Moose and Me

Today, I was up at 5:30 AM for my journey to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. It is a 1.5 hour drive to the Moose from my base camp. That meant, first stop, Tim Hortons coffee. Important in the morning as I am only 50% human in the morning. Yes, I need a coffee to jump start my systems.  I admit it. I prefer a 1 hour wake-up grace period before life resumes in the morning.

I arrived in Moose Jaw by 8:30 AM. A little early for the tourism office to be open. So I decided to wait in the parking lot near the giant Moose. Funny how so many towns have a giant something.  Once I raided the shelves of the info centre for information I quickly browsed the material to see if I missed anything. I had already complied a list from the night before of my “want to sees” and “maybe see” destinations.

First on my list was Sunnydale Park. According to the map the park was accessed from a main road. I found the park but there was no signage? Instead there was a sign for the Rotary Trail.  Hmmm.. now why would a tourism map have Sunnydale Park highlighted and then no sign identifying the park? Sometimes in this biz I have to use my “Sherlock Holmes” abilities when seeking out parks, rivers, lakes and trails… because of poor tourism marketing.

Enough of this.. off I went to downtown. I have a thing for old buildings and I was hoping the downtown sector of Moose Jaw would not disappoint. It did not. There were plenty of old historic brick buildings to take pictures of .  I walked up one street and then down another zig-zagging through town clicking away. And for good measure I came across a few murals hidden about town.  But you have to wait for our new Saskatchewan website before you see those.

Two parks caught my attention in Moose. Crescent Park located downtown because of the fountains, waterfall and gardens. I did not know it existed by the maps, until I got in town and got a local map nor was it mentioned by the tourism office. Very underrated city park I guess. And the other park that I enjoyed was Connors Park because it was more of a wilderness trail than a man-made one.

Crescent Park has three fountains, flower gardens, a paved path following a creek, some viewing benches, picnic tables and an amphitheatre. It is a beautifully done park located along the banks of a creek. It is a park that any tourist visiting downtown would enjoy visiting. Why it is not mentioned more is beyond me? My big surprise was the small waterfall in the park. YES.. a waterfall in the middle of the city. It was a photo moment (picture above as main pic).

The Wakamow Park in Moose Jaw is THE park in the community. Connor Park is one of the parks connected to the trail network in the Wakamow. The Wakamow Park is very well signed and maintained. People are walking, biking, roller bladding and canoeing everywhere. The main trail, named the Devonian Trail follows the river most of the time. Most of the parks along the trail are various types of picnic parks.

Hiking the grasslands in Moose Jaw

The one park within Wakamow Park that caught my attention and I enjoyed very much was Connors Park. Why did I enjoy it? Because the park had a 3.5 and 7.5 kilometre hiking trail. I like to sweat! And it was not a manicured trail either.  Oh no.. this trail was a single track path navigating through bushes, across grasslands and over mud bogs.. The two trails accessed from Connors Park are actually parts of the TCT (Trans Canada Trail) so I had to explore.

The day continued late into the afternoon as my last stop took me to the Buffalo Pound Provincial Park north of Moose Jaw.  there to great me at the gates were some  “campground cops”.  They are everywhere.  This time instead of the “note and run” gimmick I was lucky to meet a new breed of “campground cop”.. a nice one. This girl was actually friendly.  She seemed to enjoy her job…  imagine that.

The Buffalo Pound Provincial Park was a great way to end the day.  The dyke views separating the lake from Nicolle Flats was a treat.  The park also had a range for bison. There was also a viewing tower overlooking the grasslands and bison range.  Great views of the grasslands but for me.. I did not see no bison. I was buffalo-less.

The best part of the park are the trails exploring Nicolle Flats. There were lookouts, interpretive signs, viewing benches, picnic tables, birds, wildlife and shelters.  There is a long boardwalk trail that takes you right out in the middle of the flats. The floating boardwalk path wanders through a massive field of cat-tails. The cat-tails were so tall I could not even see over them. It was as if I was walking in a tunnel. The only time I could see past them was at the lookout located at the end of the floating boardwalk.

White Elk near Buffalo Pound Provincial Park

Unfortunately I did not have time to hike to the whole trail. It was getting dark and I had stayed in the park allot longer than I was permitted. So I decided to take the back roads out of the park through the gravel roads avoiding the “campground cops”.

It was a bad move..  as I got turned around in the maze of gravel roads. Eventually my internal GPS guided me in the right direction and I drove out of the maze. But things happen for a reason. On my way out I ran into an Elk Farm. And guess what I saw.. a white elk!  Never before have I seen one.  I was not even aware there was such an animal.

The experience always continues.