While we will technically travel through this province twice (once as we head east, and again on the way back to Calgary), I know us... given the return trip will occur on the final days of a month on the road, it is safe to presume that our sights will be firmly fixed on home. We won't likely stop for more than base necessities - gas, food and bathroom breaks. If past experience is any indication, the last two will be considered largely unnecessary by our driver... at least until the integrity of our backseat is threatened.
As we've decided not to linger in the western provinces due to their proximity to home, that leaves us a day and a half in Saskatchewan and two dilemmas - what route to take, and what to see. Or perhaps more aptly, what not to see - because there is so much we're going to miss.
Given my desire to focus this trip on our country's history, there are several routes we could take. A route north of Saskatoon would take us into to heart of the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Faced with the loss of the buffalo and the prospect of losing their lands to incoming settlers, the local Métis and First Nations populations enlisted an exiled Louis Reil to petition the government on their behalf. The situation soon escalated into insurgent combat, with important battles fought at Batoche and Fort Battleford, both of which are now National Historic Sites. I'd love to learn more about this period in history, and the Trails of 1885 website provides some excellent self-guided driving tours for this region. Unfortunately, it is a little too far north to be practical for this trip, so it will need to be saved for another time.
Southern Saskatchewan is equally historically significant, having hosted the North West Mounted Police as they marched west to curtail the whiskey trade and bring law and order to the frontier. Fort Walsh has been designated a National Historic Site, and memorializes the relationship formed between the NWMP and the First Nations. In addition to history, there is also a wealth of natural and geographical spots of interest including Cypress Hills, Grasslands National Park, Big Muddy Badlands, and the Great Sand Hills. Saskatchewan Tourism provides an intriguing 6 day itinerary for this area in its Cowboy Country Driving Tour. The minimum six day tour highlights that simply passing through this area wouldn't do it justice.
Having thus ruled out the north and south routes, we are left with the middle. Day one would take us from Calgary through the badlands near Drumheller, through Kindersley, SK and ultimately stopping in Saskatoon. Although Saskatoon is only 5-6 hours from Calgary, and despite an interest in visiting Wanuskewin Heritage Park since it opened in 1992, I've never actually been there. Thus, it seems fitting to start the trip by fulfilling a long-held desire. It also seems fitting to start our historical exploration of Canada with the First Nations, who inhabited this land for 20,000 years prior to anyone from Europe setting foot on it.
Given that we have had a decent number of trips to Drumheller area, we won't likely stop there for any significant amount of time. In fact, we may choose another, slightly faster route to the south. One potential stop would be the Ancient Echoes Interpretive Centre in Hershel, SK to view the small town museum of fossils and petroglyphs (the archaeologist in me wants to see the petroglyphs). Other than that, there is not much between Calgary and Saskatoon than open road and prairie.
Hopefully, with an early start we'll have time the first day to visit Wanuskewin (if not we'll fit it into the next day). The park is located on a traditional gathering place of the Northern Plains First Nations with archaeological finds dating before the pyramids of Egypt. It boasts interpretive walks as well as an interpretive centre.
If we stick to our planned start date of July 1 (I'm toying with leaving on June 30, but that's another post...), we'll be in Saskatoon for Canada Day. That means that after spending some time exploring the city, there is a very good chance that we'll end day one in Diefenbaker Park watching fireworks.
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