Buzzing in Saskatchewan

Bro and I have hooked up and we have crossed the border into Saskatchewan!  Now we are beginning to feel very cross country-ish.  Sort of giddy even.

The scenery is changing to bright yellow blankets of canola fields, spotted with red barns, farm equipment, herds of cows and irrigation ponds.  The highway bares no curves – hasn’t really since the Rockies –  so now we drive  up and down the hills, one after the other.. like a train.

Bro and I have been traveling the highways and byways of Saskatchewan for the past few days with plans of putting up roots near the community of Prince Albert. Our first community destination. Our first Saskatchewan base camp will be in the Prince Albert National Park (just north of Prince Albert). It is the home of  the famous trapper and writer named Grey Owl.

Breakwater dyke in the Village of Waskesui

Once there, Bro and I, were impressed with the greenery of the forests and the small banff-like Village of Waskesui. The long back country gravel roads were  lined with trees and ponds with beaver dams. The openings in the trees revealed large lakes and rivers. Everything green and lush but just no mountains. Not a big deal.

We finally settled in our campground.  It took no time for the bugs to chase after us. The ground was wet and moist – perfect breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes. We were fresh meat to them I guess. They were all over us.

When I was sitting in my jeep with the windows closed the bugs were crash diving against the window.  There were small ones, big ones, black ones, yellow ones.. all wanting a piece of me.

But during some activities and in some regions bugs were at a minumum. Like on the sandy beaches and in the Village of Waskesui there were no bugs.  Hiking in the forest is one of those times when there are allot of bugs.  The can of OFF was my friend in the forest and on the trails. The OFF kept the bugs off me .. oh no, instead.. the bugs just dive bombed all around me. Swallowed a few to prove it.. ha ha.

The next few days I started to research the park for our Saskatchewan travel website. Bro, on the other hand headed back into the community of Prince Albert so to get adequate power and hunker down on some computer work.

Hiking along the beautiful Waskesui River

The Grey Owl Trail was 20 kilometres. Boo Hoo for me! Too far for a day hike and I did not plan  enough time to backpack  it or canoe it. We however are planning to visit the cabin of Grey Owl on our return trip back across the country. This time ready to backpack out to the homestead.

On the first few days I stayed with visiting the many beach parks and day hiking trails in the park.  The Narrows Peninsula and the Waskesui River Trail were the too highlights. The Narrows had some great viewpoints of the Waskesui Lake and the Waskesui River Trail has a good network of boardwalk lookouts and river views.