Saskatchewan - Prarie Country - 30 Jul 2010

The Sun Setting On The Horizon Of The Trappers Lake

Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan

A Saying in the Prairies - If your dog runs away, you can still find him after days without worrying.....

Putting Things in Place

Calgary, AB - Kindersley, SK

30 Jul, 2010

This was one of those last remaining holidays when you can see that summers are about to close in, laying steps for fall to ride in. And Aug 2nd was a National Holiday in Canada for Civic Day. So we had a good reason to plan and organise for a trip. By this time of the year we had covered a lot of Canada and we had to put on our thinking hats to decide on which place to visit this time. Northern BC (British Columbia) with its sharp mountain peaks, lakes and the historic Alaska Highway was on the cards but we decided against it owing to scarcity of time. The idea of Northern Saskatchewan. An SUV was booked for three days from the National Car Agency on 10th Ave, Downtown Calgary. 30th was a Friday. At 5 PM Anand and me left for the agency to pick up the vehicle. We got it to our apartment and we left Calgary at 6. 

Our Vehicle - The Ford Explorer 4.0 Litres
Snap Taken Before Drumheller

The plan was to break for the night at a place called Kindersley in the state of Saskatchewan. The route goes through the town of Drumheller, which I have described in my earlier post. We made a stop at Drumheller to have dinner; Subway and Boston Pizza made us feel good. Kindersley is about 420 kilometers from Calgary and the drive unto there was through the thick of the night. 

It was quite difficult to drive in the Prairies at night owing to the large number of insect smudges on the windshield that keep growing exponentially in thickness with each passing second. The wipers have to be kept working round the clock lest you want to lose visibility and bump into something, never to get up again. But even the overworked wipers don't guarantee you clear vision but offer just some space translucent enough to see through. The only solution is  to stop at regular intervals to get the windshield cleared at a gas station. And getting down at a gas station has its own perils - the air is a thick blanket of mosquitoes and they swarm around in armies which have the density of a million mosquitoes packed per cubic inch of air. I was glad when we finally pulled up at the hotel parking lot in Kindersley - the Super 8 Hotel.

Cranking Up On The First Day of The Vacation

Kindersley - Saskatoon

31 Jul, 2010

It was a lazy day to start. We had breakfast at ease and we easily made the clock strike 11 when we got out of the hotel. The site of yellow Canola, beautifully strewn across the flat prairie for miles was a common sight now. Yet it drew our imagination towards it and the bright sunny day made quite a difference to soak our spirits with joy. We rode down to a village called Rosetown 95 kilometers west of Kindersley, where we filled our tanks with coffee and car's with gas. We tried to get some notes from the Village Information Centre but not finding much except a few museums we left for Saskatoon without stopping any more there.

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Saskatchewan Railway Museum

12 kilometers short of Saskatoon (towards west) while on the SK-7 we took a right on SK-60. This was an impromptu turn made by seeing sign boards for the Railway Museum and Pike Lake. 2 km on the SK-60 on your right side is the Saskatchewan Railway Museum. This museum is operated by the Saskatchewan Railroad Historical Association (SRHA) and was opened in 1990. There is a very old couple that looks after this place. I was very touched to see them. The entry was a meager 3 dollars per head, or was it 4? I do not recollect. 

The Little Rail Car Which Took Us To The Other Side Of The Museum

The facility though not very big, is elaborate and is spread out. The old man took us in a small car fitted with rail wheels and dropped us on the other side of the facility. There are many original pieces of locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars that have been brought over from other parts of Saskatchewan. 

 Telegraph Operator's Facility In The Museum

The facility also houses many original railway buildings moved over to the museum. I learnt here that in the olden days, which is in the 1800s, the railway offices also used to serve as telegraph offices. There is an old telegraph office here as well and it has living rooms for the operator and his family and the quarters are well furnished by any standards.

Passenger Bogey Of The Late 1800s

There was an old passenger coach in front of the Telegraph Operator's facility that caught my attention. I went into it with Avneesh to shoot some photographs. I am always drawn towards the olden day marvels and the way of life. We covered the facility on foot and went around to see the olden equipment and buildings. There was a building which had a store of all fascinating equipment that must have been used at some point of time for the upkeep of the Railways. And I liked the picture that is just below and taken in Sepia over a piece of equipment.

A Snap Taken In Sepia

After looking up the museum we had a chat with the old couple and made some inquiry on Pike Lake. They gave us the directions. Traveling about 14 kilometres further south on SK-60 we reached Pike Lake Recreational Park. Entry fee was 7 dollars for the entire car. There was a good amount of people that had got to this place, for the day was marvelously sunny. People with families lay around on their mattresses and kids played in the tranquil air with freedom. 

After Canoeing

There was a restaurant in the middle of the park where we had our lunch. Infact, we picked up our lunch from there and came out in the open to dine. After dining we rented two canoes and went into the lake with our oars for about an hour. It was a good exercise to do after a long sedentary journey. Each canoe could seat three people, so we were split up 2+3. Above is a snap that we took after canoeing. 

Berry Barn Entrance

After this we left for The Berry Barn. The Berry Barn is farmhouse located on 830 Valley Rd, Saskatoon. It is famous for its blueberry plantations. We all liked this place a lot. It is about 15 kilometers South-West of the city of Saskatoon and is beautifully nestled among low lying flat hillocks that dwell amid the Prairies. The farm is laid over over a few acres of land and the berry plants are organised into rows of dense thickets. 

Berry Thickets

After seeing Berry Barn, we went to Downtown Saskatoon to take a cruise on the South Saskatchewan River. But unfortunately the cruise had already closed for the day. There was a show of 'Shakespeare on The Saskatchewan', which I was interested in but the other guys weren't, so we left it at that and drove into downtown hunting for Indian Food. We got one finally - a Pakistani restaurant and the food was really good. 

On The Banks Of The South Saskatchewan River

Avneesh had some of his friends living in Saskatoon, whom he wanted to meet up with. So after food we decided to meet at a common place in downtown. We left Avneesh there and went off to search for a hotel to stay. And after we got one we went back and picked up Avneesh. We were darned tired that day and dozed off to wake up late the other day.

The Second Day - Pushing Still Northwards

Prince Albert National Park

1 Aug, 2010

This trip unlike others seemed to be imbibing in people an overgrowing sense of laid back attitude. As it is said in the Prairies - "If your dog runs away, you can still find him after days without worrying". This is attributed to the flatness of the Prairie and you can see land as far as your eyes can fathom. And I believe, thus, the assurance of getting the run-away dog back made us folks rest longer than required. And on this day as well we pushed out of the hotel at 11 AM. We headed North towards Prince Albert National Park. And we also had plans to travel to La Ronge. This is the northernmost place in the state of Saskatchewan after which no road goes further north. The distance to be covered was about 235 kilometres. 

The Duck Lake Information Centre

We drove through Rosethern and Duck Lake. This was almost on HWY SK-11, going northwest all the way. We stopped at the information centres at the above mentioned villages. The one at Rosethern was closed but the Duck Lake one was open and we went in to gather some information.While we were getting information on the place, Avneesh and Madhu felt free to visit the museum free of cost. 

Later we went out and took some photographs in the fields behind the centre. It had these big rolls of grass cut and neatly rolled. It would have made a lovely place to play, had we been kids. Nevertheless, after taking some photographs of the place and of us, we rolled on.

Sign Board To The Park Entrance

The Entrance To Prince Albert National Park

90 kilometres short of the National Park we have the town of Prince Albert. We stopped in it to have lunch. Boston Pizza was the venue and we all liked their Pizzas. We started soon after and stopped by at the Visitor Information Centre at Prince Albert. Then we drove straight until we reached the entrance of The National Park. This is where we have to pay the fees for the Park - I do not remember how much it was. 

Internal Park Road

The road inside the Park is narrow and lined with  coniferous cap. This makes the ride very exotic. We must have had to travel about 30-35 kilometres from the entrance until we reached the Visitor Information Centre at the park. The centre also has a small museum where many artifacts of the local region are placed on display. The lady at the desk was a kind old woman who shared a wealth of information on the area and what to do.

The Information Centre at Prince Albert National Park

Following the directions the old lady had given, we set upon our task of visiting the Waskesiu Lake. It was about 15 kilometres from the Info Centre. The lake seemed promising to us, so we rented ourselves a speed boat for an hour. The instructor gave a brief 10 minute session to Madhu who had volunteered to take the pilot's seat.

 

Waskesiu Lake - Boarding Terminal For Boating Enthusiasts

And after that we sailed along the periphery of the lake for a while, when Piyush decided to take charge of the boat. And whence he got it, he rammed the throttle too hard - never to stop, and then  did we start actual speed-boating. 

Our Little Boat

The way we were dodging other boats coming from a distance, going over big waves of turbulent water, swerving the boat suddenly, and the feel of thick cool air passing through over our heads was a remarkable experience. The way the boat took off into the air and then thudded down after negotiating some unkind waves was scary but thrilling. The cool mist that was getting sprayed coupled with the speed made it an exhilarating experience. And after one hour, though we did not want to, we came chugging back in to the enclosed pier to park the boat.

The Boardwalk on Waskesiu River

 

There are numerous points of attraction doting the road that comes into the park. We had skipped those on our way to Waskesiu Lake and we intended to cover many of them on our way back. Our first such stop was on the Waskesiu River, where the park road flies above the river. There is a beautiful boardwalk which takes you on the right bank of the river. It is 1 kilometer long with view points in between. And it ends unto a bridge which is embedded into the soft mud of the river underneath. The bridge is about 2 feet high from the water surface and beautifully zig-zags onto the other bank. There is a forest trail on the other side, 2 kilometres long which brings you back to the place where you started.

The Long Sweet Boardwalk - Along The River

It was fun walking around in that quiet serene place with no people around. The mild flowing sound of the wind and the stream was pleasant to the ears, as were the neatly placed wooden fittings on the walkway and the woods around, to the eyes. There were exclaves on the sides which have been built to serve the purpose of lookouts and can be used to have a closer look at the river out of the woods while still being in them. There are also push activated sound devices fitted on the sides at certain points which give you details on some facts of the region - early civilizations, later settlements, tales and folklore, flora and fauna amongst others.

The Boardwalk Going Over The Waskesiu River

The only thing you need to be cautious about is mosquitoes. Though not present in as great numbers as in many other places we had been to, yet you need to be careful as mosquito borne diseases of dangerous reputation cannot be ruled out. We scurried back so that we could cover a few more places. Some more kilometres down the road we stopped at The Shady Lake. 

The Descent Down To Shady Lake

This lake is totally concealed by thick forest growth. There is a 70 metre descent down, which is part boardwalk and part natural trail. In addition to the regular human visitors this place also boasts of a 100000 strong force of mosquitoes per cubic centimetre. And so we went down quickly and came up at the double. 

The Gravel Road To Trappers Lake

The next stop was Trappers Lake. This lake is connected to the main Park Road by a mud trail and has camping facility around it. The trail would be about 2 km till the lake. It had  started to get dark by the time we were reaching Trappers. In fact we stopped over a constricted wooden bridge which spanned some marshy land and recorded the sunset.

Sunset Taken From A Wooden Bridge Before Trappers Lake

There were puddles of water in between the track and also some that outlined the edges of the track. The SUV was able to handle the road very well. I purposely sped through the watery patches and the effect it created was one that can be seen in mountain car rallies. The folks were enjoying every bit of it, and so was I. 

Trappers Lake

We also had La Ronge on the cards. It is a place that is 240 km north of the town of Prince Albert. And we were running out of time as we just had one more day with us to spare and most of it was to be used for our travel back to Calgary. So we rushed back to Prince Albert. The car windshield had become almost opaque by the time we reached our destination for the day. While the folks were busy charting out a pizza based menu at a local joint, Anand and me went hunting for a hotel. We booked ourselves at The Travelodge and came back to pick the other guys.

The Third Day - Getting Back Home With A Few Pit Stops

North Battlefords - Calgary

2 Aug, 2010

This day was no different than the others except for the fact the feeling of the holiday coming to an end was getting more and more proclaimed. We were a bit early to wake up compared to previous days. Making a few stops in between we kept our journey going. 

Grass Balls Rolled Up In a Field

  

There was this field where grass had been rolled up into balls. The picture above is of the same field. When looked with the naked eye it is very catchy to look at and admire. 

Our next stop was North Battlefords. This town is on HWY-16. This was a detour from our original course. We had lunch there and went on to see the Western Development Museum.

Beside And Old Car In The Museum

Washing Machine Of 1920s

One Of The Many Buildings In The Museum

This is an intriguing museum spread over acres of land and walking into it you can actually discover how Canada was built from the very early days when the Europeans came in. It shows you the lifestyle of the people in Canada starting from early 1800's. There are various establishments - houses with olden furniture, washing machines of the very early days, cooking equipment, telephones; churches, mechanical yards, clinics, law office, municipality office and the like. We felt it very fruitful to have come all the way to North Battlefords.

It was a great treat to watch the various artifacts in the museum. We had to chalk our walk back manually using maps to reach Calgary. We did not go back by HWY-16. It was fun to thread through sparsely populated remote villages and the gravel roads that cross them. There was one more stop we made at a lovely lake among yellow and parrot green coloured fields.

Stopped By At A Lovely Lake

We made a late night stop at Drumheller to dine and then it was all the way back to sweet home - Calgary.