Day 50: White Lake to Wawa (the critters of the journey)

What a gorgeous day! This blog summarized how I felt about finally having good weather.

Sky a painful blue,
Hills splashed with devil's paintbrush,
Warm breeze at my back.

With gorgeous weather finally, one's mind starts to wander to whimsical things - like thinking about my tripmates, all their interesting little quirks, That led me to imagine which animals we have seen which remind me of these odd tripmates.

First there is Alan, loveable, conscientious Alan. Wayback in the Prairies we passed this gorgeous old sheep dog guarding the sheep. Rather shaggy and scruffy he was, and totally preoccupied with keeping his charges in toe, he reminded me of Alan, always trying to herd us along, trying to get us going in the morning, keeping his eyes on the slower one in the bunch so she does not get lost....Not that he is scrubby looking, but those who have seen the telltale signs of peanutbutter dripped on his sunglasses, or sun block only partly rubbed into his face...he does clearly focus his energy on the tasks at hand more than his image. But is an awesome leader, and for that we love him.

Evan and Leah are the black bears we think about so often. Like the cute cuddly bear cubs we all love, they are so cute together - rolling out of their tent in the morning like two cubs rolling out of a log. Just like sweet black bear cubs they are always thinking of each other, and others, offering help to others,making sure everyone is ok. And then of course there is Leah' unbelievable ability to find berries anywhere. At least 3 cups of tiny delicious wild strawberries that day near Taylor's cove! No wonder they felt at home in White's Lake, the place we went through yesterday which advertises itself as where it all began, the story of Winnie the Pooh that is. And like Pooh, they are always willing to share everything .



And Shane, always the eagle eye, he retains his eagle totem. Like the few eagles we have seen he scouts out the territory every day, arriving first often at a town or potential campsite and scouts out info. His eyes really are always looking East however -to India, and to Chaiti. At night he spreads his wings and visits with her, at least figuratively. We are so glad he has been able to join the trip, and are only sorry Chaiti is missing.

Ginny? Well she is sort of like the antelopes we saw in Alberta. Not because she is so fast, (although she can really whip in a tailwind..... No she is like the antelope, pretty shy. Skitterish around big trucks, happier to be off in the open spaces alone with her thoughts than crowded on city streets.....

But most importantly , there are you all our blog friends- like the prairie dogs you are. From your comfy towns and villages you poke up sometimes , or often, and watch us via the blog. Curious creature you are happy to watch but happy in the knowledge that you don't have to join us in reality.

And lastly for those who are regular followers, you are like the"far away bird" the sweet haunting loon like sounding bird which soars high high high overhead in the night sky. You help us remember that home is not that far away-perhaps not much farther than the far away bird who sings so hauntingly thanks for being there and singing to us so often.


Distance: 88.69 km
Time on bike: 5:17:53
Average speed: 16.7 km/h
Distance from Vancouver: 4013 km
Start: 9:00 am
End: 7:00 pm
Wind: south-east (head medium)
Conditions: Sunny


Cheers
- The Warpotay Team

Location:Wawa, Ontario