Well, today was a fine day. I smacked the alarm clock several times and finally got out of bed at about 8:30am. The clothes washing from last night left some damp shirts, shorts and socks so I packed them in a bag in hopes of finding a dryer. Off to the front desk to see if they have a dryer or if they know of a laundromat in the area. Nicely, they dried the items for me in their large unit - for only a few small items. Many thanks to the folks at Quilt Inn of Kenmare, ND. With a bite for breakfast I started to pack. It was cooler than the past few days so I zipped shut the vents in the jacket - and left them that way all day. It was a t-shirt and jacket day with only a hint of thinking about putting on another layer or trying out the heated jacket. Before I departed Kenmare I headed down into town to check it out. Leaving town I followed the scenic road along the edge of the lake. There is some video of it posted today. I also made a stop in the town of Bowbells, ND - just because. Nice town park! A train was doing some switching.

Next stop - Portal, ND and the process to cross the border into Canada. Nice folks all in all. No waiting - but they wanted to x-ray all bags - so each bag was pulled from the bike, put through the x-ray machine, and put back onto the bike. The whole process took perhaps 40 minutes. Almost immediately over the border the road made a dip into a valley. On the other side of the valley - off in the distance I could see large shovels and what looked like a power plant. Coal mines it seems. From here I simply stayed on track with a stop in Estevan for some currency exchange and then some fuel and such in Weyburn. While fueling up - the first full service station I've seen in a LOOOONNGGG time - I noticed the first mechanical issue of the trip - a missing screw to hold on the left rear turn signal assembly. The attendant suggested "Canadian Tire" just down the road. This'll be my first experience with the oft heralded CT. It lived up to it's name quite nicely. A bit of a cross between our local "Farm & Fleet" and a general merchandise store. Finding a screw was quite easy here as the bike, metric, fits in well with the metric selection of hardware. I didn't even notice SAE fasteners. The checkout ladies (HI!!) were helpful as well - and I learned of the Loonies & Toonies names - for the $1 coin and the $2 coin. With the screw in place and others checked for snugness - off I go. Next stop Swift Current and the Trail Campground (which has SaskTel FatPort WiFi access for a nominal charge).