Tuesday 9 September 2014

In the Moment #12: What's In Saskatchewan


Saskatchewan! Let me tell you about a strange place where they call it "supper" not "dinner", where you will see more roadkill in 10 days than in your entire city-living life and where your main roadside attractions on the highway to Saskatoon are ...

this...


this...


and this...


RIVETING!

There's also Chitek Lake, where you can live in a cabin, BBQ up your supper...

Can you tell I've never roasted a marshmallow....
sit by a fire...


take your boat out for fishing, go canoing and get eaten by mosquitoes.


Saskatchewan's license plate tag line is "Land of the Living Skies", completely apt and appropriate. I've never seen clouds like those.


Let's not overlook the Village of Harris, where we stayed with David's brother, Graham, and his partner, Baylie. Located 45mins at 110mph outside of Saskatoon, it has a population of ~200 people (2006 Census, no I'm not missing a zero).


Work gets done here...


and you can buy your groceries there (if you don't want to drive to Saskatoon)...


and the view out the window will be...


But take a drive into the city and you will find the Saskatoon Farmer's Market...


cabbage the size of your chest...


delicious delicious food... (a shout out to Meshell for all her food recommendations)


the University of Saskatchewan...


one of the few things you can do past 8pm...mini golf...


and you know, shops, restaurants, cafes etc etc. All the things of any other city.

I also spent my birthday in Saskatoon. We went to said mini golf venue and drove down non-roads for an hour... (notice the gravel road and the lack of anything else in the vacinity) with only Google Maps to guide us...


to a place that was literally called "Hole in the Wall Restaurant"...


where we ate a 7 course, chef "decides for you" dinner...



that took 4 hours...


It was delicious!!!!

Things you won't find much of in Saskatoon:
- Asian people or chopsticks at Asian restaurants
- food places/stores opened on a Sunday
- traffic or buses
- places to go without a car
- a Holts (the real sign of civilization, jokes) but fret not, there is a Sephora. It recently opened.

Things you will find in Saskatoon:
- houses under $1M (!!!!)
- more country music than you can shake your fist at
- an amazing river surrounded by parks and greenery
- brothers who will save you when the car breaks down twice where the second time was with you as the sole driver at night after not driving for three years, with no idea where to go because the boyfriend has driven ahead without you and you're fuming because you're scared, didn't get the address of where you are going and you don't realize that his car has broken down (again) and he's stranded on a single lane road on a bridge...

(THANKS MARK FOR SAVING MEEEEEE!!)

Mark had to push our vehicle with his jeep....the first time the car broke down
- and of course some wonderful people

They're a little dusty after a long day's work framing. The guys on the left and right that is...David would make a pitiful framer.

David's cousins and some of their partners
Truthfully, even though Saskatoon isn't my idea of a top vacation destination, I was extremely pleased to (finally) meet David's family, get to know a few of them better and see Saskatoon for the first time. There isn't much going on but there are some amazing restaurants (I'm not joking) and a calm quiet feel which is almost a relief from living in 'the big city'. The commute to Saskatoon from Harris isn't one I'd like to make everyday but living there was wonderful and super relaxing.  It was a great way to spend more time with Graham and Baylie and I don't think they mind coming home to some of David's great cooking after work (thanks again for having us, guys)!

So.....would you like to visit Saskabush?

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