Having lived in Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas and a few other places nearby, and having relatives all over the west in both countries, I've probably been on more than half of 281 at some time over the past 40 years. It is rather like a time tunnel to the days when prairie people gathered in the Grange Hall for socials, held bake sales on the lawn of the county courthouse, and bought hardware from a neighbor, drugs from a place with a soda fountain, and appliances from the Sears or Ward's catalogs.