聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 We were driving home south of Riding Mountain National Park when something alongside the road caught our eye.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Not far from the park, while heading south on Manitoba鈥檚 Highway No. 10, we saw periodic signs along the road with a great big strawberry on white coroplast. It was affixed to a strong rebar frame, indicating these signs were put out by someone who was serious about his or her offerings. Each sign beckoned with an arrow pointing further down the road. After seeing several of these, we thought, 鈥榦kay, there was a sign along the highway not far from my parent鈥檚 cabin at Sandy Lake, so why don鈥檛 we go?鈥� We鈥檝e never gone to a U-pick strawberry farm before.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The next day our party 鈥� my wife, kids, my mother, and my mom鈥檚 friend, Betty, went to church near Erickson, seeing signs along much of the way. 鈥榃e鈥檝e got the check this out,鈥� we thought. So after church, before lunch, off we went.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The signs we saw the day before were spaced about every 3.2 kilometres from Riding Mountain National Park to the turnoff on Highway No. 45. They extended a full 20 kilometres. I pointed out that none of the signs indicated a distance to the ultimate goal. Surely this strawberry farm must be just off Highway No. 45, we thought.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚n for a penny, in for a pound,鈥� I said of their marketing strategy. If someone鈥檚 already gone 20 kilometres in search of strawberries, he might as well go 23.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Then it was 24, 26, 28鈥�. And still no strawberry farm. But there were still plenty of signs.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲here was this damn farm already?鈥� we wondered.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 One sign did not indicate continuing onward.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hat must be the turnoff,鈥� I said. So we went a mile west, only to find鈥� nothing. There was a red pickup driving quickly in the other direction on this forlorn grid road.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淢ust be someone else pissed off they can鈥檛 find the strawberries,鈥� I said. We laughed.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The day was mostly cloudy, so there was no indication of the sun鈥檚 direction. We were now at least 10 kilometres from the nearest highway in any direction, wandering the backroads of western Manitoba with no map, no cell coverage for Google Maps on my cellphone, no GPS, no food, and still, no strawberries. Thankfully, the truck had a compass and I have a pretty decent sense of direction and the grid road system, so we found our way back to road 270, where we found, yet again, another strawberry sign.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Okay, it couldn鈥檛 be much further. So off we went again. It was much further. Six kilometres later, we saw a substantial valley. 鈥淭his must be the one just north of Minnedosa!鈥� I exclaimed. In the bottom of the valley, we saw a sign, indicating a left turn. We followed the valley road, and there, finally, was the farm on the valley floor.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The gate was laid aside. There was a small SUV parked beside the nice little shack. Off in the distance, a few people were picking strawberries on the far end of the plot.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I went to the door. There was no one there and the door was locked. There were no buckets to buy, and no one to give money to.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I walked down to the people at the other end who were already coming back. The man, from Calgary, said the people who were there before him had opened the gate, and that the owners weren鈥檛 around. 鈥淭hey said she went to town, maybe for church,鈥� he offered.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hey left and didn鈥檛 even leave any money,鈥� he said, indicating he would leave some money for the small plastic bag he picked.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We had come all this way, only to not be able to pick the strawberries we so desperately sought without effectively stealing them. There were no buckets and no bags; there were just fields of strawberries that we couldn鈥檛 ethically eat. Dejected, disappointed and hungry were all understatements for how we felt, but we still had a good laugh. We had been led by these signs like sailors called onto the rocks by the sirens of old.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Calgary man had grown up in Brandon, and had hunted in the valley in his younger days. He told us to follow the road to the east, and it would come out near Minnedosa.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We followed the winding easterly road for 10 kilometres through a First Nation reserve, hopelessly lost, but guided by the ever-present strawberry signs at every turn. Hitting the highway, we headed for Brandon to find food and go shopping. The next day we would discover signs from the south, too.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I thought of how reminiscent these signs were to the fourth season plotline of The Walking Dead. The survivors were separated, but all the encounter signs promising, 鈥淪anctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive survive.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 They just had to keep following the railroad tracks to a place called Terminus.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 It sounded wonderful, but at the end of the line was a community of cannibals waiting to capture and eat them.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Betty said, 鈥淚 think we鈥檒l get our strawberries at Co-op.鈥�
