Brandon Manitoba through Saskatchewan and into Medicine Hat Alberta

Long drive today, but I basically saved  half a day :)   Still not too much traffic on the road, still construction delays, still few transport trucks, but I did notice that many of them are tandem so they are hauling a twin trailer and a large part of the road separates so you don't see much of the eastbound traffic.  Lots and lots of glampers, RVs, people hauling boats.

My route for today

Beautiful sunny day, not many clouds in the sky as I left Brandon this morning.  Temperature was around 23 degrees at 8:30 am when I hit the road.   Reached 34 degrees by the time I was mid-Saskatchewan.

Observations Manitoba:

• Acres and acres and acres of canola fields.  Many are in flower right now.  Bright greeney yellow on both sides of the road as far as you can see.  Feels like you are enveloped in sunshine :)
• Another treat was to see blooming lavender fields.  This picture thanks to google but you get the drift.   
  So patches of bright greeney yellow beside bluish lavender.  A drone view would be awesome, oh wait, there's google 
  
• And sunflowers!
  
• Saw a crop dusting plane this morning.    At first I thought it was some idiot who was about to crash his plane; he was swooping up and down and around and around.  Then I thought he was practicing for some air show.  Then I realised when he released some white stuff, that he was actually dusting the crops below.

 Observations Saskatchewan:

• They don't appear to have any particular crop other than grain.  Some canola, but not much at least in the vicinity of Hwy 1
• I entered Saskatchewan at 10:30 this morning  and left it at 4:30 pm  -- 6 hours to drive from one end to the other :)
  
• Lots and lots and lots of hay fields (thanks google)
• I'm not sure what beige cows do (milk or eat), but there are lots of those.  Some brown cows too.
• Coolness factor was the Salt Fields as I drove through a place called Chaplin.  It's not even a town per se (at least I didn't see anything around it, other than a gas station that charged $3.25 for a small bottle of ginger ale!
   This is not snow (google photo), it is piles of salt that Saskatchewan Mines harvests from salt lakes in the vicinity.  They basically take the water from the lakes and put them in ponds and when the water evaporates you get Salt.  This is my picture ;) of a salt lake on the side of the road.  Water has pretty much evaporated leaving sodium-sulphate = salt.
  
• No striking mascots in Manitoba other than what I saw yesterday.  Today, a 5-story Moose just outside of Moose Jaw (Alberta),  A Helicopter (yes, someone stuck a helicopter on top of a pole outside their house), more cows, and a giant teepee as I was coming into Medicine Hat.  I'm not going to bother turning around to get a me photo, here's one from google
  
• Not much in the way of critterish things.   They have same as what we do in terms of road kill .. racoons, skunks, other fur-ish things.  I did see a crane (as in the bird) fly over a fresh (not salty) lake.

That's it for tonite.  Even though it is 10:30 at home (my computer clock) it is 8:30 here; I crossed 2 time zones today.  Read for a bit and then bed. Target a very early start tomorrow.  Will see whether I get to Summerland or stop at one of the little towns along the way.  Decided to go along the US border instead of down through Calgary.   Will attempt Jasper, Lake, Louise, Banff, Calgary for my return trip when I have more time.

Good Night All

Hugs, Olives oxox