Sassy Saskatchewan

We decided to take the circuitous route which involved lots of either North, South or West in the grid road system of Saskatchewan, rather than the direct highway across route, which had been described as monotonous. We discovered long straight roads, seemingly going to end in nowheresville, glorious crop fields and gorgeous vast blue skies So off in search of curiosities of this province, we went… and yes we found some great places!

Needing a leg stretch we noticed an Old Flour Mill with a car park, that’ll do as they say in Yorkshire. It was in a town called Esterhazy which it turns out, has a community museum next to the mill. Built in 1906 it’s one of a few remaining on The Prairies and was a grain industry staple in its day, such that with the new railway line too, the wider economy flourished. Named after a ‘colonisation agent’ Count Paul Otto d’Esterhazy, there’s a lot of Eastern European influences, people arriving from the late 1880’s. It was the museum that we found obscure as it was such an eclectic mix of items, all contributed by locals and many, from another age. It felt a bit like the attic of an old family who’d forgotten what was up there. Difficult to photograph as it was stuffed, a few are below. A plastic doll in an ancient incubator, in a doctors surgery (wouldn’t have wanted to be sick when he was around!) a wall full of calendars from the early 1900’s, the old town switchboard, shelves full of very old food products etc etc. Quirky to say the least!

Another small town discovery was Ogema, a wander into the town we found that at 8pm it was asleep other than the ice cream bar. Good job we’d put our slippers on! We were pleased to see that Bud’s BBQ had set up shop next to the Fire Station, although we weren’t too sure about the effectiveness of the fire equipment! Very photogenic, it sat beside the imposing grain silos, a pretty railway station and an old train. We discovered that it runs on Saturdays and Sundays only, between the local towns of Pangman and Horizon. Great place however, lovely under the big Saskatchewan sky, a special little find.

Driving in Saskatchewan we couldn’t help notice the old grain silo’s, unused but now preserved, they were the ‘Beacons of The Prairies’ standing tall in the endless fields, the crops shimmering like green velvet. It’d be a great place to believe that the world was indeed flat or if you are in the business of fencing, or crop machinery maintenance. Sadly, time and progress means that now, the beacons are of the stainless steel variety and there’s a lot of them, I guess something needs to break up the vista!

Hearing that there was a ‘Cafe de Paris’ in a town called Gravelbourg, where there’s also a Cathedral and a pretty large convent, unusual for sure, we detoured again. The Cathedral was built to recognise the efforts in French Canadian colonisation by missionary Father Louis-Pierre Gravel in the late C19th in Western Canada. You had to phone up to visit inside so instead we went to try and take tea at the café… it wasn’t quite the same, see pic, nothing ‘Paris’ about it at all! Instead we stopped for tea in Limerick, kidding!

Continuing the quirky towns of Sassy, we happened upon Val Marie, where on pitching up, we were immediately invited to the Mayors daughter’s wedding the following day (not joking!) Sadly we had to decline as we had plans but said we’d try and stop by the evening do! Back in the latter half of the C19th Val Marie was the northern terminus of many cattle herders, moving long horn stock from Texas to Canada. Cattle drives, over a period of around 30 years until rail, enabled settlement on The Prairies by ranchers and the beginnings of the livestock industry. Many folks settled in Val Marie being a hub, from 1924 when the railway brought settlers from further east, following the prairie trails, miles of rolling hills and dreams of a better life, to homestead under the vast skies of this province.

Invited by a knock on the door, Friday night was ‘Movie Night’ so we went to see James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause until the Midgies with a Cause got the better of us! Great little set up though, projecting onto the side of the towns 1927 grain elevator, in true drive-in style. After a visit to the local Saturday market, which sold soap, cookies and jewellery we visited the towns museum which was a fabulous representation of Prairie history. Well worth the visit to understand the stories of the original settlers and how life was in the tiny communities. On our town wander we passed the appropriately named ‘Tumbleweed Café’ (shut!)

Our reason for being in Val Marie was however, Grasslands National Park. Vast prairie lands in a wide open glaciated valley, with a small meandering river, it was fascinating. Driving the unmade road, the landscape continually changed, very dry and arid at the plateau becoming slightly greener in the valley before becoming quite lush, either side of the river. We were lucky from a spotting perspective, Burrowing Owls, Bison rolling in the dust (including one that walked across in front of us) Prairie Dogs (so cute and noisy when they saw the feline one!) Deer, Gophers and Birds of Prey (one carrying a gopher/gonner)

That evening, we wandered into town where the ‘hoe down’ was in full force in the Palais Royale Theatre and the guests were nicely ‘corralled’ by stock fencing outside, we gave the gig a side shuffle. Heading back to the van we realised we were at the first campsite where there was a facility to tie up your cat/horse and where folks on horseback visit other campers!

It was a tad tortuous on the unmade roads. Trying to find the fun in it though, we found the roads were quite literally melting in the heat as we neared Climax. No giggling at the back of the class please, it is genuine. Named in 1923, it was suggested by a larger than life local character of Scandi decent, Annie Fuglestad, better known as Lady Plushbottom. Lady P apparently, had an infectious sense of humour, and clearly influence, as the townsfolk endorsed it. She was known to spin a good yarn, this must have been her high point! Aside, the journey also gave us a windscreen and bonnet covered in dead crickets, more fool them for jumping, a small dust devil, a pair of nesting Swainson’s hawks and several more of the beautifully aged Grain Elevators. The verges were awash with sunflowers.  

The Cowboy Town of Maple Creek was a stop over (they even need cowboy road signs!) On our way though we noted that Dorothy must have been mistaken, her house landed in a field in Saskatchewan not Kansas… maybe she moved into the grand design igloo house?

So that was it for Saskatchewan, we really enjoyed taking the back roads, many needed to be taken slowly. We could sing along to Witchita Lineman, imagining a bloke up the poles, on the long dusty trails, thinking of home…. It won’t be the first time that song comes on the play list, I’m sure!