Chivalry is not dead its a handsome cowboy

If you get thrown from a horse, you have to get up and get back on, unless you landed on a cactus; then you have to roll around and scream in pain.

I think my pivotal moment of embracing country or at least cowboys was a few years ago. I had the job in the sandhill area of Nebraska, Valentine Nebraska. Having been born on Valentine's Day it is only fitting that I actually at some point in my life live in a town called Valentine right? 

So one very early morning after doing some songbird surveys I walked back to my truck to see the ranchers out checking their cattle. I waved they waved back it was all good. I got in the truck and started to drive away...when all of a sudden in my rear view mirror I saw this rather handsome cowboy on his horse literally chasing me down...on his horse like in the wild west movies. At first I didn't realize he was actually chasing me and not some wayward cow. When I did realize I stopped I mean if a cute man on a horse is chasing you down why wouldn't you stop? Apparently I was being chased because I had a flat tire (no judging). Now I know some of you are judging but the thing is in the sandhills everything is sand and if you on a sand road or two track in a farmers field you are literally driving in sand and at 4:30 am when I was driving to get to the ranch I guess I didn't notice the flat tire because I most likely was not 100% awake and I was used to driving through a couple inches of sand.  

When I realized I had a flat tire I was not exactly a happy camper. Cell service was non-existant to horrible and literally fixing a large truck flat tire in the middle of nowhere is not my idea of a good time. This  Ladies is when I learned chivalry is not dead. Nope it is alive and well, it rides a horse and looks pretty dam good in a stetson. That rather handsome cowboy who was chasing me down? Well he changed my flat tire for me. All while his horse looked on and all he wanted was a thank you in return and Yes it was wonderful. Sometimes when I think chivalry is dead I pull that memory from the attic (brain) and it makes me laugh. Its not everyone who has that memory. So the next time I see some handsome cowboy chasing me down on a horse I will not even think twice before stopping. I will not assume he is chasing a wayward cow. I will assume he is chasing me but hopefully not because of a flat tire. By the way he better be wearing a steston...haha

Road Trip

"I get pretty much all the exercise I need walking down airport concourses carrying bags." – Guy Clark

Two weeks ago I decided to take a short road trip...to a city I used to live in. Now that I live in the neighboring province I figured what a great way to see a little bit of each province. I took off the afternoon packed my bad and headed out of town. I keep a stash of maps in my truck I always have basically because I like to know where I am, where I going and how I am going to get there. So as I headed out of town on a lovely Friday afternoon I felt pretty secure in knowing that somewhere in my vehicle was the map I needed....

Its sad for me to admit but after having lived in Ontario for 2.5 years I had forgotten (I know its horrible) how far apart some towns are in the mid to northern areas of the provinces. For example it is not uncommon to drive literally for 2 hours before you encounter another community and it may just be a gas station/convenience store and a few other buildings (usually most of which look abandoned). Personally the only thing I generally care about is a bathroom especially when in farm country because there is a general lack of tress or shrubs on the side of the road that allows a female to do her business without the 1 car that is also on the lone highway from seeing. I think we all have had an experience where there is literally no traffic for miles until you pull down your pants on the side of the road and while in a very precarious situation suddenly cars, cars, cars from every direction show up...like magic. Thankfully this was not me (for once).

Back to the story - having newly arrived in my new town I haven't really become acquainted with all the highways and ways in which to leave it. So I flew past the turn to the highway I was looking for because it was literally a km down the first highway I was on. I didn't realize this until many many km's later. When the highway I was on suddenly turned into 10 km of unpaved road with little signs of life other than crops (from last year) and literally no signs saying when I would reach the next town. I was starting to panic because the map I for so sure was in my truck - was not and I was reaching the bathroom desperation point. I figured I was close to a town because I kept seeing school buses full of children which I thought mean I would actually see a town with a school soon. I felt that way for about 30 mins as my bladder continued to make its self known. At this point I was also in panic mode because I literally had no idea where I was. I knew I was somewhere between Alberta and Manitoba in Saskatchewan but other than that no idea. I had this horrible feeling that I was on my way to Manitoba when suddenly a sign appeared. I was approaching a town which meant a real bathroom. Its not easy when traveling by yourself to feel safe stopping on the side of the road to pee for so many reasons. So I headed for the first gas station I spotted and bought a map. Turns out the map I was so sure was in my truck was not. I discovered I was not on my way to Manitoba but had taken a rather more scenic route than intended on the way to my destination. It set me back a little bit but nothing major. Really I felt so relived at knowing where I was and how to get to my actual destination. So lesson here was although its good to be carefree perhaps actually knowing how to get to the destination before actually getting on the highway might be a good idea...Oh my god I sound like an adult...worse I think I sound like my dad! haha