When you don't watch television, and you avoid the news, storms like these can sneak up on a person.
Thankfully however, I have loved ones who know about my tendencies to "just see where this road goes", and are always on the lookout for things that I will no doubt miss.
It was about 2 hours into my road trip across the prairies, when the call came.
"Hey, it's raining really hard in Saskatchewan, the rivers are running high and fast....the ferries are closed, pay attention to which roads you take."
In the prairies, if you opt to cross the rivers by ferry, you turn at the sign, and could find yourself driving for over an hour, down a deserted gravel road, before getting to the little platform, that will take you and your car, the 3 minutes is takes to cross the river.
So, I consulted my map, (the old fashion, fold out kind) verified my route, and smiled, as I saw the little grey lines, that indicated secondary highways. I looked forward to scenery galore, small towns and quiet roads...
Seven hours of shoulder-less roads, high speed wipers, blinding tractor trailer splashes, and puddles that tried pulling me into the ditches, ALMOST made me long for the flat surfaced, ample elbow room that the Trans Canada highway offers.
Almost.
Hour eight, the sun peaked out for a spell, leaving a dramatic grey sky that forced me to pull over and shoot some photos, that otherwise were limited to being snapped from the comfort of the car.
As I pressed on until after midnight, I was forced to contemplate my sleeping arrangements. Car camping all of a sudden sounded pretty good...
