Rona is Dave Stufflebeam's wife and we wish her a happy birthday!   Most of us are married guys and are thankful to have understanding spouses who wish us well as we go on a real adventure to Alaska!!

Here we are at 6:30 a.m. getting ready to greet the friendly rain that is such a blessing to the farmers of Manitoba and Sasketchewan.

We split up in three groups leaving Winnipeg at 6:15 a.m. after gassing up on $1.39 per liter gas (interesting ... diesel is cheaper than regular and premium is cheaper than regular due to ethanol subsidies).  Our happy group started West on Yellowhead Highway in Manitoba and contemplated the frowning clouds.

We got on our rain gear (wait until you see the upcoming DVD showing Jerry explaining his no less than five layers of clothes) and rode cheerfully in steady rain for around eleven hours.  Personally, I am thankful that I had to buy motorcycle boots so I can take the motorcycle safety course my sons and I took last month.  My feet stayed perfectly dry, as well as the rest of me.

The Yellowhead Highway is Canada's main east/west route and the part we drove in Manitoba and Sasketchewan is mostly two laned and we had the whole highway to ourselves, meeting oncoming traffic maybe once every five or so minutes.

We were mesmerized by the thousands of tree windbreaks that farmers generations ago planted to lessen the effects of strong winds in this area on their homes and fields.  Every now and then, like silent monoliths, huge grain silos will pop up on the horizon and glide silently past us to recede behind us.  Each complex of silos had 30 to 50 train cars ready to distribute Canada's bountiful harvest with us and the world.

The overcast day was brightened by the many vibrant bright yellow flax fields.

With three different kinds of bikes in our group, we had three times the normal amount of fuel stops.  It was great to get off our faithful machines and grab some snacks, coffee, etc. and chat.

We also had various stops as one of us had a hankering for A & W Rootbeer Frosty Mugs plus we enjoyed immensely Subway in Canada as they have menu items and deals we don't see in the states.

After 500 miles of enjoyable riding, we approached Saskatoon at the same time the clouds parted and the sun greeted us.

Here are the bikes of our Alaska group!

The parking lot at Super 8 was full of our motorcycles and I am looking forward to meeting the new riders who joined us in Saskatoon.  I already met Larry Brown from South Carolina.

Here's Larry Brown, our last addition to the group and his gorgeous Harley Davidson

It is on to Valleyview, Alberta tomorrow morning with a detour to visit Lloydminster's Honda dealer that too such good care of us last year as one in our group wants his bike to be looked at.

NORTH TO ALASKA WITH ENTHUSIASM (when are you going to join us?)