Well, we hit the road again after another happy house sitting customer. We looked after a five year old male rescue cat and he was a pretty cool dude. Prior to that we had one female cat and two dogs in East Saskatoon. I’ve never seen a cat enjoy belly rubs, but both cats at two different sits would lay there waiting – no – EXPECTING a belly rub! Too funny.
Saskatoon was definitely a hidden gem of a town. We didn’t go exploring everywhere, but we did hit a few “must-see” places and had an amazing time staying the Delta Bessborough.
Anyway, the drive is another fairly boring one until you get to Drumheller, Alberta – also known as…The Badlands…dun-dun-DUNNNHHHHH!
Drumheller is home of the largest Dinosaur in the world, and one of the largest deposits of dinosaur fossils too. It’s a pretty cool area. The landscape is amazing and is probably a photographers dream! Walking along a path we found out quick why this area is referred to as “The Badlands”. The wind kicks up dust, and the terrain makes even the most fleet-footed feel uneasy, even in dry conditions. Add some water over these rock formations and loose stones and the land would be almost unpassable.
After a quick visit to the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum in Drumheller we were back on the road to Calgary.
Having not seen Calgary in 20 years, both of us were quite amazed with the growth. That can probably be said about most cities and towns across North America. Toronto’s skyline would be unrecognizable to anyone if they’d not seen it for that long.
We didn’t overnight in Cow Town though, opting instead to visit a good friend in nearby Canmore up in the Canadian Rockies where the weather and company were just perfect after a long drive.
This cross Canada adventure has taken us to places we would never have thought to go see in our home and native land. Prior to two uber-convenient house sitting opportunities, we had both no reason nor desire to visit Saskatoon. But after these house sits we were quite happy we had the chance to visit such a cool and vibrant city.
It’s a city founded by a dude from Toronto that wanted a society of no drinking or gambling…which didn’t last.
I can’t say enough about how nice and helpful people were in Saskatoon as well. Maybe everyone is happy there because Saskatchewan is one of the sunniest areas of Canada. During our three weeks in Saskatoon we enjoyed ample amounts of it. While winters are just as cold here as they are pretty much everywhere else in Canada, that sunshine can do a lot in those cold winter months to help lift your spirits…without needing to drink spirits…because that’s not what one of the founders of the city wanted!
Canada Road Trip: Day 4 complete. Next up…Cow Town to Kamloops!
Now go sell all your stuff and visit Saskatoon!
Sounds like a place I’d like to visit. Where exactly is Saskatoon? Is the closest main city Toronto?
Definitely a cool town Kelly, but nowhere near Toronto. Saskatoon itself is almost 300,000 people. I guess the next closest major city would be either Winnipeg to the east, or Calgary to the west.
This is a great post – it sounds like so much fun!! I have visions of Jurassic Park, but that could be my over-active imagination, either way, that, combined with your blog is enough to make me want to travel here so job done 🙂 Thank you for this, such an enjoyable read 🙂
Angie, It’s a really neat place. Sadly we visited to early in the summer season to participate in an archaeological dig. They are finding new specimens all the time. I think that would have been super cool!
It’s interesting when you visit your own home country out of the perspective of a traveler. One can suddenly see some hidden pearls, although you lived there for nearly your whole life! I’m very happy to read you discovered some very interesting and unusual places during your road trip!
Cynthia, So true! I love that we’re visiting places we never thought we would.
Very cool. I will have to check this place out one day!
Barry, thanks for commenting. I hope you make it as well. Western Canada is a fantastic place to visit.
I love those Badlands! Great cougar sighting too:)
Cathy, the Badlands are super cool. Lots of good hiking for you to check out in the area. I couldn’t resist the cougar shot 😛
I loved reading this as I always felt ‘Saskatoon’ was such a funny name for a place! Now I have an idea of what it is like and it sounds really interesting 🙂
Well, that’s my thing I’ve learned for the day. Largest dino in the world is in Canada. Lol.
I would love to check out that dinosaur museum. I honestly did not know about this place. Thanks to you, now I do.