Hitchcock’s squirrels

Tuxford (Sightseeing). DAY: 37.26km. ODO: 2,370km. AVS: 22.0km/h. MXS: 51.0km/h. ATM: 1:41.

Since I’ve been here, I have seen: White Pelicans, Common Loon, Western Grebe, American Wigeon, Franklin’s Gull, Spruce Grouse, Grey Catbird, Rufous-sided Towhee (spotted western) and a Chipping Sparrow.

As I am staying another night, I wanted a little more food. The small store here in the park is only open weekends, so I had to ride into town. Tuxford, the nearest town, is about 15km away. I rode in with the wind at my back, only to find that Tuxford has no stores at all. Back through the wind I rode.

I went for a long walk up the lake, looking for the Buffalo (which are apparently kept somewhere nearby) as well as historical information – apparently this park is named after a place into which the Indians used to chase the buffalo, trapping them for slaughter. But I found nothing, other than a bunch of mosquitoes and a wood tick that tried to attach itself to my leg.

Tim’s legacy, coast to coast:

There are still no other campers here, but there are some people that come during the day with their boats, mainly to fish. However, there is a crew out there today water-skiing, with something that I’m sure they refer to as “music” blasting periodically over the water.

The squirrels here are a little annoying. They must be used to people feeding them, as there are several varieties that are forever running around my site. One kind, that makes a noise that sounds like a bad cell-phone ring, appeared under my picnic table suddenly this morning, as I was sitting at it reading Saturday’s Globe and Mail. He let loose his ear-splitting ring, startling me into smashing my knee against the top of the table and spilling my tea. I jumped up and threw a rock at him, but he only chased it to see if it was something edible. They need more birds of prey around here.