Solitude on the High Plains

Day 3, Saskatoon, SK. We blew past Buffalo Pound Provincial Park and force marched to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. There just isn't much to see in North Dakota. The first three pictures are representative of 500 miles of sight seeing today. Long, lonely, straight stretches of two lane highway, highlighted by abandoned homesteads and lots of water. The rivers are all out of their banks here. You see a KOA Campground - where we didn't intend to stop - completely under water. That was typical of this day. Water, water, everywhere.

Annie nearly set off an international incident at the border. "Any weapons, pepper spray, food products, alcohol or large sums of cash?" queried the young and attractive female border guard.

"Did you say pepper spray?" asked Annie.

"Yes, pepper spray is considered an offensive weapon in Canada. It must be surrendered here."

"Well, phooey, I just bought that especially for this trip," said Annie. The boarder guard directed me into the office where I was ordered to sign a form forfeiting the can of pepper spray. I had the impression that if I didn't sign it, she would flail me with a bar of soap in a sock. She then searched Harvey the RV with a fine-toothed comb. She crawled under the seats, rummaged through the drawers and inspected the storage compartments. You would have thought Annie and I were Bonnie and Clyde.

"What do you do in the states?" she asked me.

"I am a federal judge in Kansas City," I responded. She redoubled her search as though federal judges were an especially dangerous breed of miscreant. I suppose many in the United States would agree with her.

After thirty minutes, she let us go. "If you return this way, you can pick up your pepper spray on the way home." I don't believe I will pass within 700 miles of that border check point. The next time, she'll have me in silver bracelets, spread-eagled over the hood of Harvey. No, I think I will take a different route back home.

The final photo shows Joe, Lily and Leah at the border. The sign in the background says, "Saskatchewan, Naturally. "I don't know what that means. I know it doesn't mean "Welcome."