6/13/22

I woke up at 2:40am to the sound of rain falling on the tent. Then I woke up at 3am to pee against a tree. Then I woke up at 4am because the temperature dipped into the low 50s. When I finally woke up for good around 6:30, I was questioning if I should've just committed to staying in motels and left the camping gear at home. It takes forever to to setup and to pack up. And I'm not a fan of all that extra weight on the bike.

I heard Ken traipsing outside his tent so I figured it was time to get up. He brewed up some instant coffee and we both got to work of breaking down tent. It was supposed to rain that morning but thankfully the rain got pushed away. We got lucky with that one because breaking down tent in the rain would suck big time.

After an hour of packing up, we were on the road to Winnipeg. But first we needed to gas up and get some coffee. Thankfully just a few miles down the road was the Upsala Family Restaurant and XTR gas station. We got some coffee and I was introduced to my first butter tart, a flaky crusty pastry with a sweet filling made with butter, sugar, eggs and sometimes raisins. It was delicious, perfect with a cup of coffee.

The destination today is Winnipeg. Ken and I are still traveling together since we are both going to Winnipeg. We are staying with Bunk a Biker host Tamar and Clint. Bunk a Biker is a network of motorcyclists opening their home or yard and land for other motorcyclists. They offer extra bedrooms or space for bikers to pitch a tent. There is no costs and it creates an opportunity for bikers to meet, break bread, and make new friends. I've used this network a couple times in the fall of 2021 and it was a great experience. We would be Tamar and Clint's first guests. We have 350 miles to go and it was cold and cloudy.

Having ridden across the U.S. twice, I'm no stranger to encountering wild life while on the road. But in Canada there are a few special animals I'm looking for and this morning did not disappoint. About 30 minutes into our ride, I first my first moose up close.

Then 20 minutes later. I saw another one!

I believe both of these were calves since they didn't have antlers and they weren't ginormous. They were pretty easy to spot during the day since they were huge and dark brown but at night, I would not want to be anywhere close to them. Given their dark brown coat, they would blend into the night and you wouldn't see them until it's too late. I also saw some rodent, maybe a muskrat or otter later in the day. But that did not generate as much excitement.