Back in the US

And a very Happy 4th of July to you! To celebrate the fourth, we drove back into the US today in North Dakota. Yes, we are Back in the US, Back in the US, Back in the US....(Song 1).

We said our goodbyes to Greg and Sharon. If you are ever in Medicine Hat, look them up! Their hospitality suite is awesome! Ask for the Ron and Rita discount plan. We left bright and early this morning, on the road by 6:15; time to put the hammer down.

We arrived in Saskatchewan after about an hour drive.  Terrific scenery again, looking very similar to the last two days drive. Beautiful again!

We knew the farms were vast. We knew, especially because of their enormous grain elevators.

And their tractor dealerships. We passed through Swift Current which had every tractor dealership available. Yes, they do grow giant farms here!

And guess what we ran into once more. No it’s not snow, it’s salt. There was a massive salt mine in Chapman.

We saw enormous fields of rapeseed again and I mean miles on end.

And then we saw this field with purple flowers. We knew not to walk through it or we might fall asleep. Evidently, it is phacilia. Farmers are not allowed to leave their fields bare so they plant this. These die with the first frost and are plowed under in the spring which fertilizes the field.

I like the name of this town!

And while still driving through Saskatchewan we saw this locomotive on the rails, If you look closely, it says, "Building America". next to the US flag. 

Weyburn, Saskatchewan declares itself to be the largest grain gathering inland port in Canada. I would agree.

And to the trucker with 2 trailers attached to his rig; when the gates are down and the red lights are flashing at a railroad track, it really is best to stop and wait for the train to pass. You should have to pay for everyone's lost time!

And we made it safely back in the US.

And thank you North Dakota for the greeting.

I liked seeing all of the graduating class years on the hills in this town, whose name I do not recall.

God bless America!  (Song 2).Yes, it is nice to be back on home turf. America the Beautiful! (Song 3).

And you may recall, we started the first day of the trip in Chicago and saw the Blues Brothers on a roof. The concert venue has changed and they are now here at Two Rivers Inn in North Dakota. If there was not a line drawn for an international border, we would have never known that we were back in the US. North Dakota looks just like Canada that we left behind. Fields of rapeseed and uncountable oil derricks. There were so many great people that we met along the way. Most came to talk to us and comment on the bike. Thank you to all of you!

And a final word to the incredibly talented kamikaze bee who made his way past my windshield and my face shield and managed to land on my upper lip and commit suicide by stinging me: what did I ever do to you? 

Till Tomorrow!