results of strip mining for coal near Estevan, SK.

When I rode through this area almost three weeks ago the canola fields were bright yellow. Today they seem to have matured into a darker yellow. Not as attractive, but still attention getting. I earlier mentioned seeing fields of sunflowers, but the ones southeast of Weyburn were the best I have seen. Huge fields were filled with perhaps millions of sunflowers in full bloom. Most people don't get to see the likes of these scenes and I am blessed to have had the opportunity to experience it.

Sunflower fields southeast of Weyburn, SK

Today's ride was 652 kilometres, so in the past four days I have ridden 2666 kilometres. Tomorrow I will ride to Brooks, AB, about 650 kilometres. I sure hope the weather continues to be as good as it was for most of today. I'm done with riding in the rain.