Where we go....Saskatchewan, Canada   


The first difficulty is pronouncing it.  The second difficulty is finding it.  Even now I still struggle when people ask, "So if you're not from Toronto, which part of Canada are you from??"  My answer is usually something like, "Hmmmm...I'm from the western part...well, no, actually it's sort of central-western.  You ever heard of Winnipeg?  No?  How about Calgary?  No.  How about Vancouver?  Yeah?  Okay, well my city is between Vancouver and Toronto.  It's called Saskatoon.  No, really, that's what it's called....and the province is called...ummmm... actually, forget it."

It is not a world famous place and not much happens there, but I am very proud of my city and province.  I think the friendliest people in Canada live in Saskatchewan!  It is the kind of place where people are nice to each other for no reason at all.  People are honest, hard working, and dependable.  They love nothing better than sitting down with the neighbours for a cold beer and discussing their most recent house renovation projects.

The Climate

Euwww, this is a bad place to start, but I suppose it's part of the package.  The weather sucks.  Badly.  Summers are hot, dry, dusty and the winters are frigid and never ending.  The only consolation you have is that these harsh conditions result in some spectacular scenery!  Frosty, crystallic winter mornings with a sun so blinding bright you need sunglasses - and yet so fiercely cold it hurts to breathe.  The summer is a checkerboard landscape of a thousand farms alive with colour.  Where there isn't farms, there is forest and lakes full of wildlife.  So don't let the horrific weather stories keep you away!

The People

You have two types of people.  The first are Farmers.  The second are people who do everything in their power not to appear to be Farmers.

The original immigrants to Saskatchwan were mainly European, especially Scandanavians, Ukranians, Germans, Dutch and Polish.  The original people of Saskatchewan were the native aboriginals and they still account for a large percentage of the population.


Things to Do

The best thing to do when in Saskatoon is to go over to my mom's house for a pool party!  There's always lots of beer, lots of people and lots of fun!  Just make sure you replace some of the beer you drink or else you'll make mom mad.  Also, it's not a good idea to show up with the gang at 3:00 in the morning after last call at the bar.  If your rowdy behaviour wakes up mom you will likely get BANNED FROM THE POOL and that's bad.  Then you'll have to resort to the second best thing to do in Saskatoon which is....

Bud's on Broadway (Home of the Rhythm & Blues)

Usually filthy and full of bikers, Bud's on Broadway is the best bar in the city for Tall Rye & Cokes, peanuts, and spliffs in the bathroom.  Plus the live music is great!  We have had too many adventures in and around Bud's to mention, but most of them involved mindless drinking, foul language, abusive waitresses and ugly gypsy women.  You can find Bud's on Broadway Avenue, which is on the east side of the river.  When you start to notice lots of pierced nipple, strangely bearded, tie-dyed, lazy-eyed, foot shuffling, artsy-types celebrating their individuality, you are getting close to Broadway.

Oh yeah, if you see a friendly looking biker guy wearing lots of gold rings, dirty jeans, and missing a finger or two, say hi to him - his name is Brad and is one of the coolest people I know.

Things to See

Since this is my hometown, I have no idea what a tourist might want to do there.  You never know about the tourist things available in your own city.  But there are a few tourist things which come to mind such as Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, the University of Saskatchewan campus, and the Meewasin Valley Trail.  If you get bored of those things just do what everybody else does and go wander around downtown or in one of the malls.  The best thing about Saskatoon is that there are no tourists.  Seriously.  The only tourists in Saskatoon are the farmers who live about 30 miles away and drive in for the weekend to go shopping.  there are not many places in the world which have not been invaded by tourists...but Saskatoon is one of them so you are sure to have the whole place to yourself!

 

 

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