Straight Lines and miscues...

Greetings and Salutations from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

I have heard the name Moose Jaw in stories, but I really thought it was a fictitious place. But, here I am, in Moose Jaw.

The day started out with more drizzle from the day before. The mist had lifted, but there was a good bit of drizzle for the first hour of our drive. We have moved to the Trans Canada Highway which is 4 lanes, going straight from one place to another. It is not a limited access highway, but there is nothing ON the highway. In order to get to gas stations, you have to turn right or left off the highway to service roads where the businesses and homes are located.

The roads in the lower part of Canada are straight. The screens of the GPS devices and phones with maps are clear except for a straight line going down the center. The fields are huge abd most have been cut. The soy beans are the only crop left in the fields. There are periodic clumps of trees, but today I am beginning to notice that among the clumps of green are the yellow of fall. Rob says that as we head north, we will see the colors and then bare trees. He also noted to Kate, just a few minutes ago, that the day we are going to arrive in Fairbanks, there will be rain followed with some snow. Welcome to Fairbanks.

We learned some things about Saskatchewan today. First as soon as you cross their border, our cell phones changed time zones. I thought it was into Mountain time, but Noooooo! There is a part of Saskatchewan that does not observe Daylight Savings Time, so we went from CDT to Central Standard time. The next actual time zone we encounter will be Mountain time but we will not have to change our clocks since it will be the same time. Silly Canadians.

We passed by many large, open areas of crops and open fields that have LARGE wind turbines. Rob got some pics as we drove by, but I have not seen them yet. They stretch as far as the eye can see and seem to be gracefully turning in the wind in the area. Canada seems to be really pushing green power.

We also learned about "Zipper Merge" in Regina, SK. There was some construction on our way around Regina and the signs clearly stated that everyone observe Zipper Merging. This is when one allows for other cars to merge before a lane closes. It is something should teach here in the States. Our side of the construction must have been doing it correctly as we sailed through the zone. The other side, not so much, as traffic was backed up for a mile or so.

Long the way, we passed a herd of Bison. There were big Bison, medium Bison and baby Bison. Rob says from time to time Costco will get ground Bison in their store and that it is very, very good. So I guess I will add that to my to try list along with reindeer sausage.

I am beginning to like Kilometers. They fly by very quickly and it is fun to watch them tick away on the GPS. My Garmin allows me to change from Miles to Kilometers. So It is easy to keep well within the speed limit. It will make coming back into the US and MPH harder to enjoy.

Tomorrow will mark, my journey, halfway to my new home. We have ended 2 of the 9 days that has Rob traveling with me. We are doing well at giving each other a break from driving. So far paying for things has been easy, too. But it certainly appears to cost quite a bit for gas... but I think when the conversion happens at Mastercard, that it will not be too bad.

So there you are. We are heading to Calgary, Alberta tomorrow. Hopefully I will get a chance to quickly stop at a quilt shop there. It is one of the few Row By Row shops in Canada and I would love to find a fabric license plate to add to my collection. Fingers crossed they still have a few. I will let you know.