Day 48: Zero Day - Erickson, MB

Date: Sunday, July 2, 2023

I woke and found a very pleasant morning had replaced the excitement of the night's thunderstorm.  It was sunny and breezy.  And as I stepped out of the tent I discovered it wasn't just breezy.  It was a solid and stiff wind blowing directly west.  If I got on my bike and tried to ride I'd be going into an incredible headwind of 30-50km/h for the entire day.  I was feeling better after a good night's sleep, but even in perfect condition that was going to be a tough ride.

I remembered Bruce and Brock's offer of coffee the night before and went to find them.  They invited me in and not only was the coffee ready, but Bruce had breakfast ready to hit the pan as well!  He made me a sausage omelette and it was awesome.  I think my body was craving calories and egg, sausage, and cheese hit all the right notes.

As I ate breakfast I chatted with Bruce and Brock.  Brock is an active member of his cities government, volunteering on multiple boards and citizen groups over the years.  It was exciting to hear about his experience in seeing how the sausage gets made into city government.  Most people have no idea how cities and town really work, but they use a LOT of volunteer time and that includes the people sitting on many of the committees and boards.  It's people like Brock that make sure things keep running well and the decisions getting made involve the input of citizens.  The only reason we live in a world where things are nice are because there are people like Brock out there putting in volunteer time to make sure our society doesn't break down!  Be more like Brock :)

During breakfast Bruce had mentioned the wind and told me that I was grounded for the day.  I wasn't going to argue.  I was without energy from pushing so many days and had no interest fighting the wind.  I was also still aching.  I think it might have been a combination of sunstroke, heatstroke, and just general bonking.

I didn't know it yet, but Bruce had plans for me.  After breakfast I changed and he toured me around Erickson.

What I didn't know at the time was that I had been rescued and adopted by a pillar of the community.  Bruce lives West of Brandon but spends his summers in Erickson.  Bruce isn't the idle type, and so is busy with all kinds of different endeavors, projects, social functions, groups, and activities.  The onions in the omelette that morning were from his garden.  And Bruce is involved in a community garden in Erickson.  As someone who was bigly involved in my own community garden in Calgary, I was excited to see what was happening in the horticulture scene in Erickson!

From there he brought me downtown (population: 431) where a small recreation of a Viking ship sits at the end of Main Street.  Bruce and some others had banded together to do some restoration work, and it was really shinning!  Bruce had clearly prepared for this, because he had the head dress ready for me.

We then checked out the local sign for the Trans Canada Trail which runs through the town.  I have to admit, it's one of the better stretches of the trail that I've seen so far!

From here Bruce introduced me to Islay, his girlfriend, and she still had a few errands to do so we explored some more before rejoining her.  A curiosity of Erickson that I'd noticed on the map before arriving was a municipal airport.  Sure enough, Bruce was a member of the Erickson Flying Club and heavily involved with the airport.  They have a 3000 foot paved runway which they're in the process of raising money for to have it repaved.  They raised their goal but inflation and the pandemic meant that costs went up and they're in the process of raising more to cover the increase!

The airport building was full of models, pictures from it's history, plaques celebrating past members, and lots of memorabilia.  They hosted a fly-in pancakes breakfast just two weeks ago, and over 300 people attended with over 20 planes (smaller personal planes) flying in for the occasion!

Bruce showed me some of the airplanes based out of Erickson, and this was a real thrill!  Aviation is something I have very little knowledge or connection to and so finding out there is a world of people with their own personal airplanes that they fly all around was exciting.  As it turns out, Bruce also had an airplane and has traveled all over Canada (including the far North) on adventures.

We went back to pick up Islay and Bruce drove to Wasagaming, which is the small cottage community located just inside Riding Mountain National Park on the south end of the park on Clear Lake.  Bruce's family had had a cottage there when he was younger and he'd spent many happy summers there.  It's clearly become quite a bit more developed over the years and the tiny cottages are being replaced with larger and more permanent places.  To call some of them cottages wouldn't be right, they were permanent homes.

We walked around the streets, beaches, and National Park buildings.  There was an interpretative centre where we explored some exhibits about the geography of the park and it's wildlife.  This is as close as I ever intend to get!

I bought a postcard...which I am now only realizing I left in Bruce's car.  If you're keeping count, that's three postcards I have bought and forgot to bring with me.  Manning Park, Longview Alberta, and Riding Mountain National Park.  At this rate I'll have sent as many as I've forgot!

It was July 2nd, the Sunday of a long weekend.  Monday was still a holiday.  The day was VERY hot.  So the beach on Clear Lake was packed.  People swam, sunned, ate, frolicked, boated, paddle boarded, biked, walked, and generally just enjoyed this pristine little community and it's nature.  There were flowers all around, and we walked along the water and enjoyed the breeze.

Some pictures of the sights!

We walked back into the main street from the beach and cottage area and looked around a few shops.  There is an original dance hall and theatre that are built of logs and date back to the 1930s.  We got to go into the theatre!  It was an absolute gem of a building!

We bought some treats and sat out enjoying the sun.  I spent a lot of time asking Bruce and Islay about their time living and growing up in the area.  They had both spent time here vacationing and working when they were youger.  When we finished we walked back to the car and drove back to Erickson.

I went back to the Erickson Airport which had a wifi connection and Bruce let me stay there for a few hours sending out blog posts.  After I was done I walked into town, got some groceries, and walked back to the campground.  Bruce and Islay hadn't missed a beat and had dinner ready for me.  I was already so in debt to them that I couldn't believe it, but dinner was divine and I loved the company!

After dinner was finished, Bruce said "I'm going to go get the old girl out.  Bring him up in about 20 minutes." and left.  I looked at Islay puzzled and she said, "He's going to take you for a ride."  It took me a second to process it, but I was pretty sure I was about to go flying...

Islay and I did the dishes, and drove over the airport.  I was excited and nervous and anxious and giddy!  We got there to find Bruce in his plane warming up the engine.  I couldn't believe what was happening.

It was fairly windy and we waited for it to calm down, then I got in and Bruce pointed out some of the instruments, explained what was going to happen.  I joked, "You've done this before, right Bruce?" and he shot back "Once or twice!"  We started off...

As we started down the runway I could feel my heart racing.  We lifted off faster than I expected, and very quickly were climbing.  I was almost confused about what was happening.  After spending so long on a bike, the ability to fly and go...anywhere...was overwhelming.  I was very quiet as I didn't want to distract or interrupt Bruce, who told me it was fine, and I took lots of pictures.  Here's a collection with a few notes:

WARNING: This video is VERY loud!  Turn your volume down!

After we landed and put the plane back in it's hanger I was struck dumb.  I didn't know what to say.  This isn't something I would have ever imagined doing!  The freedom of it, the beauty, the perspective.  It was all exhilarating.  All I could think of was the quotation that is attributed to Leonardo DaVinci, though he never actually said/wrote it:

Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.

It was true.  Moments after taking off, I understood.

We went back to the campground and Bruce had another surprise for me.  Brock had gone back home and left the campground and had offered me his trailer for the night.  I would be sleeping in a bed!  So I packed my tent still not sure if any of this was real and rejoined Islay and Bruce for a nice fire as the Sun set and enjoyed a cup of tea with them.  We continued to talk and enjoy the evening.  The moon was full and we watched it rise from the horizon, lit in orange and red hues.

We enjoyed the evening until almost midnight.  When I turned in it was for a bed in an air conditioned camper.  Even writing this I still can't believe the day I'd had!  I thought I was just getting a cup of coffee and it turned into an entire day of friendship and adventure.

I cannot thank Bruce and Islay enough for their kindness, empathy, friendship, and support on this day.  I have a difficult time accepting kindness and when people are as giving and kind as these two are, it makes me feel ashamed.  That I don't do more for others, that I'll never be able to repay their generosity, that I ever needed that much help in the first place.  But part of my mantra this trip was to say yes, and people genuinely want to be good and help others.  And there are few of whom that is as true as it is for Bruce.  After he took me up in his airplane and dropped me off at the campground again I looked at him - still stunned - and said "Bruce...why are you doing all of this for me?" and he looked at me puzzled and then said "Well...Friendly Manitoba!"  For those who don't know, this is the Manitoba license plate:

I think that Bruce is - to his core - a genuinely good person.  I usually wouldn't ask such a direct question as "Why are you being nice to me?" and it may have even been a little insulting, but I was trying - in that moment - to understand how this day had happened apropos of an offer of a cup of coffee.  Bruce is the kind of person that keeps a community strong.  He's involved, active, and always working to improve the people and places around him.  I've passed through a lot of small towns on this trip and have come to know the signs of when they are healthy and active and when they are in decline.  Erickson was a town with a lot of life and community, and it's people like Bruce working in the background on a dozen small things - community gardens, volunteering at the elementary school, maintaining the Viking ship, putting flowers in the community beds, hosting coffee socials and potlucks and community walks - that make these towns vibrant and their communities strong.  Bruce does all of those things by the way!  And if that wasn't enough, he adopts broken cyclists who limp into town.

I feel so humbled for Bruce and Islay's compassion and friendship throughout the day.  Without them, I'm sure I wouldn't have seen but a fraction of the area of the community.  There are so many details I've left out of this post, but there's too much to tell.  The real adventure is the friends we make along the way, and it was another day of grand adventure.  I've never lived in Manitoba, but my heart will forever be in that one small town with the people who make it feel like home: Erickson.

Consider visiting if you're ever nearby.  The town, the park, and the surrounding area are beautiful and the people are warm and friendly!

Thank you both for the incredible day.  I'll never forget it.