Cypress Hills Road Trip

For our very small pandemic vacation, we decided to go to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park for a couple of nights. We had actually been planning to go before COVID, and then decided against any travel, but then things seemed to be okay for travel within the province. So, with precautions, we planned a small road trip and it was really great!

We wanted to stay in a cabin so that we wouldn't be mixing with hotel guests all weekend and cook all our own meals, but could only book two nights. This ended up making things overall better, because we could then detour through Shaunavon on the way there. What's so great about Shaunavon? It is home to the BEST restaurant in the province, Harvest Eatery. This was our second time there and again everything was absolute perfection. It is definitely worth the detour, if you are going to be doing anything in southern SK! (For reference it's about an hour drive from the CH Centre Block, and also about the same to the Grasslands National Park West Block in the opposite direction.)

(Frenchman River in Eastend)

We stayed at the empty Canalta in Shaunavon and had a patio supper at Harvest. The next morning we slowly made our way over to the Cypress Hills Centre Block through Eastend. The T-Rex Centre was closed, but we did the interpretive walking trail around the centre (#4 on the link) and then did one of the scenic driving tours (#1 on the link) through the badlands. It is definitely an area very different from Saskatoon and was a great way to meander over from Shaunavon to Cypress!

(On the Eastend driving tour)

We made our way to Cypress Hills in the afternoon and checked out the main lookouts and the Native Prairie interpretive trail. Then, checked into The Resort and had a campfire supper while our resident squirrel attempted to pelt us/our car with pine cones for the evening. 

(For the hundreds of cones the squirrel threw off the tree, it finally showed us what it does with them)

Cypress Hills Centre Block is a very small park. We did the three other very lovely interpretive trails in the morning (so many butterflies! Next time we will go in July for maximum wildflowers), got ice cream, and then decided to drive over to the West Block in the afternoon to check out the Conglomerate Cliffs. It was about an hour drive, but totally worth it for the incredible views! We didn't have much time to stick around in the West Block, but next time I would plan for spending a full day and venture into the Alberta side. 

(One of the Centre Block lookouts, I don't recall which.)

I had been to Cypress Hills Centre Block once, as a bored teenager, and it rained the whole time, so I was excited to go back and experience it properly (as an adult and in adequate weather). I had never been to the West Block. In my opinion the West Block was more a bit more "impressive" - I never quite got the feeling I was very high up in the Centre Block, but the West Block truly did feel like we were up in the mountains. Still, both sides are definitely worth the visit, as it's a small slice of the province unlike anywhere else.

(Conglomerate Cliffs, West Block)

On our way home the next day we stopped at the Great Sand Hills. I will say they weren't quite as majestic and amazing as I'd expected, but still worth seeing. It was kind of funny to see families set up on top of the main dune with beach gear and snow saucers for sliding down the sand.

(Finally saw a bluebird, first in my life! I think this is a female mountain bluebird)

We left Saskatoon Thursday afternoon at about 2:30 and arrived home on Sunday by 3:30. We were able to pack a lot of activities into a short trip but it somehow still managed to feel relaxing as well. This is a very doable 3-day road trip from Saskatoon, and I'm sure we'll repeat it in the future!

Staying in Saskatoon for the Summer

In the past few years I've begun to realize how underrated not traveling in the summer is. For most of my life, both as a kid and an adult, I spent considerable lengths of time away from home in the summer - going to lakes, road trips all over the continent, catching a Blue Jays series or two, and attending conferences. I don't discount the fun and memorable experiences these trips have provided at all, but especially as an adult there's been an element of FOMO related to summer travel as well. Summers in Saskatoon are so short and so lovely, it's nice to stick around and experience them. Last year Brahm and I made the conscious decision to not plan a major trip during the summer like we had in previous years, and it was so nice to just be here and enjoy ourselves.

Long weekends this year in Saskatoon have seemed especially dead, and especially wonderful for those of us who stuck around. It seems? a larger number of people are spending more time at The Lake where it is debatably "safer", which means there is a noticeable decrease in traffic and people and noise. If you don't have plans yet for September long and are on the fence about traveling, I definitely recommend having a Saskatoon long weekend staycation!

Here are some of the highlights of August long 2020 in Saskatoon for me:

• Biking to Broadway for a patio supper at Ace Burger and also gelato from Beppi's
• Picking raspberries and blackcurrants at Rhodes, getting an amazing raspberry ice cream sandwich, and making delicious jam and squares with my harvest
• Finally doing a long-planned small yard project - cutting out a bit more of the lawn to increase the size of one of the pollinator gardens

• Watching the bees in the yard go absolutely nuts for every flower they could possibly find
• Beginning to harvest a small but wide variety of items from my gardens - cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, dill, mint, basil, carrots, lettuce, arugula, peas, hot peppers, and strawberries
• Getting too much fresh produce from Robertson Valley Farm and Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens
• Watching the videos in the Saskatoon Horticultural Society's Virtual Passport Garden Tour (which I am on the planning committee for) and getting inspired for next year
• Floating in my backyard kiddie pool (if I close my eyes I can't even tell I'm not in a lake!)

Admittedly, we do have a short trip planned for mid-August; just 3 nights in a provincial park that is new to us. It feels like a good balance of getting to enjoy the offerings of the province and also not dealing with trying to find someone to water the garden for a week. Otherwise Saskatoon is a great place to have socially distanced summer staycations!