The 62nd message from Canada: Report of stage #34

Saturday, June 6, 2015

"It rained all night. Dave appears to lie soaked in his tent because evidently it wasn't watertight during last night's rainfall.

Olivia wakes us and she prepares a delicious breakfast for us. Eggs, toasted raisin bread, strawberries, blueberries, milk, coffee and so on. We were being spoiled.

The sun breaks through but it takes a while before everything has dried out. It gotta be this way, I think. On-time departures do not seem to be happening the last couple of days.

After breakfast and packing everything up we leave around 11 AM. We have pretty hefty headwinds.

My journey is full of lessons and odd particularities but also of choices. In my mind play a few choices I have to make and I decide to take my time and to considered them well.

At about 2:00 PM we arrive in Elkhorn where we have a meal. The food is excellent and we check the weather forecast. To our horror we see that severe thunderstorms are on the way and that it already rains in Whitewood. None of the three of us is looking forward being caught in the open by a lightning storm. Alternatives are proposed and I think that's a great idea. When Dave comes up with an address of a nearby motel, I am satisfied. I want one thing and that is to skype with my family. I miss them a great deal lately and I am curious how it they all are doing.

After Dave called and agreed that we will stay there, it appears that it is only 25 km away albeit it is quite a bit away from HW1. Soon we arrive at a gravel road. After more than 13 km on bad gravel roads with stunning views without any signs of civilization we finally get to a paved road that leads us after 6 km in Kola. It is a community of only 70 inhabitants. We are welcomed warmly here and I get my hotel room a little further. They insist that we have dinner with then tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning.

While in my motel room, I skype with my wife and it is great to see her again and to talk with her. I quickly shower and go back to the home of the people we met on 'Warm Showers', where a great meal is ready. Yet again, we are being spoiled.

After dinner I go back to my hotel room and work on my blog before turning in for a good night of sleep."

Han Schomakers, editor

Translation by Albert Dijkstra