jeanives: Saskatoon and so much more

from the top of the Duck Lake visitor centre/museum

Saskatoon is nice; pretty nice. There is a fantastic river walk/park with sculptures and gardens, and an obvious effort to have flowers and public art. The city feels quite small but apparently is about the size of Victoria. Also small of course. We stayed at the Park Town hotel on Don Rowlatt's advice and enjoyed the location, the restaurant, and the pub. We were on the top floor with a fab view of the river and the bridge across to the university. Day one we went to the Museum of Western Development, drove through U Sask, and visited the Diefenbaker Centre on campus. We continue to be impressed by the energy and effort that goes into preserving the history of the province and the smallest pieces of it. There are 4 MWDs, the Saskatoon one is all indoor, massive, and incredibly interesting.
Day two we went to Wanuskewin First Nations heritage park, minutes north of city centre. It's being redeveloped and the plans are impressive. We went on a guided walk and were part of a tipi raising ceremony. Then, with time left on the table we went north to Prince Albert, PA as it's known. We had cancelled PA and Lloydminster because time was short so were glad to add one back even if it was a hit and run. Cruising in to town on a wrong road I spied an onion dome and we chased it down to take pics. While we were pressing our noses up to the door a car pulled up and women got out WITH KEYS! And they let us in for a look because we were so obviously interested and harmless. Wow, what a place. The women were bringing supplies in for the Friday perogy supper which, if it was next Friday I would push to go back for; but it was yesterday. Again, the commitment to community and tradition was uplifting. inspirational. We also drove by Diefenbaker's house which had closed for the day by then,
But the day wasn't over yet.
On the way back south we pulled into Duck Lake I don't remember why. Some interesting looking buildings maybe, including a stage coach. There was a crop we couldn't identify so even though it was getting late we pulled into the visitor centre for, a multi-storied tower, "five minutes" which has become a famous refrain. 45 minutes later and further inspired by the volunteers who run the local museums we are back on the road.
Seriously people, there are more "sparkplugs" in Saskatchewan than anywhere else in the universe. We need to look around and pick up a cause/project because, speaking for myself, I am not pulling my weight. No one talks about the work involved, just the pleasure.
THEN we went to Taverna for dinner, back in Saskatoon and met Luigi. Slick as you can imagine, hugely entertaining, and we let him select a memorable meal for us.