Day 29
   
   5/26/01
   Mile 2836
   Near Fox Creek, AB
   
   I left Drayton Valley, where I'd camped at the fairgrounds, wondering
   why it called itself the "Oil capital of the world".  Then I saw
   pumpjacks rocking away in the middle of town...mystery solved.
   
   There were endless field to pass through, but the day was pleasant.
   Shortly after reaching the curiously-named town of Entwistle, I had a
   close call.  I'd heard a flapping behind me but didn't really think
   much of it, as my mind was elsewhere.  It was a truck, and as it passed me
   one of its tires disintegrated, throwing pieces everywhere.  Luckily
   none hit me, but if I'd been 30 yards further down the road, I'd have been
   creamed.  A ten-pound chunk of rubber and steel belt would have been
   more like a 60mph cannonball.
   
   The hills were not too bad, and I followed along a busy road until I
   came barreling down a hill at 40mph to the McLeod river and the town
   of Whitecourt.  This river joins the mighty Athabasca, drainage point for
   the Rocky Mountains.  It's odd to be in a land where all the rivers
   run north.
   
   There is major construction occurring on route 43 - Canada is pouring a
   lot of money into splitting this road into a divided highway.  Lo and
   behold...the other side, I saw, was paved and not yet open for
   traffic.
   I had my own private road!  I rolled along in pure heaven, with no
   particular need to watch where I was going, no helmet, and no concerns
   on a perfectly paved surface, 10 miles long.
   
   Sunset is now about 10pm, with the sun swinging noticeably north
   before dipping below the horizon.  Even then, it moves a such an angle that
   it remains light for perhaps another hour; it's difficult to say when
   "dark" is, since it seems to be varying degrees of twilight.  I
   pitched the tent in the woods, taking care to pull all of my food out of 
   my bags.  Sheesh, how did I collect so much?  So many little bits of it, like
   hard candies or mints, or vitamins or toothpaste, which might smell
   like food, are dispersed throughout my bags, and it takes a long time to
   sort it out and hang it in a tree.
   
   Kid's corner:
   And the answer is...beavers!  They had built a dam to form the pond.
   Remember, man is not the only animal that builds things.

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