I hope the road winds on for a long time. And thank you for your kind words.

Hey Steve… I’m hoping I stand as an early mile marker on the long and winding road down which you are guiding us. We are all better for the journey. .

As Andy said, your photography on Instagram is missed.

Thanks for the kind words and I hope you and your family are doing well.

On a completely unrelated note — this comment to you Terry is the 20 thousandth, non-spam comment on Scooter in the Sticks!

Terry, it’s great to hear from you again and I’m grateful for the kind words. You and your photography are equally missed over on Instagram, though I understood why you stepped away.

I have not yet read your recommendation–Coffinman–but intend to. This holiday break would be the perfect time.

Good thoughts…”we never step in the same river twice.” My mind can easily view that statement with a sense of loss, but reluctantly I see the promise in it as well. Steve suggested to me just yesterday that the present doesn’t surrender to my desires or wants. And I can’t be a hero in the present…just me. This seemed like a good explanation for my own reluctance to embrace it. But I digress!

Thank you for saying hello, and I trust you and yours have a happy and safe holiday season!

Steve, thanks again for trusting me to share with your followers. Your guidance and feedback throughout the process were invaluable.

As a follower of your blog, I’ve been spoiled over the years by the quality of your photographs and insights. It will be good to get back to reading from the man himself!

Mick,

I did some more googling after your most recent reply. This time I pulled up photos of La Ronge and the surrounding area. (Last time I was mostly reading descriptions about it on Wikipedia.) I’m glad I did!

You truly live in a beautiful part of the world. I have a fascination with bridges, so I was eager to see your Churchill River Bridge. There’s a grandness to the overall look of things. The sharp angles of rock and land meeting the water is very distinctive and its incredible to consider what mile high ice would have looked like a million years ago, not to mention it’s role in sculpting your territory.

The old 969 gravel highway looks and sounds very intriguing. From what I can tell, that is exactly the kind of road that gets me excited about riding!

It’s good to hear your American neighbors help support the economy with tourism dollars. Even Johnny and June! On the whole, I hope you find the visitors to be friendly and respectful. I might be able to relate in some regard. Here in State College, our university town becomes the third largest city in the state of Pennsylvania on football weekends, so I am familiar with some of the pros and cons and adjustments that residents must make when there is an influx of visitors.

Thanks for this enjoyable exchange, Mick! The next time I think of western Canada, I will no doubt imagine you aboard your Yamaha or Piaggio, exploring space and time.

Wow! Andy that is a wonderful idea. The Yamaha is my favorite scooter. I think people would enjoy seeing a part of the world where people lived since the mile high ice left this area.

I’m feeling the same as you when I see the goodness of being connected with like minded people.

I rode my Yamaha on the north gravel rode to the Churchill River bridge. It was on Easter weekend a couple of years ago. Time for the time machine to go there and beyond once again. It is only fifty miles north of here. Another trip that I completed in September of that years was down the old 969 Saskatchewan gravel highway that used to connect La Ronge with the city of Prince Albert. That was a 350 kilometer day ride. It was fun.

On a fun note about when the highway was finished in 1947 one of the very first cars to arrive were couple police officers from the States. They heard about easy access to the best fishing in Canada.
Johnny Cash and June visited quite often. They loved the people and the scenery.

Andy, more Americans visit La Ronge each year than people from the rest of Saskatchewan.

Whoa! This is getting to be a long reply.

Stay Safe on the bright side of the shadow.

Mick