Category Archives: Saskatchewan

Rambling Around Moose Jaw

There aren’t many large cities on the Canadian prairies, and these are often separated by hundreds of miles. While far from large, with less than 35,000 residents, Moose Jaw is the 4th largest city in Saskatchewan. When driving across the TransCanada highway, Moose Jaw can provide a pleasant stop and diversion as it’s about half way between Winnipeg and Calgary.
On my last drive across Saskatchewan, I spent a half day in Moose Jaw. The city has more than 50 interesting murals which provide a glimpse of the city’s history, which I’ve shared in a prior blog on TravelGumbo. I spotted most of these while wandering around the historic core of the city and that’s what …

Karl on Mar 31, 2021 | Comments Off

Rambling around Wolseley, Saskatchewan

Karl on Nov 2, 2020 with Comments Off

A roadtrip across the Canadian prairies can be both interesting and boring. There’s always something to see near the TransCanada highway if one looks — colorful fields, animals, etc — but much of the drive is across hundreds of miles of flat farmland where one mile often resembles the next, so it’s important to take breaks to keep from day-dreaming while driving.
My mind was starting to wander when I spotted a sign for a town in eastern Saskatchewan that offered two unusual sites : 1) a swinging bridge, and 2) an Opera house. You don’t see many opera houses in small Canadian towns, so I decided to pull off, get a coffee, and see what was of interest in Wolseley.
Wolseley …

Tagged opera house, swinging bridge, Wolseley

.All Trips / Central Canada / North America / Saskatchewan

Crescent Park, Moose Jaw

Karl on Jun 3, 2020 with Comments Off

I enjoy green public spaces and was glad to find the small prairie city of Moose Jaw had set aside a nice space for walking, playing and relaxing. The grounds of Crescent Park are nicely maintained, as you can see in these photos. Lots of birds were chirping in the trees and ducks enjoyed the parks waters.
Crescent Park was designed in 1911 and is just a block from the city’s main street. It covers over 28 acres. The park is centered on Spring Creek. A series of paths follow the banks of the creek and are part of the community’s trail system (Rotary Trails of Moose Jaw).

Crescent Park, Moose Jaw

Scattered around the park are various monuments and flower gardens – even a time …

Tagged Centotaph, Crescent Park, Moose Jaw, Park, Spring Creek

“Pic of the Week”, January 17, 2020: Moose Jaw’s, “Mac the Moose”

Situated just off the TransCanada Highway, besides the city’s Visitor Information Center, is a massive statue of a moose know as Mac. Mac the Moose was built in 1984, stands 32 feet (9.8 m) tall, and for a long time was the largest moose on Earth. Mac has become somewhat of a roadside landmark for those who enjoy visiting such sites (I admit to this guilty travel pleasure).

Moose Jaw is very proud of Mac. Then, horrors of horrors, a larger moose was constructed in Stor-Elvdal, Norway. That moose — known as Storelgen — was completed in 2015 and is a polished stainless steel structure that is 30 centimeters (about a foot) taller than Mac.

The good news is that Moose …

Karl on Jan 16, 2020 | Comments Off

“Pic of the Week”, September 6, 2019: Grenfell, Saskatchewan

I spotted this interesting Tourist Information building while driving across the prairies on the TransCanada Highway. Grenfell is a small town in Saskatchewan that cleverly made its TI look like a prairie grain elevator. As we’ve previously pointed out, the real counterparts of this structure are disappearing prairie icons. I enjoyed the row of smaller grain elevators behind the TI, which you can see better in the photos below.

As I’d pulled off the highway, I though I’d drive around the town to see what’s there. Nothing much, really. A nice historic mural on one of the buildings. A small museum featuring pioneer artifacts (open only during summer months). And it being the prairies, no town would be complete without a …

Karl on Sep 5, 2019 | Comments Off

“Pic of the Week”, August 2, 2019: Saskatchewan Sunset

When I was driving across Saskatchewan last summer, I saw darkening clouds on the distant horizon which got progressively closer with each passing mile. It was dusk, and I thought the light of the setting sun quite lovely against the storm clouds. I stopped several times and snapped some photos along the drive.

Fortunately it stayed dry into the early night, until I’d checked into my hotel. After that, the heavens opened for quite a downpour.

(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)

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Karl on Aug 1, 2019 | Comments Off

.All Trips / Central Canada / North America / Saskatchewan

Murals of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Karl on Jun 17, 2019 with Comments Off

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan and its city of Moose Jaw are hardly on most tourist maps (though I recall as a kid I thought it very cool that a city was named after an animal’s mandible). As with many things in life, when you scratch the surface you’ll find something interesting underneath.

So it was this past summer when I was driving between Calgary and Winnipeg. Having passed through Moose Jaw many times through the years, without stopping for more than gas, I though I’d head into the city and look around for a few hours. It was an enjoyable break from the day’s driving.

Capone’s Hideaway, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

The city has an interesting array of large outdoor murals depicting its history and development …

Tagged art, Moose Jaw, murals, Signs

.All Trips / Car Culture / North America / Saskatchewan

Great Cars Along the Highway: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Karl on Jun 3, 2019 with Comments Off

One of the more unusual vehicles I’ve seen in years was this Mazda SUV, spotted in the parking lot of a hotel I was staying at in Saskatchewan, while traveling between Winnipeg and Calgary this summer.

The vehicle itself is a generic SUV, but the paint job captivated me. The vehicle belonged to an Army Medic and pays tribute to some of those in the Canadian military who have lost their lives in Afghanistan. A rather nice touch and moving tribute to these fallen comrades, and something unusual for Canada.

I think the photographs are self-explanatory.

(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)

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