Saskatche-what? Where? When?

Saskatche-what? Where? When?

By Nancy Dorrans

A few years ago, at an ATTA (Adventure Travel Trade Association) event in Eugene, Oregon, I met Patti Peesker, the Travel Trade Market Consultant for Tourism Saskatchewan. She passionately expressed her love for her homeland, the trapezoid-shaped Canadian province nestled between the neighboring prairie provinces of Manitoba and Alberta. We call these three provinces the northern Great Plains region of North America. 

I knew very little about this part of Canada. Most people I know aren’t sure where Saskatchewan is, and they don’t know how to pronounce it or spell it. They’ve simply flown over it or driven through it on their way to somewhere else. I have since learned why Patti is so passionate!

The Where

Saskatchewan is bordered by Montana and North Dakota to the south, and Nunavut and the Northwest Territories to the north. It contains three natural geographical regions: the Arctic tundra in the north, the Canadian or Boreal Shield, and the Central Plains in the south. Within these regions, Saskatchewan is divided into four ecozones: the Taiga, the Boreal Shield, the Boreal Plains, and the Prairies. (https://aitc.sk.ca/)

The When

This spring Patti contacted me and she was excited! Tourism Saskatchewan was organizing a familiarization tour for the end of July, including an opportunity to explore a fly-in-fishing adventure in Northern Saskatchewan. She invited me to come along. And so, along with three folks from Tourism Saskatchewan and two other travel advisors, I was on my way to explore and familiarize myself with a land where there are more lakes and rivers than roads, more fish than people!

The “Fam” plan was to rendezvous and spend a day touring Saskatoon, Saskatchewan’s largest city.  Activities included visiting the Remai Modern Art Gallery, Wanuskewin Heritage Park, a tasting at Black Fox Farm & Distillery, and a snack visit to Berry Barn Eatery. We would head back to the hotel for a bit of downtime before dinner at Odla where they like to say, “Your food shouldn’t travel farther than you do!”  All this on the day before flying up to Lloyd Lake Lodge for our four night Prairie Angling adventure. 

Best laid plans…

My flights were scheduled from Portland’s jetport via Minneapolis and Winnipeg to Saskatoon.  Everything was going smoothly until I arrived in Winnipeg about 5 p.m. I sat down at the airport restaurant, ordered a glass of wine, and was considering my dinner options when I received a text from the airline. My flight was delayed and now scheduled to depart at 12:41 a.m. Ugh!

When stranded in Winnipeg for over six hours, what would you do? I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but here’s what I did. I rented a car, drove downtown, and enjoyed a burger and beer at Nonsuch Brewery.

Chatting with some locals, they recommended I head down to explore “The Forks” district by the river. The Forks shops were closing so I drove around and parked, when I heard live music… Turns out it was the Fringe Festival and The Main Street Exiles, a Rolling Stones Tribute Experience band, was blaring out, “You can’t always get what you want!” Ha! 

That night the song rang true for me, and live music in Winnipeg was what I needed! “…If you try sometimes, well, you just might find… You get what you need!”

I made it back to the airport to find out my flight was canceled.  Thankfully, WestJet airlines put me up in a hotel, gave me a few meal vouchers, and rescheduled my flight for the next day via Calgary. I had now touched down in all three of the Great Plains Canadian provinces! 

Even though I missed out on the full day tour of Saskatchewan’s largest city, I got to enjoy Winnipeg and the Fringe Festival. I eventually made it to Saskatoon in time to meet up with the group for dinner at Odla.

Saskatchewan Part 2…

The next morning I had the chance to quickly tour the Remai Modern Art Gallery exhibit (across from our hotel) before heading via two private flights to our Prairie Angling Adventure at Lloyd Lake Lodge, far north in Saskatchewan.  

More adventure, tight lines and plenty of fish were on the horizon…

To be continued….