| Dream |
I, Eiffle Macron (a canoe) am on the way up the mighty Red River of the North with my starting point of Fargo, North Dakota. It is a beautiful summer day with the birds chirping and singing the day way. The water is brown from clay soil but it looks like it will be an enjoyable ride up to Winnipeg,Manatoba,Canada. I do hope to see wildlife, crops in the fields, trees and flowers in full bloom.As I leave the dock in Fargo stocked with supplies for the journey including my fishing rod, compass, and binoculars. I will travel through Minnesota and North Dakota in the United States as I wind my way up the Red River, to Winnipeg, Manatoba, Canada. I am traveling North outside of Fargo, in Trail County. I see the most beautiful wheat field that I have ever seen with a family of foxes playing in wide open fields to the left, their den must be near. I stop and rest for a while. I watch the wheat sway back and forth and the cubs under the watchful eye of mama fox. The breeze feels so wonderful and it is keeping the mosquitoes away. I sit and drift for a while longer before it is time to continue North. It is such a beautiful day to be on the river. I must continue on or I will never make it. Up ahead there is a faded sign that shows watermarks with years listed. I need to be quiet so I do not disturb the beavers or the muskrats that are busy rebuilding and fixing their homes after the spring flooding. I must be getting close to Grand Forks then off the starboard side I see a family of hawks nesting in a tall Willow tree. He must be looking for a mouse to eat. The Willow trees hanging over are providing the perfect shade so I do not overheat. I take a rest in Grand Forks. I want to make it to Drayton by dinner time. There is a turtle slowly walking on the banks, hundreds of butterflies in the wildflowers. I dock at the Blue Moose to have a quick dinner, check out Cabelas before taking up camp at the State Park.
I am paddling North by 4:30 am. The sun is up and I am on my way, I even see a Lady Slipper, they are so beautiful and hard to find. I must keep going! I believe I see a Falcon flying overhead in the tall Oak trees. The trees are not as thick in spots so I watch the Rye and Sugar Beet Fields pass by me as I keep rowing and gliding North. I had little time so I dropped my fishing line. It is not long before I catch a HUGE, ugly catfish but I toss it back in the river. I sit and pass a little more time and catch a lake sturgeon. It's even more ugly than the catfish. It also is released back into the river. There is a group of teens on the banks. I see they have a string of carpe, walleye and northern pike, I wish that would have been on my fishing line. Just in time I tie up to a tree on the banks in Drayton to meet up with my rusty old cousin for a quick chit chat, before you know it I am off again to reach my final destination.
I must be just about to Canada as I am in Pembina County, which is still in North Dakota when I see a mama bear and her three little cubs! The cubs are trailing behind tumbling, playing and goofing off when mama has had enough and picks up one by the neck and marches off the other two following thankful it is not them hanging from her mouth. It is getting to be dusk out, it is time to stop for the night. There is a tie up area near Brandon, Manitoba. I can stop for the night and check out the bakery in the morning before I continue to paddle North to Winnipeg.
Before leaving I grab my favorite treats, a Bear Claw and Nanaimo Bar and keep my oars rowing. Forks are just ahead are parks and Rainbow Stage just over the bridge. I have made it to Winnipeg, Manitoba. I have seen so many landmarks, wildlife, trees and fields. What a journey it has been. This old canoe is ready to hang out, tied up to the dock for a few weeks.
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