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July 9 Saturday Bicycle touring from Daysland Alberta - Big Knife Alberta After waffles we take Vicky's car and go to Sid's Sports in Camrose. The cluster Vicky had brought for Sharon is a cassette type and Sharon has a thread-on hub. And I don't have a chain whip to remove the cluster on my bike, so I take my wheel with us to have the cluster removed at the shop. We buy a new cluster for Sharon and she is happy that her chain doesn't skip anymore. We buy groceries for our Mexican soft taco night. After loading up our gear and eating Bev's great salmon sandwiches, we hit the road. We take Hwy 855 south with a tailwind. We stop in Heisler for a creamsicle and a fudgesicle. A guy jokingly asks us if we are riding across Canada. When we reply yes, he is more than a bit surprised. I guess they don't get many cross-Canada cyclists through Heisler. The wind blows us all the way to Big Knife Provincial Park. We tour the campsite and then elect for the walk-in sites where there are no other campers. Not that we are anti-social, but we do like our privacy. We fire up our new Whisperlite stove and fry the hamburger. We warm the tortilla shells and pile on green onion, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, and hot sauce. Vicky brings out Nutter-butter cookies (my favourite) from a trip she just returned from in the States (the cookies aren't available in Canada). We have cookies, cherries, and grapes for dessert. We go for a walk after supper to the boat launch. We see a guy standing perfectly still with a baseball bat, waiting for a gopher to pop out of its hole. I think he will have to wait a long time. Entertainment on the lonesome prairie. There are tons of mosquitoes. The campground has lots of parking but there are not many people here. It seems kind of strange. Maybe it's the weather that has them spooked off? It has been threatening rain most of the day but so far it hasn't. A ranger comes by at 10:30 PM. We haven't paid the park fee yet and she doesn't ask. She is an interesting conversationalist. So far we have a perfect record for free camping. |
