Hello from Brandon, MB

I found the name of this cemetery rather ironic.

This may seem morbid to some but I treasure the chance to admire the animals along the road. This beautiful bird (cedar wax wing???) was only one of many we had admired. I have seen two dead humming birds along the road. What a privilege to see them up close.

Kathleen Hay and I talked our way from Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie! Congratulations on your amazing stamina - you held up your end of the conversation the whole way. :) No really Kathleen showed amazing determination and stamina as she jumped into the walk completeing a 32 k day and 70 k in total for two and a half days walking. Thanks for coming my friend.

The pregnant land waiting to yield her bounty.

My favorite photo I took in Winnipeg at Portage and Main.

Hello everyone! We have made it to Brandon but I should tell you about getting here!

Every day is a new adventure in patience and surprise! After crossing the Manitoba border the land began to show us more and more of herself. She laid back her covering and revealed so much of her bounty and beauty. The land is indeed pregnant with crops and it is wonderful to walk though this busy, industrious time. Combines, airplanes (alot of potatoe crops in the MacGregor area which are sprayed with planes), and semis all producing a strong sense of work being accomplished. The 'atmosphere' (not quite the right word) is noticibly different from northern Ontario which definately gave me a summer vacation feel.

The weather has cooled as August came upon us and both Diane and I are MUCH happier: Diane because we are in the prairies again and me because its not hot at night anymore!!!! Plus we are excited that we are only 5 weeks away from being home!

We have had a couple of visitors: my girlfriend Kathleen Hay from the Ottawa valley and Diane's mom, Lillian, is with us right now for the weekend.

I want to thank Diane and Kathleen for their joint effort of talking me into buying the new shoes. I do find it very hard to spend money when we are trying to raise money for the village. They were right though - I knew it well after only walking for a couple of kms in the new shoes. Like the proverbial frog in the pot they had lost their support and much of their sole so slowly I couldn't tell why my feet were hurting! Thanks girls you are good friends.

Well, I regret that this blog has to be short as I have an hour drive ahead before I sleep and it is past nine. Keep praying and we'll keep walking!

Just an update on the fund raising: we are at $79,000 and we have been notified that we are the charity of choice for the Hadrian Golf Tournament in Sept! Looking forward to updating you on that!

Oh, wait! I want to thank ENDURANCE PLANET.COM. Kevin was just a wonderful host and made me feel so relaxed as we chatted. He has brought me such education in the field of endurance sports and I respect the podcast and his vision for it. I hope all of you will support and enjoy enduranceplanet.com.

Love, denise