With detours and roads closed due to high water we have to back track to Hwy 16 via #2. Oh well - one more trip to the beach before we head out to test the Little Manitou Lake water. The water is very cold and feels slimy in your hands - but it is not a murky golden color like the springs, hmmm.
The wind is blowing a gale today and tossing the Moho around - so it is hard for Dan to keep us on the road. And there is nothing to stop the wind either - gas mileage won't be very good today.
As we travel east it seems we have left the flat behind and the landscape is now more rolling and treed. There are some blue bell shaped plastic shelters planted in the fields at this one farm in Guernsey - hmmm will have to find out about that. We pass yet another large Potash Plant. The next town is Lanigan and there is a Potash Exhibit and Museum and by golly it's open. Summer students are operating this and they are super knowledgeable. We watched a 5 minute film on potash and found out so much - now we are very smart, ha. The trick now is to remember the info! The mine is underground one kilometre underneath where we were standing and covers an area of 500 miles. Wow that is a big operation - most of the potash is used in fertilizers and is sent all over the world, including China - the use of potash improves the yield in the rice fields. Some, very little, is used to make computer screens. Interesting. Now for the blue bells in the field - they are bee hives and are made of a very hard plastic and secured into the ground - the bees return every year and pollinate the flax fields. So far we have only seen one farm with these.
We stopped for lunch on the side of the road - there are no pullouts in SK that we have come across, in fact not even any garbage containers along 16. The wind is still blowing so hard it is rocking the Moho. It's hard driving for Dan and our goal for today is Yorkton, still 100 km away.
We finally arrived about 4:30 and we are tired today. Pulled into the Painted Hand Casino parking lot and parked near two other campers. They even have electrical outlets to plug in! Apparently the painted hand indicates a warrior's bravery. Finally could take Gidget for a walk. The wind is still blowing, we ate at the casino (steak sandwich) and bedded down for the night. I guess I needed Laura's luck with me!
So far every night has been cool and we have needed the furnace in the mornings to take the chill off. We hope to reach Dauphin, MAnitoba tomorrow.
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