Miles Meets Saskatchewan 

Who ever said you could skip right by Saskatchewan when heading east must have had their eyes closed.  Our mascot moose, Miles, led us through this farming province…grains in particular…and the tiny little towns that dot the landscape.   These towns once were bustling communities, each of them self sustaining.  Now many of them cling to life by proudly presenting themselves as the “home of the hogfest”, “home of the original Santa Claus Day”, “home of the world’s largest tomahawk”, etc.  Each town is looking for ways to re-define themselves in order to maintain there identity.

We entered the province through the city of Lloydminster where four large red posts on Main Street mark the border between the two provinces.  Thunderstorms were left behind and blue sky welcomed us.  We drove through lovely hills and valleys, rich farm and ranch lands, and many small lakes as we took the secondary highways through Cut Knife to the Battlefords.

Cut Knife is “home of the world’s largest tomahawk”.  It was originally erected in the 50’s as an innovative way of attracting tourism and reconstructed in the 70’s.  We were not the only ones who stopped!

With the increase in urban populations the little towns, no matter how hard they try to entice newcomers, are slowly dying off.  We saw a couple of places where we could have purchased lots for a mere $10.00!

We arrived in the Battlefords…North Battleford and Battleford are separated by the North Saskatchewan River.  The constant unrest between the Natives and the Europeans in the 1800’s gave reason to build a Northwest Mounted Police outpost to help control friction.  The large Metis population who had made claims to farming plots along the river were largely ignored when the Canadian government was offering parcels of land to immigrants in the late 1800’s, giving rise to the famous Louis Riel Rebellion.

We had a bit of a scare while settled in for the night in a quiet spot behind Peavy Mart.  A car with a very loud muffler went speeding past us two or three times and then came by a couple more times, stopping right beside us each time.  We could hear voices but couldn’t make out what was being said.  We were sure they were trying  to decide if our van was occupied or not. When they drove on and turned to come back again, Jim slipped into the drivers seat and moved us into the bright lights and relative safety of the Wally World RV Park!  Finally we could sleep!  We were told the next day that North Battleford has the highest crime rate in Canada…

After a swim at the Aquatic Centre the next morning we were on the road to  Saskatoon,  again taking secondary highways.  We had a picnic lunch at Olympic Gold Park in Biggar, the birthplace of Olympic Curling Gold Medalist Sandra Schmirler.  This little town is fortunate to have such a beautiful park that offers facilities for all sports enthusiasts.

Arriving in Saskatoon, we were so impressed with the beauty of this small prairie city.  The skyline is unobtrusive, the South Saskatchewan River runs through its centre with seven bridges spanning it at various spots and parks and walking trails run along both sides of the river.

We spent the entire morning wandering along the river and through the University of Saskatchewan. The buildings of the university have obviously been built at different intervals throughout the century but all have incorporated the lovely sandstone in some way, creating a very harmonious and pleasant feeling as you walk among them. As we wandered we watched as graduates of the Law and Business faculties posed for photos in their caps and gowns. It took me back a few years and almost made me feel like going back to school!

The afternoon found us having a cocktail in the hot sun on the patio of the Delta hotel downtown.  While we were there, hotel staff were planting veggies and herbs for use in the kitchen.  What a great idea!  I’ve never heard of any other major hotel doing that!

Saskatoon is also a big sports town.  The famous hockey player Gordie Howe was from the area as well as many other notables.  Our campground was named after him and so was the large park surrounding us.  We spent an evening watching fastball while in the field next to the ball diamonds the Saskatoon Hilltops were practicing football.  Murals around town commemorate top athletes over the years.

The Western Development Museum is a must-see in Saskatoon.  We spent a full four hours wandering through it and learning the history of the province from the early settler days through the good times of the 20’s, the devastation of the drought, dust and depression of the 30’s, the advent of electricity in the 50’s and the advancement in technology in all areas of life up to present.  The museum is uniquely laid out and interactive.  We loved it.

After two days in Saskatoon, we left Circle Drive at highway 5 and headed east through more small towns on very poor roads and a strong south wind that made driving difficult in our tall van. About 300 km east we finally stopped for the night in a little campground in a small Ukranian railroad town.  Take the first two letters of each word in “Canadian Northern Railway” and you have the name of the town…Canora.  Via rail stops here three days a week with passenger service to Regina and Winnipeg.

A very nice couple from Red Deer area, Sherry and Everett, were our next door neighbors with whom we had the pleasure of visiting till after midnight and again for coffee in the morning.

We wished them a pleasant trip before we headed southeast towards Langenburg.  Halfway there, we stopped in Yorkton to go for a walk.  The Nature Preserve at the edge of town should have been so enjoyable but because of a caterpillar infestation, we had to pick and choose our steps carefully to avoid having caterpillars drop on us.  They have stripped the trees bare and are even eating the grass!  Many of the chokecherry trees were also badly affected by black rot so the whole area looked pretty devastated.

Langenburg is the home of an old U of A roommate of mine.  Brenda and her hubby, Cliff, live in the country just a few miles north of town and provided us with hospitality extroidenaire!  It was such fun to catch up after about 20 years!  They washed our van, let us do our laundry, gave us a bed and shower, fed us and gave us a tour of the Lake of the Prairies and the whole Asessippi Valley, including an impressive ski resort in the most unexpected part of the prairies just inside the Manitoba border.

Our Saskatchewan experience has been wonderful.  Now we head for Manitoba, looking  forward to more adventure!  Tune in again next week!