Hiking Saskatchewan Landing

One of the biggest adjustments for me over the past 2 years has been the lack of hiking in Saksatchewan.  Because of the flat terrain, extreme weather, and sparsely populated areas there's just not much of a hiking culture here.  And compared to BC, there just aren't many established hikes around.

On the other hand, there are some interesting factors that make one think hiking would be more  popular here.  People don't freak out over the extreme weather - extreme is normal - so weather's not really an excuse.  People love driving - cars are a huge part of the culture: people have no qualms about driving long distances by car to go camping or "to the lake" - and so going on a day or weekend hiking trip by car shouldn't really be a deterrent.

Anyways, whatever the case may be for the lack of hiking culure here, today was Victoria Dy and the weather's warm and sunny (albeit a bit windy), so Eric and I got into my Jetta in the morning and drove south today, towards Swift Current.  We wanted to go explore this beautiful province on foot.  About 35 minutes north of Swift Current we stopped at Saskatchewan Landing for some great hiking.  We stopped at the local information centre but they were closed (another sign of being in Saskatchewan - why on earth were they closed on basically the first hot weekend of the summer!).

It was a rather short hike, only around 6kms, but still, we enjoyed the surrounding scenery, had a good chance to catch up, and the hiking was good.  Below are a few pictures.  I like the contrast: dry hilltops, lush valleys, blue water in the distance, and of course, the main character of any prairie setting, the sky.

When we first began hiking, after 11am, there was still a cold breeze around us, so we wore long sleeves.  But by 1pm it was hot.  It was a clear day, not a cloud in sight.

We finished our hike around 3pm, and afterwards we stopped in at a golf clubhouse nearby for dinner.  The food was decent and with a variety of choices - sandwiches, wraps, tacos, and burgers - but unfortunately they all fit the "fast food" category.  How I'd have loved to have a nice pasta dish with a glass of wine....

What salvaged the clubhouse experience though was our waitress - a girl in her late twenties - friendly, talkative, a great sense of humour, and very easy on the eyes.  She'd just moved here from Vancouver, full of life, enthusiasm, and optimism.  Eric and I didn't want to burst her naive, innocent bubble, but we did feel it our duty to gently inform her that moving to a new place is exciting, until the novelty wears out and you have a few experiences that bring you back to the real world.  Still, her enthusiasm was contagious and admirable.  I left the clubhouse with a smile on my face.

We arrived back in Saskatoon around 7pm, tired, but energized by a good day trip, solid hiking, and some thought-provoking conversation.

Tomorrow it's back to work.  The next 3 weeks are quite busy, highlighted by a tour to the cathedral with our residents and an anniversary party for the Monsignor in early June, and a memorial service this Friday.