Alaska 2008

We left Saskatoon under sunny skies with a temperature in the mid 50s. Our campground is located on the service road of the Yellowhead Highway, on the northwest limits of the city. The highway skirts the city on a bypass road and then heads southeast. Almost as soon as we get out of Saskatoon, the Yellowhead becomes a two lane highway. For the first 210 miles we had a strong tailwind that gave us a little push and brought our fuel consumption to better than normal. It didn't hurt that there was virtually no traffic and the road was almost as flat as a table top for most of the run. The highway continues to go through the prairie farmland of Saskatchewan with wheat and canola being the primary crops we could identify. Susie asked me if the road was boring to me and I said no. Even if had been boring, when we got to Yorkton, SK the "fun" began.

When we got to Yorkton we stopped to refuel and were on our way southeast once more. Almost as soon as we were under way, our tailwind disappeared as did the sun and the wind became very strong. At first the wind hit us broadside and whenever it gusted, the truck and trailer wanted to go with the wind. Then the wind turned to a headwind and when it gusted, you could hear the engine strain against the wind resistance. To top off our day it started to rain intermittently and we also went through some heavy but brief showers with lightning in the distance. Our fuel consumption increased by about 30%. To add to our frustration, there was no place to stop for a break or fuel along the highway. For more than 150 miles from Yorkton well into Manitoba we saw no rest areas or service stations on the road. You had to go into one of the towns to get fuel and any other service. We wanted to stop at a rest area for lunch and there was none in Saskatchewan between Yorkton and the provincial border and the only one we say in Manitoba was not easy to access from the eastbound lane. The highway finally went through a town, Neepawa, MB, about an hour from our destination, which had services. So we refueled, took our sandwiches out of the trailer and ate on the go. The wind died down for the last hour of our trip and we only encountered a few sprinkles. We were probably lucky with the weather, because when we got to the campground we could see leaves and small branches all over the ground, an indication that they had some strong winds before we got here.

Even with the wind, rain and service availability, we made very good time into Portage la Prairie.