It’s amazing how flat this country is. Until it isn’t. Driving across the prairies, the only thing that comes to mind as a desire is something to look at, a bend in the road, perhaps even a new type of tumbleweed to replace the old. It doesn’t come.

And then you see a small sign in the distance that says “Welcome to Ontario”. Actually, it says, “W lcome to O  ario”. But that would be splitting hair. And that would require new shampoo.

And you think that life is about to improve.

But Ontario brings with it several things of note. One is that mobile reception is far too advanced for Upper Canada. It simply dies at the border until you arrive at Thunder Bay. So are roads with more than one lane each way. And, while we’re on the subject, bends make my ankles hurt. Cruise control doesn’t work well when you have some aging, mindless fop between you and motoring relaxation.

But I have arrived in the city of lightening bolts. And, again, as with most Canadian cities, I wouldn’t have even noticed it was here, if not for the airport and some proximate hotels.

How do these places survive?

That’s the longest day of the trip, I believe. And I have survived. Hot tub?

Exhaustion is the watchword of the day. And I still have a week to go. Scandalous!

So I have made it to Canada’s most awkwardly rhyming city, Regina. But we shall start at the beginning. I woke up today in Banff and it was one of the most beautiful sights that I’ve ever experienced. Wandered around the town at dawn and took pictures of the mountains as the sun rose. You know very well that it will be months before those pictures see the light of day, if not years, but you can put them on the list of things to eventually see.

Banff is a quaint town of artificially historical buildings and painful architecture but the natural scenery makes up for the terrible human influence.

Then I got in the car, after a fight with the bike rack over socks and shoes in the frozen morning, and drove through Calgary. It seems to me that Calgary isn’t a city at all. It’s a village. Would have missed it if not for all the signs and cowboy memorabilia littering the countryside as I approached. How sane people continue to live in such a place, I cannot understand.

At least Regina feels like a town. I’ve managed to get lost twice and I have only been here for a few hours. Oops.

Back feels like someone walked on it. In cleats. Carrying a large ox.

Bedtime.