As it has been for the last few days I woke up to another great day, sun shining bright in the morning. But unlike the previous few days the afternoon didn’t cloud over and start snowing. Today I was blessed with an awesome sunset while overlooking the frozen plain that is Lake Winnipeg.

I drove from Dryden, a little tour of Kenora and then across into Manitoba. I got a few shots of some pristine lakes before Manitoba but not a whole lot for shots today. Found an old homestead with a tractor out in the snow and some other random shots but the sunset made the day. I’m in Selkirk tonight, listening to the Canucks game on my laptop while hanging out at the library.

In the early weeks of this trip if I had a slow day for photos I somehow felt frustrated because I am putting so much on the line for this trip that I felt that every day should be pure gold and if it wasn’t it was somehow my fault. As I’ve gone over miles and miles of this country I’ve realized that not every mile will offer shots. I used to think that perhaps “I should have went the other way, or down that other road” if my choice of direction didn’t produce something. I’ve come to simply enjoy the moment, sure I’m constantly looking for the next shot but if nothing comes I’m okay with it. It just means that tomorrow, or the next day I’ll get a shot worth 3 days. The fact of the matter is that no matter what I end up getting, I wouldn’t have gotten anything with out the driving.

I’ve become found of “flipping a coin” when faced with indecision about which direction to go, simply trusting in the universe. Some detours are simply a feeling, some are helped by the coin toss. It’s the combination of the two that have been bringing some awesome experiences, shots or not.

I had my first “vehicular close call” today. I was on a gravel back road, covered in inches of snow. I was scooting along and realized I was about to miss my turn back to the main road and as I turned “Betty decided she didn’t want to turn so sharp. I slid across the road at an angle and hit the snowbank pretty hard. With a couple times rocking back and forth I was easily out of the snowbank. I didn’t hit anything hard enough for any serious damage but did acquire a couple of paint scratches from the hard ice/gravel that was plowed up to form the bank. Just enough of a reminder to slow down a bit. My truck is going to need some TLC when I get home anyway, a good cleaning and a polish. I look at it as simply a scratch on a tool, since that’s the state of mind I was in when I chose this truck anyway.

So, into Winnipeg tomorrow, a visit with my friend Madeleine and then we’ll see. Perhaps another coin toss will be in order.

Rusty Carcass