Driving the prairies - what a sky
Driving onwards. What a huge country. Canmore in the morning was spectacular. It is actually amazing how quickly once you leave Canmore that Southern Alberta turns quite flat. So shortly after the beautiful mountains came the flats of Alberta, Saskatchewan and then come nightfall and Manitoba. Phew what a long day of driving.
My second video of my cross Canada journey
However driving through the prairies offers and interesting opportunity. Since it is mostly straight, you just keep going straight at a steady speed. Since it is also relatively devoid of traffic there is not much to distract you. Normally I cannot sit still for long periods of time and just stare at the scenery, like a dog can. But this provides you with no choice and an opportunity to do just that.
Goodbye beautiful rockies
Actually, people say they don’t like the prairies, but I think it is pretty neat that you can see the sky for miles and nothing inhibits your view. Just this immense expanse of flatness. I think the ‘snobs’ of mountain living overlook this.
The amazing sky of the flatlands
This makes me wonder if there is a difference between people from the prairies versus people from the mountains. Maybe people from the mountains might be eager to get to the top or get around the corner to see what is there, and therefore might be impatient and in a rush, or perhaps the opposite. Whereas prairie people can see for miles so do not need to rush and are more patient to get there because they can see what they are getting to. Or perhaps again, it might be the opposite that they want to rush because they can see what is on the horizon and are anxious to get there. Assuming they want what they see.
Entering the uber flat Manitoba at night - gotta watch for deer.
I told you this drive gives me too much to think about.
Personally, I prefer the flat landscape maybe that is because I was born in Northern Germany which is devoid of mountains, which not only make me feel inferior, but I also find them threatening. I love to run through the fields and meadows, so I probably would like the Canadian prairies…..