Here's a summary of our travels since we left Canmore over a week ago:
Canmore to Camp Chief Hector, where we visited Brad's sister who is working there as a counsellor - 40km
Camp Chief Hector to Okotoks, where we stayed with Brad's second cousin and managed to avoid the ferocious storm that swept through much of Alberta, causing family and friends back home to worry - 140km
Okotoks to Drumheller, where we visited the Royal Tyrell Museum and the hoodoos in the Alberta "badlands" - 170km (we were tired)
Drumheller to Big Stone - 120km
Big Stone to Alsask, which as the name suggests, is basically on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan - 110km
Alsask to Rosetown, featuring government-subsidized dollar ice creams, which has become a staple food in our diet - 150km
Rosetown to Saskatoon - 115km (although it felt like 30, as a strong tailwind pushed us all the way in under 4 hours, with an average speed of 30km/hr). We are currently taking a rest day in Saskatoon, where we are staying with Steph's cousin, a PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan.
This is my first visit to Saskatchewan, and so far I have no complaints to speak of. The people are friendly and extremely talkative, which doesn't surprise me, given that most people we have met live in towns with populations around 100, and seeing a new face doesn't happen everyday. Populations above 3000 are rare around here, with numbers dropping as more and more people leave the calm rural life for the hustle-bustle of the city. (As a side note, I missed the excitement of the city until we arrived in Saskatoon and found ourselves amongst swarms of cars, people, buildings and lights, and then I didn't miss it so much anymore). Just recently, it was announced that over 50% of the worlds population now lives in cities, and I fear that this number will only go up with time. But the rural life will always prevail in Saskatchewan, where the economy and society is centered around agriculture. Seriously, that's even all the radio talks about.
I'd like to write a bit about moods, a strange human phenomena that has been a significant part of our trip, and one that I have spent some time contemplating. Moods are funny. They can change so quickly, but once you're in a mood, you find yourself stuck there, and even if you want to get out of it, something prevents you from doing so. (I'm trying to figure out what this something is. If you have any ideas, please post a comment.) Being in a group affects your mood alot. Some days, we are all grumpy, for no reason except that everyone else is grumpy. Our moods change with the wind, hunger levels, time of day, or when we reach or miss a goal. Our moods vary more than anything you can find in the prairies. As my bad moods are highlighted, while the good moods are taken for granted, I attempt to realize the root cause of each, and gain some self-awareness as to how these can be more controlled.
That's all for now. Please add comments on Saskatchewan, moods, or whatever else your heart desires - we love reading them. Tomorrow, we start inching towards our next goal: Dauphin, Manitoba, where we will stay with a friend's mother. From there will reach Winnipeg and into Ontario, a monster of a province that we are all dreading and looking forward to at the same time. Thank you to all who are supporting us back home. All your thoughts are keeping us going.
Peace,
Meg and Rob
In Drumheller, the 'badlands' were carved by a huge river which formed at the end of the last ice age.
Meg and I at the hoodoo's, slightly upset as the pictures made them look about ten times taller than they are.
Yeah, two down!
4 comments:
Re moods, specifically bad moods.
a-its ok to sometimes be in a bad mood, we all go through it
b- its more likely to happen if u are tired, cold, hungry, frustrated etc, ie whenever there is any unusual stressor. THUS, with you riding these long distances theses streesors abound, thus you are more susceptible.
c- you are living together24/7 in a very intense experience , thus if any of you are in a bad mood, it will be quickly apparent to all very quickly!
SO HOW DO U HANDLE IT?
accept the fact occasionally you and or others might be a bit down, and tolerate that!
the glass is always either half empty of half full, IE dont concentrate on every little negative thing, think positive, DONT SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!
DONT WORRY BE HAPPY!
Romeo
Hi Meg and Rob,
Great blog entry!
Hours on the bike every day leaves lots of time for thinking, doesn't it?
Dad pretty much covered it; no need to dwell on the fact that occasionally one of you feels down in the dumps (you are all human, after all!). Meet negative energy with positive thoughts, think of complimenting and supporting the other person(s) even when you really feel more like giving a nasty retort, and believe me, your mood will shift. Positive thinking can create a more positive mood. there is always something to be positive about: you could be stuck inside in an office job this summer, for example!!
anyway, I have only spent a couple of days driving across Saskatchewan, in an old maroon chevy with black vinyl seats, 7 Burghardts and all the luggage, alternating leaning back or forward in the back seat so we all could fit (in the days before mandatory seat belts!), and lived through a chevy breakdown and the most dramatic thunderstorm I have ever witnessed. Those are my memories of Saskatchewan!
Love Mom
I know what you mean about the moods, after all, when you're on the Prairies you have all day to think. Just work through it, it's all part of the ride. All of you are doing great. Savour the moments ... I know that looking through your pictures, I wish I could be doing it again this summer. The pictures of the Saskatchewan sign made me smile. I think I put my name on the back in tiny letters. :) All of you are in my thoughts and hope you have a safe ride! You'll be in Ontario before ya know it!
Hey guys! Congrats on how well you've done so far! I love reading about how you're doing, and I'm envious of the experience you're making for sure. Way to go!
Moods- I did some thinking about this, and some superficial research. There doesn't seem to be a lot about moods and how to control them (or if you'd want to control them), although what I've found seems to say that you can gain some insight by paying attention to your inner dialogue. If you can consciously alter your inner dialogue to one of more positive thoughts, then bad moods can be ousted a little faster.
On the other hand, I think humans are built for variety, at least to some degree, so I would say that people shouldn't necessarily try to keep their mood dead-steady constant. I think that the "control your mood" sort of literature is written for people who find themselves in a consistently steady bad mood, which I could imagine is quite a downer on life.
I was also intrigued, but not really surprised, that you guys find that your moods are correlated- everyone's grumpy, or everyone's feeling good, or whatever. Remember the tribal thunder guy? He said some things about humans being connected and resonating with each other. He siad people who touch have their heart beats line up, and certainly we know that girls living together get on the same menstrual cycle. I've since heard other psychological research done about this capacity of humans to resonate with each other, which basically says that humans are very good mirrors for moods, and news reporters often find that, if they're connecting well with someone, they'll take on the mood of the interviewee. I'd imagine it's quite a strange feeling when you don't know someone too well and you just start to feel like them.
So there you go - I think it's probably pretty normal that you guys are on the same moods, and I think perhaps that because your schedule is fairly consistent, your body and mind may be searching for some variety, and maybe the internal mood is the easiest thing to change from time to time.
What do you think?
Take care guys - I'm rootin' for ya!
Love Joel (Hilchey)
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