Taber to Bow Island
On the road by 8:10 to a 'drizzly and cold' start. Compared to yesterday it was a beautiful day! With the wind in the Northwest cycling was much easier than the past 2 days.
Yesterday we had been pondering what crops were grown in the area and today we discovered that the two major crops are sugar beets (Rogers Sugar) and potatoes, both grown in a 'huge' way. The last couple of days John Deere was dominant but through this area Case-IH is 'King'. Everything is irrigated here and we passed through the small town of Burdett which has a claim to fame that it had the 1st 'irrigation pivot' in Canada. This spring and particularly today, the irrigation systems were sitting under water. All the locals are complaining that they are really late getting their crops in and we saw guys actually pumping water 'from' their fields rather than 'on to' them. We had Southern Alberta pegged as ranch land but here the dirt farmer is dominant.
At 11:00 we stopped for our second breakfast in Grassy Lake at the 'Dew Drop In', a Mexican Mennonite Restaurant. The breakfast was a Mexican version of bacon and eggs. Burritos, salsa, and beans served with your breakfast and 'oh so good'! It appears like the area has a large Mexican Mennonite population as we passed a large Mennonite school. (And by the way, what is with these names...Grassy Lake with not a lake in sight...Bow Island...don't you have to have bodies of water to have an island)?
As we cycled today we stopped numerous times to see ducks in the ditches and fields. It was fun to be able to take the time to 'stop and smell the roses'!!!
We are staying in the Bow Island Lodge (the only lake is in the parking lot). In 1905 natural gas was discovered here, the first in Alberta, and for years this supplied Lethbridge and Calgary. Production stopped in 1996.
Daily Distance = 63.84 km. Time on the bikes = 4 hours 8 minutes. Average Speed = 15.41 km. Maximum Speed = 32.26 km. Present temperature = 4 degrees and pouring rain with a forecast low for the start of the ride tomorrow 1 degree and raining. Wildlife Sightings = Red Winged Blackbirds, Yellow Headed Blackbird, Eastern Kingbird, Blue Winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Red Headed Duck, Coots, Gadwall, Shovellers by the dozen.
Kevin = 3 Sue = 0.
