CROSS CANADA TRIP 2019 – SASKATCHEWAN

So, into Saskatchewan on Highway 1 and off to Cypress Hills Provincial Park, on the Saskatchewan side as the Park straddles the border. Lots of Prairie getting there so trees were a nice site

we checked into the Cypress Hills Resort, our stay for the night. Cypress Hills Eco Adventures was just down the road and that was our planned adventure.

The afternoon was spent doing a number of hikes in the park. Lots and lots of trails that were well marked and took us thru lodge pole pine and white spruce forests. There was a beautiful little lake outside our hotel that is stocked with trout and canoes for rent. Ran out of time though as reservations at Ivan’s Restaurant which had absolutely great food.

We are off early the next morning to Moose Jaw, but our zip line guides encouraged us to go to the look out for views before we left.

we arrived in Moose Jaw early afternoon and went to the tunnels of Moose Jaw for two shows.

Two stories of actual tunnels under downtown Moose Jaw come alive thru interactive theatrical tours. The first was Passage to Fortune that tells the tale of Chinese Immigrants in the late nineteenth century that escaped terrible conditions in their native China to come to Canada to seek fortune. Their tale was sad as they were slave labor to build railroads and work in underground laundries such as Moose Jaw for paupers wages. We were the new Chinese workers and got yelled at during the tour for our poor contribution as workers. The second tale was of the infamous Al Capone who fled Chicago during prohibition to brew his fortunes under the main streets of Moose Jaw and ship back to the US with the help of the local chief of police. We were his rum runners and it was with great danger that we avoided the wrath of “Scarface” (Al), to complete our trip. All in all, very entertaining.

Tonight we are camping in a small campground along the Moose Jaw River called Wakamow Valley Campground.very pretty site and not busy at all.

Bedtime is always early with our busy days, so off early in the morning.

We are off to Gravelbourg to check out the town, a drive of 120 km. However, after we were on the road for 20 minutes, a realization of a quarter of a tank might be an issue. Onward though and as we got the “low fuel” warning a town with a co-op appeared. They must have diesel, right? They did, but Sunday in Sask. was an issue. Not open! Not many big towns in Southern Sask. so getting real nervous. We made it but barely. The highlight stop here was Cafe Paris where we had a croissant and coffee and Trip Advisor reviews were right, very tasty and wished that we had time to wait for brunch at 11:00

This town was named in Hank Snow’s song “I’ve Been Everywhere” in the 4th verse

Next stop Regina and The Stone Castle Tour. The castle was built in 1926 by Francis Darke, a very wealthy man and mayor of Regina. A cyclone went thru Regina in 1912 severely damaging his home and his wife Annie was moving back to PEI unless Francis built a fortress. He did out of limestone and many years later, in the 21st century, a real estate investor bought it, renovated and stocked with antiques to create his own castle atmosphere.

Tour was fully narrated and very entertaining with lots of history

Next was the RCMP Heritage Centre. Lots of RCMP history, memorabilia and exhibits. Really enjoyable. Was on the watch for a mention of one of our finest members, Gord Mebs, but must have missed it.. You get insight into the Louis Riel and Poundmaker stories, The Mad Trapper and much more

Oh, and we visited the Regina Library

And we are off to Fort Qu’Appelle to the campground there to spend the night.

We checked out the nine hole golf course there and looked ok so, booked a tee time for the next morning.We played with a local couple and had fun with them. They were retired in Fort Qu’Appelle and was on town council. All the folks we have encountered in Saskatchewan are super friendly and easy to talk to and makes you think that retiring to a small community like that would have appeal for sure. So Brian( the guy we folded with) said that he was a Stamps fan from his time in Calgary but when he retired to Saskatchewan it was impossible to hold out and fight Rider’s Nation so he had to convert. Well, retiring to small town Sask was sure a dumb idea! Off from there to Manitoba.