If Biggar was exciting La Fleche is, well….smaller.

Buzz around town is the excitement of a drug bust last week. Three cop cars pulled up - the town doesn’t own three, so we’re trying to figure out where the third one came from. Maybe the second one too; we’re not sure.

Mom-ster and I are here visiting an old high school friend of hers named Paula Uteck. We visited Paula often when she lived in Trenton; she and her husband retired to La Fleche, near the town her husband was raised in.

Paula has cancer, and I was startled by her appearance. She’s still Paula though - the same smile, the same face - I would have recognized her from a mile away, it’s just that chemo has made her hair fall out.

Picture day today, with shorter drive. I still haven’t broken out the Bronica, but I’m thinking tonight’s the night. While Saskatoon is a big city (work with me here) this is true prarie. Fields of wheat, churches and grain elevator. I’m thinking about swining out towards sunset, when the long rays of the sun are leaning on the earth.

First we’re probably going to take advantage of the town’s attractions. These are, in order of significance, the Hotel’s Ice Cream bar, and the Co-Op gas station / grocery store. And you think Vancouver / Halifax / Toronto / Frankfurt / Seattle has things to do! Bah.

I gotta get back to conversation now, so I’m keeping this short. It’s either that, or the Labatt Lite beer (work with me here) that’s doing it. It’s 35 degrees celsius here right now, and the closest comparison I can offer is to say this reminds of the time I visited Death Valley. That was warmer to be sure, but the general feeling is the same - at some point, it doesn’t matter if the heat is dry or not, it’s just heat.

Anybody want to go halves on a house? $15,000 in town here. There’s no jobs, but if you’re trying to write a book there’s no distractions either - at least until the next drug bust.

Posted by skooter at 2:00 PM This entry is filed under Travel.
This entry is tagged: Road Trip, Saskatchewan, Travel